The class monitor didn’t say anything further.

He first counted the items from the three cloth bags.

There were more apple slices, so each person could get one slice, the fried dough twists could also be divided so each person got one, but there were not enough meat buns.

Therefore, the class monitor decided that those who didn’t get a meat bun would get an extra apple slice.

The apple slices were quite large, each apple was cut into four pieces.

No one was upset about not getting a meat bun.

After all, it was a gift, and having extra apple slices was better than nothing.

Yibao kept an eye on the class monitor, noticing that the classmates followed the class monitor’s instructions closely, just like when he was a class monitor in primary school.

After a while, Yibao turned his attention back to Erbao and said, “This sack contains food: rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, as well as salted eggs that Mom has already steamed. These are the things you wanted. Also, we’ve returned the items the class monitor lent you. We’ll visit you again in a few days.”

Erbao nodded, “Brother, are you leaving?”

Yibao responded, “You still have physical training in the afternoon, so you should rest well at noon.”

“I’m full of energy,” Erbao said, reluctant to see them go.

“Then you can see us off downstairs. Rest when you return,” Yibao suggested, wanting to hear more about the room switch.

“Okay.” Erbao was happy to spend a bit more time with Yibao and Sanbao.

When Erbao saw them off downstairs, he explained everything about the room switch, and Yibao learned more about the class monitor and found out he was a good person.

The descriptions from the two brothers were the same.

As Yibao and Sanbao were about to leave, they were called by a voice.

“Lin, Lin…”

Yibao and Sanbao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl—Han Hongling, the one who had visited their home.

Sanbao whispered to Yibao, “Big brother, why is she here again?”

Yibao tugged at him, signaling him to keep quiet.

Then he asked Han Hongling, “Do you need something from us?”

Han Hongling hesitated and said, “Yesterday, my stepmother spoke badly about your mother again.”

She carefully observed the two brothers.

Han Hongling had tentatively selected the Lin family as the future support candidates.

She had also tried to get attention from others in the courtyard, but no one liked her, so she focused on these two brothers.

Hearing Han Hongling’s words, Yibao and Sanbao were taken aback.

Thinking of what she had said before, the two brothers were left speechless.

Although they didn’t know modern terms like “white lotus” or “green tea b*tch,” due to past conflicts with Zhang Qian, they maintained a certain distance from girls.

They were cautious and suspicious of women.

With Han Hongling coming again, their guard was up.

However, they were curious about what Han Hongling’s stepmother had said about their mother.

So the brothers exchanged glances, and Yibao asked, “What did your stepmother say about our mother?”

Han Hongling’s eyes darted around. “This is not a good place to talk; someone might overhear us. If it gets to my stepmother’s ears, it would be problematic. Can we talk somewhere else?”

This concern was reasonable.

Yibao and Sanbao agreed.

Yibao asked, “Where should we go?”

Han Hongling smiled cutely, “There is a park nearby with a fake mountain. Can we talk there?”

What?

The brothers were stunned.

They knew the park was about a ten-minute walk away.

They wondered why they needed to walk ten minutes just to talk.

They were unwilling.

Yibao said, “It’s too far. We can talk here if we speak quietly.” They worried that Han Hongling might have ulterior motives.

“If it’s heard here, it’s not good. Since you don’t want to go, I’ll leave now,” Han Hongling said and quickly turned to leave.

“Hey…” Sanbao wasn’t sure how to address her and called out, but Han Hongling did not respond and disappeared quickly.

Sanbao was left in a daze. “Big brother, she left.”

“Yes, I saw,” Yibao replied.

“So what did her stepmother say about our mother? She didn’t say anything,” Sanbao wanted to know.

It felt like half a story was told, leaving him wondering.

“I don’t know,” Yibao said helplessly.

He only refused to go to the park, and now the girl ran away.

What did that mean?

She could have just found another place to talk if she didn’t want to talk here.

Why did she run?

Yibao couldn’t figure it out and thought the person was inexplicable.

“If I had known, I would have gone to the park,” Sanbao said with some regret.

Yibao said, “No, you can’t go to an unknown place with strangers without an adult.”

Sanbao said, “But I also want to know what her stepmother said about our mother.”

Yibao replied, “Let’s tell Mom about this later and see what she says.”

Ning Shu looked surprised to see Yi Bao and San Bao back early: “Why are you back so early?”

Yi Bao explained, “Er Bao has physical training this afternoon, so we came back early so he could rest a bit more.”

Hearing Yi Bao’s explanation, Ning Shu teased, “Our Yi Bao is really a little warm-hearted boy.”

