Chapter 63.2

At noon, Wen Nuan chopped some celery and fried some garlic paste. She used these two ingredients to make the soup base and cooked some meatballs.

The comrades in the kitchen enjoyed the meatballs, each one savoring them. The pilots outside the cafeteria, who had come for their off-duty meals, widened their eyes in curiosity at what they were eating.

Seeing the positive reaction, Wen Nuan planned to add the meatballs to the menu. Soon, Northern City would enter winter, with ice and snow everywhere, and it would be fine to make a larger batch to keep.

After finishing her work for the day, Wen Nuan took home a small container of meatballs, intending to give them to Lele. The remaining meatballs were meant for Gu Qinghan to take to Factory 112, so she left them in the refrigerator of the kitchen.

When the time came for Gu Qinghan to leave, she would give them to him. Although the weather was already quite cold, it was still necessary to pay attention to storing the meat.

Wen Nuan rode her bicycle home, and Lele, already dressed in her little cotton jacket, was waiting for her by the gate of the yard.

As soon as Lele saw Wen Nuan’s bicycle, she ran towards her. Worried that she wouldn’t be able to stop the heavy bicycle in time, Wen Nuan quickly dismounted and said with a smile, “Lele, don’t rush over like that next time. Mommy is afraid of bumping into you.”

Lele hugged Wen Nuan’s thigh, looked up at her, and grinned, saying, “I miss Mommy.”

Wen Nuan propped her bicycle with one hand and pinched Lele’s cheek with the other, smiling as she said, “Mommy misses you too.”

Then she added, “You go back to Aunt Guihua’s yard and wait for me. I brought you some delicious food.”

Lele smiled and repeated, “Delicious.”

She then turned and ran back to Aunt Guihua’s yard.

Wen Nuan pushed her bicycle back to her own yard before grabbing the meatballs and heading over to Aunt Guihua’s place.

“Aunt Guihua, I brought you some delicious food. Come and try it!” Wen Nuan called out loudly before even stepping inside the door.

Aunt Guihua had just finished washing rice. Hearing Wen Nuan’s voice, she walked from the kitchen to the living room and asked with a smile, “What delicious food? Lele just ran back and told me that you brought back something good.”

Wen Nuan placed the container on the eight-immortal table in the living room and said, “It’s some pork balls, fish balls, and mushroom meatballs. I’m not sure if you’ll like them.”

“All meat? How lucky I am!” Aunt Guihua exclaimed, turning back to the kitchen to grab chopsticks.

Wen Nuan picked up Lele and followed Aunt Guihua into the kitchen, where she washed Lele’s hands.

After washing her hands, Lele opened her ten fingers and showed them to Wen Nuan, saying, “Mommy, my hands are clean.”

Wen Nuan patted her little head and said, “Mm, good, my sweet baby.”

Lele wanted to climb onto the chair by herself, but she lacked the strength and didn’t know how to do it. Wen Nuan simply gave her a gentle push on her bottom, helping her onto the chair.

Finally seated, Lele picked up a fish ball skewered with chopsticks and handed it to Zhang Guihua, saying, “Auntie, eat.”

“Hey, Lele, good girl, then Auntie will eat it first,” Zhang Guihua replied.

Watching Aunt Guihua take the meatball, Lele picked up another chopstick, intending to skewer one for herself. Seeing this, Wen Nuan quickly snatched the chopstick away, saying, “You can’t get down, you know? Otherwise, the chopsticks could poke your throat.”

Lele nodded with a giggle, agreeing to anything for the sake of the food.

This was Zhang Guihua’s first time trying these meatballs. They were round, bouncy, and had a great texture. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is this what you were going to make for Vice Captain Gu to take to Shenyang?”

“Yeah, how is it? Is it good?” Wen Nuan asked.

Zhang Guihua hesitated for a moment, “Of course, it’s delicious, but I’ve been dieting lately, so…”

Wen Nuan laughed and said, “It’s okay. These are made from lean meat, so don’t worry about it.”

“Then I’ll really eat it, huh?”

“Eat, eat,” Wen Nuan said. After a moment, she smiled and added, “But leave a little for Captain Zhou.”

Upon hearing this, Lele handed the meatball she had taken a small bite of to Aunt Guihua, saying, “This meat is for Uncle.”

Wen Nuan and Aunt Guihua both burst into laughter.

Wen Nuan pulled Lele’s hand back gently, explaining, “This is meat that Lele has already eaten, so it can’t be given to Uncle.”

Wen Nuan then pointed to the meatballs floating in the container, saying, “Only these that haven’t been eaten yet can be saved for Uncle.”

Lele nodded in understanding and pushed the container over to Aunt Guihua, declaring, “These are for Uncle.”

Aunt Guihua had just eaten one, then pinched Lele’s round cheek and said, “Okay, then we’ll save them for Uncle. Thank you, Lele!”

Lele tilted her head and replied sweetly, “You’re welcome!”

Gu Qinghan had left for Factory 112, and it was said he would be away for over a month. By the time he returned, it would probably be snowing again.

Wen Nuan got up early with Gu Qinghan and made him a bowl of sour and spicy noodles. After having breakfast, his jeep pulled up right in front of the yard.

