Lu Cheng, hearing Lin Qingqing’s earlier words, really wanted to break into a military song—who asked this little guy to be so flattering?

But upon hearing her later words, he resumed eating his fried sauce noodles with a straight face.

After all, these were the steamed buns he had brought from the cafeteria—there were only three, and each one was just as sweet as the other.

Lu Haici had initially felt a bit nervous, worried that his mom might think he was unhygienic, but after hearing her next words, he relaxed and proclaimed loudly, “Mom, I understand! I will be a clean little boy from now on. When I give others steamed buns, I will definitely wash my hands first and grab the buns only after my hands are clean!”

Lu Cheng thought to himself, “…This silly kid must have inherited his brain from someone else.”

Lin Qingqing replied, “…Haici, let me give you an example. When we eat, even if our hands are clean, do we grab food with our hands?”

“No,” Lu Haici said, “When I was three years old, my grand aunt taught me to use a spoon. And after I turned three, my grand aunt taught me to use chopsticks.”

“That’s right! So, regardless of whether our hands are clean, we should use chopsticks to give steamed buns to others. But we must use clean chopsticks that haven’t been used before. Do you understand now?” Lin Qingqing explained softly.

In truth, Lu Haici was really easy to teach; if it had been some mischievous kids, she wouldn’t have had the patience to teach them at all.

“I understand! Next time, I will wash my hands first and then use clean chopsticks to pick up the buns,” Lu Haici said.

“Very good! To reward you for being so good, how about we go play in the county later?” Lin Qingqing praised.

Lu Haici’s eyes widened. “Really? We’re going to the county? I… I’ve never been to the county before… I think I have.”

Lu Cheng felt a heart attack coming on. “Didn’t you go to the county last year when your aunt came to visit?”

An old and a young one had taken him out to play then, and now this old and young duo was planning to take him out again.

“Then I have been!” In fact, Lu Haici had a decent memory, but he didn’t remember much from when he was four.

He had the impression that he had been there, but it wasn’t very clear.

Lin Qingqing added, “However, the women’s bicycle doesn’t have a horizontal bar in the front. If Haici sits in the back, we need to install a child seat. It’s too late to install one now, but I’ll ask around at other people’s houses later to see if they have one.”

Lu Cheng said, “I’ll make one when I come back tonight.”

Even if this little rascal drove him crazy, he was still a dedicated father.

Lin Qingqing smiled even brighter at those words: “That’s really great.”

Lu Cheng looked at her smile and couldn’t help but think that she really loves to laugh.

Seeing her smile put him in a good mood too; it made him feel that life like this was pretty good.

Lin Qingqing truly loved to smile.

One reason was her profession; as a popular online streamer, she had developed the habit of smiling even before speaking.

The other reason was that she was genuinely happy.

Whether it was Lu Haici praising her cooking or Lu Cheng’s thoughtful suggestion to get a child’s seat, she felt really pleased.

Since her grandmother passed away, she had been living alone in the countryside.

Although she still had fans during her live streams, interacting through a phone made her feel lonely, and she could never recapture the warmth she felt when her grandmother was alive.

Thus, Lu Haici’s support genuinely warmed her heart.

As for Lu Cheng, he seemed somewhat aloof, but in reality, he was a warm-hearted man with a cool exterior.

He would take the initiative to do many things.

From the morning after he returned, when he voluntarily washed the sheets and comforters, even doing her underwear, she knew this man was good.

A man’s goodness isn’t measured by what he says, but by what he does.

Lu Cheng was the type who wouldn’t say much but would take action.

The simplest thing he did was to hand over all the money.

However, he wasn’t someone without opinions or ideas.

He also wasn’t overly serious; at least not when he was with Lu Haici.

Honestly, a man like that would be desirable in any era.

Especially in later generations, many girls prefer warm-hearted men.

Lu Cheng was that cool yet warm-hearted type.

After finishing the meal, Lu Cheng still had time before work, so he started washing the dishes.

Lu Haici was guarding the bicycle while Lin Qingqing went to Yu Xiuyou’s house.

She didn’t know which family in the compound had a child’s seat, but Yu Xiuyou might know.

Sure enough, when Lin Qingqing returned, she brought back a seat and some rope that could be fixed to the bicycle.

“Lu Cheng, can you help me? I need to tie this seat to the bicycle tightly; I can’t do it myself.” The girl’s strength was limited compared to a man’s.

“I’m coming.” Lu Cheng set down the dishes that weren’t finished washing and came to the yard.

He picked up the rope from the ground and quickly secured it. “When you take it apart later, just pull here,” he said, tying a slipknot, a type he had learned in the military.

Tying ropes was a trivial matter for him.

“This way of tying is great! I’ll learn how to do it later,” Lin Qingqing remarked, having watched him but not picking it up as quickly.

“Sure,” Lu Cheng replied.

With the seat securely attached, Lin Qingqing lifted Lu Haici and placed him on the bicycle.

