Chapter 102.2

For three days in a row, everything in the compound seemed calm. There was no word yet about the enemy agents in the military base.

Wen Nuan knew that Gu Qinghan had been going out late at night these past few days, only returning home when the military bugle sounded in the morning.

Although Wen Nuan was concerned about his health, since Gu Qinghan didn’t mention anything, she didn’t pry too much.

It was a Saturday, and Wen Nuan decided to let Lele stay home and play for a couple of days. She figured that Lele, who usually didn’t get enough sleep, had slept in and hadn’t woken up even by eight o’clock.

As usual, Gu Qinghan had things to do, and just after he left the yard, their neighbor Aunt Lin, known as Grandma Lin to them, came over to their house.

But today, Aunt Lin was different from usual. Her face was filled with anger.

Wen Nuan was just about to tell her that Lele wouldn’t be going to kindergarten today, but before she could speak, Aunt Lin opened her mouth and said, “Lele’s mom, yesterday your child gave our Huahua a bag of cookies, and last night after Huahua, her brother, sister, and I ate them, we all had diarrhea!”

Aunt Lin put her hands on her hips, glared at Wen Nuan, and asked in an unfriendly tone, “Did you make those cookies?”

Wen Nuan frowned slightly, didn’t answer the question, and instead asked, “Aunt Lin, on what basis do you think eating my family’s cookies caused the diarrhea?”

Yesterday, Sister Juxiang had brought over some cookies for Wen Nuan to taste, and both she and Aunt Chen had eaten some, but neither of them had any issues.

Later, Aunt Chen went to pick up the kids from school, and likely because she was afraid Lele might be hungry on the way, she took some cookies with her to give to her.

It was possible that Lele had shared some with Huahua when they met after school.

But this wasn’t the first time Lele had shared snacks with Huahua. Although the two families weren’t particularly close, they had a friendly enough relationship to greet each other when they saw one another.

Besides, those cookies were made by the Kitchen Unit.

The sanitation of their Kitchen Unit wasn’t especially good, but it definitely met the required standards, otherwise, how could they trust it to be fed to the entire unit of soldiers?

However, Aunt Lin’s family still hadn’t figured out exactly why they had gotten sick.

But Aunt Lin was right about one thing: from now on, she wouldn’t let Lele casually share food with others!

After hearing Wen Nuan’s words, Aunt Lin immediately put on a stern face and said, “We’ve been in the army for so long, and we’ve never had a situation like this. It was only after eating your family’s food that we got diarrhea. If it wasn’t your family’s food, whose could it be?”

When Aunt Chen heard Aunt Lin’s shouting, she came out without even cleaning the pot and explained, “Comrade Lin, don’t just wrongfully accuse people! We ate the cookies too, and nothing happened to us. How come you had diarrhea and we didn’t? Did you really only eat the cookies and nothing else last night?”

“You…” Aunt Lin was momentarily speechless by Aunt Chen’s words, her face turning red. She stammered, “Our meals at home are always pretty much the same, and we’ve always been fine. How come after eating your food, we suddenly feel unwell?”

“Pah!” Aunt Chen spat, “Don’t just run your mouth and slander others. You clearly ate other things as well, yet you’re blaming our cookies?!”

Aunt Chen went back into the house, then came out holding a bag of cookies. She ate a couple of pieces first and said, “Here, I still have those cookies. Let me eat them in front of you, and you can just wait and see if I get diarrhea!”

The two women’s raised voices were a bit loud, and since it was a Saturday, many people heard the commotion and stretched their necks to see what was going on.

They began whispering among themselves about the situation.

Seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, Aunt Lin furrowed her brows, looked at Wen Nuan, and said, “Lele’s mom, I didn’t come here to make trouble or to start a fight with you. I just wanted to remind you not to casually give people unclean food, so you don’t cause trouble for others and not even realize it.”

She then gave Aunt Chen a pointed look and continued, “Even if the food itself is clean, after so many hands have touched it, it’s not necessarily clean. Wasn’t it your relative who picked up Lele yesterday?”

Aunt Lin rolled her eyes and snorted, “I’m letting this go this time, but we’ll see each other again. I just came to give you a heads-up.”

Wen Nuan frowned. Let it go?

She propped herself up against the doorframe and let out a mocking laugh before saying, “You might let it go, but I can’t just let this slide. You need to clear this up before you leave.”

After slandering her and then throwing sharp words at Aunt Chen, Aunt Lin thought she could just walk away?

