“This? Let me show you…” Ning Shu paired the four children up and explained, “As for our little friend Sanbao, I’ve laid down a straw mat for him to sit on, and then I’ll teach you how to throw the ball. You can play catch with each other, or just play with it freely.”

The children had never encountered a ball before, especially not a fabric ball. Since it was made of rattan, it had some weight to it, but because it was made of thin rattan, it was within the weight range that the children could handle.

They threw it back and forth, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Even Sanbao, sitting on the straw mat, moved surprisingly agilely. Though he was small, when his brothers threw the fabric ball to him, he would exert effort to throw it back.

His three brothers didn’t mind his lack of strength and threw the ball close to him.

Watching them play, Ning Shu couldn’t help but smile.

Since she had nothing else to do, she went back to her room and took out paper and pens, then started drawing.

She thought about what toys to prepare for Yibao and Erbao. Although their birthdays had already passed, with half a year, she had better ideas now, and naturally wanted to change to something better.

What she thought of was building blocks. In the future, children of this age should be very suitable for playing with building blocks.

The building blocks Ning Shu wanted to make were very simple. She would draw a picture on a wooden board, then color it. Afterwards, she would ask the carpenter to separate and polish the blocks, so they would become simple puzzle building blocks.

However, after the blocks were polished, she would have to redraw the pictures on them, because the color would be rubbed off during polishing.

However, what kind of pictures should she draw on the building blocks for Yibao and Erbao?

Ning Shu couldn’t draw anything too difficult. Coincidentally, they raised chickens at home, so she decided to draw a picture of a chicken and a pig.

She would practice drawing them in her notebook first, and after dinner, she would ask the carpenter if he had any wooden boards.

It was autumn busy season, so even the carpenter had to go to work.

As Ning Shu drew in her room, the children played in the yard, their laughter occasionally drifting in, infecting Ning Shu with joy.

Autumn winds blew, tousling the children’s hair as they sweat under the sunlight…

On this day, their smiles were more abundant than ever before.

They played until they were exhausted, then stopped to rest. And Sanbao… was sleeping on the straw mat.

Yibao went to the room to fetch a small blanket and covered Sanbao with it.

Seeing Erbao and Haicai also lying on the straw mat, he lay down as well.

When the sun was about to set, Ning Shu went out to wake them up. As the sun set, the weather would cool down, and lying there any longer might cause them to catch a chill.

Dinner was served exceptionally early that day because the whole family was resting.

After dinner, Ning Shu went to the carpenter’s house to inquire about the desks.

She learned that the varnish would dry completely by tomorrow, so she directly paid for two sets of desks, totaling 15 coins.

However, she also asked the carpenter for some wooden boards to draw chickens and pigs on.

At the same time, she cancelled the climbing ladder and children’s slide; she decided to transform the empty room into a study room for the children, where they could keep comic books and various toys such as building blocks.

Therefore, customized cabinets would be better than a climbing ladder and slide.

However, since the autumn harvest had not yet ended, the carpenter couldn’t spare the time to do these tasks until after the harvest.

Ning Shu was naturally not in a hurry.

By the next noon, the carpenter and his family brought the two sets of children’s desks and chairs.

When the two boys found out these were for them, they joyfully inspected them and even used a cloth to wipe them clean.

Even Yibao, who was usually reserved, couldn’t contain his excitement, his emotions showing on his face.

They had been envious of Sanbao’s toy ball before. They had thought they would have to wait until their next birthdays to receive gifts from their mother.

They never expected her to specially make desks and chairs for them. How could they not be happy?

Seeing their reactions, Ning Shu was also very pleased.

Afterwards, Ning Shu devoted herself wholeheartedly to drawing the building blocks.

She was the kind of person who, once she thought of something, wanted to do it well. However, it took her a whole week to draw two satisfactory pictures for the building blocks. Of course, during that week, she went to dig bamboo shoots during the day, while Yibao and Erbao took care of Sanbao and fed the chickens.

At night, she drew, while Yibao and Erbao played with Sanbao in her room.