Gu Qinghan walked out with several bags in his hands. When others noticed his luggage, he would say, “My wife prepared these for me,” adding a hint of pride.

Lele seemed to sense that Gu Qinghan was leaving again, waking up earlier than usual. However, she still yawned and wanted Wen Nuan to hold her. With her little head resting on Wen Nuan’s shoulder, she silently watched Gu Qinghan load his luggage into the jeep.

After Gu Qinghan secured his things, he approached his wife and child.

Lele reached out her hands, saying, “Daddy, hug me.”

Gu Qinghan smiled slightly and picked Lele up. He then told her, “While Daddy is away, you can’t just call anyone else Daddy, understand?”

Lele giggled a couple of times and nodded heavily, saying, “Got it, Daddy!”

Hearing this, Gu Qinghan gently kissed her cheek and said, “When Daddy comes back, you still can’t forget about Daddy.”

Lele didn’t seem to fully understand but nodded repeatedly. Then she pointed at the jeep and said, “Ride in the car.”

Gu Qinghan smiled and ruffled her soft hair, which had grown quite a bit: “Okay when Daddy comes back, I’ll take you for a ride!”

Wen Nuan watched the two of them and, not wanting to keep the driver waiting too long, reminded them, “It’s time to head out.”

She picked Lele up again, and Lele cheerfully waved goodbye to Gu Qinghan, saying, “Daddy, bye-bye.”

“Mm, go back inside now,” Gu Qinghan replied.

However, once Gu Qinghan got in the car and disappeared from the courtyard, Lele cried for a moment.

But she quickly stopped when she was given a piece of candy.

—o—o—o—

Meanwhile, He Manqing had been grounded for a month of training by Leader Liao. Although she couldn’t go to the dance studio, she didn’t slack off in the dormitory, insisting on stretching and dancing every day.

However, watching her roommates go to the dance studio daily left her feeling quite imbalanced.

This quarrel with the kitchen brigade had clearly been a minor issue, yet Leader Liao punished her so harshly. Who knew if he was deliberately making things difficult for her?

When she first arrived in Northern City, she subtly hinted to the members of the Cultural Work Troupe that she had some connection with General Lu. Initially, they looked down on her for being from the countryside. However, when they learned that her foster grandfather was General Lu, they all came running to flatter her.

However, Leader Liao was the exception; he never paid her any attention. Every day, he kept her in the dance studio, practicing until past nine before allowing her to return to the dormitory.

Now, it seemed like he had found another opportunity to target her again.

And then there was Wen Nuan, who was completely oblivious. Just because she was the wife of a minor deputy troupe leader, did she really think she was someone important in front of the commanding officer?

She was General Lu’s foster granddaughter. What did someone like Wen Nuan amount to?

Thinking of all these people seemingly against her, He Manqing grew increasingly frustrated.

She felt she couldn’t just sit back and wait to be targeted. So, when she had some free time, she made a call to the communications room in Beijing Space Hospital.

“Hello, I’m He Manqing. I’m looking for General Lu.”

The person who answered the call was Xiao Zhang. Upon hearing He Manqing’s name, he immediately remembered she was General Lu’s foster granddaughter.

Clearly, General Lu was too busy to deal with her. Xiao Zhang replied, “General Lu is out; he won’t be at the base all month. Do you have something urgent to discuss with him?”

He Manqing was momentarily stunned. “Why do you never let me speak with General Lu? Do you know who I am?”

Xiao Zhang, on the other end, was silent for two seconds before replying, “Aren’t you Comrade He Manqing? You just mentioned that. Of course, I know.”

Angry and humiliated, He Manqing yelled into the phone, “Yes, I am He Manqing! I am General Lu’s god-granddaughter. How dare you prevent me from talking to him? Are you doing this on purpose? What right do you, a mere assistant, have to block my call to General Lu?”

Xiao Zhang was also infuriated by He Manqing’s rudeness. He had worked alongside General Lu for five years and had never encountered anyone so impolite.

He responded, “General Lu is indeed busy. If you have something to discuss, I will pass the message and inform the general later.”

He Manqing did not believe that General Lu was busy with the Air Force Academy, but she couldn’t voice her doubts to Xiao Zhang.

After remaining silent for a long time, the call was abruptly hung up—her face turning pale.

She felt incredibly unlucky lately; it seemed like one misfortune after another was striking her.

Even her only support had gone silent at this moment. The thought of it made He Manqing’s expression darken further.

—o—o—o—

At that moment, General Lu was indeed not at the Air Force Academy in Beijing; he was sitting on a train heading south.

Xiao Zhang shared numerous photos of Wen Nuan and the children with him. He held the pictures of the two, comparing them with a photo he had found deep in the cabinet.

Although the hidden photo looked old, and the images were somewhat blurry, it still bore faint traces of blood.

This was the only keepsake of his youngest son. Even when he had been severely injured, he had clutched this single photograph tightly in his palm and had not let go until the moment of his sacrifice.

It was truly a pity that in those turbulent times, he had never even had the chance to see his son’s wife and his newly born granddaughter.

But when he finally found himself with some free time, he heard that both of them had been swept away by a sudden flood and were never heard from again.

General Lu gazed at the similar faces in the two photographs and suddenly felt a strong sense of foreboding.

This Wen Nuan must have an extraordinary connection to his family.