Chapter 68

“Grandpa, this person is accusing me of stealing!” 

After Wen Nuan finished speaking, General Lu stood frozen in place, looking at her with a strange expression.

Then, he incredulously asked her, “What… what did you just call me?”

Wen Nuan didn’t quite know how to respond, but the opportunity had just presented itself, so she smiled and said, “I called you Grandpa. Were you joking with me before?”

“How could that be a joke?”

“Hahahahaha…” General Lu, who usually did not smile, suddenly burst into laughter. Although it seemed a bit out of place, it was evident that he was genuinely happy.

General Lu felt joy from the tips of his hair down to the soles of his feet—he laughed a bit carelessly: “I have a granddaughter! I’m a grandpa now! Hahahaha, my granddaughter finally called me Grandpa!”

As General Lu laughed, he suddenly noticed that the crowd of onlookers was growing larger. To establish a tall and reliable image in front of his granddaughter, he cleared his throat and restrained the joyful demeanor he had just displayed.

General Lu looked over at He Manqing, who was covered in snow and mud, and disdainfully snorted, “So it turns out you are the one who wrote the complaint letter.”

He Manqing never expected that things would develop in this way. Was Wen Nuan really serious when she called General Lu “Grandpa”?

In that case, did Wen Nuan not deceive her?

Just now, she said she was General Lu’s biological granddaughter…

Was this true?

When she met General Lu’s piercing gaze, she couldn’t help but tremble all over, and her voice shook as she said, “God-grandpa, please let me explain. It’s not what you think.”

General Lu felt immense disgust when he saw He Manqing’s fake, pitiful expression. He turned to Wen Nuan and asked, “How did she slander you?”

Wen Nuan recalled He Manqing’s earlier words and felt angry, so she replied, “She said Lele is fatter than any child in the family courtyard and claimed that our family eats lavishly every day, saying I stole food from the cafeteria!”

“He Manqing, you have no evidence to slander me, yet you even drag my daughter into this. How malicious can you be? I won’t let this go today!”

Wen Nuan couldn’t hold back and confronted He Manqing after hearing her use Lele to attack her.

A person who wouldn’t spare even a child was simply devoid of the bottom line and humanity!

Upon hearing this, General Lu’s face instantly darkened, his gaze toward He Manqing colder than before, piercing through her like a thousand arrows.

He Manqing’s previously flushed face turned as pale as a sheet the moment she met General Lu’s gaze.

Some onlookers who knew Wen Nuan’s daughter began to speak up, saying, “This is ridiculous, right? That girl has always been chubby since she came to Northern City.”

“It’s true! That child is famously good-looking and adorable. She was like that even before she could walk; it’s not a one or two-day thing.”

“Besides, isn’t it too malicious for Comrade He to target a little kid like this? Many children are chubby when they’re young. Isn’t that what they call baby fat?”

“Exactly, baby fat! And even if they have fish and meat every day, so what? Does she not know that Vice Captain Gu receives a flight allowance? He works so hard flying fighter jets; what’s wrong with him eating well? Should he let her eat instead? Can she fight? This person is truly despicable!”

As He Manqing listened to the heated discussions around her, it felt like arrows were piercing through her chest, her face alternating between red and white. She wished she could find a hole in the ground to hide in.

However, compared to the pointing fingers of the bystanders, General Lu’s icy-cold gaze was far more terrifying. She couldn’t even control her shaking legs as she stammered, “I-I didn’t! I was just saying it casually; I didn’t really mean that she stole from the cafeteria.”

“Shut your mouth!” Quartermaster Luo suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pointing at He Manqing and scolding, “You even wrote a complaint letter and said that if we didn’t deal with Comrade Wen Nuan, it means we’re deliberately protecting her!”

“Look at this! Our Kitchen Team organizes the leftover warehouse inventory every week, and every time, the numbers match perfectly. If you don’t believe it, go find someone at the battalion commander’s office to verify!”

