Chapter 39.2

The next morning, Wen Nuan woke up late.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to return to the Cafeteria right away that day.

After asking Sister Guihua to help look after Lele, she rode her bicycle to find Old Zhao. However, she was told that Old Zhao wasn’t around, so she went back to the Cafeteria.

When she arrived at the Cafeteria, she could hear the sound of an argument, and someone was crying.

A large crowd had gathered at the entrance, seemingly watching the scene unfold.

Wen Nuan locked her bicycle at the door, and to her surprise, she saw Aunt Zhang, who lived next door to Sister Juxiang, sitting on the steps of the Cafeteria, crying.

Wen Nuan approached one of the young soldiers in the Cafeteria and asked, “Xiao Zhu, what’s going on?”

Seeing that Wen Nuan had returned, Xiao Zhu quickly lowered his voice and explained, “Aunt Zhang showed up early this morning, dragging her daughter-in-law to the commissary’s office. She’s worried someone might take her daughter-in-law’s job, so she’s demanding that her daughter-in-law come back to work today, without finishing her maternity leave.”

Wen Nuan frowned. How could there be such an unreasonable mother-in-law?

If she remembered correctly, Aunt Zhang’s daughter-in-law had just recently finished her confinement period. The military was generally considerate of family members, and at this time, women were granted a 59-day maternity leave. However, in the military, they usually give them the full three months. If the new mother hadn’t recovered well or lacked help from elders, they would often extend it even further.

Aunt Zhang’s daughter-in-law had only taken about a month of leave. Why was there such a rush to return to work?

Wen Nuan paused for a moment and then asked, “Has someone taken her job?”

Xiao Zhu thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Her daughter-in-law works at the logistics Cafeteria, but I’m not too sure.”

Wen Nuan was about to step forward to get a closer look when she saw the Quartermaster, looking quite troubled, coming out from the Cafeteria office.

The Quartermaster, hands on his hips, paced back and forth in frustration. He then addressed Aunt Zhang, who was still sitting on the ground crying, “Aunt Zhang, how many times do I have to tell you? Your daughter-in-law just gave birth recently! There’s no need to rush her back to work!”

The Quartermaster’s voice grew louder as he continued, “The work in the Cafeteria is exhausting! If your son’s wife ends up having any health issues, how are you going to explain that to your son? What’s the harm in letting her stay home for a few more days? Isn’t her health more important than a little bit of money?”

Wen Nuan had worked at the Cafeteria for a while now, but it was her first time seeing the Quartermaster this angry. The veins on his neck were bulging.

Aunt Zhang wiped away her tears and looked at the Quartermaster, saying, “How would I know? Maybe if she waits a few more days, there won’t be any work left in the Cafeteria! Quartermaster, you need to tell me, can my son’s wife come back to work or not?”

The Quartermaster, exasperated, cursed under his breath. “When did I ever say she couldn’t? I’m telling you to let her rest for another month! Didn’t you understand? Do I need to get you a translator?”

Aunt Zhang raised her hands and dramatically slapped her thighs. “I don’t care! Meijiao has to come back tomorrow! Who knows if there will still be a job waiting for her if she waits another month? I’ve heard that you’ve stopped hiring at the Cafeteria, but somehow, you still brought in new people! Don’t deny it! You’ve clearly found someone to replace my Meijiao!”

Wen Nuan noticed that Meijiao was standing nearby, wearing a knitted hat commonly worn by women during postpartum confinement. She was holding a crying infant and trying to calm her mother-in-law down, her expression filled with embarrassment and helplessness.

The Quartermaster suddenly furrowed his brows and said, “Wait, what? When did we ever find someone to replace your daughter-in-law?”

Aunt Zhang, sensing an opportunity, shifted her attention to Wen Nuan, who had just arrived. Her tone became sarcastic. “I heard you’ve hired someone who doesn’t have to do any real work, just comes to the Cafeteria for a stroll and then goes back home… Is that the person you brought in to replace my Meijiao?”

The crowd that had gathered knew all too well that Aunt Zhang was referring to Wen Nuan. After all, in the family compound, who else but Wen Nuan had recently joined the Cafeteria staff?

