“I’m ready too.” Li Zao held his food in one hand and San Bao in the other, his grip strong.

“Dad, hurry up, I’m starving,” Er Bao urged. His voice was loud enough that many people looked towards Lin Guodong.

Lin Guodong couldn’t ignore his son’s loud voice, no matter how thick-skinned he was.

Even Ning Shu wanted to cover Lin Er Bao’s comrade’s mouth.

But Lin Er Bao was completely unaware of his parents’ thoughts.

He watched as his dad put down the food, picked up his chopsticks and bowl, but didn’t immediately eat.

Instead, he looked at his mom.

They were used to waiting for her to start eating before they did.

Ning Shu said, “Let’s eat.”

The two brother started eating.

“Mom, let’s eat,” San Bao saw that his parents and his elder brothers were settled, so he climbed down from Li Zao’s lap and wanted to sit next to his mom.

Although he was small, the cafeteria chairs weren’t high, so he managed to climb up.

Ning Shu gave him his bowl and spoon, ones they brought from home, and then gave him some rice, fish, and cabbage.

San Bao picked up his spoon and started eating eagerly.

Seeing that he liked the fish, Li Zao started picking pieces of fish from his own bowl and feeding them to San Bao.

After finishing the fish Ning Shu gave him and about to ask for more, San Bao saw Li Zao offering him more.

With the first bite came the second, so San Bao stopped asking his mom and turned to Li Zao.

San Bao, with his own charm, made friends with Li Zao.

Ning Shu naturally noticed and teased, “Li Zao, you really like kids, huh?”

Li Zao chuckled, “San Bao is good.”

San Bao heard himself being praised by Li Zao, gave him a charming smile, and proudly said, “Bao is good.”

“Shameless,” Ning Shu laughed and scolded.

San Bao didn’t understand his mom’s words and continued happily eating.

Before long, the seats next to Ning Shu and the ones nearby were filled with people.

Every time someone sat down, they looked curiously at Ning Shu and her group. Previously, someone said that Captain Lin had gotten married, and some didn’t believe it.

Now that Captain Lin’s family was with the army, everyone believed it.

But seeing Captain Lin’s wife so beautiful, everyone was quite envious.

Ning Shu was calm about others’ gaze. If she met someone’s eyes, she just smiled.

There’s a saying online: as long as I’m not embarrassed, then the embarrassment is on others.

Amidst these gazes, Ning Shu calmly finished her meal.

The two brothers were still eating, and she glanced at San Bao.

Under Li Zao’s care, San Bao was enjoying his meal. While taking care of San Bao, Li Zao didn’t neglect himself either, showing potential as a great dad.

After the three brothers finished eating, they headed back home, with Li Zao accompanying them.

Lin Guodong had to work on repairing tables and chairs that evening, and Li Zao went to help him.

On the way back, Ning Shu asked, “We haven’t had a bath in several days on the train. Can we borrow hot water from someone we know to take a shower?”

Lin Guodong replied, “No need. There’s a bathhouse in the barracks, and family members can take a free bath once a month. After that, you need to pay for it yourself, but I’m not sure how much.”

“One dime per bath,” Li Zao said. “I heard it from the female soldiers.”

This was a pleasant surprise, and Ning Shu liked it. “That’s great. Let’s finish setting up the beds tonight and then go take a shower.” With a bathhouse available, they could finally have a proper wash.

However, “The bathhouse for men and women is separate, right? Although the three brothers are young, they can’t go to the women’s bathhouse.”

“I’ll take them to bathe,” Lin Guodong said. “Li Zao, you can start repairing the tables and chairs first. I’ll bring the three children back after they’re done bathing. If you’re tired, you can rest first.”

“I’m not tired, Captain. This workload isn’t as much as our usual training,” Li Zao wasn’t tired at all.

Men are straightforward.

Since Li Zao said so, Lin Guodong didn’t say much either.

As they reached the family housing area, there were even fewer people around. During mealtime, everyone was out for a walk.

Lin Guodong and Li Zao carried four repaired and cleaned beds into Ning Shu and Lin Guodong’s room.

Since it was their first night in the family housing area, and it was an unfamiliar environment, Ning Shu didn’t trust the kids to sleep alone.

So, the three beds were placed together, and all five of them slept together.

The other bed was used for clothes and blankets.

Three beds, each one meter wide, were placed side by side, spanning three meters in width, enough for the whole family to sleep on.

With the beds set up, Lin Guodong took Ning Shu and the three children to the bathhouse, while Li Zao started repairing the tables and chairs.

As Li Zao worked on sawing the wood, it made quite a bit of noise, attracting the attention of their neighbors.

Next to Ning Shu’s house lived the Zhang family, consisting of three members: Zhang Xian, Ning Qin, and Zhang Qian. Ning Qin had only been in the army for half a year but had already become a primary school teacher at the army’s elementary school. Consequently, her work hours were similar to Zhang Xian’s, so they usually ate at the cafeteria. Zhang Xian would often bring food back after finishing work.

When they heard the noise of wood coming from next door, the Zhang family was having dinner.

Ning Qin remembered seeing a lot of things in their yard when she passed by after work.

So she asked, “Did Captain Lin’s family move in next door? I saw a lot of things in their yard.” Ning Qin knew about the neighbors and knew that the man next door was a captain, two ranks higher than Zhang Xian.

