“I won’t wash. We still have sugarcane to plant, and even if I wash, I’ll sweat again,” Er Bao wiped the sweat off his face, unconcerned. “Real men are supposed to sweat.”

Lin Guodong paused for a moment.

Isn’t it “real men don’t cry”?

“Your mother doesn’t like the smell of sweat; she says it’s stinky.” That’s why he didn’t dare to approach her right after training, he had to take a shower first.

Er Bao seemed like someone pressed the pause button on him, unsure what to say for a moment.

Finally, he said, “Then I’ll go put on some of mom’s scented powder. It’ll definitely smell nice.”

Yi Bao pursed his lips, thinking, if Er Bao dares to put on mom’s scented powder, he’ll surely get a scolding, and maybe even miss out on the bamboo shoot stir-fry.

Back at home, Lin Guodong took the lunchbox and ticket to go fetch lunch.

As soon as he left, Ning Shu finished bathing.

“Mom, Dad’s gone to get lunch, can we eat and then go plant sugarcane?” Er Bao asked persistently, his mind filled with thoughts of planting sugarcane.

Ning Shu said, “We can’t plant sugarcane yet. We have to bury it in the soil and wait for it to sprout before planting. After lunch, I’ll teach you how to bury it.”

“Okay, can we bury it in the vegetable garden?” Er Bao asked again.

“No need, just dig a hole in the yard. But we’ll need your dad to go to the Moon Bay Production Brigade later to exchange for some straw. We’ll need it when we bury the sugarcane.” Although they had space in their residential compound, they didn’t have fields.

Otherwise, they would already have straw.

Lin Guodong quickly returned after fetching lunch.

He was late, so there weren’t many good dishes left.

Even though they were used to Ning Shu’s cooking and weren’t picky eaters, they managed with what was left.

After lunch and cleaning up, Ning Shu began directing, “Guodong, ride your bike to the Moon Bay Production Brigade and exchange for 10 bundles of straw.”

“Okay,” Lin Guodong replied, riding out on Ning Shu’s women’s bicycle.

Seeing Lin Guodong, a tough guy, riding a women’s bicycle, Ning Shu couldn’t help but want to laugh, but she held it in.

“Mom, what about us?” Er Bao couldn’t wait and asked when he saw his mother smiling for no apparent reason.

Ning Shu replied, “You guys dig a hole in the corner.”

“I’ll go get the hoe,” Yi Bao said.

Because they had their own land, Lin Guodong made them a small hoe.

It was just one small hoe that Yi Bao and Er Bao took turns using.

San Bao was still young, so he wasn’t allowed to use it.

The hoe was indeed small, or rather, the handle was short, so it was easier for the two boys to use it when taking turns.

Yi Bao started digging the hole first.

As he dug, Ning Shu sat with Er Bao and San Bao under the eaves, watching.

After Yi Bao had been digging for about two or three minutes, Ning Shu let Er Bao take over.

The brothers took turns digging like this, but their holes were only forming a shape, not deep enough even for pouring water, when Lin Guodong returned with 10 bundles of straw.

So, Lin Guodong took over the digging task.

Now there were four people sitting under the eaves… oh, and Da Mao and Tie Dan.

“Is anyone home?” At that moment, a faint female voice sounded at the door.

It was a young pregnant woman.

Seeing the unfamiliar person, Ning Shu couldn’t help but ask, “Do you need something?”

The woman smiled and said, “I’m from the neighboring family. I just arrived today. My husband got injured while on duty and is in the hospital. I came from my hometown to take care of him, but I need some water here. However, being heavily pregnant, I find it inconvenient to carry water. Could you please help me out?”

Speaking of the neighbor, after Ning Qin left under the pretext of pregnancy, Zhang Xian took several months to vacate the house.

Once he left, someone else applied for the house.

However, that family moved out later, and then another family applied, but they never showed up after the application, so nobody expected them to come today.

“Deputy Lieutenant Li got injured on this mission, so I’m here to help carry water?” Lin Guodong knew about this.

They were from the same unit and lived next door, so he couldn’t not know.

As comrades, when a comrade’s family asked for help, Lin Guodong couldn’t refuse.

However, he also sought Ning Shu’s opinion.

Although he asked, it was a formality.

“You go ahead,” Ning Shu naturally wouldn’t refuse such a thing.

She then asked the wife of Deputy Lieutenant Li, “Do you have any water buckets at your place?”

