When it was time for lunch, she said she had no money or ticket on her, thinking someone would pay, but as a result…

They had to return to the barracks to eat.

At that moment, she couldn’t just suddenly say she did have money and a ticket after all.

But it was good they returned to the barracks because didn’t they get to eat noodles and eggs for free?

Thinking back to life in the countryside, where her husband sent all his money to his mother and she had to be controlled in everything she ate, it was so comfortable here.

People even gave each other eggs and noodles to eat.

But now she had come along with the army, she wasn’t planning to go back.

From now on, she’d manage her husband’s money and tickets.

“‘No need, no need, I’ve already eaten lunch,”the soldier said.

He saw a family member cleaning and noticed the water in the bucket was running low, so he picked up two buckets without saying a word and went to fetch water.

As for Ning Shu and Lin Guodong, they had finally arrived in the city under the scorching sun of over thirty degrees.

Both had a light sheen of sweat on their bodies.

Thankfully, upon entering the department store, they could feel a bit of coolness.

Ning Shu didn’t actually have anything she needed to buy, just looking around casually.

Lin Guodong followed behind her and after she had walked around without buying anything, he couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you find anything you liked?”

Ning Shu shook her head. “No, let’s go back.”

“‘Alright.”

By the time the two returned to the barracks, it was nearly four o’clock.

Upon arriving home, they didn’t hear any noise, just quietness in the house.

“‘Yi Bao, Er Bao, San Bao…'” Ning Shu called out, washing her face in the kitchen sink.

After calling out three brothers there was still no response.

“Where did they go this time?” Ning Shu couldn’t help muttering to herself.

“They’re sleeping in the house,” Lin Guodong replied as he entered the room and glanced inside, seeing the three brothers sleeping together on the bed, with the fan running.

“It’s almost dinner time, they can’t keep sleeping. I’ll go wake them up,” Ning Shu said, heading towards their room.

The three brothers had slept quite late for their nap, there wasn’t much to do at home, so they could only sleep.

They were in shorts and short sleeves, looking peaceful like little angels while asleep, giving no hint of their awake personalities.

Each of them was covered with a small blanket embroidered with their nicknames.

The blankets were thin with just a layer of cotton filling, perfect for the season.

The electric fan was blowing loudly.

Ning Shu had taught them that the fan shouldn’t blow directly on their heads or stomachs, so it was aimed below their bellies.

Ning Shu touched the electric fan and found it was getting warm; after blowing for so long, it was bound to heat up.

She casually turned off the fan. ” Yibao, Er Bao, San Bao, wake up…”

Er Bao and Sanbao continued sleeping without any response, but Yibao opened his eyes and saw Ning Shu standing beside the bed.

He softly called out, “Mom…” His voice was gentle, touching Ning Shu’s softest spot.

“Wake up, we’re going to eat soon. If you sleep more now, you won’t be able to sleep tonight,” Ning Shu said gently, then went out to prepare dinner.

“Mm,” Yibao lifted the small blanket.

He was a disciplined person, but his discipline was only for himself.

For his two younger brothers, he would take care of what needed attention and relax where he could.

Yibao didn’t immediately get out of bed after pulling back the small blanket.

Instead, he woke up his two younger brothers before they all got out of bed together.

Erbao opened his eyes, rubbed them drowsily, and asked, “Brother, have Mom and Dad come back?”

Yibao replied, “They’re back.”

Upon hearing this, Erbao, still half asleep, perked up a bit and asked, “Did Mom buy anything?”

Yibao said, “I don’t know, let’s go and see.”

The three brothers couldn’t wait to get outside as soon as they got out of bed.

Out there, Lin Guodong was still digging a hole and didn’t see Ning Shu anywhere.

“Mom…”

The three brothers ran to the kitchen, but she wasn’t there.

Just as they were about to check their parents’ room, they heard their father speak up, “Your mom went to the fields to pick vegetables.”

Upon hearing their father’s words, the three brothers didn’t say another word and hurriedly ran to the fields.

They didn’t even bother asking if their mother had bought anything from town.

Yibao and Erbao ahead while Sanbao followed behind.

When they reached the fields, they indeed saw their mother.

“Mom… Did you buy anything in town today?” Erbao asked loudly.

Ning Shu replied, “No, I didn’t.”

No money, no tickets, so she couldn’t buy anything.

Hearing their mom’s response, the three brothers weren’t disappointed.

They had just asked casually; if she had bought something, it would have been nice, but if not, it was okay too.

Erbao then asked, “Mom, when are you going to town next? Could you buy us ice pops?”

Remembering the ice pops they had last year, he really wanted to have some this year too.

Ning Shu thought for a moment.

Today, the three brothers had encountered a little unfairness next door, so she planned to comfort them tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Ning Shu asked, “What happened when you were cleaning today? Mrs. He and Mrs. Yang said that you were scolded by the aunt next door?”

Although she had heard from your two sister-in-laws, Ning Shu still wanted to hear how the three brothers would explain.

Children get angry quickly and forget quickly too. At noon, they heard the aunt next door talking behind their backs, which made them angry.

When children are very angry, they think of telling adults.

But now, after a nap, they weren’t angry anymore.

But when Mom asked, they hadn’t told Mom about it, so they just repeated what had happened, no different from what your two sister-in-laws had said.

