Pfft… Ning Shu burst into laughter, holding her stomach, laughing so hard that she couldn’t catch her breath. “Okay, ask your dad if he’ll allow it or not.”

Er Bao immediately looked at his dad, but before he could say anything, his dad walked away quickly, putting some distance between himself and the family of four.

Seeing this, Er Bao hurriedly ran after him, calling out, “Dad… Dad…”

Lin Guodong quickened his pace.

Yi Bao walked to the other side of his mother and slipped his hand into hers.

Seeing this, Ning Shu held his little hand.

Yi Bao’s soft little hand in hers, she dared not grip it tightly, afraid she might hurt him.

Meanwhile, Lin Guodong walked faster ahead, with Er Bao chasing behind.

Not only was he chasing, but he kept asking, “Dad, wait for me, why are you walking so fast?”

Er Bao, being small in size and with slow steps compared to his dad’s long legs, was like a dwarf trying to catch up.

A smile crept onto Ning Shu’s lips again.

In front, the big and the small played catch-up, while behind, Yibao and Sanbao holding hands.

Finally, in the dim light of the night, they reached their own doorstep.

At this time, the houses in the military camp were already lit up, like a hundred lights shining.

It must be said that living in the military camp had its advantages, one of which was having electric lights.

Although the warm yellow light wasn’t as bright and white as modern energy-saving lights, it still gave a cozy feeling.

“Captain, sister-in-law, you’re back.” Li Zao had already fixed two tables.

These discarded tables actually had minor issues, so repairing them was quick.

“We’re back, thank you, Li Zao.” Ning Shu expressed her gratitude, but there was no way to entertain Li Zao now.

They would properly treat him to a meal once everything at home was in order.

“No trouble at all, no trouble at all. I have nothing else to do anyway, consider it practice for me. When you need me in the future, I won’t be clumsy.” Li Zao said with a beaming smile.

Ning Shu raised an eyebrow, “Are you getting married soon?” Otherwise, why would someone say it’s just practice? There must be a target in mind.

Li Zao’s dark face turned red, “N-no… not yet.” He even started to stutter a little.

Ning Shu was somewhat surprised.

If his dark complexion turned red, it meant he was really blushing.

Speaking like that, did it mean he had someone he liked?

“Well, when you have a chance and are getting married, remember to invite us to the wedding. I’ll give you a big red envelope.” Ning Shu said.

“Thank you, sister-in-law, I’ll definitely tell you.” Li Zao grinned widely, clearly delighted.

Ning Shu didn’t linger with Li Zao for too long.

After all, she had spent several days on the train and then here, sorting through abandoned furniture and cleaning.

She was quite tired now. So at this moment, she just wanted to go to sleep early.

“You guys carry on, we’re going to bed.” Ning Shu thought for a moment and then said to Lin Guodong, “Can we buy an iron pot tomorrow? If we can’t find one, we can at least buy a stove and some clay pots so we can cook for ourselves.”

Lin Guodong replied, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll borrow an iron pot from the kitchen. Make a list of what you need, and I’ll buy everything in the morning.”

“Okay, that works. By the way, can we order furniture here? We need to order some furniture.” Ning Shu listed out what they needed: wardrobes, cupboards, and cabinets.

If possible, she also wanted to order a bed and some tables and chairs. She liked having matching sets of furniture; it made the place look nice and coordinated.

And they needed a child seat for San Bao, even though he could sit on a stool by himself now, it still wasn’t safe.

There’s a prerequisite for ordering this furniture, which is being able to stay here for a relatively long time.

Otherwise, if it’s just for a year or so, it’s not worth ordering, it’s a bit wasteful.

But given Lin Guodong’s current situation, it’s impossible for him to be transferred. Plus, from the plots she’s seen, if it weren’t for Yi Bao and Er Bao getting into trouble at the end, he wouldn’t leave this position.

“I don’t know where to order furniture, I’ll have to ask Sister Lu. There should be carpenters in the nearby commune or production brigade,” Lin Guodong said.

“Okay.” Ning Shu took the three kids into the room.

It was their first time sleeping in a strange place.

Even though their parents were there, it was still quite exciting for the three kids. However, they were so tired that as soon as they got into bed, one by one, they fell asleep like little rabbits.

Ning Shu tucked them in and then lay on the bed, making a list of what they would need for tomorrow’s shopping.

Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, iron pot… And since the stove here only has one burner, it definitely won’t be enough.

They’ll need a stove plus clay pots or sand pots, and not just one, they’ll need to buy two or more.

