Ning Shu called Yi Bao and Er Bao over. “Yi Bao, Er Bao, come eat.”

Er Bao kicked off his shoes, stepping on them. “Mom, I want to eat these red fruits.”

“These are called strawberries,” Ning Shu said. “You guys sit here and eat; I’ll go make dinner.” Even though she had handed over the household chores to Lin Guodong, she still had her own considerations.

Moreover, she hadn’t thought that Lin Guodong would suddenly come back, so she didn’t know how to handle her relationship with him for a while. But for now, getting along with this man was still quite pleasant.

Ning Shu took the opportunity to check the cupboard. Although there were plenty of things inside, nothing seemed out of place for this era. The most important thing was that the app was helpful, and the items she extracted all came in packaging typical of this era.

She took out the preserved pork and dried shrimp she had made before, then went to the backyard to pick some baby bok choy and scallions. Remembering she hadn’t purchased today’s five items from the app yet, she took another look.

Tender tofu: $1 per box, 400g per box, 24 boxes remaining.

Bananas: $10 per box, 5kg per box, 3 boxes remaining.

Yellow croaker fish: $15 each, about 350g each, 15 remaining.

Affordable tomatoes: $10 per serving, 3kg per serving, 8 servings remaining.

Duck in sauce: $25 per serving, 1kg per serving, 9 servings remaining.

Without hesitation, Ning Shu sold all the products.

Since it was winter, even if the items were extracted, they wouldn’t spoil quickly.

So, she bought two boxes of tofu, one box of bananas, five yellow croaker fish, one serving of affordable tomatoes, and two servings of duck in sauce.

Of course, she couldn’t take everything out now.

After all, both her first and second children knew whether she had bought anything today, so she could only use the inventory to cook today.

She washed the rice and put it in the pot. Then, she placed the sliced cured pork and dried shrimp on a plate to steam in the steamer.

She also stir-fried bok choy, scallions, and made seaweed soup. Four dishes and one soup, with larger portions, should be enough to eat.

Ning Shu was cooking dinner in the kitchen and didn’t notice that it was time to finish work. Or rather, she didn’t notice that the end of the workday in winter was earlier. So, when some people passed by Ning Shu’s house, they saw a man squatting by the well, washing bedsheets and duvet covers.

“Look, look! There’s a man washing clothes at Ning’s house.”

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“That does look like bedsheets, doesn’t it?”

“Impossible, how could there be a man at Ning’s house?”

“That man is wearing a military uniform… Could it be Guodong who has returned?” someone suddenly brought up.

Thinking about it, it was quite possible. So, some people, with a curious attitude, came to the edge of the wall and asked, “Guodong, have you returned?”

Lin Guodong raised his head. “Auntie,” he greeted lightly, then continued washing.

“Oh my, it really is Guodong. Guodong, why are you washing clothes as soon as you return? Where’s Ning Zhiqing? How can she make a man wash clothes? She’s really shameless.” This person was Aunt Jiang.

Ever since her daughter didn’t marry Lin Guodong, she loved gossiping about the Lin family.

She thought a wild man was washing clothes here at Ning’s place, but she didn’t expect it to be Lin Guodong who had returned.

She was somewhat disappointed.

In Aunt Jiang’s eyes, Ning Shu, this spendthrift woman, was definitely incapable of keeping a man. When Lin Guodong wasn’t at home, she was almost certain to look for other men.

However, in these five years, while some in the village said Ning Shu was wasteful, and some said she was lazy, no one ever said she had other men.

There was no way, her front yard was clean.

However, even though Aunt Jiang was disappointed, she didn’t dismiss her thoughts of causing trouble: “Guodong, let me tell you, it’s not good for a man to be away from home all the time. You might not know, but when you’re not at home, Ning Zhiqing often eats alone. She seems to have pampered herself like a fox spirit. Those three children with her must have suffered, they look thin. Not long ago, she even took the three children to the mountains to work. You know, Sanbao is only two years old, how can you take a two-year-old child to work in the mountains?”

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Lin Guodong didn’t believe Aunt Jiang’s words.

Even though he rarely stayed in the village and didn’t know Aunt Jiang’s personality, when he returned in March last year and saw Ning Shu looking young and tender while his two sons were thin and wearing tattered clothes, he asked his mother about the situation.

From his mother, he learned that Ning Shu indeed neglected the children, but she had never mistreated them.

Compared to Aunt Jiang, Lin Guodong naturally believed his own mother. Moreover, the three children now were chubby, completely different from what Aunt Jiang had described.