Quartermaster Luo threw the warehouse record sheet at He Manqing, who was driving him mad.

Their Kitchen Team was doing just fine; why did they have to create trouble for him?

And the instigator was this He Manqing!

Quartermaster Luo couldn’t help but curse, “Last time you said in the hospital that our Kitchen Team’s performances had no substance, and now you’re maliciously slandering Comrade Wen Nuan! Are you just bored or  out of your mind?”

Upon hearing this, General Lu asked, “Is that true?”

Quartermaster Luo nodded, “Yes!”

General Lu’s face turned red with anger as he shouted, “Xiao Zhang!”

Hearing his name, Xiao Zhang hurriedly put Lele down from the stroller and jogged over to General Lu, exclaiming, “General!”

When General Lu met Lele’s cheerful gaze, he suddenly felt his anger melt. His tone softened considerably as he said, “You go to the Art Troupe and ask them how they manage their people. How could they raise such a morally corrupt person? If they don’t take action, have General Xu step in directly!”

“Yes, General!”

Xiao Zhang directly handed the child to General Lu. Lele, being obedient, immediately called out sweetly as soon as she was in General Lu’s arms, “Great-grandpa!”

“Hey, good girl.”

Xiao Zhang quickly called over two people and then said to He Manqing, “Comrade He, let’s go to the Art Troupe. If you refuse, I’ll take you to General Xu.”

General Xu?

He Manqing never expected that General Lu wouldn’t explain anything to her but would have Xiao Zhang take her away instead. The color drained from her face, leaving her looking frighteningly pale.

Suddenly, she began to cry out, “God-grandfather, it’s me, Manqing! I’m your god-granddaughter; you can’t treat me like this! Don’t you remember that my grandfather once saved your life?”

General Lu let out a cold laugh, “Your grandfather saved my life? I was only injured in my hand at the time; how could that be considered a life? Besides, that was your grandfather’s kindness toward me. After all these years, your family has taken enough advantages from me!”

He Manqing refused to believe this and called out again, “God-grandfather…”

“Shut your mouth!” General Lu shot a cold glance at her. “Back then, I merely said, ‘If my granddaughter were still here, she would be your age.’ And what happened? Your family forced me to recognize you as my god-granddaughter, and I never agreed to this!”

“Out of consideration for your grandfather, I’ve already shown you mercy. This is your last chance. If you refuse to go back to the Art Troupe with Xiao Zhang, then General Xu will personally handle this matter!”

As soon as he finished speaking, He Manqing’s legs went weak, and she fell to the ground. The cotton-padded jacket she had specially chosen for today was already stained with mud and dirt from the snow.

But she couldn’t care less about that anymore; she covered her face and began to cry.

Zhou Yun, who had been watching from the sidelines, was petrified upon hearing General Lu’s words. So, it turned out that He Manqing’s so-called “great-grandpa” was something she had forced herself to fabricate.

Just a moment ago, she had taken the risk of being penalized for bringing General Lu here, thinking that He Manqing would be able to turn the situation around. She never expected that General Lu would directly expose their nonexistent relationship!

Zhou Yun felt as if the sky were about to collapse. She realized she had to go back to the troupe to see what was happening. She couldn’t let herself be dragged down by this woman any longer!

Wen Nuan watched as Xiao Zhang and the others took He Manqing away, and she prepared to head back to work.

However, General Lu suddenly found himself without a vehicle, and Xiao Zhang wasn’t nearby. What was he supposed to do?

He couldn’t possibly take Lele and go work in the kitchen, could he?

Wen Nuan then took out her bicycle key and handed it to General Lu. “Grandpa, why don’t you just ride my bicycle back? Here’s the key.”

General Lu looked at the bicycle key Wen Nuan offered and realized he had forgotten how long it had been since he last rode a bike.

Clearing his throat, General Lu replied, “It’s fine. I heard you occasionally bring Lele to the cafeteria to work, so I’ll join you today to experience a day of your work.”

