Chapter 51

Since the family got this study area, the three children never go out anymore.

Sometimes, Yibao and Erbao play with building blocks with Sanbao.

Sometimes, Yibao and Erbao read children’s books while Sanbao plays with blocks on his own.

Sometimes, Yibao tells stories to his younger brothers.

Even the sick Lin Haicai has been forgotten by them.

However, Lin Haicai hasn’t forgotten them. After being sick for almost half a month, he finally recovered, with only a slight cough remaining, which didn’t bother him much.

One morning, Yibao was feeding the chickens, Erbao was holding Sanbao to teach him how to walk in the yard, when Lin Haicai arrived.

” Erbao, I’m here. I’m all better now.”

Seeing Lin Haicai, Erbao was also happy. “Haicai, come quickly. I’ll play a game with you.”

He couldn’t wait to share the study area with Lin Haicai.

“Play a game? Play with the cloth ball?” Lin Haicai was curious.

“No, no. My mother said that’s called the study area. Come here quickly, over here.”

Erbao led Sanbao to the study area. “Look, here are books, these are building blocks, all gifts from my mother.”

From the tone of his voice, he was showing off.

But Lin Haicai didn’t catch on. His eyes lit up with joy. “Wow… Third Aunt is really nice.”

“Of course, my mother is the best mother in the brigade.” Erbao raised his head high, so high that it could almost touch the sky.

Lin Haicai nodded, agreeing with this. Third Aunt not only made delicious things for him but also gave him apples. In his heart, she was also the best with his mother.

” Erbao, what is this?” He picked up a wooden box, curious.

“This is the building block. Let me teach you how to play…”

From that day on, Lin Haicai couldn’t move his feet from study area.

He arrived earlier than the chickens every day and left later than the pigs.

---

“Guodong, your sister-in-law said she’s found a place for the single-story courtyard she’s been keeping an eye on for you, but the location isn’t ideal.” Commander Zhang came early this morning to tell Lin Guodong about it.

“What’s not so good about it?” Lin Guodong asked.

“The courtyard is in the middle, with no issues on the left side, but on the right side, there’s the family of Deputy Camp Leader Yang. The old lady there isn’t easy to get along with.” Commander Zhang didn’t know the details, but it was all from his wife.

Lin Guodong didn’t understand what Commander Zhang meant by “not easy to get along with,” but in Lin Guodong’s mind, even if there were people who weren’t easy to get along with in the world, but still probably couldn’t match Ning Shu’s.

“It’s okay, I’ll go take a look first.” He could apply first and change later if necessary.

Commander Zhang said, “That’s fine. Actually, they’re all military wives. If they could be a bit more accommodating, there wouldn’t be so many issues.”

Lin Guodong couldn’t agree with this. Ning Shu wasn’t someone who would accommodate others, but she also wasn’t someone who would cause trouble. “My… my wife isn’t someone who causes trouble.”

“In that case, it should be fine. Even if Deputy Camp Leader Yang’s mother is difficult to handle, if your wife doesn’t cause trouble, what can she do?” Commander Zhang didn’t take this seriously.

Lin Guodong didn’t say the second half of the sentence. Ning Shu wouldn’t cause trouble, but if anyone did cause trouble in front of her, they would definitely not have a good time.

However, it was better not to say it. Seeing that Commander Zhang was quite old, if he knew about Ning Shu’s attitude, he might lose sleep for several nights.

After all, just thinking about bringing Ning Shu with the army, he hadn’t been able to sleep for several nights.

Ning Shu didn’t know that Lin Guodong thought of her as so formidable. These days, she was making camouflage uniforms for the three children.

Because the fabric she dyed was ready, she washed it before making the clothes to make sure there were no issues after washing before making them into camouflage uniforms.

“One Bao, Two Bao, Three Bao, come…”

The three children, along with Lin Haicai, were playing in the study area when they heard their mother’s voice. One Bao and Two Bao brought their younger brother over.

“Mom, are these the new clothes you made for us?” Two Bao asked, picking up the clothes from the bed, comparing them happily. “Mom, these clothes are so pretty.”

Many children like brightly colored clothes. Camouflage uniforms were considered colorful clothes in this era, and the unique colors always had a special charm.

“Quick, try them on and see.” Ning Shu said, picking up Three Bao. One Bao and Two Bao could dress themselves, but Three Bao couldn’t.

After the three children put on their clothes, they looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

It was the first time the three brothers wore identical clothes, and it felt very novel. They even touched each other’s clothes, then touched their own, especially One Bao and Two Bao, who felt that they were now completely identical.

“Looks good, all three of you are identical. You’ll be the most handsome trio when you go out.” Ning Shu praised. Especially this month, in order to improve their immunity and resistance, she had fattened them up and restored their good looks.

The two Bao with restored good looks looked like little handsome guys.

It had to be said that these three really inherited their parents’ good traits.

In terms of appearance, One Bao and Two Bao looked like their father, while Three Bao looked like their mother.

As for their personalities, Ning Shu didn’t know.

“Pot, pot, treasure.” Three Bao pointed to the two pots, then pointed to himself.