How would people in the compound think of them afterward?

Aunt Chen saw Wen Nuan heading toward the yard and walked over to support her. Wen Nuan said slowly, “You came to my house, constantly claiming that our food was unclean and that we were trying to harm you, which is a blatant slander, spreading rumors! How am I supposed to stay in this compound after this?”

Sister Guihua from the neighboring house had already come out upon hearing the noise, and after listening to Wen Nuan’s words, she finally understood what had happened.

She walked over, holding onto a pillar, and couldn’t help but interject, “Aunt Lin, this can’t just be left like this. Those cookies were sent over by the comrades from the Kitchen Unit. Our family also ate them, and we’re fine. How come you’re the only ones who had a problem?”

“You’re ruining someone’s reputation and thinking you can just walk away? Not so fast! I believe Comrade Wen Nuan and Aunt Chen. They would never harm anyone!”

It was a joke, Zhang Guihua had eaten countless things from Wen Nuan’s house over the past three years, and she could swear that Wen Nuan’s food was even cleaner than what the Kitchen Unit made!

Besides, Aunt Chen was from General Lu’s side and had made plenty of delicious food for them over the past few months, all of it clean and hygienic.

Aunt Lin looked at Wen Nuan, Zhang Guihua, and Aunt Chen, and for a moment, couldn’t find a way to respond. Her face turned a deep shade of green.

After a long pause, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: “Who else could it be if not her family? We ate the cookies her child gave us. Ask Aunt Chen if she didn’t take them to the kindergarten yesterday.”

“Huahua’s parents didn’t eat them, and they’re fine. It’s only the few of us who ate the cookies who got diarrhea!”

Aunt Lin glared at Zhang Guihua, frowning. “You’re all from her family, of course you’ll support her. Our kids have been exhausted from the diarrhea. It’s heartbreaking to see them like this.”

Aunt Lin then looked around at the crowd of onlookers and asked, “Don’t you all agree? It’s no big deal for adults to have an upset stomach, but the kids are different! They’re so young, who wouldn’t be concerned about their children?”

Wen Nuan noticed the crowd growing larger and decided to raise her voice. “It’s precisely because it’s the children who are affected that this matter can’t just be brushed off. I’m willing to cooperate with you and go to the political commissar to clear this up, so neither you nor Aunt Chen will be wronged, but neither will you casually slander us and ruin our reputations!”

Upon hearing Wen Nuan refuse to admit any fault and insist on escalating the matter to the political commissar, Aunt Lin turned red with anger. “You!”

“I’ve already said I’m letting it go. I just came here to give you a reminder. Don’t be unreasonable!” Aunt Lin sneered.

Wen Nuan, feeling exasperated, looked at her and decided it was time to give Aunt Lin a lesson. “You’re letting it go? I’m not. If this is my fault, I’ll take responsibility and compensate for your losses. But if you’ve slandered me, you need to apologize!”

“You…”

Aunt Lin, who had often gotten into arguments back in her hometown, was now so furious with Wen Nuan that she took a few steps forward. “I’ll let it go today because you’re pregnant, but don’t push it. If you keep causing trouble, I’ll teach you a lesson anyway!”

Wen Nuan took two steps toward her, slightly lifting her chin, and sneered. “Let me tell you, I’m using my identity as a pregnant woman to continue causing trouble. Come on, let’s see how you’re going to teach me a lesson!”

Aunt Chen quickly stepped in front of Wen Nuan to shield her, and Aunt Liang rushed over from the other side to protect her as well.

The onlookers saw this and spoke up, “Aunt Lin, if you’re so sure this is Comrade Wen’s fault, then go to the political commissar and get an explanation. You can’t just let it slide with your whole family sick, right? Comrade Wen has already said she’s willing to take responsibility, so what are you afraid of?”

“Exactly. This could be a big deal or a small one. On the larger scale, it’s food from the Kitchen Unit, and the organization needs to know what happened. On the smaller scale, your whole family got sick, so you can’t say you won’t pursue it.”

Aunt Lin, hearing the crowd’s words, began to feel a bit uneasy. But if this really escalated to the political commissar, it might be blowing things out of proportion. Her son would surely not want her to cause such a commotion.

The more Aunt Lin thought about it, the more wronged she felt. Listening to the crowd, she realized they were just watching the drama unfold, not genuinely trying to help her.

