During lunch, Ning Shu asked about the aftermath of Xu Duomei’s attempted suicide. “What happened with Xu Duomei afterward?”

Lin Guodong was open about it.

Since it wasn’t a military secret and Ning Shu wanted to know, he had no reason to keep it hidden.

He explained, “After Xu Duomei was rescued, we went to the commanding officer’s office. Xu Weilin wrote a guarantee letter, promising that such an incident wouldn’t happen again.

The commanding officer also asked Xu Weilin’s mother to write a guarantee letter. Since she couldn’t write, Xu Weilin wrote it for her, and she just signed with her thumbprint.”

He continued, “These two guarantees will be posted on the family compound’s notice board.”

Ning Shu was curious, “Do these guarantees really help?”

Lin Guodong replied, “Yes, they can have a deterrent effect to prevent such incidents in the future.

Additionally, if Xu Weilin’s mother commits any more acts of oppression against her daughter-in-law or granddaughter, and someone reports it and it’s confirmed, she will be expelled from the army, and Xu Weilin might be advised to return home.”

Ning Shu wasn’t sure if such measures would work if similar incidents happened again, but for Xu Duomei, this was currently the best solution.

At least the situation was now somewhat under control, and Xu Duomei’s sister could be brought back.

Xu Duomei’s sister would have suffered in the village with someone like Xu’s grandmother.

Ultimately, it came down to Duomei’s Mother’s problem.

Lin Guodong suddenly remembered the rope and mentioned it, “Regarding the rope we found on the rooftop…”

He briefly explained the situation with the rope, “It shows that the girl was very aware of what she was doing and took measures for her own safety. She’s quite a smart girl.”

Ning Shu was shocked by Lin Guodong’s words.

It was surprising to think that a first-grader like Xu Duomei had such a clear plan.

The Three Chilsren listened attentively to their parents.

Although the five-year-old Sanbao was smart, he was still young and focused on eating after hearing the conversation.

When Erbao heard this, his eyes widened.

He blinked and looked at his father with confusion. “Dad, why did she tie a rope and jump off the building?”

Ning Shu: “…”

Oh no, Erbao had heard something he shouldn’t have and now was focusing on the wrong thing.

“Eat your food and talk less,” Ning Shu said, tapping his head with chopsticks.

“And remember, things Dad and Mom say at home should not be repeated outside, okay?”

Erbao replied, “I definitely won’t say anything. I’m a big kid now, I understand.”

Ning Shu was pleased with his response and praised him, “Erbao is also a smart child.”

“Of course,” Erbao said proudly.

He never thought of himself as not smart.

His big brother was the smartest, Sanbao was second, and he was third.

Being third was pretty impressive.

Erbao didn’t know there was a term for being last in a sequence, and unfortunately, he was in that position.

The military quickly dealt with Xu Duomei’s case.

By that afternoon, a notice about the incident was posted on the family compound’s bulletin board.

Soon after the notice was posted, everyone went to see it.

“Ning Shu, girl… Ning Shu, girl…”

“Coming…”

Hearing Aunt Yang’s voice, Ning Shu hurriedly went out, asking, “Aunt Yang, what’s the matter?”

Aunt Yang waved her hand, “Go to the bulletin board. The morning’s incident has been resolved.”

Ning Shu didn’t even say goodbye to Lin Guodong and the children before rushing off with Aunt Yang.

Lin Guodong: “…”

This was more enthusiastic than watching a movie.

But he was used to it; growing up in the countryside, he knew that rural women were like this—always rushing at the slightest hint of gossip.

The bulletin board was already surrounded by many people, all pushing in to get a better view.

Ning Shu was no exception.

“Aunt Yang, what does it say on the board?” Aunt Yang, though high-spirited and having attended literacy classes, had only remembered numbers from them.

She couldn’t recall much of the written content.

Since the bulletin board was public, Ning Shu generously read out the content: “…”

It was basically what Lin Guodong had said during lunch.

As Ning Shu spoke, some illiterate women who had arrived later listened attentively.

“This is really outrageous…”

“Yes, it’s unbelievable. The daughter-in-law was beaten unconscious in the clinic, something we’ve never seen before.”

“Not giving money for medical treatment and hoping the daughter-in-law will die so her son can remarry someone who can bear a son—that kind of thinking is beyond us.”

“If that’s the case, who would ever want to marry off their daughter into such a family?”

“I don’t think their daughter will be able to marry now. With a grandmother like that, she’s had the worst luck.”

“Yes… pushing a child to suicide and ruining the reputation of our family compound.”

“I say such a person should be sent back to their hometown.”

“Sending her back is too lenient; she should be sent for reformation.”

