Yang Baozhu was stunned.

Her grandmother had never said such things before.

Her grandmother used to say, “Thinking about playing every day, but what good does it do to sweep the floor, gather firewood, and pick wild vegetables? Playing won’t achieve anything.”

Yi Bao said, “Grandma Yang, we won’t play anymore. We want to eat now.”

Er Bao also chimed in, “Grandma Yang, we want to eat. After eating well, we can play.”

When Grandma Yang heard them addressing her so affectionately, she laughed happily, “Oh, if you want to play, then call your sister Baozhu.”

“Okay.”

The two brother agreed.

Grandma Yang actually wanted to chat more with the three kids, but her son was coming back, and she had to arrange for dinner. “Yi Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, Grandma Yang is going to make dinner. When you’re free, come to Grandma Yang’s house to play, okay?”

“Okay.”

The two brother agreed again, watching Grandma Yang enter the yard, and then happily ran into the yard themselves.

“Mom, can we have dinner now?” The three children came to the kitchen door. Er Bao sniffed and asked eagerly.

Ning Shu handed them the well-prepared omelette, “Here’s the omelette Yi Bao earned. You can eat first, and I’ll make a soup.”

Then, she turned to Lin Guodong and said, “You can ask Li Zao to start eating first. It seems we don’t have any alcohol.”

Lin Guodong replied, “It’s okay if we don’t have any alcohol. We can prepare it next time when inviting everyone to dinner. Even if we do prepare it, we shouldn’t drink much, just a small bowl for each person.”

Although there were no strict regulations in the army regarding drinking, they were all sensible people. They wouldn’t drink the day before a mission, but occasionally, when there was no mission, they could have a small drink to satisfy their cravings.

“I understand. When the time comes, if we can’t find any outside, we can ask around at the Moon Bay production brigade to see if anyone brews alcohol.” Ning Shu’s app didn’t have any alcohol either.

Sometimes there were group purchases for red wine, but she didn’t like drinking, and besides, even if the red wine was packaged in containers suitable for this era, it still wasn’t suitable for this era. Some people might consider it a foreign novelty.

Thinking about it, it would be nice if there were some homemade bayberry wine.

In her hometown, every peak summer, children would take a few sips of bayberry wine or eat a few bayberries soaked in bayberry wine.

They said it helped with their health, strengthened their resistance, reduced the chances of heatstroke, and even helped alleviate heatstroke if someone got it.

Whether there was scientific evidence behind it, she didn’t know. Anyway, when she was young, she had eaten bayberries soaked in bayberry wine like that, sweet and tasty.

Especially when the bayberries from the bayberry wine were dried in the sun, sprinkled with sugar, and then steamed, the taste was even better.

Lin Guodong came out of the kitchen, ready to call Li Zao to eat together, but he saw Li Zao chatting with the three kids in the dining room.

Lin Guodong raised an eyebrow. Normally, Li Zao was quite lively, but he hadn’t expected him to be so lively that he could chat with Er Bao.

So, Lin Guodong returned to the kitchen. “Your son has finally found someone he can chat with.”

Ning Shu was puzzled by his words. “Who?”

Lin Guodong replied, “Li Zao.”

“Haha…” Ning Shu laughed. “That’s great. In the future, Er Bao can learn from Comrade Li Zao. If there’s anything he doesn’t understand, he can ask Comrade Li Zao.” As long as they didn’t come to her.

Every time Er Bao asked a question, her head buzzed.

“By the way, you can invite Li Zao to eat more often. Consider it Li Zao’s hard-earned fee.”

“You really come up with ideas.” Lin Guodong chuckled.

When Ning Shu finished making the soup with baby bok choy, dinner began.

Li Zao looked at the table full of dishes, and his mouth watered.

Usually, they had fixed portions in the canteen.

Even though they could pay extra for more food, they didn’t buy much because vegetables didn’t fill them up.

Instead of letting them pay for more vegetables, it was better to let them pay for more rice.