Just as Aunt Zhang finished speaking, a tall, sturdy figure appeared at the Cafeteria entrance, wielding a large spatula. The man’s furious voice rang out, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

It was Lao Zhong, storming over to Aunt Zhang with the spatula in hand. He yelled, “Your son’s wife works at the logistics Cafeteria! What the hell are you doing, causing a scene at our Flight Crew’s Cafeteria?”

“And another thing—our Flight Crew Cafeteria business is none of your damn concern! Who works here and what they do doesn’t need to be reported to you. Who do you think you are?”

Lao Zhong’s voice grew more aggressive. “Let me tell you, anyone who dares to slander the people working in our Flight Crew Cafeteria is picking a fight with me, Zhong Yuguo. And I’m ready to go all out if that’s what it takes!”

The crowd, a mix of soldiers, Cafeteria staff, and curious family members, had gathered for the drama. They had all come to catch the latest gossip.

But the sight of Lao Zhong brandishing a spatula like a weapon caused many in the crowd to take a step back as if he were holding a sharp blade rather than a kitchen tool.

Lao Zhong was originally a tall and sturdy man, and his demeanor was always fierce. At this moment, the way he glared at Aunt Zhang made it seem as though he was ready to devour her.

Besides, everyone knew that Lao Zhong, who worked in the Flight Crew’s Cafeteria, had high standards for the staff there. Even the Quartermaster would be scolded terribly if he didn’t do things right.

If someone who did no work at all was really assigned to Lao Zhong’s kitchen, wouldn’t they be kicked out of the kitchen on the very first day?

So, everyone came to a realization — the rumor that Wen Nuan went to the Flight Crew’s Cafeteria and did no work must have been impossible!

As for Aunt Zhang, who was sitting on the ground, she was so frightened by Lao Zhong that she couldn’t even close her mouth, and for a moment, she even forgot to cry.

It was her son’s wife, Meijao, who was holding their child and repeatedly apologizing, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know the Quartermaster was trying to help me. My mother-in-law didn’t mean it, really, we’re so sorry.”

Aunt Zhang tugged on Meijao’s sleeve, signaling her to quickly speak to the Quartermaster.

However, Meijao instead helped Aunt Zhang up from the ground and then bowed to both the Quartermaster and Lao Zhong. “Quartermaster, Squad Leader Zhong, I’m so sorry. My mother-in-law misunderstood. I hope you won’t hold it against her.”

Aunt Zhang, still terrified by Lao Zhong’s gaze, didn’t dare to speak anymore. She hid behind her son’s wife and tightly closed her mouth.

The Quartermaster had already been worn out by Aunt Zhang’s antics early in the morning and waved his hand dismissively at Meijao and said: “You should go home and rest. You’ve just come out of confinement, so don’t rush yourself to work too much. Don’t worry, you’re still part of the logistics kitchen staff, and that won’t change.”

Meijao nodded, thanked the Quartermaster, and added, “I’m sorry for the trouble.”

Supported by Meijao, Aunt Zhang passed by Wen Nuan and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She had intended to apologize to Wen Nuan, but a single glare from Lao Zhong scared her back into silence.

Wen Nuan had no intention of acknowledging them. As she passed by Lao Zhong, she smiled and said, “Squad Leader Zhong, you’re so impressive.”

Lao Zhong met Wen Nuan’s smiling eyes and awkwardly cleared his throat. “I’m only doing this for the reputation of our Flight Crew’s Cafeteria. Don’t misunderstand,” he said, before heading back to the kitchen with his spatula in hand. However, he couldn’t help but smile a little.

The Quartermaster sighed as the crowd dispersed. He called over his assistant and said, “Go check out the logistics kitchen and see if any new people have come in recently.”

The logistics kitchen was quite large. Not only could the soldiers eat there, but the families living in the compound could as well. As a result, the kitchen staff needed more manpower, about forty or fifty people.

The Quartermaster couldn’t remember everyone, so he needed to investigate. There might be someone trying to slip through unnoticed.

—o—o—o—

Later that evening, when he returned home, Gu Qinghan asked about the incident with Aunt Zhang that morning.

