“When Ning Shu was two years old, Ning Hua and Ning Shi were born. At that time, Ning Qi and I were already attending kindergarten, so my parents didn’t need to worry about us. But because of Ning Hua and Ning Shi’s birth, my parents couldn’t bring Ning Shu back. They couldn’t manage everything.

It wasn’t until Ning Shu was five years old and ready for kindergarten that they brought her back. At that time, Ning Qi and I were already in school, and my parents had to work. So before Ning Shu started school, they let her look after her younger siblings. Unexpectedly, she bullied her younger siblings to tears.

I did ask her to wash clothes before. When I was little, I was lazy and didn’t want to wash clothes, so I asked her to do it. But at that time, I was only seven or eight years old. What child likes to wash clothes? Which child hasn’t passed their chores to their older siblings or younger siblings?

Listening to her words, Zhang Xian thought Ning Qin’s explanation made sense.

If there was any fault, it was their parents.

It wasn’t fair to Ning Shu for them to leave her with their grandparents to take care of other children. “What about going to the countryside?”

Ning Qin had already prepared her story in her mind, “Back then, the college entrance examination hadn’t been canceled yet. Ning Qi and I were already in our second year of high school. My parents meant that since we were preparing for the college entrance examination, we couldn’t go to the countryside. Ning Hua and Ning Shi were too young to go to the countryside, so they let Ning Shu go first. They planned to think of other ways to bring Ning Shu back later. But Ning Shu, being stubborn, signed up everyone in our family to go to the countryside, and I missed the college entrance examination because of that.”

As she spoke, she secretly observed Zhang Xian’s expression, but Zhang Xian’s expression remained unchanged, as usual.

She wasn’t sure if he believed her words.

After careful consideration, she realized that her story and excuses seemed to be plausible and aligned with what Ning Shu had said.

Zhang Xian said, “If that’s the case, then let’s clear it up later. After all, you are sisters. I believe there are no misunderstandings that can’t be resolved.”

Ning Qin felt relieved when she heard him say that.

She thought Zhang Xian must believe her now. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a chance to talk to Ning Shu properly. We haven’t seen each other for five years, and she’s angry now. She definitely won’t listen to me. I’ll wait until she calms down before talking to her. But these days, there will definitely be rumors circulating in the residential area about me. I’m worried it might affect you.”

Seeing her putting him first, Zhang Xian felt quite touched. “I’m fine. It’s just that you’re pregnant now. It’s best not to let those things affect you. I’ll also find a chance to talk to Captain Lin and hope he can explain things to your sister and ease the relationship between you two.”

“Okay.” Ning Qin finally felt relieved.

---

Lin Guodong finished washing the dishes and carried the basket back home.

He saw his two kids sitting in the yard. When they noticed him, Sanbao ran up to him. “Dad…”

Lin Guodong held the washed dishes in one hand and caught Sanbao with the other.

Then he looked at Yibao and Erbao and asked, “Where’s your mom?”

“She’s heating up water,” Yibao replied.

“How’s your mom? Is she upset?” Lin Guodong asked softly.

Yibao thought hard and then said, “She’s not upset.”

“Mom said she’ll eat meat with us from now on,” Erbao spoke up, “Dad, Mom didn’t eat meat before. We want to give all our meat to Mom, and you should give your meat to Mom too.”

“Alright.” Lin Guodong felt comforted by the filial piety of his two sons.

Their mom had raised them alone for five years, and if they didn’t show this bit of filial piety, it would be a waste of their mom’s kindness to them.

During these days, Ning Shu had noticed their kindness towards her.

Entering the kitchen, Lin Guodong saw Ning Shu boiling water.

He put down the dishes and utensils, saying, “Let me do this, you go take a shower first.”

“Okay. By the way, we don’t have a hot water kettle at home. I want to go to the city tomorrow to buy some things. Do you think there’s a ride available from the army for that? Also, whose family has industrial coupons that we can use?” Ning Shu asked.

Lin Guodong replied, “The rides usually leave early, they’re for the procurement team. If you go with them, you’ll have to wait in the city until the supply and marketing cooperatives, department stores open. As for industrial coupons, I’ll ask around in the soldiers’ dormitory building. They don’t have family members here, so they might be able to lend us some temporarily.”

Ning Shu thought for a moment, “Alright, then you go ask. Ah… If only I had brought the bicycle.”

“I’ll go borrow a bicycle for you. Will you ride a bicycle there?” Lin Guodong suggested.

Ning Shu thought it was a good idea, “Can you borrow one?”

“You can, I’ll go ask now,” Lin Guodong said, heading out.

“Okay,” Ning Shu replied.

When Lin Guodong left, the water was almost boiled. Ning Shu took the two kids to shower.

Yibao and Erbao washed themselves, while Ning Shu helped Sanbao wash quickly before letting the two kids go back to their room.

When it was Ning Shu’s turn to shower, Lin Guodong hadn’t returned yet, so she showered by herself.

After showering, she soaked her feet. Lin Guodong returned with a bicycle.

