Yang Mailian looked at Zhang Hongping.

She didn’t know that Zhang Hongping didn’t want to provoke Lin Qingqing right now; she thought Zhang Hongping was foolish for not considering this.

So when she heard Zhang Hongping say that, she couldn’t help but retort, “How could you not think of that? Just think about it, Lu Cheng is a man; what would he go to a gynecologist for? Unless he was asking for his wife, why would he go?”

Zhang Hongping smiled, “Why should we care what others do?”

These days, she was buying lunch and dinner from the cafeteria and wanted to ask Lin Qingqing how she cooked vegetables so well, so she wasn’t going to get involved in Yang Mailian’s plans. “Alright, alright, don’t meddle. Now that Xiao Ming and Lu Cheng’s son have a good relationship and are friends, just don’t upset Xiao Ming.”

“Bah! Lu Cheng’s wife treated me that way; do you expect me to let her off?” Yang Mailian had never been this angry nor felt this humiliated before.

She considered herself a seasoned military wife; although her husband was just a battalion commander, since her daughter married Qin San, she had a good reputation in the family quarters.

But this newcomer, Lu Cheng’s wife, treated her like that right after arriving… she couldn’t swallow this anger.

Zhang Hongping rolled her eyes.

You’re the daughter-in-law of a company commander, and she’s the daughter-in-law of a deputy regiment commander; you should be the one to be polite to her.

But she knew Yang Mailian wasn’t very clever, and discussing these things with her was pointless.

She reminded her, “Don’t provoke Lu Cheng’s wife, or if Xiao Ming causes a scene, I won’t help you. Alright, you should go; I have things to do.”

If it weren’t for her grandson, she wouldn’t bother with her at all.

Yang Mailian didn’t understand what was going on with Zhang Hongping now.

Was she afraid of Lin Qingqing?

Yang Mailian couldn’t figure it out. However, she wouldn’t dwell on it; anyway, she had a rare opportunity now, and she wouldn’t let it slip away.

After Yang Mailian left, Zhang Hongping thought for a moment as she watched her back.

She knew Yang Mailian wouldn’t keep secrets; whatever Qian Yuelan had said when she went home yesterday, Yang Mailian would definitely spill it.

Once Yang Mailian talked about it, given Lin Qingqing’s personality, this wouldn’t end quietly.

If it were someone else, someone easy to bully, they might swallow their anger, but Zhang Hongping could read people, and Lin Qingqing was not someone who would suffer in silence.

Zhang Hongping pondered for a bit and called out to Qin Ming, “Xiao Ming, wake up.”

Qin Ming was sleeping soundly, his backside in the air.

Seeing this, Zhang Hongping decided to take drastic measures: “Xiao Ming, I’m taking you to the cafeteria for breakfast.”

Hearing this, Qin Ming abruptly opened his eyes.

Three-Section Cooking Class

“Lu Haici… Lu Haici…” Qin Ming rushed into the cafeteria and saw Lu Haici eating, happily calling out, “Lu Haici, I’m here for breakfast!”

Lu Haici remembered the sesame paste incident and said, “Qin Ming, my mom said we have more sesame paste at home. I’ll treat you to some.”

“Really?” Qin Ming asked eagerly, “So we can eat sesame paste now?”

Seeing this, Lin Qingqing smiled and said, “Not right now; the sesame paste is at home. If you come here for breakfast tomorrow morning, we’ll treat you to it, okay?”

“Alright! I’ll come tomorrow!” Qin Ming said.

Lin Qingqing looked at Zhang Hongping, “Auntie, coming for breakfast?”

Zhang Hongping replied, “Yes, we didn’t have time to make breakfast at home, so we came here.”

Lin Qingqing got up, “Then I’ll get it for you.”

Zhang Hongping handed her the food container and followed her to the serving window, then casually brought up the gynecology issue: “Lu Cheng’s wife, is Lu Cheng sick?”

Lin Qingqing was taken aback, “No, I haven’t heard Lu Cheng mention it. Why do you ask, Auntie?”

Could it be that Lu Cheng was sick and hiding it from everyone?

Zhang Hongping pretended to be surprised, “You don’t know? Here’s the thing, yesterday Lu Cheng went to the hospital, and my third daughter-in-law is a nurse there. She saw Lu Cheng. My daughter-in-law is a gynecological nurse, and Lu Cheng went to see a gynecologist.”

Lin Qingqing: “…”

Upon hearing this, she understood.

In other words, her third daughter-in-law told Zhang Hongping about it when she came back.

Lin Qingqing wasn’t foolish; now she understood Zhang Hongping’s intentions—she was there to inform her about this.

What did Lu Cheng need to ask a gynecologist for?

Anyone could guess it was for her.

And indeed, it was for her, but it wasn’t for the reasons everyone thought.

“I see.” Lin Qingqing quickly thought of something and pretended to remember, feeling a bit embarrassed, “Maybe it was to ask about… you know, I get severe stomach pain during my period, and Lu Cheng is worried about me, so he might have gone behind my back to ask a gynecologist.”

Zhang Hongping immediately understood. She didn’t doubt Lin Qingqing’s words, she hadn’t realized Lu Cheng was such a caring husband. “Oh, I see. Lu Cheng is really good to you.”

Nowadays, which man would go to a gynecologist for his wife’s issues?