Wen Nuan thought for a moment and then nodded, “That works. You can take Lele with me; I plan to make some ginger milk today, so you’ll be in for a treat.”

Hearing this, Quartermaster Luo nearly stumbled in the snow and mud. So General Lu was going to “supervise” in their kitchen today?

Was this really necessary?

To his surprise, General Lu smiled and nodded, “Sure, if you need me to help with anything, just let me know.”

Quartermaster Luo thought to himself, who would dare to let you do anything?

As a result, Wen Nuan fetched a large pile of fresh ginger from the storage room and directly assigned a task to General Lu, saying, “Grandpa, you can peel this ginger.”

“No problem!”

General Lu promptly rolled up his sleeves, took a plate to hold the ginger, and began to peel it diligently without a hint of complaint.

The young soldiers in the kitchen looked over at General Lu, who was sitting on a small stool and seriously peeling ginger. They exchanged incredulous glances and asked, “Um… is that our general?”

“I— Yes.”

“Is it really our General? What’s he doing here?”

“I heard Comrade Wen Nuan called him over to give him a tour of our Kitchen Team’s work for the day.”

“What? Quartermaster Luo, why didn’t you say something earlier? I haven’t changed this uniform in a week; I hope it hasn’t gone bad!”

“Holy cow, is our kitchen too messy? Should we tidy up again? But why is General Lu here on our kitchen team?”

Quartermaster Luo replied, “I heard… Comrade Wen Nuan is General Lu’s granddaughter?!”

“???! ”

The aircrew soldiers all widened their eyes, unable to believe what Quartermaster Luo had just said. They thought he must have been seeing ghosts or talking nonsense.

However, after a moment, they perked up their ears and indeed heard Wen Nuan calling General Lu “Grandpa”!

It was true!!

Their Kitchen Team had made it big!

Yet, no one dared to approach General Lu within a three-meter radius, fearing they would be noted down in his little book. Only Wen Nuan had the courage to ask General Lu to do things!

This was also the first day since their kitchen team had been established, and there was no whispering in the kitchen; everyone seemed mute and focused on their own tasks.

Even Quartermaster Luo, seeing General Lu peeling vegetables, didn’t dare to slack off and found himself a pile of work.

Old Zhong felt that Quartermaster Luo had been wandering around him a bit too much that day, and he couldn’t help but grit his teeth and scold, “Old Luo, what the hell are you doing in the kitchen today? Those are my eggs! They were meant for making egg cakes! How could you—”

Quartermaster Luo glanced at General Lu, who was already mashing ginger and whispered, “Look at what you’re saying. General Lu is working, so how could I dare to be idle?”

Old Zhong shoved him aside, saying, “Then don’t loiter around me! You’re making me dizzy with all your wandering!”

Quartermaster Luo gritted his teeth and said, “Stop making noise! Otherwise, I won’t even know what to do!”

Old Zhong scoffed, “You’re just a last-minute learner, aren’t you?”

“You don’t know anything!” Quartermaster Luo shot him a glare.

—o—o—o—

Meanwhile, Wen Nuan watched as General Lu efficiently mashed out a pot of ginger juice and began to heat milk.

To help the milk protein coagulate more easily, Wen Nuan added a bit of malt extract while heating the milk. When it reached about eighty degrees, she poured the heated milk into the ginger juice.

General Lu had already followed Wen Nuan’s instructions and divided the ginger juice into bowls, totaling about ten bowls.

As soon as the milk was poured in, it immediately diluted the ginger juice, leaving only a milky white color.

General Lu held Lele in his arms, looking at the milky mixture in the pot, and asked, “Can we eat this now?”

Wen Nuan smiled and replied, “Not yet. We have to wait for it to cool and solidify before we can eat it.”

“But if you want to drink it, you can have some now. Would you like that?”