“Mom, when we were carrying the buckets and tubs Dad bought back home, we secretly looked next door and saw an aunt cleaning for the neighbor next to Brother Wang’s house.” They recognized everyone on this street after living here for two and a half years. They didn’t usually talk to them, but they knew who they were.

“Really?” Even though she said it, Ning Shu wasn’t surprised at all that Wang Yuhong went to find someone else to clean, otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to find herself.

She was just curious about what excuse she used to find someone else.

“Yeah, and then…”Erbao continued to talk about what they saw that was noticed by a soldier uncle.

Ning Shu didn’t think much about this soldier. “You had a hard time at Auntie’s house next door today. To make it up to you, I’ll take you to the nearby supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to buy ice pops.”

Wow…

Hearing Mom say this, they were ecstatic.

Erbao even thought to himself that he could accept such grievances every day.

After picking vegetables, Ning Shu and the three children went home.

On the way back, Erbao asked again, “Mom, what are we having for dinner? Mom, while you’ve been back to our hometown, Dad’s been taking us to the canteen, but the canteen food isn’t as good as yours. If Dad could cook as well as you, it would be great. Then he could cook for us when you’re not here.”

Ning Shu thought Erbao was dreaming big again. “Well then, you should learn to cook too.”

“Huh? Why?” Erbao was a little puzzled.

Although he was a big kid now, nobody his age knew how to cook.

“Because when you get married and have children in the future, your children will also think, ‘It would be nice if Dad could cook when Mom’s not here.’ So you should learn to cook too.”

Erbao’s face flushed red; he knew Mom was teasing him.

Nonetheless, Lin Erbao stood tall, puffing out his little chest: “Mom, it’s no big deal. I won’t marry a wife in the future, so there won’t be any children, haha… Aren’t I clever?”

He had heard Mom mention marrying a wife several times and found the idea of marrying a wife troublesome.

Besides, he noticed his dad was afraid of his mom, and if he married a wife, he’d also have to be afraid of his wife, so he decided not to marry.

Ning Shu: “…”

She really didn’t want to admit he was her son.

Yi Bao: “…” Although my younger brother is a bit silly, it’s okay, our family only has one fool.

San Bao: “…” Although Second Brother is a bit silly, his thoughts are the same as Erbao, and he also doesn’t want to marry a wife and have children.

Lin Guodong: Luckily, he didn’t know what this silly son was thinking.

When Ning Shu and the three kids returned home, Lin Guodong had nearly finished digging the pit in the courtyard.

Seeing Ning Shu return, he asked, “Is this size and depth enough?”

Handing the vegetables over to the three kids to wash,

She glanced at the pit. “It’s about right. Lay down the straw, then put the sugarcane in, and it’s okay if the soil protrudes a bit. But after covering everything, we should set up a shades on top.”

Lin Guodong nodded.

Following Ning Shu’s instructions, he began burying the sugarcane.

By the time Lin Guodong finished burying the sugarcane, Ning Shu’s dinner wasn’t ready yet.

Dinner was Gaijiao rice, mainly because the rice wasn’t cooked yet.

Lin Guodong: “Will you help me carry this bucket and tub over?”

Since the other person had only one female comrade at home, he naturally called Ning Shu to help.

“Sure.” Ning Shu naturally had no objections.

“Oh, by the way…” Lin Guodong remembered the conversation he had with the three kids earlier at the guard post gate in the afternoon.

He asked, “Do you know what happened when the three kids were cleaning next door this afternoon? They mentioned something unpleasant.”

Ning Shu nodded. “Yes, they told me. There’s more to the story.” She then filled Lin Guodong in on the details.

Lin Guodong: “…”

Suddenly, Ning Shu remembered something. “Is her husband your subordinate?”

Lin Guodong: “He’s not in my company. But since we’re comrades, and she’s pregnant, there are certain accommodations that need to be made.”

He understood his wife’s character well, especially in situations where children were involved.

However, accommodation wasn’t about unconditional retreat or tolerance; it was about understanding the challenges a pregnant woman might face.

“If there are any conflicts, let me know, and I’ll discuss it with Deputy Li.”

“Yeah, I understand.” Ning Shu understood that adults usually bore the brunt of unfairness, whether young or old, sick or disabled.

However, she also wondered how things might play out when pregnancy and youth collided.

Carrying the water bucket with the tub inside, Lin Guodong led the way while Ning Shu followed behind.

They headed over to the neighbor’s house.

To their surprise, the gate to the neighbor’s yard was open, but the house door was closed. Was anyone home?

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Ning Shu called out twice. “Hello?”

But there was no response.

Ning Shu suggested, “Let’s go back. She’ll probably come over when she needs the bucket.”

Lin Guodong nodded in agreement.

The dinner of Gaijiao rice was especially popular that night, accompanied by stir-fried vegetables with scrambled eggs and stir-fried dried radishes.

The meal was kept simple because Ning Shu hadn’t been home for a few days and there wasn’t much food in the house for her to work with.

However, after several days of eating on the train and at her hometown, Ning Shu had a hearty appetite that evening, as did Lin Guodong and the three kids, who dove into their meal.

Ning Shu knew their appetites well; she had made enough dinner to satisfy them.

Just as they were eating, they heard Wang Yuhong’s voice from outside, “Is Sister-in-law here?”

Ning Shu: “…” What a coincidence!