Cheng Rushan hugged her, saying, “Tomorrow we’ll raise the fence higher so the boys can sleep safely.”

Jiang Lin didn’t say much.

After all, her sons were growing up and couldn’t always sleep with their mom.

It was good for the brothers to sleep together.

With Cheng Rushan by her side, Jiang Lin didn’t care where she slept and wasn’t emotionally affected by encountering Bian Haitao.

She just felt a bit homesick.

After saying a couple of sentences, she fell into a deep sleep.

That night, they ate salty food from the mess hall, making them drink a lot of water.

In the middle of the night, Xiao Bao woke up in the bed, needing to pee.

The brothers were half-asleep, thinking they were still at home.

Xiao Bao got up and started feeling around for his small chamber pot.

They could usually sleep through the night, but sometimes if they had fish or meat for dinner and drank a lot of water, they would wake up in the middle of the night.

Yan Runzhi, their grandmother, used to put a small chamber pot on the windowsill so they could use it at night.

It was cleaned daily and didn’t smell, so they were used to it.

The room had curtains, and the streetlights outside were off, making it very dark.

Xiao Bao couldn’t find the chamber pot and got anxious, so he pushed Da Bao, “Da Bao, where’s our windowsill? I can’t find it.”

Da Bao was dreaming about eating braised pork, rubbing his belly and smacking his lips, “I ate it.”

Xiao Bao put on his cotton jacket and got out of bed, suddenly remembering they were in the city, “Oh, we moved!”

Da Bao sat up quickly, feeling around. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

Cheng Rushan was already awake but stayed still, holding Jiang Lin, letting the boys solve the problem themselves.

The brothers soon remembered they had moved.

The room was small, and they slept in bunk beds, with their parents on the top bunk.

They got used to the dark and could make out some shapes.

Da Bao climbed the ladder and felt Cheng Rushan’s head, reassuring himself.

He climbed back down, “Mom and Dad are asleep.”

Xiaobao couldn’t hold it anymore. “Dabao, I need to pee.”

Dabao put on his padded jacket as well. “There isn’t an outhouse in the yard. How about we water the trees instead?”

There was a row of large Chinese scholar trees by the wall outside the dormitory.

At home, Yan Runzhi wouldn’t let them pee on the flowers, saying it would kill them, but these trees were big enough that a little pee shouldn’t hurt them.

Xiaobao couldn’t wait any longer and hurried to the door.

Luckily, Cheng Rushan had organized their belongings carefully, placing items along the walls to keep the pathways clear.

Dabao fumbled for the flashlight on the table.

The two brothers opened the latch and sneaked out of the dormitory to find a place to pee.

The dormitories were lined up in rows, each separated by walls and doorways, providing some privacy.

They found a spot behind the row of dormitories where the trees were.

Dabao said, “Let’s just do this secretly this one time. Tomorrow, we’ll find where the toilets are.”

They didn’t want to be seen and embarrassed, as people would surely talk about them being country kids who pee anywhere.

Xiaobao agreed, “Tomorrow, we should put a small chamber pot by the door.”

They turned off the flashlight before reaching the door, then quietly reentered the dormitory, took off their jackets, and climbed back into bed.

Dabao asked, “Xiaobao, did you fart?”

Xiaobao denied it, “No, I didn’t.”

Dabao sniffed the air, “Then why does the room smell sour and musty?”

Their bedding at home was always clean and fresh.

Xiaobao reasoned, “It’s probably the dampness in the room. Just because it’s the city doesn’t mean it’s cleaner.”

Dabao didn’t argue further, feeling too tired.

The two brothers quickly fell asleep.

Cheng Rushan listened to the two boys whispering as they went out.

After a while, they came back with a flashlight, but then went into the wrong room!

He thought they would soon realize their mistake and come back, but the boys didn’t notice they were in the wrong room.

Cheng Rushan felt a bit awkward, gently moved Jiang Lin, covered her with the blanket, and then lightly jumped down to the floor.

He put on his clothes and went to the lower bunk.

At this time, Fang Chengguang returned from his night shift, exhausted and sleepy.

He didn’t turn on the light, took off his shoes and clothes, and got into bed.

When he pulled back the blanket, he felt something warm and soft, and quickly turned on the light.

He thought it might be a woman trying to ruin his reputation and force him to marry, but instead, he saw two kids sleeping in his bed.

They were identical, with fair skin and long, thick eyelashes that were unbelievably beautiful.

What the heck!

Fang Chengguang almost freaked out. When did he get two sons?

He quickly woke up his bunkmate, He Liang. “He Liang, what the heck is going on?”

He spoke in a hushed voice, afraid to wake the sleeping kids.

He Liang was in a deep sleep and only woke up after being shaken several times. “Huh, Chengguang, you’re back? What’s up?”

Fang Chengguang pulled his head down to look at the lower bunk.