The wife of Deputy Lieutenant Li felt a bit embarrassed. “I just arrived, and I checked earlier. Maybe because my husband hasn’t been staying there, we don’t have water buckets or anything. Could I borrow one from your place? When my husband gets discharged and we buy new buckets, I’ll return it to you?”

Although Ning Shu had plenty of water buckets at home, there were only two for carrying water, and the rest were for laundry or storing clothes.

She wouldn’t use the laundry buckets for carrying water.

But since the other party needed it and her situation was understandable, Ning Shu wouldn’t refuse.

She said, “I can lend you one for now in case of emergency. You can buy a water bucket from the Moon Bay Production Brigade nearby.” Then, she looked at Lin Guodong.

It was like asking, “Can you help buy one?”

In other circumstances, Ning Shu wouldn’t meddle, but since the woman’s husband was Lin Guodong’s comrade and got injured on duty, it was only right to help a bit.

Lin Guodong said, “I have the afternoon off, so I can go buy one. What do you think?” He looked at the wife of Deputy Lieutenant Li as he spoke.

“Thank you so much,” the wife of Deputy Lieutenant Li said gratefully, her voice soft, making her look like a rabbit. “But… isn’t this taking advantage of you? We’re soldiers and their families; isn’t it inappropriate to do this?”

Ning Shu: “…”

Lin Guodong: “…”

Ning Shu almost rolled her eyes.

Just now, she thought the woman seemed weak, but now she seemed quite shrewd.

Was it her overthinking? But she still explained, “There’s a furniture workshop in Qinglin Bay Production Brigade approved by the government. Their furniture is also sold in the cooperative, so it’s a legitimate transaction. Of course, if you’re concerned, we can also exchange goods for goods.”

Anyway, she wouldn’t discuss such matters with her in the future.

“I see…” Deputy Lieutenant Li’s wife breathed a sigh of relief. “Then, could this gentleman please help me carry some water first, and later could you please help me buy two wooden buckets? Thank you for your trouble.”

Lin Guodong nodded and went straight into the kitchen, fetching a bucket of water that had just been carried in for washing dishes. “Here’s some water I just fetched for lunch. Let me bring it over for you first.”

“Thank you,” said Deputy Lieutenant Li’s wife.

Curious, Ning Shu followed up, but she didn’t enter.

She stood at the neighboring door and watched.

Lin Guodong left the kitchen after setting down the water.

He noticed there was nothing inside when he entered.

He thought for a moment and asked, “How many buckets do you want? Do you need any tubs or similar items?” Since he was going, he might as well bring more.

“I need them, I need them… Let me think… Two buckets. As for tubs, I’m not sure. Let’s get two for now. Thank you, comrade.” Deputy Lieutenant Li’s wife thought for a moment and added, “Comrade, can I pay you back when my husband gets discharged? My mother-in-law only gave me money for transportation and meals for this trip, and for the rest, I don’t have…” She felt embarrassed and didn’t finish her sentence.

Everyone understood what she meant.

“It’s alright. I’ll go buy two wooden buckets and two tubs first.” With that, Lin Guodong left.

As he walked out of the yard gate, Ning Shu caught up.

Back in their yard, Ning Shu handed him the money, and he rode off on the women’s bicycle to the Moon Bay Production Brigade.

The three brothers watched their father ride off again and asked curiously, “Mom, where’s Dad going?”

“He’s going to help Auntie next door buy wooden buckets and tubs. Uncle next door got injured on duty and is in the hospital, and they don’t have any male relatives at home. Auntie is also pregnant and finds some household chores difficult, so they asked us for help.” Ning Shu explained to the three children.

So that’s how it is, and the three brothers suddenly lost interest.

Ning Shu sat back under the eaves, yawning.

She felt a bit sleepy.

“Sis…” At this moment, Deputy Lieutenant Li’s wife’s voice sounded again at the door. “Sis, can I ask you for another favor?”

“What favor?” Ning Shu asked.

“Well, you see, my belly is quite big, so it’s inconvenient for me to clean. But because nobody has lived here, there’s a lot of dust, and it’s making me uncomfortable to breathe. Could you please help me clean?” She looked at Ning Shu hopefully.

Ning Shu: “…”

Was she being morally blackmailed?

Did she look like a moral person?

Yi Bao: “…”

Er Bao: “…”

San Bao: “…”

The three brothers were stunned.

Their mother never did such household chores at home.

Apart from cooking and sewing, cleaning was always done by their dad or them.

Before Ning Shu could answer,

Er Bao spoke up, “Our mom doesn’t know how to clean.”

Deputy Lieutenant Li’s wife blinked, not understanding what Er Bao meant!