Finally, the two drawings were completed , after that Ning Shu made a letter for Lin Guodong.

Ning Shu：“Yibao, what about you?”

Yibao hesitated for a moment. He shook his head, as if he had nothing to say to his father. He didn’t really have any memories of his father. His previous longing stemmed from a lack of maternal love, which led to a desire for paternal affection. Now that he had his mother’s love, he felt like he didn’t need his father anymore.

Seeing Yibao’s silence, Ning Shu thought for a moment. “Yibao, come here,” she beckoned to him.

Yibao got out of bed and approached his mother, feeling a bit confused. “Mother?”

Ning Shu pulled him into her embrace.

“Mother?” Yibao’s voice was heavier this time, and he subconsciously grabbed onto his mother’s clothes.

Ning Shu said, “Put your hand on the paper. I’m going to make a handprint for you, so your father knows how big your hand has grown. You can dig bamboo shoots, pick snails, and pick rice now.”

Yibao found it somewhat amusing. He listened to his mother and placed his hand on the paper, leaning against her, smelling the fragrance of snowflake cream on her body.

Although he had slept in his mother’s arms several times during this period, at this moment, being able to nestle in his mother’s arms like this, he still felt incredibly happy.

After making Yibao’s handprint, Ning Shu put him back on the bed and wrote a line of words on the paper: “This is Yibao’s hand.”

Once finished, Ning Shu put it aside and turned to Erbao. “Erbao, what about you? Do you have anything to say to your father?” Given Lin Guodong’s generous attitude last time, Ning Shu’s attitude towards him had changed drastically this time.

Ning Shu: “…” When it comes to being peculiar, it’s still Lin Erbao as he want to draw his feet.

“Alright. But why do you want to draw feet?”

Er Bao: “Because my feet are bigger than my hands.”

Ning Shu couldn’t help but laugh as she lifted him onto the desk, letting him place his feet on a piece of paper. Even though Er Bao was five years old, his feet were still small enough to fit on one sheet of paper. After drawing Er Bao’s feet, she wrote a sentence: “These are Er Bao’s feet.”

Next was San Bao: “San Bao, do you have anything to say to your dad?”

Although San Bao hadn’t seen clearly what his mom was drawing while she held a big pot, he did notice Er Bao extending his feet. So, San Bao generously lifted his little feet: “Mom, me too.” Lin San Bao also wanted to draw feet.

Little Bao had the smallest feet. His tiny feet were drawn on the paper, but unfortunately, they lacked dimension. Otherwise, his cute little feet would have looked adorable.

After drawing the representative drawings of the three brothers, Ning Shu began writing a letter.

It wasn’t long, but naturally longer than the first one. After finishing the letter, she tidied up and went to bed with the children.

The Next Day

After breakfast, Ning Shu went to the county town to mail the letter. She also brought along some snails, tofu curd, and a large roasted fish. Of course, if she were only sending these things, she could have done it in the town, but she also needed to buy paint from the bookstore to color the blocks and to buy some comic books for the children, as well as to give something to Meng Jie at the county government.

What she sent wasn’t anything special: a bundle of Chinese cabbage, two long pumpkins, a bottle of snail meat, eight rice cakes, and 20 eggs. These were all things available in this era, but not easy to find in the county town.

After Ning Shu went to the county town, Yi Bao and Er Bao, along with San Bao, also went out. They were going to pick some wild grass and then dig up some bugs to feed the chickens.

The places they dug for bugs were either by the roadside or at the foot of the mountain, near where the adults worked, so it was relatively safe.

Meanwhile, after Ning Shu arrived at the county town, she first went to the post office to mail her items, then headed to the county government. She didn’t meet Meng Jie directly, instead, she asked the gatekeeper to pass on the items.

At first, the gatekeeper was hesitant to accept them, after all, this was the county government, and they couldn’t just accept things casually. It wasn’t until Ning Shu mentioned meeting Meng Jie here a few days ago that the gatekeeper remembered, so he accepted them.

After the gatekeeper accepted the items, he immediately took them to Meng Jie.