“Yes, we’re all the same now. We’ve become triplets.” Two Bao wanted to take a stroll in the village with his brothers.

One Bao also joined in, asking eagerly, “Mom, can we go together?”

“Of course, in a few days, we’ll go to the county town, and you can wear these clothes there.” Ning Shu said.

One Bao and Two Bao widened their eyes, and One Bao asked excitedly, “Mom, can we really go to the county town?”

Ning Shu nodded. “Didn’t you want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative before? Since we’re going to the county town this time, I’ll take you to the supply and marketing cooperative there to have fun.”

“Yeah, thank you, Mom.” One Bao nodded vigorously, his happy smile almost reaching his ears.

“That’s great, we’re going to the county town!” Two Bao jumped up and cheered.

“Two Bao…” Lin Haicai hadn’t seen the three children come back, so he came out of the study area to find them. He happened to hear Two Bao’s words and asked enviously, “Two Bao, are you going to the county town? I also want to go and see.”

“My mom said we’re going.” Two Bao stood up straight.

Lin Haicai quickly asked, “Then Two Bao, when you come back, can you tell me what the county town is like?”

“Of course!” Two Bao replied.

Lin Haicai was also happy.

---

The Next Day

There were baskets fixed on both sides of the bicycle’s rear, and a child seat was fixed on the rear seat. Ning Shu put One Bao and Two Bao in the baskets, and then placed Three Bao in the child seat on the rear seat.

Ning Shu wasn’t riding a bicycle like this for the first time. Before today’s trip to the county town, she had practiced several times. The three children together weighed less than one hundred catties, so the bicycle could handle it.

In addition, the force was evenly distributed on both sides of the bicycle, making it very stable when Ning Shu rode it.

“One Bao, Two Bao, Three Bao, sit tight. I’m riding the bike.” Ning Shu closed the yard gate and rode the bike, carrying the three children, becoming a scenic sight in the village.

Thanks to this era not having strict regulations on overloading, otherwise, Ning Zhiqing would have received a fine for taking three children to the county town.

“Oh my, what is Ning Zhiqing doing?”

“Is Ning Zhiqing taking the three children to the county town?”

“I thought Ning Zhiqing had transferred to another job? She must have money now.”

“Is Ning Shu going back to work in the county town again?”

“Who knows? Didn’t she get an introduction letter from the brigade leader to work in the town last time? But it’s been a month, and she hasn’t been seen going to work.”

The last incident about Ning Shu working as a laborer had many versions, so it was dropped. Now that people saw Ning Shu riding a bike again, various speculations arose.

“I don’t think Ning Zhiqing likes going to the county town as much as before.”

“Of course not. She’s changed now, looking after the three children and even planting vegetables herself. She has indeed changed for the better.”

“I guess she’s afraid Guodong will divorce her, so she’s changed.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Ning Zhiqing has given birth to three sons. How could Guodong divorce her?”

“Exactly, a birth mother, no matter how bad, is better than a stepmother.”

Ning Shu was used to being the subject of gossip. Even if she heard it, she wouldn’t mind. She took the three children to the clothing factory first, as dealing with official matters was the priority.

At the entrance of the clothing factory, Wang Laoye was sitting in the guard booth as usual. Suddenly, he heard someone calling him from outside, “Laoye… Laoye…”

Wang Laoye came out of the booth and saw Ning Shu. He smiled and said, “Comrade Ning, what…”

His voice trailed off as he saw the three children sitting on the bicycle. He was stunned. Comrade Ning was actually carrying people like this. She was really good at it.

Ning Shu steadied the bicycle and lifted the three children off. Because they were in a strange place, the three children held onto their mother’s clothes. But their eyes were fixed on Wang Laoye.

Wang Laoye noticed that they were dressed the same, like triplets. Oh no, upon closer inspection, the two older ones looked the same, while the younger one looked different. But to be honest, if you didn’t look closely, you would think they were triplets at first glance.

“Laoye, these three are my sons, One Bao, Two Bao, Three Bao, say hello to Grandpa.”

One Bao, Two Bao, Three Bao: “Grandpa.”

The word “grandpa” was easy to pronounce, so Three Bao also said it smoothly.

“Ah, you’re all so good. Grandpa will treat you…” Wang Laoye searched his pockets but didn’t have any candy. He felt embarrassed and said, “Next time you come, Grandpa will treat you to candy.”

One Bao and Two Bao: “Thank you, Grandpa.”

Three Bao didn’t say anything. He looked at Wang Laoye as if to say, “This grandpa is a bad person, no candy.”

“Ning Shu, I’m here to discuss the matter of that batch of fabric with Manager Wang. What do you think?” Ning Shu asked.

Wang Laoye hurriedly said, “Let me take you in.” He was surprised that Comrade Ning had brought three children with her. However, these three children were really good-looking, not only spirited but also well-behaved.

The three children went into the clothing factory, their eyes wandering around, curious about everything.

Wang Laoye led Ning Shu and the three children to Manager Wang’s office and then left. Manager Wang was also stunned to see Ning Shu with three children. When he saw the camouflage uniforms on the three children, he immediately understood. “Comrade Ning, is this the fabric that was color corrected from the defective batch?”