The women chatted heatedly about the situation.

Xu Duomei’s case started with a lot of commotion and concluded with the establishment of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The day after the cooperative announced its list of new hires, Aunt Yang brought Ning Shu a fish and half a pound of brown sugar.

Zhao Huan had been accepted and had become a clerk at the cooperative, securing a stable job.

Aunt Yang believed that Ning Shu deserved the most credit for Zhao Huan’s success.

If Ning Shu hadn’t taken them to the city for training, Zhao Huan wouldn’t have been accepted.

Ning Shu didn’t refuse Aunt Yang’s gift.

Given their good relationship, it was too formal to insist on pushing it away.

On the day the cooperative officially opened, the Three Chuldren asked Ning Shu, “Mom, can we go to the cooperative to buy things?”

Ning Shu replied, “Of course. What do you want to buy? How much do you need? I’ll get it for you.”

Yibao quickly said, “Mom, no need. We’ll use our own money. We want to buy some food.”

As Yibao spoke, the Sanbao and Erbao looked at their mother nervously, worried that she might think they were spending money carelessly.

Although the Three Children had always had plenty to eat at home, it was their first time buying things from the cooperative with their own money, so they felt a bit anxious.

“You can go,” Ning Shu said. “You can manage the money you earned yourselves as long as you’re not using it for bad things. I won’t interfere with your plans.”

“Yay…”

The three children were thrilled.

Yibao gave Erbao and Sanbao each a dime, and the three of them headed to the supply and marketing cooperative.

“Lin Haizhi, Lin Hairui, Lin Haiyang…” Yang Wenjie, Cheng Yingyong, and He Jiaxing were already waiting at the cooperative’s entrance.

The group of kids happily ran into the supply and marketing cooperative.

Although everyone was familiar with cooperatives, having one in the military was quite rare, so the cooperative was very crowded today.

However, most people were just there to watch the excitement.

Only a few were actually buying things, mostly just small daily necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

The three children squeezed through the crowd from behind the adults.

The cooperative, though small, was well-stocked.

The kids checked out each counter one by one.

Eventually, they stopped at the counter where food was sold.

Just so happened that Zhao Huan was in charge of that counter.

“Yibao, what do you want to buy?” Zhao Huan smiled at them.

“Auntie…” Yibao greeted her, “Let me take a look first.”

Erbao’s big eyes were fixed on Zhao Huan. “Auntie, are you now a salesperson at the cooperative?” Since she was behind the counter, she must be a salesperson.

Erbao admired Zhao Huan, thinking she was really impressive.

Zhao Huan, seeing the sparkling admiration in his eyes, liked him even more. “Yes, Auntie is now a salesperson here. Study hard, and maybe one day you can also work here.”

Erbao quickly shook his head. “No, no, I want to be a scientist.”

Nearby women who came to visit the cooperative heard this and couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh my, such a small child already knows he wants to be a scientist. How smart!”

A woman in the crowd asked, “Do you know what scientists do? If you get it right, I’ll buy you some candy.”

Erbao turned to look at her.

She was a smiling auntie. He answered loudly, “I know! Scientists invented trains, cars, bicycles, televisions, refrigerators, fans… all those things were invented by scientists. They’re amazing! Scientists invent so many things and can make a lot of money.”

Making money is very important.

“Ha ha ha…” A hearty laugh came from behind the crowd.

As people parted to make way, several military leaders appeared.

They had come to see the situation and were pleased to see the bustling activity at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Consumption indicates an improvement in the people’s living standards.

“Whose child are you? With such big ambitions to be a scientist, the future of our country depends on you,” one of the leaders said.

Erbao was momentarily stunned but then said, “Uncle, I recognize you. You’ve been to our house for dinner. Don’t you remember me?”

“Ah?” Regiment Commander Qi looked at the child in front of him, struggling to recall.

Since he was usually invited to dinners by families of deputy battalion commanders and above, he noticed the resemblance to Yibao and suddenly realized, “You’re Lin Guodong’s child! You’ve grown so much.”

Erbao grinned, “Uncle, you remembered! Yes, I grow every day.”

“Ha ha ha…” Regiment Commander Qi laughed heartily, “Growing every day, very good. Your father is an excellent soldier, and with such ambitions, you’ll surely be outstanding as well. A tiger’s son is never a dog.”

Erbao was very happy to receive the praise.

After the leaders left, the crowd became lively again.

The woman who had mentioned buying candy bought a piece of fruit candy for Erbao and said, “Here you go, keep working towards becoming a scientist.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

That day, Lin Guodong became well-known among the military leaders, and everyone knew he had a child who aspired to be a scientist in the future.