But seeing Wen Nuan and the others acting so arrogantly, and thinking about how she had stayed up all night taking care of several mischievous children, Aunt Lin’s frustration grew.

“Fine, go ahead and go. If this has anything to do with you, I won’t let it go!”

As soon as she finished speaking, a tall, thin figure ran out from the alley and approached Aunt Lin, panting. “Grandma, something’s wrong! My mom came back from her night shift, and she’s vomiting and having diarrhea at home! You need to go back and check on her, hurry and take her to the hospital!”

Aunt Lin froze, looking at her eldest granddaughter in disbelief. “How could this happen?”

The girl gasped for air and replied, “Grandma, hurry up and save my mom!”

Without a second thought, Aunt Lin dropped the matter with the political commissar and rushed after her granddaughter back toward their home.

Aunt Liang, sensing an opportunity for gossip, grabbed another neighbor and hurried over to follow Aunt Lin’s family.

By around 4 PM, Aunt Liang returned. Without even sitting down to rest, she rushed over to Wen Nuan’s house.

Gasping for breath, she said, “That Aunt Lin really drives me crazy.”

“Yesterday, she went out to the woods to pick mushrooms, but she didn’t cook them properly. She gave them to the kids, and they got food poisoning! Luckily, her son’s wife got her to the hospital in time, or it would’ve been a big problem.”

Wen Nuan furrowed her brow. “What about the kids?”

She knew for sure that it wasn’t her food that was the issue, but Aunt Lin had several children. Apart from Lin Guoqiang’s four kids, there were also two boys from their hometown. If they had all eaten the mushrooms, it could have caused a big problem.

Aunt Liang continued, “The kids didn’t eat much, just had a few bouts of diarrhea, but they’re fine now. They’re at home, with the older ones taking care of the younger ones.”

“Can you believe Aunt Lin still had the nerve to say that the diarrhea was caused by the Kitchen Unit’s cookies? She’s really being foolish! Now everyone in the compound is talking about it. People are saying she still has the face to come to your house and cause trouble. We need to find a time to have a good talk with her. She’s wrongfully accusing good people! Who would dare do something kind again after this?”

Sister Guihua, carrying a child on her back while practicing walking, snorted and said, “We’ve been giving them delicious food and fun things for Lele all the time. But when something goes wrong, they blame it on others. After this, who would want their kids playing with their kids? They’ve really harmed those children.”

Although children may not understand, many parents prefer to avoid trouble whenever possible.

In any case, Aunt Lin’s reckless behavior was sure to cause trouble for the children.

Aunt Chen, holding the clueless Lele in her arms, was also furious. “Every time Lele gives Flower something to eat, Aunt Lin always takes some. Each time, she practically takes all of Lele’s snacks. Who knows how many times she’s eaten Lele’s treats. She’s an adult, yet she behaves like this—it’s disgusting!”

Hearing this, Wen Nuan realized she would need to find a time to teach Lele not to share food so easily with others.

It would have been fine if nothing had happened, but now that it had, it was really troublesome.

However, Flower was a smart, cute child, and Lele had a great time playing with her. This whole mess was caused by Aunt Lin’s nonsense, so the child shouldn’t be blamed.

That evening in the compound, everyone gathered together with bowls in hand, discussing the day’s events and expressing sympathy for Wen Nuan.

She had done a good deed but ended up with trouble. Would they all have to avoid Aunt Lin from now on?

Wen Nuan didn’t think much of it and was simply having dinner with Lele and Aunt Chen at home.

Gu Qinghan didn’t return until 8 PM. He seemed to have heard about what happened with Aunt Lin. As soon as he entered the door, he looked around, pulling Wen Nuan’s attention and asked:

“I heard Aunt Lin came to cause trouble today. Are you okay?”

Wen Nuan smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine, it was just unreasonable fussing. She probably just wanted to vent her anger.”

But she wasn’t someone to be easily bullied. If it wasn’t her fault, she wouldn’t admit to it.

Moreover, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with other matters at the moment. Until the enemy spies were caught, she wouldn’t feel at peace.

Once Aunt Chen took Lele out to play, Wen Nuan was about to ask Gu Qinghan if there had been any progress on the investigation, but before she could, Gu Qinghan lowered his voice and said, “Go to bed early tonight. I have some matters to take care of. If anything happens in the compound, you must stay inside, understand?”

Wen Nuan nodded, immediately understanding the implication of his words. “Got it. You be careful, too.”