All the children were eager to grow up, and they even had ambitions as big as any adult’s.

Or perhaps, because they were so young, their dreams were boundless, untempered by the realities that often whittled down adults’ aspirations.

“What do you all want to be when you grow up?” Lu Haici asked, sitting on the ground with his friends.

“I want to be a great hero,” Qin Ming answered immediately.

Although he was young, he had a clear goal.

He was raised by his grandparents, and his grandfather often told him stories about fighting in battles and catching bad guys.

Qin Ming admired his grandfather deeply and wanted to be just like him—a true hero.

“You’re so amazing,” Lu Haici said. “My great-aunt told me that my dad is a hero too.”

Qin Ming asked, “Then do you want to be a hero?”

Lu Haici fell silent.

What child doesn’t want to be a hero?

But there was something he wanted even more.

After a moment, he replied, “I want to be a college student.”

“What’s a college student?” Qin Ming’s family didn’t have any college students, so he had never heard of the term.

“A college student…” Lu Haici thought about how to explain it. “A college student is someone who’s really, really amazing. Right now, we’re kindergarten kids. Later, we’ll be middle school friends, then high school adults, and finally college students. Like Big Brother Da Wang—he’s in middle school now. My mom is in high school. But eventually, we’ll be like my dad, a college student. My dad says my mom is going to college too, so I want to be a college student, just like her.”

Since there were no elementary students in their lives, he skipped over that part entirely.

“Oh… then I’ll just finish kindergarten and skip the rest. I’ll go straight to the army,” Qin Ming said, frowning. “What’s the point of all that studying? Your mom is in high school but still works in the cafeteria, and your dad is a college student but still ended up as a soldier. I can join the army right after kindergarten—it’s all the same.”

This… Lu Haici was a bit confused by Qin Ming’s reasoning.

It kind of made sense.

But, “I still want to be a college student.” No matter the logic, he wanted to be like his mom.

He was very determined about it.

“Then I’ll be a college student too,” Ji Yang declared. “I’m best friends with Lu Haici. Best friends go to school together, leave school together, play in the mud together, and eat together. If Lu Haici wants to be a college student, then I’ll be one too.” Ji Yang was also fiercely loyal to his friends.

In the past, Ji Yang wasn’t usually that attached to friends. Besides Lu Haici, he had other playmates.

But ever since Lu Haici and Qin Ming became close, and since he made more friends, he began to feel very strongly about being Lu Haici’s “best friend.”

“Qin Ming, when you finish kindergarten, you’ll go off to be a soldier. We won’t be able to go to school, play, or eat together anymore, because we still have to go to middle school, high school, and then college,” Ji Yang said.

Qin Ming was not happy about this.

He wanted to keep playing with everyone and eating the food that Lu Haici’s mom made in the cafeteria.

So he immediately replied, “Then I’ll go to middle school, high school, and college with you all, and then we can go join the army together.”

“But I don’t want to be a soldier after I finish college,” Lu Haici said. “I want to work and earn money to support my mom in her old age.”

“I know about that,” Ji Yang replied. “My dad sends my grandma money every month for her retirement, and my mom does too.” Xu Huijuan had been introduced to Ji Changfeng by Ji Yang’s grandma, so she and Ji Yang’s grandma had a good relationship.

“I know about retirement money too. My mom and dad send money to my grandma every month,” Qin Ming said. “Every month when my mom comes back from town, it’s to bring money for my grandma’s retirement.”

“I know about retirement money too,” said Chen Zhou, who had once pushed Lu Haici and said he didn’t want to be friends with them.

But with his short memory, he had long since forgotten about it, even faster than some couples reconcile. “My mom secretly sends money to my grandma, but when my dad found out, he scolded her. He said—My grandma is ‘taking advantage’ by asking for retirement money.”

“That’s not true,” Lu Haici said. “My dad also gives retirement money to my grandaunt because she’s old. It’s not ‘taking advantage’; it’s about supporting her. When my mom gets old, I’ll support her too.”

“Then why does Chen Zhou’s dad say that Chen Zhou’s grandma is ‘taking advantage’ when she gets retirement money?” Ji Yang asked.

“This…”

The kids didn’t know the answer.

“I’ll ask my grandma,” Qin Ming said. “She definitely knows.”

Ji Yang said, “I’ll ask my mom. She’ll definitely know too.”

Lu Haici added, “Then I’ll ask my mom too.”

Chen Zhou hesitated. “I… I’ll ask my dad. He’s the one who said it, so he must know.”

And so, the children all decided to ask their families.

After school, the kids decided they would ask their parents about their career aspirations and discuss them together the next day.