Then there were bowls, chopsticks, spoons, and vegetables, etc. Lin Guodong would decide on the vegetables to buy.

As for meat, if they had it, they would buy it, but it’s okay if they didn’t, since they had salted eggs and cured meat at home.

In fact, there was no shortage of pork, pork trotters, ribs, and shrimp in the app. She had stocked up quite a bit over the past two months, but since she hadn’t been out, she couldn’t bring it out.

After writing down the list and placing it by the bedside, Ning Shu yawned and crawled into bed, falling asleep instantly.

Ning Shu and her son slept inside, while outside the yard became lively.

Neighbors from both sides and even across the street had finished dinner and, hearing the commotion, naturally came to see what was happening.

“Captain Lin, did your family come to follow the army?” The first to approach was a man from across the street named Wang Daqiang, also a captain, but much older than Lin Guodong.

Lin Guodong nodded, “We just arrived this afternoon.”

“Where are the kids? Haven’t seen them,” Wang Daqiang’s wife, Sun Li, glanced inside and saw three rooms side by side. One room was closed with lights on, while the other two had their doors open, pitch dark inside.

So, people should be in the room with the lights on.

Wang Daqiang and Lin Guodong were both captains, so they were ranked by age.

“The kids are in a new place and are afraid to sleep. My wife is with them,” Lin Guodong explained.

“Exactly. When my kids first arrived, they were scared too. In a couple of days, they’ll get used to it. Once they get to know the kids here, they’ll be playing around in no time. Nowadays, I can’t even find them before mealtime,” Sun Li said.

Since Lin’s wife was inside, she, being a female comrade, found it boring to stay here and said to her husband, “Daqiang, help Captain Lin out. I’ll go back and tidy up.”

“Okay,” Wang Daqiang agreed, rolling up his sleeves and asking Lin Guodong, “Come, I haven’t seen much. Let’s work together and put in more effort. Sawing wood at this time of night doesn’t sound good.”

“Thanks.” Lin Guodong wasn’t being polite either.

He and Wang Daqiang were in the same unit, so their companies often competed, and they were very familiar with each other. “Once everything’s sorted at home, I’ll invite you for dinner.”

“Then I’ll be waiting. I’ll tell you, I have a good memory,” Wang Daqiang said.

Lin Guodong: “You…”

“Captain Lin, are you fixing furniture?” Before Lin Guodong could speak, someone else approached.

“Captain Zhang.” Lin Guodong saw that along with Zhang Xian, there was also a female comrade and a little girl.

He didn’t know Ning Qin and had never seen her before, but standing beside Zhang Xian, he figured she must be Ning Qin, Zhang Xian’s wife.

Thinking about the relationship between Ning Qin and Ning Shu, Lin Guodong couldn’t help but take a few more glances at Ning Qin.

Ning Qin didn’t look much like Ning Shu, but there were some similarities; both had very fair skin.

Come to think of it, the first time he saw Ning Shu, he only remembered her being thin and small, not paying attention to anything else.

Now thinking back, she seemed quite fair at that time too.

Seeing Lin Guodong looking at his wife, Zhang Xian couldn’t help but step forward and introduce, “Captain Lin, this is my wife, Ning Qin, and this is my daughter, Xiao Qian.”

Ning Qin also smiled and introduced herself, “Hello, Captain Lin. Is Sister-in-law not here?”

She knew Lin Guodong was younger than Zhang Xian, but he outranked him, so calling a possibly younger woman sister-in-law didn’t bother her at all.

She had gotten used to it after being with the army for six months.

Lin Guodong only took a few glances before quickly averting his gaze, “She’s inside, accompanying the children. They just arrived and are a bit scared in this unfamiliar environment, so my wife is keeping them company.”

He didn’t mention that Ning Shu was sleeping inside; he just said she was accompanying the scared children in this unfamiliar environment, also to protect her.

Compared to the countryside, the family courtyard was not lacking in nosy women, some even more so.

“I was actually planning to visit Sister-in-law, but that’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” Ning Qin said with a gentle smile.

Lin Guodong nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything.

Ning Qin, not finding the person she wanted to see, decided to leave with Zhang Qian, just like Wang Daqiang’s wife, Sun Li. She greeted Zhang Xian, “I’ll take my daughter for a walk. See if there’s anything here that needs help.”

Zhang Xian nodded in agreement. His wife was reasonable and helpful in every way.

But just as Ning Qin turned to leave with Zhang Qian, she saw Old Lady Yang walking over from the opposite side.

Old Lady Yang clearly saw Ning Qin too.

So, when enemies meet, both turned red with anger.