Lu Cheng carried his bag on his back and said, “Lin Qingqing, I’m leaving. I should be back before lunch. If I’m not back home, you can go eat at the cafeteria by yourself.”

Lu Cheng felt a little defeated and replied, “…Alright. Have you ever carried anyone on your bicycle? If you haven’t, just leave Lu Haici behind; it’ll be safer for you to go alone.”

“I don’t want to!” Lu Haici tightly grasped the bicycle, having the typical childlike awareness of danger, convinced that his dad was doing this on purpose.

Lin Qingqing waved her hand, “Don’t worry, I can carry someone. I’m off now, goodbye…” Saying that, she hopped on her bike, lifted her foot, and rode off like the wind.

This left Lu Cheng in the yard, watching her… their figure.

He stared for a while, then silently turned away to continue washing the dishes in the kitchen.

“Lu Haici…” Next door, Ji Yang had finished breakfast and came out, seeing Lu Haici on the bicycle.

He shouted, “Lu Haici, where are you going?”

Hearing his friend’s voice, Lu Haici replied loudly, “My mom is taking me to the county to play!”

The rest of what the two little ones said couldn’t be heard as they were out of earshot.

Lin Qingqing took Lu Haici first to Yu Xiuyao’s house, and then they set off together.

Yu Xiuyao was quite nervous and kept asking along the way, “Qingqing, can we really do this?”

“What’s wrong with it? We’re not doing anything illegal. We’re just taking some food to the supply and marketing cooperative to see if there’s a possibility for collaboration. By the way, sister-in-law, did you bring the salted duck eggs?” Lin Qingqing had also brought a lunchbox filled with marinated pork intestines.

Since they were going to negotiate collaboration with the cooperative, they naturally had to bring finished products.

“I brought them! You reminded me when you asked about the child seat earlier; how could I forget?” Yu Xiuyao’s voice trembled with nervousness.

Although she usually came across as enthusiastic and strong-willed, when it came to matters like this, she found it hard to be either enthusiastic or assertive.

Ultimately, it was because she had never dealt with such situations before.

The two first went to the vegetable market in the county.

Since it was still early, around nine o’clock, they were worried that if they arrived too early, the cooperative would be busy, and they didn’t want to disturb anyone.

So, they decided to buy some vegetables first.

The Lu family had been to the market yesterday, so they had vegetables at home.

The pork ribs hadn’t been cooked yet, fresh winter melons were still available, and there were also various vegetables sent by neighbors.

Therefore, Lin Qingqing didn’t plan to buy more vegetables.

She bought two pieces of tofu and some mushrooms—one piece for today and another for making tofu pudding tomorrow morning.

Actually, she wanted to buy more since tofu was hard to find, but given the weather…

Not Long-lasting, Today’s Purchase Is Already at Its Limit for Tomorrow.

However… the cafeteria does have a refrigerator.

When she starts working in the cooking team at the third unit, she wondered if she could store a few items there.

She wouldn’t take up much space, just a little tofu and some meat that don’t last long, which wouldn’t be excessive.

Of course, to avoid any gossip, she would pay for the electricity.

Yu Xiuyou had also bought some things, and around ten o’clock, the two of them headed to the supply and marketing cooperative.

At this time, the cooperative was indeed less busy.

When the two entered, some sales clerks were attending to customers, while those without customers were either mending clothes or snacking on sunflower seeds.

One must admit that the sales clerks in this era had quite a bit of freedom, or perhaps the workplace regulations weren’t too strict.

Lin Qingqing held Lu Haici’s hand and brought Yu Xiuyou to a sales clerk who was munching on sunflower seeds. “Hello, comrade,” she greeted.

The sales clerk stopped eating and replied, “Hello! What can I help you with?”

It was true that the stereotypical rude sales clerks seen in novels were quite rare.

Even though this clerk was snacking lazily, her attitude was still friendly.

Lin Qingqing explained, “We have two business matters to discuss, and we would like to speak with your director or manager. Could you please invite them?”

Yu Xiuyou was increasingly impressed by Lin Qingqing.

While she usually entered the cooperative with her head held high, she felt hesitant to speak up now.

Yet Lin Qingqing seemed as composed as ever.

Where did this girl get her courage?

“Ah?” The sales clerk was taken aback. Discussing business with the director or manager?

The two women looked well-dressed, with no patches on their clothes, indicating they were in decent circumstances.

But even those in good circumstances wouldn’t just approach the director or manager like that!

What the sales clerk didn’t realize was that while Lin Qingqing’s clothes had no patches, Yu Xiuyou’s clothes usually did.

Today, she had deliberately worn her best outfit to make a good impression, after all, one should never lose face.

Seeing the sales clerk’s expression change, Lin Qingqing smiled and added, “Don’t worry, we’re not scammers. Sister, our credentials?” Saying this, Lin Qingqing took out her marriage certificate. “Look, we’re good people, not scammers.”