“Why did it take so long? Couldn’t you borrow it?” Ning Shu asked.

“I managed to borrow 20 industrial coupons, and I borrowed the bicycle from the Political Commissar’s family. Sister Lu asked me about you and Ning Qin’s situation. Maybe someone told her about today’s events. I told her what you said, and she said she couldn’t meddle in your family affairs, but as military wives, she hopes you can get along peacefully in the residential area,” Lin Guodong explained.

In other words, leaving the residential area, whatever disputes Ning Shu and Ning Qin had would be their own business.

Speaking of which, the residential area was indeed much bigger than the villages in the countryside, but the discipline here was much stricter.

Generally, any small matter would be reported to the Women’s Director, Sister Lu. So it wasn’t surprising that Sister Lu knew about this incident.

Ning Shu nodded, “In this residential area, as long as Ning Qin doesn’t provoke me, I won’t argue with her either.”

She understood this place.

Soldiers had a sacred duty, and their families shouldn’t add to their worries.

However, if Ning Qin provoked her, she wouldn’t back down either.

Take today for example.

If Ning Qin hadn’t used her name to say unnecessary things, why would Ning Shu have spoken about these matters?

If others dared to provoke her, she wouldn’t hesitate to fight back. Otherwise, she would’ve lived in vain for two lifetimes.

She understood one thing very clearly from living two lifetimes: kindness is often taken advantage of.

In her first lifetime, her parents divorced. If she hadn’t asked for money, would they remember to give her living expenses? And even if they did, they wouldn’t give her much.

In this lifetime, if she hadn’t fought back, her parents would have treated her like a servant in the family.

Just as the plot was set, she would’ve gone to the countryside with 50 yuan, and then after coming back, she would’ve been killed by the female lead’s grandfather, offering the last bit of usefulness to the Ning family.

Because these were all plot settings, the grudges between her and the Ning family ended after she sent Ning’s siblings to the countryside.

She didn’t pursue the plot points that hadn’t happened.

And now, everything was no longer controlled by the plot. If they dared to cause trouble for her again, she wouldn’t be polite.

Lin Guodong understood her personality, “That’s why I assured Sister Lu that you won’t cause trouble actively. As long as Ning Qin doesn’t provoke you, you won’t provoke her either. I promised her this as a soldier.”

Ning Shu was taken aback by Lin Guodong’s assurance. “Hmm,” she replied, determined not to disappoint his trust.

“By the way, after what happened today, I think Ning Qin might inform the Ning family about my presence here. Tomorrow, I plan to write a letter to He Ling, telling her about the situation here and also giving her the phone number here, so she can keep an eye on the Ning family. If there’s any movement from them, she can inform me immediately,” Ning Shu proposed.

Lin Guodong replied, “Sure, is there anything else you need help with? I have a classmate from the military academy who is from there, and his family has some connections. If you need anything, just let me know.”

Ning Shu teased, “Do you have classmates all over the country?”

Lin Guodong could sense her joking tone and chuckled. “I have good relationships with many of my classmates. We help each other with small favors, but for bigger things, it depends on your personal value. I believe my personal value is worth their help. Of course, some help comes from genuine relationships, not just because of personal value.”

Ning Shu, considering the plot’s settings regarding Lin Guodong’s later achievements, naturally understood his pride.

However, she couldn’t believe that in the plot, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the two children.

After all, the Lin Guodong she knew was a careful person. So, it must have been the plot that forced him not to notice the abnormalities of the two children.

“Ning’s family won’t be a problem. They care about their reputation and won’t escalate things. Despite their fondness for Ning Qin, they value Ning Qi more. Now that Ning Qi has returned to the city and taken over Zhang Hui’s position, they won’t dare to gamble with Ning Qi,” Ning Shu explained.

She knew where their weakness lay.

Or rather, many people were just that realistic—daughters were worthless compared to sons.

Seeing Ning Shu’s determination, Lin Guodong didn’t say much. “Alright, you handle it yourself. But I’m here for you.”

Though he said that, he decided to secretly investigate the Ning family without informing Ning Shu.

When the time came, he wouldn’t be clueless.

Ning Shu used to be fearless, but now that she has a husband and lovely children, she won’t act recklessly anymore.

The next day, when the sharp whistle blew, Ning Shu and the two children were awakened again, but the younger child remained sound asleep.

After the whistle, the two children went back to sleep.

Lin Guodong quickly got dressed and prepared to go to the camp.

“What time will you be back for breakfast?” Ning Shu asked.

“I’ll be back by seven-thirty. If I’m tired, I won’t cook; I’ll get food from the canteen,” Lin Guodong replied.

Ning Shu suggested, “Then we might as well get up now and cook ourselves.”

“Okay,” Lin Guodong agreed to her plan.

Ning Shu, having slept early the previous night, wasn’t sleepy anymore.

She decided to check her app.

The balance was getting low, down to 38797.

She hoped the Shao family could prepare more dried bamboo shoots, so she could earn tens of thousands at once. It was inconvenient to keep traveling between two places to collect goods.