He Liang, still groggy, bent down to take a look and almost jumped up in shock, “Ah—”

Fang Chengguang quickly covered his mouth, “Keep it down! Do you want the whole compound to hear?”

He Liang looked at Fang Chengguang in horror, “Brother, when did you have two sons?”

“They’re your kids! Did you kidnap them or what?”

He Liang shook his head vigorously, “I went to sleep early, I don’t know anything.”

“What kind of soldier are you? If the enemy had raided your base, you wouldn’t even know.”

“That’s why I’m not a soldier, I’m in logistics! Hahaha. Hey, Chengguang, look at this kid. He’s quite handsome. Could it be that…hahaha.” He thought to himself, no wonder Fang Chengguang refused to get married; maybe he liked kids like this.

Fang Chengguang shot him a glance, “Your thoughts stink as much as your feet. The whole room reeks of sourness.”

The two of them pondered over whose kid this might be, as they had never seen him before.

He Liang remembered, “Could it be the family next door? A new family moved in today. I heard some noise coming from next door when I came back.”

Fang Chengguang responded, “And they let their son sleep in my bed?”

He Liang laughed, “With kids around, the couple might find it inconvenient. You should be more understanding.”

Fang Chengguang was speechless.

He Liang continued, getting more excited, “I was wondering what the noise was before. Now I get it. Wow, that couple must be quite intense.”

Outside, Cheng Rushan, who was about to knock on the door, paused mid-air.

Fang Chengguang said, “Forget it, I’ll just manage on another bed.”

He Liang kept marveling, “That couple, huh.”

Cheng Rushan knocked on the door.

Fang Chengguang quickly went to open it.

Seeing Cheng Rushan outside, he raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly, looking somewhat pained. “Are you from next door?”

Cheng Rushan replied, “My son went out to relieve himself and accidentally walked into the wrong room. Sorry about that.”

Before Fang Chengguang could say anything, He Liang jumped out of bed, enthusiastically saying, “Come in!”

He was excited about the story he had just made up and was eager to find some evidence on Cheng Rushan to back it up.

Look!

Cheng Rushan had thrown on his cotton jacket without wearing an undershirt or shirt underneath.

He hadn’t even had time to button it up properly, revealing his white, strong chest.

When Cheng Rushan came in and saw the two boys sleeping so soundly with their heads together, he couldn’t help but smile, his eyes softening with tenderness.

He bent down, lifted the blanket, covered Da Bao with his cotton jacket, and picked him up. “Sorry for the trouble. I’ll come back for Xiao Bao in a bit.”

He Liang immediately offered to help, “I’ll help you.” He reached out to pick up Xiao Bao.

Fang Chengguang pushed him aside, covered Xiao Bao with his jacket, picked him up, and followed Cheng Rushan out.

Back in their own room, Cheng Rushan didn’t turn on the light.

He gently put Da Bao down and then took Xiao Bao from Fang Chengguang, whispering his thanks.

Fang Chengguang saw Cheng Rushan put both children on the lower bunk and started to believe He Liang’s story.

He then turned to leave.

Cheng Rushan tucked his sons in and went next door to thank them and introduce himself.

He Liang was very enthusiastic.

He noticed that Cheng Rushan was tall, handsome, and had an impressive demeanor.

He thought it was only natural for such a man to have an active social life.

Seeing Fang Chengguang’s somewhat confused expression, he nudged him in the back, saying, “Captain Cheng, I’ve heard about your transport team. Let’s help each other out in the future.”

Cheng Rushan smiled, “If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll do my best to help.”

He Liang was delighted and introduced himself and Fang Chengguang to Cheng Rushan.

Cheng Rushan said, “I won’t disturb your rest. Once we’re settled, I’ll invite you both for a drink.”

He Liang replied, “That sounds great.”

Cheng Rushan bade them farewell, closing the door behind him.

He noticed that Fang Chengguang didn’t come out to lock the door, indicating they probably never locked their doors.

As Cheng Rushan opened his own dormitory door, he could still hear He Liang muttering, “Chengguang, did you see his wife? Isn’t she really pretty?”

Fang Chengguang responded irritably, “What does it matter to you if she’s pretty?”

Though he had to admit, those two kids were indeed quite handsome.

The next morning, the sound of a whistle and chants for morning exercises from the barracks woke everyone up early.

No one could sleep in here.

Jiang Lin quickly got out of bed, while Cheng Rushan had already gone out to fetch water and was now heating it for them to wash their faces.

He also had a pot of millet porridge simmering.

Cheng Rushan said, “You can lie down for a while longer. I’ll go to the canteen to buy some buns and youtiao.”

Jiang Lin replied, “I’m already awake.”

She got out of bed, reflecting on how well she had slept next to him last night, and wondered if he had slept as well.

Cheng Rushan took the lunch box and enamel basin to get breakfast and invited Dai Guohua to join them.