General Lu chuckled, “No, I’ll wait for you to tell me when the milk is ready before trying it.”

This was his first time making delicious food with Wen Nuan. Even though mashing the ginger was a bit tiring, he felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment that he had never experienced before.

After a while, the ginger milk finally solidified. Wen Nuan quickly picked up a bowl and handed it to General Lu, saying, “Grandpa, try this.”

General Lu smiled as he took the bowl, showing none of his usual seriousness or coldness. “Let me have a taste.”

Wen Nuan replied with a smile, “You might not be used to it, but in winter, eating something made with ginger can warm you up.”

General Lu scooped up a spoonful and, indeed, found it a bit unusual. However, the melt-in-your-mouth texture made him unable to resist taking a second spoonful. “Not bad.”

As soon as Lele heard this, she jumped up and shouted, “I want some too! I want to eat!”

Wen Nuan planned to share a bowl with Lele and quickly said, “Wait a moment. I’ll help you get it over to the table to eat.”

Lele promptly added, “Wash my hands!”

“Good girl, Mommy will help you wash your hands before you eat.” Wen Nuan washed Lele’s hands and then scooped some for herself.

After settling Lele in, Wen Nuan began to get busy again. General Lu sat in the seats Wen Nuan had arranged for him and Lele, watching her move about.

After a long while, Xiao Zhang finally returned to the Kitchen Team. Seeing General Lu sitting nearby, he asked, “General, should we head back to the administration building first?”

General Lu smiled and replied, “No need. I’m just fine sitting here.”

Then he asked, “How is the situation with He Manqing being handled?”

He had not expected that He Manqing would be so calculating. Just because of a cultural performance, she had gone to such lengths to interfere with Wen Nuan!

Xiao Zhang lowered his voice and said, “Team Leader Liao directly dismissed her; He Manqing will be discharged from the army.”

General Lu’s expression darkened. “Keeping someone like that in the army will eventually cause trouble. It would definitely be detrimental to Wen Nuan. It’s better if she leaves.”

If someone could treat Wen Nuan that way over a lost performance, he didn’t trust her to remain in the military after such an incident.

Xiao Zhang nodded. “Don’t worry, General. He Manqing will never return to the army.”

“Mm.” General Lu scooped a spoonful of ginger milk for Lele and patiently brought it to her mouth. “Have someone send He Manqing back to her hometown and inform her family that Old Master He has passed away, so there’s no need for the two families to maintain contact.”

He had already repaid any debts of gratitude long ago.

In the past, he had been soft-hearted and cared too much about appearances, fearing that others would think he was ungrateful. However, after this incident, he felt that such concerns were no longer important.

The most crucial thing was to have a clear conscience.

Yet, the next moment, Lele covered her mouth, looking aggrieved. “I don’t want to eat!”

“Why don’t you want to eat?” General Lu looked at the milky ginger mixture; Lele had only taken a few bites.

Lele shook her little head vigorously as if it were a rattle drum. “I don’t like it.”

Xiao Zhang thought General Lu was about to scold Lele, especially since he had previously been caught by the General for being picky with his food and had received a lecture.

Instead, General Lu smiled and set down the spoon, saying, “Then don’t eat it.”

“Great-grandpa doesn’t like eating ginger either.”

Xiao Zhang was taken aback, “???”

General, you really are quite a double standard!

A strange soldier had appeared in the Kitchen Team’s cafeteria, drawing the curiosity of everyone who lined up to see. However, when the group of pilots realized it was General Lu, their jaws nearly dropped.

Wen Nuan watched as the soldiers, who usually chirped like little birds, suddenly seemed mute today. Unable to bear it any longer, she urged, “Grandpa, why don’t you head back to the guesthouse? Didn’t General Xu just send someone to invite you to join for a meal?”

At this rate, the members of the Kitchen Team were going to suffocate, too afraid to breathe lest they accidentally say something wrong.

Holding the serving spoon, General Lu sensed that he was being dismissed and sighed, “Alright then.”