However, Aunt Jiang’s words about Ning Shu being a fox spirit made Lin Guodong’s face turn cold. “Ning Shu is young and ignorant, it’s not a big deal if she eats alone.”

They had just gotten married, and she was only sixteen at the time, so Lin Guodong really did think she was still young.

“But Auntie, I’m out here defending the country, I don’t want my wife to be gossiped about in the village. Please don’t say such things in the future. After all, the reputation of a military wife is tied to the reputation of a soldier. Insulting a military wife is insulting the soldier who defends the country.”

“You… you…” Aunt Jiang’s face alternated between white and blue at his words. When she met his icy gaze, she shrank her neck and forced a smile. “Guodong, I was just talking nonsense, don’t take it seriously… don’t take it seriously…” With that, she ran off, disregarding her pride.

Seeing this, others also chimed in, “Guodong, we were just passing by.”

“Yeah, Guodong, Ning Zhiqing has been doing well lately. I heard she got a job in the county town.”

“Guodong, I have something to attend to, so I won’t disturb you.”

In no time, the group had disappeared.

Ning Shu was unaware of what was happening outside. She finished cooking and stood at the kitchen door, calling out, “Dinner’s ready, come eat. It’s getting dark, and it’s inconvenient to use the kerosene lamp later.”

“I’ll be right there,” Lin Guodong wrung out the bedsheets and duvet covers and hung them on the clothesline. As he turned around, he saw Yibao and Erbao carrying straw mats toward the empty room.

He walked over quickly. “I’ll do it.”

Yibao and Erbao naturally didn’t object.

Yibao added, “And this small table, it should go inside too.”

Lin Guodong took the straw mats and the small stool, but when he walked into the empty room, he froze.

As the sunset cast its glow into the room through the window, illuminating a corner filled with bookshelves, even though there were only a few books, it gave off a scholarly atmosphere.

Especially the large characters for “Study Area,” which created a very atmospheric feeling.

“Put the mat here,” Yibao urged when he saw Lin Guodong hadn’t moved, as they were eager to eat.

“Okay.” Lin Guodong followed Yibao’s instructions, placing the straw mat in the middle of the study area, then placing the small table on it.

His chest surged with emotions as he watched the three children around the table. He suddenly felt the feeling of home.

Lin Guodong picked up Sanbao, who was walking unsteadily, “Let’s go, time to eat.” With a swift motion, he lifted Sanbao over his head, letting him sit on his neck.

Sanbao quickly grabbed onto his father’s head, feeling a bit dazed being lifted so high for the first time.

Meanwhile, Yibao and Erbao watched Sanbao being lifted up, their eyes fixed on him.

Ning Shu brought the food to the table and suddenly felt a shadow looming over her.

She turned around and saw Sanbao sitting on Lin Guodong’s neck, his small hands holding onto Lin Guodong’s head tightly, his face looking tense but his eyes wandering around.

This elevated view was different from what he was used to, so Sanbao was curious.

When Sanbao met his mother’s gaze, he smiled and said, “Mom…” reaching out his hand, wanting a hug.

But… Ning Shu took a few steps back, repulsed, and said, “Your dad probably hasn’t bathed for days, he smells, and you’re sitting on his neck and hugging his head, all dirty.”

Lin Guodong: “…” Forgot she was a clean freak from the city.

Sanbao: “…” Although he didn’t understand, he knew he was being rejected by his mother.

Yibao and Erbao smiled and quickly moved a few meters away from their dad, grateful that he hadn’t tried to lift them up earlier.

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The action of his sons avoiding him naturally didn’t escape the old father’s notice. At this moment, he didn’t know how to describe his feelings. In the end, he just asked, “Can I go take a bath now?”

“Eat first, or the food will get cold,” Ning Shu really wanted to roll her eyes at him.

“Put Sanbao in his seat, here…” She pointed to the child seat, “he can feed himself.”

Lin Guodong hadn’t noticed the child seat before, but now that he saw it, he was somewhat surprised. “This chair is great, it’s much easier to manage when he’s on it.”

He didn’t ask how she came up with it; after all, she had designed everything in the new house, and he was used to her many ideas.

He had never seen a child seat in other people’s homes, so it must have been Ning Shu’s idea.

Once Sanbao sat in the child seat, he forgot about being rejected by his mother earlier and picked up the wooden spoon to eat on his own.

Children of this age who can feed themselves are really rare.

Watching Sanbao’s proficient movements, Lin Guodong looked at Ning Shu again.

“What are you looking at? Eat,” Ning Shu sat next to Sanbao, needing to help him with the food, so she sat next to him all the time.

Yibao and Erbao, seeing this, sat obediently next to their mother and Sanbao.