In her spare time, she made braised dishes and played with the little ones.

Her life had never been so leisurely, nor had it ever been so bright.

“You… then why… why haven’t you brought up sharing a room?” Lu Cheng really struggled to say this.

He thought better of it and decided to hold off.

Tonight, he would take action instead.

As a man, he needed to be proactive in such matters; he couldn’t wait for the woman to take the initiative.

After figuring that out, he said, “Never mind, I might have misunderstood. I’m heading to the base now. The books are here; you can take a look first. We can arrange a time for me to explain them to you when I come back tonight.”

Lin Qingqing found him rather puzzling, and his abruptness seemed a bit too fast.

She shook her head, picked up the high school books, and wondered if Lu Cheng had overestimated her abilities by buying all the books from freshman to senior year.

She flipped through a few pages.

Her grades had not been good in middle school, mainly due to her severe imbalances in subjects.

Her math and language scores were good, but her English, physics, and chemistry scores were poor.

If 100 points were considered perfect, she could score above 90 in math and around 80 in language, but her English was only around 50, and physics and chemistry hovered around 60.

In addition to the 26 letters of the English alphabet, she couldn’t understand any combinations of them.

That’s why she only attended a technical school.

Lin Qingqing sighed and put down the book.

She felt like she was seeking out trouble for herself by even mentioning high school.

She placed the book in her room, closed the door, and headed to the cafeteria.

Today, Yu Xiuyao brought back 200 jin of ingredients, and it was likely to increase even more in the next couple of days.

Under such circumstances, just relying on the wood ash from the cooking class in the Third Company would clearly be insufficient.

She would have to discuss with Qi Shao later and ask him to check with the other cafeterias.

However, as the amount of ingredients increased, the money she earned would surely rise as well.

Even after deducting the cost of the wood ash to give to the cafeteria, she would still have quite a bit left over.

Lin Qingqing didn’t want to be the subject of gossip; if the money she earned was too conspicuous, she would have to take some out for charitable contributions, similar to donations in later years.

..

When Lin Qingqing arrived, Qi Shao and the others had not yet started work.

Upon seeing Qi Shao, she remembered the wood ash issue she wanted to discuss, so she asked, “Team Leader Qi, can you help me contact the leaders of the other cooking classes? The amount of pig intestines I’m dealing with has increased, and I’m worried that the wood ash from our Third Company cooking class won’t be enough.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Qi Shao replied, “That’s not a problem at all! The wood ash from the other eight companies is just going to waste.”

Seeing Qi Shao agree so readily, Lin Qingqing felt relieved. “Really? Thank you so much, Team Leader Qi. When the time comes, I’ll give some compensation to the other companies’ cafeterias based on what we get for ours.”

Qi Shao said, “No need for compensation. The wood ash is just something we would throw away; now that someone needs it, it’s also… it’s also being used for a good purpose. As the saying goes, it’s dying for a worthy cause.”

Lin Qingqing couldn’t help but laugh at his description. “That’s not acceptable. If I don’t give compensation, it might lead to rumors, which wouldn’t be good. Besides, using my compensation could help procure some supplies for the soldiers in several companies to boost their health. Now that it’s hot, we could buy some mung beans to make mung bean soup for them. In winter, we could buy some soybeans to make soy milk.”

Qi Shao looked surprised. “Can it really be done that way?”

Lin Qingqing replied, “Of course! Do we have a stone mill here?”

Qi Shao responded, “We do have a stone mill, but no one here knows how to make soy milk.”

Lin Qingqing pointed to herself and said, “I can do it! The process of making soy milk with a stone mill is the same as using a soy milk machine.”

As a food blogger, Lin Qingqing had the skills to back her words.

Naturally, one wouldn’t miss the chance to make soy milk using a stone mill, which has become a captivating activity.

As modern people evolve with the times, they are increasingly drawn to simple, rustic things.

Qi Shao hadn’t expected that Lin Qingqing would also make soy milk. “That’s great!”

The military unit doesn’t require tickets to purchase ingredients; they are given a budget and can decide what to buy within those limits.

Of course, they wouldn’t just buy anything at random.

After all, the budget and resources are limited.

However, if Lin Qingqing provided some subsidies with wood ash, it would be possible to offer some benefits to the soldiers in the company using those subsidies. “Then we’ll leave the decision to you, Comrade Lin.”

Seeing that Qi Shao had no objections, Lin Qingqing was happy. “Great!”

If anyone were to say she was using the military’s resources, it would certainly have a negative impact on Lu Cheng, so it was wonderful that Qi Shao understood. “By the way, can the people from our family compound use the stone mill?”

Qi Shao replied, “It’s open to everyone. Anyone can use it.”

Lin Qingqing thought to herself that next time she could find the carpenter’s wife to exchange for some soybeans so she could make soy milk herself.

After chatting for a while, it was time to prepare dinner.

Today’s dishes were sweet and sour shredded potatoes and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

It was another joyful day for the soldiers.

The soldiers of the third company rushed to the cafeteria, creating a buzz that caught the attention of the other companies.

Since they were all part of the independent regiment, many knew each other; as soon as one company made any noise, the others would quickly find out.

After dinner, Lin Qingqing arranged for Qi Shao and the others to prepare breakfast for the next day.

Hearing Lin Qingqing’s arrangements, Qi Shao’s eyes widened. “They’re going to be so thrilled tomorrow morning!” Fortunately, they would eat first.