“Sister-in-law, you’re too kind, making so many dishes.” Li Zao smiled happily.

Seeing his sister-in-law making so many delicious dishes, he knew she was very welcoming him to eat, which made him very happy.

Seeing him so happy, Ning Shu was also happy.

Whether the food she cooked was good or bad, as long as it was recognized by others, she was happy.

Even if it was just flattering words to make her happy, she would still be happy. “If you like it, eat more. We’ve just arrived here, and we can only make do with what we have. When we have the chance to get other food in the future, I’ll show off my cooking skills to you.”

Er Bao: “My mom cooks sour fish slices so deliciously.”

“Sour fish slices? Does it require fish?” Li Zao picked up a piece of braised radish with his chopsticks and swallowed it before curiously asking.

“Yeah, it needs fish. Uncle Li, do you know how to catch fish? If you can catch fish, you can come to my house to exchange. We’ll give you something else, and you give us fish.” Er Bao was clever, knowing that things could be exchanged.

His mom had exchanged chestnuts for sugar and snails for soda before, and Er Bao remembered all of it.

“I don’t know how to catch fish, but we have a seaport here. There’s a free trade day in the seaport every month, and there’s plenty of seafood then.” Li Zao explained.

“What does ‘seaport’ mean?” Ning Shu didn’t understand. “Does it mean the coast of the sea?”

“No, it’s a water and land hub, equivalent to a port. There’s an island offshore here. The fishermen on the island come to exchange things every month. They can’t farm on the island, so they make a living by fishing. Because of the special geographical conditions there, the government here allows them to trade in the sea.” Li Zao clarified.

Ning Shu understood. That sounded great; did it mean there was a lot of seafood? “Are there prawns, crabs, and sea cucumbers?”

Li Zao: “Prawns are delicious, but crabs and sea cucumbers don’t have much meat. Sister-in-law, do you like them? They’re very cheap during trading.”

Ning Shu: “… I love them.”

Er Bao: “I love them too.”

He didn’t know about sea cucumbers, but he had eaten sea crabs before, and he liked them.

Yi Bao also nodded, “I like them too.”

He had eaten crabs during New Year’s; his dad caught crabs while fishing, and his mom used them to make soup.

So he had forgotten what they tasted like now, but he liked all the dishes his mom made.

As for sea cucumbers, Yi Bao thought they were like pumpkin seeds but grown in the sea, hence the name sea cucumbers.

But he was different from Er Bao; he didn’t like eating pumpkin seeds.

Relatively speaking, he preferred sweet treats like durian.

The atmosphere at the Ning family’s table, with three adults and three kids, was harmonious as they ate and chatted. However, it wasn’t the same at the neighboring Ning Qin family’s table.

When Zhang Xianyi returned from the cafeteria, he saw his daughter with red eyes.

Zhang Xian thought, “She must have had a fight with someone in preschool. It’s normal for kids to quarrel, but if my daughter is looking at me with red eyes, I can’t just ignore it.”

So he asked, “Xiao Qian, what’s wrong? Your eyes are as red as a little rabbit’s.”

As soon as Zhang Qian heard her father’s voice, her eyes became even redder.

Being a pampered girl, even though she was in the family housing area, other boys were very friendly to her.

It was the first time someone had accused her of being a tattletale or a liar, and she felt extremely wronged.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell her mom. She felt so upset about it.

Now that her father was asking, she was about to speak up when Er Bao’s voice echoed in her mind.

“Tattletale… tattletale… tattletale…”

Zhang Qian stopped talking.

She wasn’t a tattletale, and she couldn’t be one. So, she said with a pout, “I’m fine, my eyes just feel uncomfortable.”

Zhang Xian: “…” He wasn’t stupid.

His daughter looked like she had been bullied, so how could it be just uncomfortable eyes? But it was strange.

His daughter got along well with other kids, whether at home or at school.

Why was she like this today? He looked at Ning Qin and asked softly, “What’s wrong with her?”