However, Zhang Hongping felt a bit uncomfortable, wondering what gossip Yang Mailian would spread.

But since nothing had happened yet, Zhang Hongping couldn’t say much.

She suspected her foolish in-law might spread this news.

She needed to go back quickly and clarify this with Yang Mailian; if this spread, it would be problematic.

In the past, Zhang Hongping wouldn’t have cared about this, but after spending time with Lin Qingqing, her grandson had started to enjoy his meals, and Lin Qingqing had promised to teach her how to cook the vegetables her grandson liked.

She felt Lin Qingqing was not a bad person.

She wanted to avoid upsetting her grandson, so she had to clarify things with Yang Mailian. “Oh, so your Lu Cheng is thoughtful and considerate of his wife. This is a good man; Lu Cheng’s wife, you must cherish him.”

Lin Qingqing said, “Thank you for your concern, Auntie. I know Lu Cheng is great.”

“It’s nothing; I’m leaving now. Oh, I’ll come to find you this afternoon to learn how to cook.” Zhang Hongping wanted to learn how to cook early, coming to the cafeteria every day wasn’t a long-term solution.

Lin Qingqing replied, “Sure, no problem.”

Zhang Hongping finished getting her porridge and called Qin Ming to eat breakfast at home, but Qin Ming, with his friends, didn’t want to go.

So, Zhang Hongping only gave him some sweet potato porridge and left.

Lin Qingqing observed this scene, Zhang Hongping had come to buy porridge but didn’t take it with her.

So, she hadn’t come just to buy porridge; she had specifically come to discuss Lu Cheng going to the hospital.

But why did Zhang Hongping come specifically to mention this?

It wasn’t something embarrassing.

Lin Qingqing didn’t think too deeply about it, as she couldn’t come up with an explanation.

So, she decided not to think about it anymore.

Zhang Hongping left the three-section cooking class cafeteria and immediately returned to the family quarters to find Yang Mailian.

However, unfortunately, Yang Mailian was not home.

Zhang Hongping didn’t know where she had gone and had to go home.

At eight in the morning, Lu Cheng finished his training and headed to the canteen for breakfast.

To his surprise, instead of going to kindergarten or waiting in the kitchen, his little son Haici was standing at the canteen entrance, seemingly waiting for him.

Lu Cheng walked toward him in long strides, and as he approached, Haici spotted him and ran over excitedly.

Lu Cheng wasn’t the only one heading to the canteen, others who recognized Haici, the deputy commander’s son, warmly greeted the boy.

“Comrade Lu Haici, have you already eaten?”

“Yes, I’ve eaten already! Today we had sweet potato porridge!” Lu Haici chirped.

“Thank you for letting us know! You’re such a good boy.”

The compliments made Haici puff up with pride, his little mouth curving up.

“Lu Haici, are you on your way to kindergarten now?” another person asked, leisurely strolling along.

After all, with sweet potato porridge on the menu, there was no rush; everyone knew there would be enough.

“No, no!” Lu Haici replied brightly. “My dad forgot to brush his teeth this morning, so I brought his toothbrush, toothpaste, and enamel cup. Auntie said that you have to brush your teeth before eating breakfast!”

Everyone listening was speechless.

Lu Cheng, who had just reached his son, was equally speechless.

The whole group turned to look at Lu Cheng.

He suddenly wished the ground would swallow him whole; he had never imagined his son would embarrass him in front of his subordinates like this.

Without a word, Lu Cheng picked Lu Haici up and carried him towards the back of the kitchen.

“Put me down! Put me down!” Lu Haici kicked and squirmed mid-air.

“Quiet!” Lu Cheng snapped, trying to keep his dignity intact.

“Let me down! You’re a bad dad! I brought you your toothpaste, toothbrush, and enamel cup, and you didn’t even say thank you! You’re a bad dad!” Lu Haici yelled, still struggling.

Despite his squirming, his clothes held up, and Lu Cheng’s strong arms made carrying him look effortless.

The soldiers watched their deputy commander, all trying to pretend they hadn’t heard a thing.

After all, the last thing they wanted was for him to have a word with their company commander about adding extra drills.

Lin Qingqing, who was in the back kitchen, heard her son’s voice yelling, “Let me down! You’re a bad dad! Let me down… Mom! Mom!”

She raised an eyebrow—what could Lu Cheng have done to make her son shout so loudly?

But her question was soon answered when she saw Lu Cheng carrying a disgruntled Lu Haici into the kitchen.

As soon as he saw Lin Qingqing, Lu Haici put on a pitiful expression and complained, “Mom, Dad is so mean! He didn’t brush his teeth, didn’t thank me, and then he just picked me up like this…”

Lin Qingqing tried to keep a straight face. “Well…”

She turned to Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng kept his face expressionless, hoping it would hide his embarrassment.

Lin Qingqing held back a laugh. “Alright, put him down. He was just looking out for you.”

Lu Cheng, realizing Lin Qingqing might be in on the whole situation, reluctantly set Lu Haici down. “So, you knew what he was up to?” he asked, suspecting she had known all along.

Lin Qingqing feigned innocence. “What do you mean? I don’t know anything about this.”

Lu Cheng, unamused, reached out to Lu Haici. “Where’s the toothpaste, toothbrush, and enamel cup?”