Ji Yang was very happy today.

He enjoyed a big meal at Lu Haici’s house and had a great time with so many friends; he felt incredibly lucky.

At night, Ji Yang was sleeping in his parents’ room.

He looked at his mom on his left and then at his dad on his right, feeling blissfully happy.

“Mom, can our family invite guests too? Like at Lu Haici’s house, where lots of good friends come over for dinner?” Ji Yang asked, filled with longing.

Before Xu Huijuan could respond, Ji Changfeng said, “Invite guests? I already did that when I married your mom.”

He thought that if they had that extra money, it would be better spent on a nice meal at home.

The neighbors were hosting guests because Deputy Lu and Comrade Lin were newlyweds.

However, the two families didn’t have much contact; he and Deputy Lu weren’t even in the same regiment, so they weren’t invited over.

It was true they hadn’t been invited.

If Ji Changfeng and Lu Cheng hadn’t lived next door, they likely wouldn’t have crossed paths at all.

Even living next door, their interactions were limited to casual nods, so under such circumstances, it was natural that they wouldn’t extend an invitation.

If Xu Huijuan had a good relationship with Lin Qingqing, Lin Qingqing might have invited her over.

However, after Xu Huijuan took her child to kindergarten, she didn’t want to walk with Lin Qingqing.

Lin Qingqing wasn’t naive enough to reach out either.

After all, there was no animosity between their families.

While the adults weren’t deeply connected, that didn’t affect the friendship between their children.

“Don’t say that,” Xu Huijuan complained lightly to Ji Changfeng, then gently said to Ji Yang, “Next time it’s your birthday, Mom will invite guests, and you can ask your good friends to come.”

She couldn’t directly refuse her child; that wouldn’t be good for him.

But she also couldn’t agree to host guests right away, so she picked an appropriate occasion—Ji Yang’s birthday—when it would be suitable to invite people.

In her previous life, she had two ungrateful children whom she spoiled terribly.

In this life, although she also cherished Ji Yang deeply, she had learned from her past experiences and maintained certain principles in her affection.

She didn’t want to raise Ji Yang to be like the two ungrateful ones from her past.

Ji Changfeng’s personality was similar to that of many men.

He earned money and handed it over to his wife, neglecting other household matters.

Of course, his lack of involvement was just his nature, but if you sent him off to do something—like plow the fields, fetch water, or wash dishes—he would do it.

He was the type who wouldn’t think of taking the initiative unless prompted.

Now, hearing Xu Huijuan say this, Ji Changfeng thought his wife was quite clever.

It seemed fitting to invite Ji Yang’s friends for a meal on his birthday.

Upon hearing Xu Huijuan’s words, Ji Yang was overjoyed. “Mom is the best!” He truly relied on Xu Huijuan.

After all, she had treated him very well since marrying Ji Changfeng—just like a biological mother would.

In fact, Xu Huijuan really did treat him like her own son, even more attentively than she treated her biological son.

Hearing Ji Yang’s praise, Xu Huijuan naturally felt pleased.

In her life, it could be said that she valued Ji Changfeng less than she did Ji Yang.

“Dad…” Ji Yang turned to Ji Changfeng and asked, “Dad, can you marry another wife?”

“What?”

Ji Changfeng was stunned, and Xu Huijuan was also taken aback.

Neither of them had processed what he said yet.

Ji Yang continued, speaking his mind: “Dad, Lu Haici’s mom makes really delicious food. Can you marry someone like Lu Haici’s mom?”

Oh my God, Ji Changfeng couldn’t believe his ears as he looked at Ji Yang.

Xu Huijuan, on the other hand, wasn’t angry.

She thought it was normal for a child to have such simple ideas.

It was understandable that Ji Yang wanted a mom like Lin Qingqing because she cooked delicious food.

However, Xu Huijuan worried that if Ji Yang kept going to the Lu family to eat, he might start liking Lin Qingqing more than her.

“Dad?” Seeing that Dad didn’t respond, Ji Yang pleaded, “Dad, promise me, okay?”

Ji Changfeng took a deep breath: “Come here and lie down, and I’ll tell you whether I can or not.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Yang quickly lay down: “Dad, I’m lying down. Did you promise me?”

Lu Family

Lu Cheng was still digging the pit while Lin Qingqing went to heat water for their evening baths.

Lu Haici was in the small room with his dad, playing in the mud.

He was filling a nearby basket with mud that had been dug out from the foundation, as the diligent Lu Haici was eager to help.

At that moment, a loud wail echoed from next door.

“Ah… woo woo woo…”

Lu Haici heard it and raised his head in confusion: “Dad, I think I heard Ji Yang crying.”

