“Alright, Teacher.” Yi Bao sat down.

Teacher Jiang looked around at the children in the class who all wanted to earn money. “However, you are all children, all students. For you, studying is the most important thing. Only when you study well can you earn money. With a good education, you can become teachers, workers, or do many other things that can earn money. So, you all need to study hard, understand?”

“We understand!” The children replied loudly, full of determination.

At that moment, Ning Shu returned with Da Mao and Tie Dan, along with the cart from the Moon Bay Production Brigade.

In the afternoon, she first went to the Moon Bay Production Brigade to inquire about the veterinarian’s situation.

After learning that the veterinarian was at the commune health clinic, she took Da Mao and Tie Dan there.

Upon learning that Da Mao and Tie Dan were retired military dogs, the veterinarian explained to her in detail what precautions to take, especially regarding their diet and hygiene.

For pets, hygiene is crucial.

Ning Shu was already very attentive to this, and what she listened to most carefully was about their diet.

She had previously thought that it would be best not to add salt to Da Mao and Tie Dan’s food.

However, it turns out that even salt has its nuances.

If they usually eat more vegetarian food without meat or eggs to supplement protein, then a small amount of salt should be added to their food, as salt can provide beneficial substances for their bodies.

When choosing vegetables for dogs, radishes are very beneficial.

However, if their diet includes meat, eggs, or other protein-rich foods, then there’s no need to add salt because these foods naturally contain salt.

Speaking of eggs, she used to stew eggs and mix them with rice for Da Mao and Tie Dan to eat.

But the veterinarian explained that dogs can eat egg yolks, but egg whites are not good for their digestion.

To be honest, when she asked about this, she did it discreetly and even lied, saying Da Mao and Tie Dan had just come down from the battlefield and needed some nourishment.

Otherwise, giving eggs to Da Mao and Tie Dan, who had recovered, would probably seem extravagant to the veterinarian, especially considering how precious eggs were in those days.

Finally, there was the issue of bathing the dogs.

Ning Shu also learned from the veterinarian that a mixture of warm water and baking soda should be used to soak the dogs for about 10 minutes, then rinse them with clean water to clean them thoroughly.

Learning this, Ning Shu was very happy.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to bathe Da Mao and Tie Dan.

Finally arriving at the entrance to the military base, Ning Shu was covered in sweat.

It was only early spring, and she was still wearing a padded jacket, yet she was already feeling so hot. Walking back and forth between the military base and the commune, then back to the commune again, she had been walking for three hours in total.

How could she not feel hot?

The soldier at the guard post recognized Ning Shu and hurriedly approached, asking, “Sister-in-law, do you need help with registration and guarantees for outsiders entering? Can I assist you?”

Ning Shu replied, “No need, no need. I don’t want to disturb your duty. Your work is important. If they don’t go in, I’ll just leave these things at the entrance. When your battalion leader, Lin Guodong, finishes work, you can ask him to move them.”

Dealing with registration and guarantees seemed too troublesome.

Although the captain of the Moon Bay Production Brigade should have no problem, Ning Shu felt it would be better not to bother with guarantees.

It would be fine to have Lin Guodong handle it when he arrived.

Hearing Ning Shu’s words, the soldiers at the guard post didn’t insist further.

Instead, they helped her unload the furniture from the cart.

Then the captain of the Moon Bay Production Brigade drove the cart away.

Ning Shu didn’t stay long either. It was fine to leave the furniture at the guard post; she needed to go back and prepare dinner.

Passing by the school, Da Mao and Tie Dan barked a few times towards Ning Shu and then lay down at the entrance of the kindergarten, refusing to move.

The caretaker at the entrance saw this and smiled, “These two dogs are here to pick up your kids again, huh?”

Ning Shu smiled back, “Yes, indeed. Please keep an eye on them. I’m heading home now.”

The caretaker nodded, “Sure thing, I’ll keep an eye on them.”

Ning Shu returned home and took out the prepared items: 24 tofu buns from the app, a pound of savory duck, 8 large sausages, 18 cheese bread rolls, and some cabbage and potatoes exchanged from the Moon Bay Production Brigade.

They had the savory duck for dinner that night, saved the tofu buns for breakfast the next morning, planned to have the sausages for lunch the next day, and kept the cheese bread rolls as snacks when they got hungry.

Thinking about it, the family’s vegetable garden hadn’t been tended to yet.

They had received vegetables from others a few days ago, but now they were out of fresh produce.

It wasn’t convenient to go out to buy vegetables every day, so they needed to tidy up the vegetable garden.

While preparing dinner, aside from the savory duck, Ning Shu made a cold dish of wood ear mushrooms, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, and sour shredded potatoes.

Ning Shu hadn’t finished cooking when she heard the voices of San Bao, Yi Bao, and Da Mao and Tie Dan at the door.

“Mom… Mom…” Er Bao was the first to run into the yard.

[Bark, bark, bark…]

Tie Dan followed him in, but he ran to the dining room and picked up a porcelain bowl with his mouth.