Meng Jie hadn’t expected Ning Shu to send him anything, so he was also at a loss. He instructed the gatekeeper that Ning Shu was his friend, and if she came to find him next time, the gatekeeper could directly inform him.

Meng Jie thought that Lin Guodong’s wife was generous, and the items she sent were not extravagant; they were all homemade, making it difficult for others to criticize. After all, in these times, receiving gifts was a risky business.

After Ning Shu left the county government, she went to the bookstore to buy paint. Once she bought it, she couldn’t wait to return home. When she got back home and didn’t see the three boys, she first colored the blocks and hid them in the wardrobe.

Then, when it was time for lunch, she secretly took them to the carpenter’s house without telling Yi Bao and Er Bao. She wanted to surprise them after finishing the work.

At the barracks

The package arrived at the barracks in late October. One afternoon, Lin Guodong was resting in the dormitory when he heard the knock of the gatekeeper: “Captain Lin, are you there? I’m Yao Dazhu, your package has arrived.”

The gatekeeper’s name was Yao Dazhu.

In an instant, everyone in the dormitory snapped to attention. Someone even rushed to the door and flung it open: “Here, here, where’s the package?” The movement was as swift as if they were heading into battle.

Why were these guys so enthusiastic? It was because they thought the package contained tofu curd.

You see, the captain had promised to ask his aunt if there was any tofu curd left. In order to enjoy it this time, they saved a few bucks from the money they sent home. They didn’t want to freeload off the captain’s things without contributing.

The gatekeeper handed the package to the person at the door and then left. The person exclaimed, “This package is really heavy. It’s much bigger than the previous ones, there must be a lot of food in it.”

He said this while turning around, only to bump into Lin Guodong. Then, in the blink of an eye, Lin Guodong took the package from him.

“Captain…”

As Lin Guodong turned around, he found himself surrounded.

Lin Guodong: “…” He felt helpless. The package indeed felt heavier this time compared to the previous two bottles of tofu curd. “Alright, during dinner, I’ll share half of it with you for an extra meal. Now, everyone go rest, or else the afternoon training will be doubled.”

As soon as they heard this, everyone dispersed immediately.

Someone even boasted, “With my eyesight, Auntie must have sent around ten bottles of small tofu curd this time. We can get five bottles.”

“Auntie?” Lin Guodong’s eyebrows twitched. Forget it, let them say whatever they want. He immediately opened the package, revealing the bottles and jars inside.

Everyone in the dormitory looked up, and someone asked, “Captain, are there ten bottles?”

Lin Guodong: “…” These kids are really impatient. But that’s just how kids are. The people here were all younger than Lin Guodong, or about the same age.

Those older than him or of similar age were at a certain rank, and those whose families could accompany the military had already applied to do so. So, generally, those who lived in collective dormitories were young people.

Either their rank wasn’t high enough, or they weren’t married yet.

Lin Guodong counted, “8 bottles.” Although there were eight bottles, two different kinds of food were obvious. “Two bottles of tofu curd, and the other six are…” Lin Guodong looked through the glass bottles but couldn’t tell what they were.

Then he unscrewed the lid, and a fragrant aroma of rice wine wafted out, a different smell from tofu curd but equally rich.

“Captain, what is this?” The communications officer, Li Zao, came over to take a look. “It seems to be some kind of meat from snails.” He had some discerning eyes after all, although he didn’t know the specifics, it looked somewhat like it.

Li Zao served as Lin Guodong’s communications officer and also lived with him.

“Is it meat?”

“Auntie sent meat? That’s amazing!”

“Just from the smell, even if it’s not meat, I could eat three bowls of rice.”

“Who are you looking down on? Even without this meat, I could still eat three bowls of rice.” This was a joke. Who couldn’t eat three bowls of white rice? Eating three bowls was underestimating them.

Lin Guodong: “Let me check the letter.” He found two packets wrapped in oil paper besides the eight bottles, but he didn’t open them immediately. Instead, he decided to read the letter first.