“Woo woo woo…”

Before Lu Haici finished speaking, the cries from next door continued.

Now he was worried and stood up: “Dad, Ji Yang sounds so miserable. I want to go check on him.”

As his best friend, Lu Haici was very concerned.

Unexpectedly, Lu Cheng ominously replied, “If you still want to marry your mom when you grow up, Ji Yang’s crying is what you’ll end up with.”

It was easy to guess that the little brat must have been beaten up.

Hearing his son say he wanted to marry Lin Qingqing and that he would grow up to be like her made Lu Cheng want to hit him too.

Lu Haici instinctively shrank back: “Dad, I don’t understand.”

Lu Haici had always been very well-behaved and had never been beaten by his father.

So, in front of his dad, he felt quite bold.

Lu Cheng said, “Just remember, you can’t marry someone else’s wife. If you dare to marry another person’s wife, you’ll get beaten—right on your bottom, so hard it’ll make a loud ‘pa pa pa’ sound.”

Lu Haici was stunned. “I… I don’t want to marry someone else’s wife.”

Lu Cheng snorted coldly, “Isn’t your mom my wife?”

He had already planned to live a good life with Lin Qingqing, and he certainly didn’t want his little rascal meddling in.

“Ah?” Lu Haici hesitated.

If his mom was his dad’s wife, then he couldn’t marry her; if he did, his dad would beat him.

Although he didn’t really believe it, the sound of Ji Yang crying still echoed in his ears, making him a little scared. “Okay then, I won’t marry Mom.”

Lu Cheng nodded in satisfaction.

But then…

“When I grow up, I’ll make Mom marry me!” Lu Haici added.

Lu Cheng: “……”

He put down his hoe, ready to teach his son a lesson.

Lin Qingqing was standing at the door of the small room, intending to call Lu Haici for a bath when she overheard the father-son conversation.

She pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh out loud.

However, upon hearing the latter part, she felt that Lu Haici might have to go through what Ji Yang experienced.

She quickly called out, “Lu Haici, come out for a bath!”

“Coming…” Upon hearing his mom’s call, Lu Haici happily ran out.

Lu Cheng, who had just put down his hoe, was left speechless.

A low chuckle escaped his lips.

What a coincidence!

Just when he wanted to teach his son a lesson, the kid was called away.

He was sure Lin Qingqing had overheard their conversation.

After recalling what he had just said, he immediately stopped laughing, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Lin Qingqing helped Lu Haici bathe, and after tidying herself up, she saw that Lu Cheng was still in the small room.

So she called out to him, “Lu Cheng, it’s already past nine. You can finish that tomorrow.”

He hadn’t stopped working since morning.

“It’s still early,” Lu Cheng replied. “Don’t worry about me. The amount of training I do is much more than this.”

He had only two days off after coming back from a two-week mission, and he wanted to finish the squat toilet before going shopping with Lin Qingqing for a bicycle and a sewing machine the next day.

Seeing him like this, Lin Qingqing didn’t insist further: “There’s still hot water in the pot; don’t forget to wash up if you decide to take a bath.”

“Okay.”

Actually, Lu Cheng staying up late was quite good for Lin Qingqing too.

Since they weren’t going to bed together, she felt a bit awkward.

Sigh… how should she bring up the idea of sleeping in separate rooms?

The next day, Lin Qingqing woke up when the wake-up call sounded.

When she got up, Lu Cheng had already…

After getting out of bed and leaving the hall, Lin Qingqing heard the noise coming from the small room and knew that Lu Cheng was busy working again.

If it weren’t for the traces of his sleep still visible on the bed, she might have thought he had worked all night.

Thinking about the promise she made to him yesterday about the tomato and potato noodles, Lin Qingqing decided to fry him two eggs.

After all, Lu Cheng was renovating the small room for her, and she got into the cafeteria thanks to him; she wanted to express her gratitude.

Lin Qingqing went to the kitchen, turning on the clay pot and the stove at the same time.

She used the clay pot to roast the potatoes, picking out the smallest ones, washing them, and placing them in the pot.

Then she added an appropriate amount of water.

Since she had picked out quite a few small potatoes, she poured in three tablespoons of soy sauce and added some sugar.

After that, she didn’t need to worry about it anymore; once the potatoes were cooked, they would be ready to serve.

The drier the roasted potatoes, the better they tasted.

If they could include some green onions, they would be even tastier, but there weren’t any here, so this would have to do.

Next, Lin Qingqing made four fried eggs and began preparing the tomato pumpkin noodles.

Since she was already roasting potatoes, she decided not to include any potatoes in the noodle dish.