Yi Bao blinked, curious about the term since it was the first time he heard his mother describe him this way. “Mom, what does ‘warm-hearted boy’ mean?”

He understood the term ‘boy’ because he was a child, but he wasn’t a little kid anymore; at twelve years old, he was already considered a young man in the countryside.

Yi Bao didn’t contradict his mother’s words, though.

He was happy to remain her little boy forever.

“Warm-hearted boy…” Ning Shu thought for a moment. “It means a boy who makes people feel warm and knows how to take care of others. For example, you thought about Er Bao’s physical training and came back early so he could rest more, which shows you’re good at taking care of him.”

Yi Bao understood immediately: “So, Mom, do you like warm-hearted boys?”

Ning Shu naturally liked them, but she knew why Yi Bao was asking: “Mom hopes that you and your siblings will just be yourselves and do what you like, what makes you happy. Don’t force yourself for others, even for me, Dad, Er Bao, or San Bao. Don’t force yourself for us.”

Yi Bao wanted to say that doing things for his parents, Er Bao, and San Bao wasn’t forcing himself but something he willingly did.

However, he didn’t say this.

Even at his young age, he understood this.

For his parents, Er Bao, and San Bao, he could be the warm-hearted boy in his mother’s eyes, but for others, that wasn’t possible.

“I understand, Mom. I’ll do things that I like and that make me happy from now on,” Yi Bao said obediently, wanting to make his mother happy.

“That’s good.” Ning Shu showed a gentle and satisfied smile.

San Bao listened to the conversation between his mother and older brother, processing the information in his young mind.

Although he was smart for his age, at nine, his understanding was still limited compared to twelve-year-old Yi Bao.

While Yi Bao had his own opinions, San Bao was more willing to listen to their mother, similar to Er Bao.

“By the way, Mom, on the way back, we ran into Han Hongling,” Yi Bao said, his tone a bit uncertain.

Ning Shu had a poor impression of Han Hongling, having heard some things about the Han family from Li Yue the previous day.

Regarding Han Hongling’s behavior of bypassing Deputy Team Leader Han and approaching her directly with issues about the stepmother, Ning Shu had a general guess and suspected Han Hongling might be trying to use her to deal with the stepmother.

If it were someone else, she might have confronted Han Hongling directly.

But Ning Shu wasn’t like that; she wouldn’t care unless she heard the words herself.

Ning Shu didn’t have a good impression of someone trying to use her, but that didn’t diminish her curiosity. “What did Han Hongling do to make our Yi Bao so troubled?”

Yi Bao didn’t hide anything and explained the situation: “…Mom, why did Han Hongling want us to meet in the park? Even if she wanted to talk privately, we could have done it at our house or in a hidden spot in the courtyard. If she was worried about being seen coming to our house, a hidden spot in the courtyard would be less conspicuous. Couldn’t she talk somewhere nearby?”

Ning Shu shook her head.

How could she understand the young girl’s intentions?

“I don’t know either, but you did the right thing. For people you don’t know, especially those asking you to go to unfamiliar or hidden places, you shouldn’t go. As for Han Hongling’s motives, we don’t need to overthink it. If she really wants to talk, she’ll come back.”

“Mm.” Yi Bao nodded.

“Mom, what if she comes again and talks about her stepmother saying bad things about you?” San Bao asked. “Why would her stepmother say bad things about you? We don’t even know her stepmother.”

Ning Shu patted San Bao’s little head and said, “We’ve only heard it from others, so we need to confirm things before jumping to conclusions. We can only ask her stepmother why she said bad things about me once we’ve confirmed the truth.”

“Should we confirm it?” San Bao asked.

“No, we’ll wait until it reaches my ears first. If Han Hongling’s words are true, and I ask the stepmother, she won’t admit it anyway. And if Han Hongling’s words are false, then asking might just create a misunderstanding,” Ning Shu explained.

“So, we’ll wait until the news reaches me. Anyway, it won’t make any difference to me now, right?”

“Hmm.” Sanbao nodded, feeling that they hadn’t lost out.

However, he was a bit unhappy upon hearing what Han Hongling said.

Ning Shu smiled gently, “Alright, you two must be tired from traveling from the sports school. You can take a nap now.”

“Okay.”

Although they had only been on the train for two hours, the round trip was still exhausting.

As for Han Hongling, they had already forgotten about her.

Ning Shu, on the other hand, hadn’t paid much attention to Han Hongling.

She had been waiting at home every day for Da Mao and Tie Dan to return.

Finally, on the fourth day of her wait, there were visitors at the door.