Gu Qinglan, who happened to have some free time, also came by to chat and gossip a bit about what had happened in the kitchen that day.

Wen Nuan briefly explained the cause of the situation. After listening, Gu Qinghan furrowed his brows and asked, “Did Captain Zhang not intervene?”

Normally, all the families in the compound knew that maternity leave lasted two months. Captain Zhang’s family wasn’t having their first child, and the military wouldn’t stop someone from returning to work just because of pregnancy and childbirth.

Gu Qinghan couldn’t quite understand these people. If Wen Nuan hadn’t insisted on going back to work, he actually felt that their child, Lele, was still a bit too young and needed care in every aspect.

Wen Nuan thought for a moment and then guessed, “Maybe they didn’t know. Today, it was just Aunt Zhang who brought her son’s wife to the kitchen.”

Gu Qinglan, munching on chestnuts with her mouth full, said, “She really doesn’t treat her son’s wife like a human being, huh? Just finished confinement and already making her return to work. How can she even think of that? If she’s so scared of losing the job, why doesn’t she go and work instead of her son’s wife?”

It seemed that, in these times, there were indeed instances of family members filling in for others at work. However, Wen Nuan recalled the Quartermaster mentioning before that there had been enemy spies poisoning the kitchen’s food. The work there probably couldn’t be casually replaced by just anyone.

Wen Nuan said, “Her daughter-in-law seems to be reasonable. I doubt she expected her own mother-in-law to act like that.”

Gu Qinglan popped the last chestnut into her mouth and said, “If you can avoid living with your mother-in-law, then don’t. It’s too scary.”

Then Gu Qinglan started talking about things she had seen while helping out at the maternity ward. She mentioned mothers-in-law forcing their sons’ wives to abort suspected female babies with drugs in hopes of having a son. She also shared stories of some mothers-in-law who, upon seeing that their daughter-in-law had given birth to a girl, would throw the newborn into the hospital trash bins.

At first, Gu Qinglan found these stories unbelievable, but after witnessing such incidents firsthand, she was genuinely horrified.

Gu Qinghan, holding their child in his arms, noticed Wen Nuan gripping his arm tightly, not wanting to hear any more. He then turned to Gu Qinglan and said, “Alright, stop eating so many chestnuts. You’ll end up with indigestion.”

Gu Qinglan’s thoughts were interrupted by Gu Qinghan, so she didn’t continue talking. She washed her hands and played with Lele for a while before heading back to her own room.

After Gu Qinglan left, they returned to bed, getting ready to sleep. Lele, who had been playing with her own feet on the bed, suddenly crawled onto Wen Nuan.

Maybe it was because Wen Nuan hadn’t taken her to the kitchen today, so she was especially clingy tonight. Even Gu Qinghan’s offering to play “horse riding” with her didn’t work with Lele.

She just wanted to stick to Wen Nuan.

Wen Nuan, feeling fond of Lele, hugged her tight and showered her with kisses.

Then, both she and Gu Qinghan each held one of Lele’s hands, helping her walk around the bed.

Lele still didn’t have full control over her strength, and the bed thudded loudly as her little feet stomped on it.

Worried that the bed might collapse eventually, Wen Nuan said, “Alright, let’s go to sleep now. If you don’t, you won’t be able to wake up tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, Mommy will take you to the kitchen,” she added.

Gu Qinghan’s Flight Crew’s Cafeteria had improved significantly, and Lele loved eating there. She barely even liked milk anymore, drinking it only two or three times a day now.

Sure enough, as soon as Lele heard that they were going to the kitchen tomorrow, she laid herself down on the bed, grabbing her little feet with both hands, looking absolutely adorable.

Wen Nuan yawned, then turned her head toward Gu Qinghan and said, “Qinghan, turn off the light. Let’s get to sleep early.”

Gu Qinghan noticed that she did seem a bit tired, so he put down the documents he was working on, tidied up, and then climbed into bed.

Usually, Wen Nuan would naturally stretch her legs over to his for warmth, but this time, when Gu Qinghan proactively moved his foot over to warm hers, she kicked his foot away, mumbling indistinctly, “Too hot, don’t put it over here.”

“?”