Behind them was Yi Bao, leading San Bao and Da Mao. Da Mao also went to the dining room and picked up his porcelain bowl.

“Mom, what did you buy?” Er Bao stood at the kitchen door, peeking inside.

Ning Shu asked, “Are you hungry?”

Er Bao replied, “Very hungry. I played games with my friends this afternoon, and my stomach has been growling for a while.”

Yi Bao nodded, “We played games for a long time.”

Ning Shu looked at their still rosy cheeks and could tell they had been playing.

“Then go wash your hands first. I bought some bread, and each of you will get one later.”

The cheese bread was really small, almost the size of a dumpling. Giving each of them one was just to tide them over before dinner, after all.

“Wow… Is this the cake we used to eat?” Yi Bao remembered the cake (chocolate Swiss roll) he had eaten a long time ago.

“No, it’s not.” Ning Shu knew what he was referring to.

The chances of cakes and bread appearing on the app were not many, but she naturally remembered.

“These are newly bought cakes.”

She took out four of them, one for each of the three boys, and one for herself.

So, when Lin Guodong and a few soldiers came back carrying furniture, they saw Ning Shu and Er Bao standing in the yard eating cheese bread, Da Mao and Tie Dan eating the radish and egg yolk rice Ning Shu made, while Yi Bao and San Bao squatted in front of Da Mao and Tie Dan eating bread.

Lin Guodong: “…”

Ning Shu: “…”

The couple exchanged glances, and Ning Shu suddenly felt like she had been caught stealing food. “You’re back? Everyone must be tired. Just leave the stuff in the yard.”

“Hi, sister-in-law.”

“We can help with moving in, sister-in-law.”

“Sister-in-law, you’re too kind.”

The soldiers who brought the furniture greeted Ning Shu one after another.

“No need, just leave it here. I just finished making these, and I need to wipe them down.” With that, Ning Shu quickly went back to the kitchen and poured everyone a glass of warm water with sugar. “You’ve all worked hard today. Thank you. Have some water to quench your thirst.”

The soldiers had just finished training and had carried things all the way here, so they were indeed thirsty and hadn’t had a chance to drink water in the dormitory yet.

When they saw Ning Shu bringing water for them to drink, they didn’t hesitate to accept.

“Thank you, sister-in-law.”

They took the glasses and drank them down eagerly.

However, they only realized after they drank it that it was sweetened water.

“Thank you, sister-in-law. You’re too kind, giving us sweetened water.”

“Oh no, I drank it all in one gulp.”

“Sister-in-law, we’ll take off now. We won’t bother you anymore.”

“Ning Shu: “Take care on your way.”

“Mom, these things are just like what we had back home,” Yi Bao said.

“Yes, they are the same. After dinner, wipe these things down and then move them into the rooms. Can you guys handle arranging your own things?” Ning Shu asked.

“Yes, we can,” Yi Bao replied confidently.

He had already known how to organize his own things for a while.

Lin Guodong seized the moment to add, “And then you guys will sleep in your own rooms tonight.”

Ning Shu: “…”

Sleep in their own rooms?

Yi Bao blinked. “Dad, aren’t we going to sleep with you and mom? Why do we have to go back to our own rooms?”

They had been staying together as a family for several days now, and he thought it would continue like that.

“You guys are big kids now, already in school. You can’t sleep with us anymore. Back home, you used to sleep on your own,” Lin Guodong explained.

Yi Bao pursed his lips, looking at his mother.

Ning Shu pretended not to see and said, “Okay, okay, it’s time for dinner. After dinner, we need to tidy up these pieces of furniture.”

Yi Bao: “…”

While Er Bao and Tie Dan played, and San Bao and Da Mao played, they didn’t know what they were about to face.

But after dinner, they would find out.

After dinner, the family worked together to clean the furniture and move it into the rooms.

Lin Guodong then directly moved the bed into the room.

Er Bao watched his dad move the bed and asked, “Dad, why are you moving the bed? Are we changing rooms to sleep?”

Yi Bao pulled Er Bao aside and whispered in his ear, “Dad said we should sleep in the next room. He doesn’t want to sleep with us anymore.”

Er Bao didn’t mind, “Then mom can sleep with us.”

Yi Bao looked at Er Bao incredulously, thinking he was getting dumber. “Dad doesn’t want to sleep with us, but mom must be sleeping with dad, like back in our old home.”

“What? Why?” Er Bao was puzzled.

He ran into the room and chased after Lin Guodong, asking, “Dad, why? Why can’t mom sleep with us again?”

Lin Guodong placed the bed down, “Because you two are big kids going to school now. If big kids going to school still sleep with their parents, they will be laughed at. Do you want the kids at school to laugh at you?”

Er Bao pursed his lips, “But the kids at school won’t know. We just won’t tell them.”

Lin Guodong replied, “Lying is not right. Do you want to be a child who lies?”

Er Bao hated tattletales and liars the most; he definitely didn’t want to be a lying child.

But… his brain couldn’t keep up, falling into his dad’s reasoning.

Er Bao thought, he would ask the teacher tomorrow when he goes to school if kids going to school can sleep with their parents!