Naturally, they needed to maintain good relations.

Moreover, the fact that Captain Lin, at such a young age, had been promoted to captaincy showed his excellence and potential.

Ning Qin was even more willing to make friends with Captain Lin’s family.

“Yeah, I saw a lot of things in their yard when I came over too,” Zhang Xian replied. “Although Captain Lin isn’t my direct superior, I admire his abilities, and the higher-ups also have a high opinion of him. It would be best if we could get along well with his family. After all, military spouses should also get along. But if they’re difficult to deal with, there’s no need to force ourselves.”

Zhang Xian felt honored to have married Ning Qin, especially considering it was his second marriage.

Ning Qin wasn’t just a high school graduate; when she married him, she was still a virgin. So, he cherished Ning Qin very much.

More importantly, Ning Qin was very kind to Zhang Qian.

He couldn’t help but feel grateful that he met Ning Qin when he was back in his hometown looking for a partner.

If Ning Qin hadn’t been delayed by her time in the countryside, she wouldn’t have been available.

After all, she was beautiful and had a good personality. If it weren’t for her time in the countryside, she could have found a good partner in the city.

Ning Qin said, “Don’t worry, I know. As long as the other person isn’t like Auntie Yang, I won’t feel awkward.” She had clashed with Auntie Yang as soon as she entered the family housing area.

They had argued several times, and even now, they still couldn’t get along.

Zhang Xian said, “I think Captain Lin is a reasonable person, so his family shouldn’t be like Vice Captain Yang’s family.” Faced with Vice Captain Yang’s mother, he was helpless.

If you dared to say one more word, she would lie on the ground and claim you made her faint from anger.

Who would dare to provoke her?

Yang’s Auntie, who was being talked about by the couple, heard the commotion next door.

Although the Yang family’s yard was in front of Ning Shu’s house, and you didn’t have to pass by Ning Shu’s house to get to the Yang’s, Auntie Yang also knew that a family had moved in next door.

As one of the prominent figures in the family housing area, Auntie Yang had already heard about the situation next door from someone else, and she knew some details:

First, the family next door consisted of a woman and three boys. It was said that the woman had delicate features, with a face as white as a peeled egg, making her look very young.

Since such a young woman was unlikely to have such big boys, the speculation was that she might be a stepmother like the one in the next yard.

Second, there were two boys in the family next door who looked exactly alike, indicating they were twins.

Third, the woman next door seemed like a rich girl from a capitalist family, but surprisingly, she went to the logistics warehouse and brought back discarded beds and chairs. Everyone thought she was frugal.

Ah… Auntie Yang actually envied the family next door.

They had three boys! Their own daughter-in-law had given birth to three girls.

How great it would be if they had boys instead.

She didn’t even ask for three boys, just one to carry on the family name would be enough.

Ah… The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

Of course, Ning Shu was completely unaware of her neighbors’ thoughts.

If she knew, she would burst out laughing. Ning Qin wanted to make friends with her? It would be hilarious. If they didn’t end up fighting, that would be good enough.

The military bathhouse was quite large, and it was really comfortable to take a bath in winter.

As soon as you walked in, there was a blast of hot air, just like the bathhouses in later times.

When Ning Shu entered, there was no one in the women’s bathhouse yet, which made her even more relaxed, and she enjoyed her bath even more.

But because she hadn’t bathed for three days, Ning Shu took a bit longer this time. When she came out, Lin Guodong and the three boys had already finished bathing and were waiting for her outside.

Seeing her coming out, Er Bao was the first to say, “Mom, come and smell it quickly. I washed with soap. Isn’t it fragrant?”

Ning Shu walked over, bent down, and sniffed Er Bao: “Really? Er Bao, who usually smells a bit funky, now smells nice and fragrant. Let me give you a kiss.” Saying this, she kissed Er Bao on the cheek.

Seeing this, Yi Bao quickly said, “Mom, I also bathed with soap, and now I smell nice too.”

Ning Shu naturally smelled Yi Bao too: “Indeed, Yi Bao smells lovely as well. Let me give you a kiss too.” She kissed Yi Bao on his soft little cheek and then looked at San Bao.

San Bao grinned and brought his little face closer: “Mom…”

Ning Shu ruffled his hair and then gave him a kiss too: “San Bao smells just as nice as his brothers. You’re all great. Let’s go, it’s time to go home and sleep.”

Lin Guodong reached out his hand to her: “Let me carry it.”

Ning Shu instinctively handed him her changed clothes and then held San Bao’s little hand.

Er Bao asked, “Mom, Dad used soap today and smells good after washing. Have a sniff.”

Ning Shu remained silent.

Lin Guodong also stayed quiet.

They exchanged a glance. Being an old married couple for two months, they were already used to each other.

But when their son brought it up like this, they felt a bit embarrassed.

Er Bao saw that his mother had not smelled his father.

He approached his father and sniffed hard, saying, “Mother, I have smelled it. It’s also fragrant.”
Ning Shu gave him a thumbs up and said, “Er Bao is amazing. He even smelled the fragrance from your father’s body.”

Lin Guodong pursed his lips, but a faint smile still appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Er Bao was praised for being so careful that his liver jumped up.

He asked again, “Mom, I can help you kiss father… Don’t you want to kiss him?”!