At noon, while Ning Shu and the two children were having lunch, they heard a voice from the door. “Is anyone here?”

“Yes, yes…” Yibao responded as he ran outside, “Guard uncle.”

The guard smiled, “There’s a soldier at the door with two dogs. They say they’re your military dogs. Since we don’t know them, we didn’t let them in. Can you check?”

Upon hearing this, Yibao immediately thought that Dazhao and Tiedan had arrived.

Yibao called out to the room, “Mom, I’m going to greet Da Mao and Tie Dan,” and then ran outside.

“I’ll go too.” Sanbao put down his chopsticks and ran outside.

Ning Shu lost her appetite for lunch and decided she needed to invite the visitors in, considering they had traveled a long way.

So, Yibao and Sanbao ran ahead, and Ning Shu followed.

Before Yibao and Sanbao could reach the door, Da Mao and Tie Dan, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly stood up and ran inside.

They were carrying their bags, which Ning Shu had made for them.

With only one guard left, he was a bit worried.

The soldier who had brought the military dogs said, “Don’t worry. They must have recognized the sound.”

Indeed, as he spoke, Yibao and Sanbao appeared.

“Da Mao… Tie Dan…”

“Tie Dan…”

Seeing Da Mao and Tie Dan running towards them, Yibao and Sanbao were ecstatic.

In an instant, the two children and the two dogs were reunited.

“Da Mao… Tie Dan…”

“Woof woof…”

The two children and the two dogs embraced each other, not minding the slight smell of the dogs.

Da Mao and Tiedan rubbed against them desperately, trying to leave their scent on them.

After being away for many days, their scent had faded, but now they wanted to make sure the children had their scent again.

“Da Mao… Tiedan…” Seeing the happy reunion of the children and the dogs, Ning Shu called out.

Hearing their owner’s voice, Da Mao and Tie Dan ran towards Ning Shu at full speed, as if they might knock her over, startling those passing by.

However, Ning Shu was not afraid.

Da Mao and Tie Dan stopped just before reaching her, halting with precision, faster and more accurate than a tractor’s brakes.

“Da Mao… Tiedan… It’s been days since I saw you. You’ve lost weight,” Ning Shu said, patting their heads.

“Woof woof woof…”

Da Mao and Tie Dan barked a few times around Ning Shu, then reached into their front bags, pulling out their enamel bowls with their mouths.

They lined up, “Woof woof woof…”

Ning Shu: “I thought you missed me too, but it turns out you’re just hungry. Yibao, Sanbao, take Da Mao and Tiedan home first. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Yibao and Sanbao ran ahead, “Da Mao and Tiedan, let’s go eat.”

“Woof woof…” Da Mao and Tie Dan eagerly followed.

Ning Shu walked towards the soldier who had brought Da Mao and Tie Dan.

“Sister-in-law, I’ve delivered Da Mao and Tie Dan safely to you,” the young soldier finally sighed in relief.

Ning Shu said gratefully, “Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”

The soldier replied, “No, it wasn’t hard for me. It was hard for them.”

“Hard for them?” Ning Shu was puzzled.

The soldier smiled, “They haven’t closed their eyes for days. Since leaving the base, they’ve kept their eyes open, thinking they were on a mission.”

Thinking about how Da Mao and Tie Dan hadn’t slept for several days, Ning Shu felt worried.

They were not young anymore, and a few days without proper rest would take a toll on their health.

She decided to give them a good rest and nourishment. “They’ve had a hard time, and so have you. We’re having lunch now. Come and eat with us.”

“No need, sister-in-law. I’ve already eaten. I have other things to attend to, so I’ll leave now.” The soldier hadn’t actually eaten, but he was too embarrassed to accept the offer and made up an excuse to leave.

Ning Shu didn’t know if he had eaten or not, but despite her repeated invitations, he insisted he had already eaten.

There was nothing she could do, so she watched him leave before returning home.

When she got back, she saw Yibao and Sanbao watching Da Mao and Tiedan eat.

“Mom, we gave all the leftover rice to Da Mao and Tie Dan. There’s no rice left in the pot. I also put some of our vegetables for them,” Yibao said.

Ning Shu’s meals were always just enough, so there was nothing left.

This meant they wouldn’t have enough for themselves. “If you don’t have enough to eat, I’ll make some noodles. You two stay with Da Mao and Tie Dan, feed them well, and give them a bath.”

“Okay.”

“Lin Haizhi, Lin Haiyang, where did these dogs come from?” Yu Chengci, who came to visit after lunch, happened to see Da Mao and Tie Dan.