Ning Qin didn’t hide it either. “After school today, Xiao Qian…”

“Don’t say it,” Zhang Qian interrupted Ning Qin. “My eyes really hurt. Mom, don’t tell Dad.”

She didn’t want to be labeled as a tattletale.

“Okay, okay, we won’t say anything,” Zhang Xian winked at Ning Qin.

They wouldn’t talk in front of their daughter, but could they still not talk about it behind her back?

So, after dinner, while Ning Qin and Zhang Xian went to the well to wash dishes, Zhang Qian did her homework alone. Zhang Xian asked, “What’s wrong with our daughter?”

Ning Qin also didn’t hide it and explained the situation, “Later, I told the neighbor’s sister-in-law about it. Xiao Qian said she wanted to play with the neighbor’s kids, so I came back. But after a while, she came back home with red eyes. I asked her what happened, but she refused to say. I thought she might have had a fight with the neighbor’s kid? But she won’t say, and I don’t want to ask the neighbor’s directly. After all, they are the family of Captain Lin, you see…”

Ning Qin’s words were tactful.

On the one hand, it showed that she had already gone out of her way for her stepdaughter, indicating that she cared, and on the other hand, her stepdaughter refused to say what happened, and since Lin Guodong held a higher position than Zhang Xian, she couldn’t directly ask.

Zhang Xianyi had no doubts about his wife’s concern for their daughter, and over the past six months, he had witnessed the bond between them.

Moreover, he had often felt grateful for marrying Ning Qin because many second-marriage wives couldn’t get along well with their stepchildren.

But that wasn’t a problem for him.

So, when his wife spoke like this, he naturally believed her.

“By the way, Xian Ge, when I talked to the neighbor’s sister-in-law about this matter, her attitude seemed somewhat distant. Since we haven’t had much contact with her, there’s no reason for her to be unfriendly. Do you think it’s possible that Yang Pozi said something bad about me to her? After all, Vice Captain Yang is under Captain Lin.” Ning Qin hinted at this point and didn’t explicitly say the rest.

But Zhang Xianyi understood her meaning.

Zhang Xianyi admitted, “I’m not sure about that. It’s possible that Yang Pozi might have said something, but we can’t confirm whether she did or not. However, Captain Lin is a discerning person, so I don’t think his wife would be unreasonable.”

Zhang Xianyi had a good impression of Lin Guodong.

He had joined the army before Lin Guodong and caused quite a stir when he first arrived.

Having a military academy graduate join the army was a big deal and one of the talents the army wanted to cultivate.

Moreover, Lin Guodong’s performance after joining the army was impeccable.

“I’ll ask Captain Lin about Xiao Qian’s matter later,” Zhang Xianyi thought there was nothing to consider about this matter.

Since his daughter refused to speak, he would ask another knowledgeable person.

Men don’t complicate things when considering matters.

“But be careful not to quarrel with Captain Lin,” Ning Qin reminded.

After all, he was a company commander, two ranks higher than Zhang Xianyi.

Ning Qin didn’t want Zhang Xianyi to offend Lin Guodong; she was afraid that if Zhang Xianyi couldn’t be a soldier anymore, their lives would become difficult.

She had finally escaped the hardships of the countryside by following the army and didn’t want to go back to those days.

Furthermore, if Zhang Xianyi couldn’t be a soldier anymore and returned to their hometown, even though he was a city dweller, their family life would still be affected.

They would have to live with his parents, and Ning Qin didn’t want to live that kind of life.

Zhang Xianyi was speechless, “Don’t overthink it, how is that possible? I’m not going to quarrel with him. How about this, if you’re worried, come with me later, that should be fine, right?”

Ning Qin thought about it, “Okay.”

She also wanted to improve relations with Lin Guodong’s wife.

Perhaps, when their relationship improved, she could persuade Lin Guodong’s wife to make things difficult for Vice Captain Yang.

After all, Yang Pozi always targeted her!