He had only wanted to hear Wen Nuan call him “Grandpa” a few more times.

Wen Nuan had originally intended for Xiao Zhang to take Lele back to Sister Guihua’s place. To her surprise, Xiao Zhang was already carrying Lele out, saying he would take her to ride in the car.

Lele had been clamoring to ride in a car for a long time, saying she would wait for her dad to come back to take her for a ride. Now that she was finally in the car, it was no wonder she was so insistent on coming with Xiao Zhang.

After seeing General Lu off in the car, the Kitchen Team members slumped into their chairs and cried out to Wen Nuan, “Comrade Wen Nuan, please take care of our fragile little hearts next time and don’t let General Lu come here again!”

“I’ve been on edge all morning. Thank goodness the General is finally gone…”

“Don’t even mention it; my legs went weak. I was so nervous that I think I mistook sugar for salt.”

Just then, Quartermaster Luo suddenly shouted, “Who made the shredded radish? Why is it sweet?”

“……”

Suddenly, the room erupted in laughter.

—o—o—o—

Wen Nuan finished up her work as Quartermaster Luo clocked out early. At four o’clock, it began to snow again, and Wen Nuan made no excuses; she simply hopped on her bicycle and headed home.

General Lu planned to eat dinner and then rush back to the capital that night, so Wen Nuan intended to prepare an early meal. After they ate together, she would let him leave for the capital first.

When Wen Nuan returned home, she began to get busy. General Lu had brought back quite a few items when he returned, including lamb chops, pork ribs, pig trotters, and three each of freshly slaughtered chickens and geese, along with a pile of vegetables.

Xiao Zhang smiled and said, “Comrade Wen, this is what the General sent for you. It’s just right since the weather is cold; you can take your time eating it.”

Wen Nuan clicked her tongue in surprise, “Why is there so much?”

General Lu carried Lele into the room and replied, “Not too much.”

Xiao Zhang murmured to himself that if they couldn’t buy any here, the General would have had to buy even more!

Wen Nuan looked at the chickens and geese and couldn’t help but exclaim, “How can we possibly eat so much…”

General Lu said, “Lele loves to eat. She said she wants to eat meat.”

Wen Nuan was speechless.

“Well, there’s no need to buy so much. When are we going to eat it all?”

General Lu didn’t care; he was only responsible for the buying!

After Xiao Zhang put everything away, he went into the kitchen to help. Although Xiao Zhang was just an assistant, he worked quickly in the kitchen and was not at all slower than Wen Nuan.

Wen Nuan was glad not to have to compete with him and let him busy himself. Just when it was time to eat, there was a sudden commotion outside the door. Wen Nuan looked out through the kitchen window and immediately saw the tall figure of Gu Qinghan.

After not seeing him for a long time, Wen Nuan missed her man very much. She directly opened the kitchen door and walked out into the yard.

“Qinghan, you’re back!”

When Gu Qinghan saw his wife coming to greet him, the fatigue on his face vanished instantly. He didn’t care that he was still in the yard; he dropped the luggage in his hands and pulled her into his embrace, saying, “Wife, I’m back.”

“Did you miss me? I missed you so much.”

Wen Nuan was surrounded by her husband’s large military coat and hadn’t even had the chance to respond when the door to the house suddenly swung open.

General Lu looked displeased as he saw Gu Qinghan holding his granddaughter. The words “reckless” suddenly popped into his mind.

When their eyes met, Gu Qinghan was the first to release his wife from his embrace. Without any hesitation, he gave a military salute to General Lu and said, “Hello, General.”

General Lu returned the salute formally.

Gu Qinghan glanced at his wife and then at General Lu, his eyes showing a hint of confusion.

Wen Nuan pinched Gu Qinghan’s waist and said, “Qinghan, call him ‘Grandpa.’”

Gu Qinghan smiled slightly, obediently calling out, “Grandpa.”