The letter was thick this time, even he noticed it. As he picked it up, its thickness became even more apparent. For some reason, the thicker the letter, the more fearful he felt.

Seeing Lin Guodong reading the letter, everyone kept silent, breathing heavily because Lin Guodong hadn’t closed the lids of the bottles, and the fragrance was still spreading.

Guodong,

Greetings. I’m very happy to receive your letter. I’ve received your bicycle ticket, thanks to the help of Comrade Meng Jie, I’ve also bought a bicycle. It’s a women’s bicycle, and both I and the three boys like it very much. To express my gratitude, I’ve sent Comrade Meng Jie four catties of Chinese cabbage, two long pumpkins, a bottle of snail meat, 8 rice cakes, and 20 eggs.

I want to specially commend Yi Bao and Er Bao. More than 20 eggs were laid by the chickens they raised.

Lin Guodong was somewhat surprised. They were raising chickens at home? Didn’t she find the smell of chickens very foul? However, if she wanted to raise chickens, he wouldn’t object. If she was willing to raise them, he would support her.

He wasn’t a male chauvinist, but he had the common characteristics of a man. He earned money to support the family, and as long as she managed the household affairs, it was fine. Lin Guodong continued reading:

Speaking of chickens, we’ve built another brick house at home, with a thatched roof, built by Dad, along with Big Brother and Second Brother. Speaking of Second Brother, personally, I have no objections to him, but I have some issues with Zhang Qinfang…

Ning Shu also mentioned the incident of Zhang Qinfang inciting Yi Bao and Er Bao. She didn’t mention it in her first letter because she didn’t know Lin Guodong’s temperament. This time, she mentioned it because she approved of Lin Guodong as a person, so she didn’t want to hide the matter from him. After all, he was the birth father of Yi Bao and Er Bao, and had the right to know about his sons’ affairs.

And besides, crying children get sweets.

Regarding this, I demanded that Zhang Qinfang clear one mu of sweet potatoes from the family’s reserved land as punishment, so this matter has passed for now.

The things sent this time are of three kinds. You already know about the tofu curd, and there are six bottles of fermented rice wine snail meat, which can be eaten directly, but steaming it will enhance the flavor. There’s also roasted fish, which is dried after being cooked and needs to be steamed before eating.

Lastly, there are three pictures of your three sons.

Three sons?

As Lin Guodong looked at the back, the first picture was of a hand, small yet it immediately captured his heart. He felt a slight sourness in his heart, spreading from his chest, almost bursting from his eyes.

There was a line of text in the center of the palm: “I am Yi Bao’s hand.”

Beautiful handwriting, written by Ning Shu. But his gaze couldn’t move away from this hand. He still remembered when he went home last year, Yi Bao was still small. When he held him up, he would nervously grasp his hand.

Lin Guodong then looked at the second picture. Somehow, when he saw the second picture, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. His deep laughter echoed in the dormitory, making everyone curious. Did Auntie write something funny to the captain?

“I am Er Bao’s foot.”

Lin Guodong thought of his lively and energetic second son, chattering incessantly, with endless words, completely different from his quiet eldest son. But ironically, he listened very well to his eldest son.

The last picture must be of the third son, but he didn’t know what it was. He slowly moved it aside, revealing a small footprint. Looking at this small footprint, memories of his composed eldest son, outgoing second son, and the milk-ball-like third son he hadn’t met yet flashed through his mind. It should be a small bundle, soft, as if it would cry if he hugged it too hard.

Lin Guodong squeezed the letter paper tightly. At this moment, he had an urgent desire to go home. The home that once made him afraid to return now seemed to have a magical allure, tempting him to come back.

The reason he didn’t dare to go home before was because he was afraid that Ning Shu would serve him another cup of tea with additives, and he felt he couldn’t endure it for a third time. He might end up doing something that would harm this family.

But now, the desire to go home was also because of the letter Ning Shu wrote to him, making him feel that Ning Shu had changed, changed in a way that was different from before, so different that he wanted to go and see, see the home, see the children, and also see her!