3rd Company’s Mess Hall

In the afternoon, Lin Qingqing not only finished sewing the white three-piece loungewear set but also completed the gray pajama set, finally putting her mind at ease.

Noticing the time, she headed to the mess hall.

Everyone there was chatting, including Liu Honghua, who was just hanging around and listening to the conversations.

When Lin Qingqing entered, Squad Leader Qi called out, “Comrade Lin, what are we having for dinner?”

This was on everyone’s mind because they had thoroughly enjoyed lunch and were eager for the next meal.

They knew the highlight of lunch had been the braised pork intestines—a rare treat, as meat was only served about once a month.

Naturally, they didn’t expect meat for dinner.

“We’ll have cold cucumber salad and cold eggplant salad tonight,” Lin Qingqing replied, keeping the menu light and full of fiber for the evening.

“Can’t wait to try your cucumber and eggplant salads,” Leader Qi said with a grin. “If it were up to us, they wouldn’t be nearly as tasty.”

Lin Qingqing added, “For tomorrow’s lunch, we’ll braise the remaining 50 pounds of pork intestines.”

Leader Qi whistled, “Two days in a row with meat—our troops are going to love that.”

Lin Qingqing smiled and said, “There isn’t much left; everyone will only get about three or four ounces, but if we plate it nicely with other dishes, it’ll look good. I’ll need to prepare the spices for braising the intestines alone, though.”

No one minded.

Comrade Lin Bao even joked, “I’ll stand guard for you, Comrade Lin!”

Once the pork intestines were set to braise, everyone could leave the pot unattended, focusing on the cucumber and eggplant salads.

To make the cucumber salad, they first cut the cucumbers into sections and then smashed them with a knife.

Lin Qingqing mixed soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar for the dressing.

The team tossed the smashed cucumbers into a large serving bowl, and Lin poured in the dressing, stirring quickly to blend the flavors.

Meanwhile, as the eggplant steamed, Qi and five others were busy preparing the cucumbers, and Lin Qingqing handled the dressings.

When the eggplant was tender, it was shredded into thin strips and left to cool.

For the eggplant salad, Lin Qingqing mixed soy sauce, minced garlic, rice vinegar, and salt.

She divided it into two bowls—one with chopped chili for the spicy eaters and one without.

When the dishes were finally ready, the mess hall staff got to enjoy them first.

“This eggplant is amazing—the flavor is perfect!” Squad Leader Qi commented, particularly enjoying the spicy version, which suited his taste perfectly.

He admitted to himself that even though the ingredients were simple, Lin Qingqing’s skill made a big difference in taste.

The taste was really different.

Before, the eggplants were either stir-fried or steamed with a bit of soy sauce, but even the stir-fried version wasn’t as tasty as Lin’s cold eggplant salad.

“No kidding, Lin Comrade coming here was really the right call,” Lin Bao praised.

Liu Honghua smiled without saying much, though her thoughts were different.

She did admire Lin Qingqing’s cooking skills and creativity—the food was indeed delicious—but she felt it was a bit wasteful.

For example, adding sugar to cucumbers and eggplants felt excessive, since sugar was precious.

Actually, although it looked wasteful to use sugar, it really wasn’t.

For one, only a small amount of sugar was added.

Plus, sugar was a good way to nourish the soldiers.

Given their hard work, using a bit of sugar on their meals wasn’t wasteful at all.

And anyway, the amount used didn’t even compare to the amount needed to make a single serving of braised pork.

Shortly after Lin Qingqing and the others finished their meal, Lu Haici arrived with Ji Yang and Qin Ming.

Kindergarten ended at 5:00, and the troops finished work at 5:30, so the three kids never had to wait in line.

Lin Qingqing served the kids with half portions of cucumber salad and half portions of eggplant, using cafeteria bowls, and put the rest in food containers. “Qin Ming, Ji Yang, just like at lunch—finish your food, then come to the window to get your containers to take the leftovers home, okay?”

“Got it!” Qin Ming and Ji Yang said in unison.

The kids ate slowly, and by the time 5:30 came around, they were still eating.

But that’s when the soldiers of the Third Company stormed into the cafeteria, even more eager for dinner after the lunchtime experience.

In the neighboring units, the soldiers of the First and Second Companies, watching the Third Company soldiers run harder during drills, couldn’t help but feel puzzled. “Why are they running so fast?”

“To eat, of course. Wouldn’t you run fast?”

“They’re going so fast—it looks more like they’re going to battle than to eat.”

“Who knows?”

“I heard they have a new cook in their cafeteria who makes really good food, so they’re all rushing to get a bite.”

“Is it really that good?”

“Why don’t we go check it out?”