The pumpkin dough was made the night before when she prepared the pumpkin pancakes.

Once the tomato pumpkin noodles were cooked, she added some greens and then the fried eggs.

The more ingredients in the noodles, the better they tasted, just like hot pot.

Without needing to call for them, Lu Cheng and Lu Haici were already lined up at the kitchen door when it was time to eat.

Once again, Lu Haici was standing behind his dad, clenching his little fists.

He was determined to grow taller than his dad.

The freshly cooked noodles were definitely hot.

Lu Cheng served the noodles while Lin Qingqing took out the roasted potatoes. Since the roasted potatoes didn’t have any soup, the bowl wasn’t too hot.

The little one, eager to help, was already busy grabbing bowls and chopsticks.

At the dining table, Lin Qingqing said, “I made roasted potatoes, so I didn’t include potatoes in the tomatoes.”

Lu Cheng took two sips of the soup and said, “It’s very tasty.”

Lu Haici glanced at his dad and then picked up half a fried egg from his bowl: “Mom, eat the fried egg.”

Lin Qingqing quickly said, “No, no, you eat. I have a fried egg in my bowl too, see?”

She fished out her fried egg, which was covered by the vegetables. “Everyone has a fried egg, okay?”

She wanted to remind Lu Haici not to give his egg to Lu Cheng.

Lu Haici wasn’t about to give it to his dad anyway; after all, his dad had wanted to hit him yesterday.

He took a big bite of the egg, which was even more delicious after soaking in the noodle soup.

He smacked his lips and said, “So tasty.”

“Then I’ll make you a fried egg every day,” Lin Qingqing said.

Kids need the protein from eggs as they grow.

“Just because Lu Haici needs it, doesn’t mean I do.”

“No need for that; the eggs are really precious. Mom, you keep them for yourself. I’ve grown up now and don’t need to eat eggs like a three-year-old,” Lu Haici said thoughtfully.

Just then, Lu Cheng spoke up, “Huh? How come I have two fried eggs?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Haici hurriedly rummaged through his bowl, then fixed his gaze on his dad’s fried egg. “I only have one!”

Lin Qingqing found it both amusing and frustrating.

She felt it wasn’t her imagination; Lu Cheng was doing it on purpose.

To prevent the little rascal from crying, Lin Qingqing explained, “Your dad worked hard digging all night yesterday, and he got up early this morning to dig more holes. He needs an extra fried egg to replenish his strength.”

Lu Haici nodded. “I know! I’ll help Dad with work after school today.”

Lin Qingqing: “……”

Little rascal, is your focus a bit off?

After the meal, Lin Qingqing packed a box of baked potatoes into Lu Haici’s lunchbox and added two big White Rabbit milk candies. “You have to be happy when you go to kindergarten today.”

“Okay!” Lu Haici replied loudly.

He checked his backpack, saw that his copy of “The Seagull” was also there, and then put on his little backpack. “Goodbye, Mom.”

Lin Qingqing walked him to the gate. “Goodbye, Haici.”

“Lu Haici…” Ji Yang came running out from his home with his little backpack on, saying, “Lu Haici, my dad says a person can only marry one wife.”

It was as if he had discovered some shocking secret, and he couldn’t wait to share.

“Really?” Lu Haici said in a grown-up manner, “My dad told me yesterday that when we grow up, we can’t marry someone else’s wife.”

“Ah?” Ji Yang didn’t quite understand. “Why would we want to marry someone else’s wife?”

Lu Haici sighed, “Because I want to marry my mom and let my dad marry someone else, but my dad said my mom is his wife, so I can’t marry her.”

Lin Qingqing, who was behind them, felt an urge to stitch their mouths shut upon hearing their conversation.

Ji Yang asked, “Then why do you want to marry your mom?”

“Because my mom is the best mom! She cooks delicious food, it’s so comfortable when she hugs me, and she tells me bedtime stories,” Lu Haici explained as if it were obvious.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yang said, “My mom doesn’t tell bedtime stories. Sigh… I want to marry your mom too; she’s really nice.”

“No, no, no!” Lu Haici said nervously, “If you want to marry my mom, my dad will beat you to death!”

Speaking of getting beaten, Ji Yang rubbed his bottom with a fearful expression. “My dad already beat me to death yesterday.”

As Lin Qingqing did the day before, she secretly walked Lu Haici to kindergarten, also using it as an after-meal stroll.

Of course, she listened to their chatter along the way; the two kids didn’t mind at all that someone was following them.

However, Lin Qingqing didn’t get too close, thankful that the little rascals’ voices weren’t too quiet.

After watching Lu Haici enter kindergarten, Lin Qingqing headed home.