Lin Qingqing laughed and said, “But you must not tell them!”

“I definitely won’t say anything; let them guess. These past few days, they’ve been acting like they’ve been blessed during meals; tomorrow they’ll surely brag to the other companies.” Not to mention those soldiers; even Qi Shao wanted to brag.

Lin Bao added, “I’ve already bragged about it, but those guys didn’t believe me. They said who hasn’t eaten cucumbers and eggplants before? They made it sound like they’d eaten braised pork.”

Pfft… Hearing Lin Bao’s imitative tone was quite amusing to Lin Qingqing; it was like a comedic sketch. “Isn’t there a saying about making money quietly? We can quietly enjoy good food without worrying about whether they believe us.”

She had originally meant to say quietly enjoy a feast, but it really wasn’t a feast.

“Exactly…”

Once they prepared the ingredients for the next morning, Lin Qingqing returned home with Lu Cheng and Lu Haici, who had been waiting for a long time.

On the way, Lin Qingqing said to the father and son, “You don’t have to wait for me anymore. You can go back and take a shower first.”

Lu Haici tugged at Lin Qingqing’s clothes and said, “I want to be with Mommy.”

His voice was sweet and adorable, truly charming.

Lagging a step behind, Lu Cheng wanted to sew his son’s mouth shut.

He felt that Lin Qingqing was likely upset with him lately.

The reason was that he hadn’t asked to share a room like he did on their wedding day, so Lu Cheng wanted to make a good impression and alleviate Lin Qingqing’s anger.

But every time he looked at his son, he felt that Lin Qingqing would only be more annoyed with him because the little rascal was too good at winning people over.

“Haixi is right; we have nothing to do anyway,” Lu Cheng said.

He actually wanted to say he wanted to wait, that he was willing to wait.

But… he just couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Lin Qingqing glanced at him.

Ever since she carefully thought about her relationship with Lu Cheng at noon, she could pick up different meanings in everything he said.

A man’s feelings for a woman can be detected through his words, actions, and gaze.

Before, Lin Qingqing didn’t consider that Lu Cheng might be interested in her because she had memories of this body, so she interacted with him more casually.

But now that she realized Lu Cheng had feelings for her, she felt much more tense.

Because she held the biggest secret in her heart.

“Well, you’re the ones who want to wait. Don’t come asking for rewards afterward,” Lin Qingqing teased.

“I definitely won’t,” Lu Haici said like a loyal little cub. “I don’t want anything. I just want Mom.”

Lu Cheng: “…” How was he supposed to respond to that?

“Then your dad doesn’t want anything either?” Lin Qingqing continued to tease.

Lu Cheng sighed with relief that Lin Qingqing spoke up; otherwise, his son’s words would have left him speechless.

“Um…” Lu Haici thought for a moment. Fortunately, he didn’t betray his dad. “Dad also wants it, but I want Mom the most!”

He emphasized the “most” three times, even stronger than double the most.

But… “Then Mom, do you want Dad or me?” He asked a question that cut to the soul.

Lu Cheng straightened his body instinctively upon hearing this.

Oh, he was already standing upright, but now he was even straighter.

However, he didn’t dare to look at Lin Qingqing and could only sneak a glance with his peripheral vision.

Lin Qingqing generously gave the little cub face and answered without hesitation, “Of course, I want little friend Lu Haici the most!”

“Hahaha…” Lu Haiyi burst into a brilliant laugh jumping in joy.

Lu Cheng: “…”

That laughter was anything but brilliant.

“Then Mom doesn’t want Dad either?”

“Do you want Dad?” Lu Haici asked again, recalling what Lin Qingqing had just asked him.

The little kid was quite adept at connecting the dots.

Lin Qingqing felt a bit flustered, unable to respond definitively whether she wanted him or not. “Then you tell me, should I want your dad?”

She shifted the question back to Lu Haici.

Instantly, Lu Cheng’s eyes shot towards Lu Haici like bullets from a gun.

He felt that there was an eighty percent chance the little kid would say he didn’t want him.

Lu Cheng had already lost hope for his son’s answer and began to think about how to handle the situation that evening.

“Of course I want him!” Lu Haici said in a childish voice, expressing his greatest desire. “Children should be with their mommies and daddies; we can’t be without Dad, and we can’t be without Mom.” This was his biggest wish in life.

Originally teasing, Lin Qingqing fell silent at Lu Haici’s words.

She gently stroked his head with her not very large, not very sturdy hand.

Once, this had also been her greatest wish.

Children should be with their mommies and daddies.

This was not just Lu Haici’s wish, nor was it solely hers; it should be said that this is the wish of every child.

Lu Cheng instinctively covered the hand that Lin Qingqing used to stroke Lu Haici’s head.

Unlike Lin Qingqing’s soft hand, his was large, broad, and even rough.

However, when Lin Qingqing looked at him, he met her gaze and said, “We will always be together.”

It would be him, her, and Lu Haici, and perhaps their future children.

Lu Haici, who had been holding onto his mother’s clothes with one hand, now grabbed onto his father’s clothes with the other.

One side was his mom, and the other was his dad.

How wonderful!

The little kid smiled and hopped around joyfully.

Lin Qingqing didn’t answer; though she remained silent, she didn’t withdraw her hand.

However, Lu Cheng’s expression darkened…

She was indeed still upset with him.