Lin Qingqing gently replied, “Not at all! Qin Ming and Haici are good friends; to me, they are like my own nephews. Besides, he’s very well-behaved. I actually enjoy having him around, so how could I think of it as trouble?” This was sincere.

Even though Qin Ming and Lu Haici had had fights before, it was normal for little kids to argue.

She recalled her own childhood when she had fought with classmates; it was just a part of growing up, and they would still play together afterward.

As long as adults didn’t get involved in the children’s matters, they would forget about the fights themselves.

Zhang Hongping didn’t mind Lin gently’s polite words.

Whether it was said in anger or sincerity, Zhang Hongping felt good hearing it.

In fact, as long as someone praised her grandson, she could see even her enemies as friendly as flowers.

Now, Zhang Hongping had changed her view of Lin Qingqing. “Lu Cheng’s wife, how did you make this dish? Our little Ming doesn’t like to eat vegetables. Although he enjoys the meat, he can’t skip the vegetables. He had an upset stomach before, and the doctor said he should eat more vegetables, but he just doesn’t like them. However, after he got home yesterday, he said your cooking was delicious, and I saw him eating cabbage with gusto today.”

Lin Qingqing didn’t know how to respond to that.

She said, “I can’t say for sure; maybe my cooking just suits Qin Ming’s taste. How about this: If you’re interested in a particular dish, you can come by when we’re free, and we can discuss it. The comrades from the third company are about to arrive.”

Zhang Hongping quickly replied, “Yes, yes, now isn’t the time, so I’ll come find you another day.”

Lin Qingqing said, “Of course, that’s no problem.”

Seeing that Lin Qingqing was so easy to talk to, Zhang Hongping felt in good spirits. “Lu Cheng’s wife, is there only this one dish today? My old man says your food is delicious, so from now on, we’ll just come to the cafeteria for our meals.”

Lin Qingqing replied, “…Today there’s only one dish, because the meat and vegetables are cooked together, so there’s a lot of food.”

Zhang Hongping said, “That’s fine, give me another portion.”

Lin Qingqing responded, “You already have half a portion in your lunchbox. Do you really want another one?”

“Half a portion isn’t enough for me; there are two of us! I’ll go to the main cafeteria to get another portion later,” Zhang Hongping said.

She thought there would be two dishes and was surprised to find only one, so she planned to go to the main cafeteria for more.

Lin Qingqing replied, “Alright.”

She quickly served Zhang Hongping another portion.

Zhang Hongping paid and left in a good mood for the main cafeteria.

As soon as Zhang Hongping stepped out of the cafeteria, she saw the comrades from the third company rushing in.

Honestly, every meal in the cafeteria felt like they were heading into battle.

The company cafeteria was relatively better; everyone usually had enough food.

However, the main cafeteria was different. If you arrived late, you might miss out on the good dishes as they would be snatched up.

“Come on, come on! There’s meat for lunch!” shouted the soldier in the lead as he spotted the dishes at the window, immediately yelling back to the others.

In an instant, the soldiers charged fiercely. The serving window of the cafeteria was instantly crowded.

If it weren’t for the separation at the window, the cooks inside would probably have nowhere to stand.

Someone got their food and took a sip, “Delicious. Squad Leader Qi said this morning…”

“We said it’s cabbage, but we didn’t say there’s meat; you still have to keep it from us.”

Qi Shao said, “If I tell you in advance, there won’t be any surprise. You’ve had meat dishes for two days in a row; you should be satisfied.”

“Exactly! Having food doesn’t keep your mouths shut,” Lin Baodao from the next window chimed in.

Another soldier asked, “Squad leader Qi, is there white rice porridge today? I saw the little friend of our Deputy Regiment Commander Lu drinking white rice porridge.”

Qi Shao replied, “That’s the porridge that Comrade Lin made for her own child. There’s none for you. What are you thinking? Want to compete with a little kid? Do you have any shame?”

“Hahaha… As long as there’s food, I can throw my shame away.”

“Exactly, how much is shame worth anyway?”

…

After lunch, Lu Cheng and Lu Haici waited for Lin Qingqing to go home together.

On the way home, Lu Haici suddenly remembered something and asked, “Mom, what does it mean to ‘hit the autumn wind’?”

Lin Qingqing raised an eyebrow, wondering why Lu Haici asked such a question out of the blue. “Why are you asking about hitting the autumn wind? Did someone say that in front of you? If a child can say this, then someone must have said it in front of him.”

Lin Qingqing felt a bit angry, wondering who had said such nonsense in front of her child.

Lu Cheng looked at Lu Haici as well.

Lu Haici explained, “We were talking about what we want to be when we grow up… I forgot to ask mom yesterday.”

So that was it.

Lin Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief but said, “Haici, everyone has different views on things. Their parents have their own opinions, and I have mine, so my view may not necessarily be the right one. However, I want to share my view with you.”

Lu Haici responded, “What mom says is definitely right.”

Lin Qingqing smiled and ruffled his ears. “I think your friend’s mom being filial to her mother is not wrong, but being filial also depends on one’s ability and the situation. For example, if I raised you, you should take care of me when I’m old and be filial to me, right?”

Lu Haici nodded firmly, “Of course! I will take care of mom.”

“So, your friend’s grandmother raised her mother, and her mother should also be filial to her grandmother. Just like your grandmothers—my mom and dad, and my grandparents—they raised me and treated me well, so I should also be filial to them. But this filial piety depends on how much ability I have. If I have one dollar, I can give fifty cents to be filial to them.” She couldn’t elaborate too much on the responsibilities and filial duties.

The little kid still didn’t understand, so the most straightforward method was to use money as a metaphor. “But the premise is that this money is earned by me. If it’s your dad’s money, I can’t just give it to Grandma and Grandpa without asking your dad for his opinion.”

“I’m fine with that,” Lu Cheng immediately replied. “The money in our family is up to you.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingqing looked at him.

However, when she met his gaze, she awkwardly shifted her eyes away.

Because of Lu Cheng’s words, her heart started to race a bit.

She wasn’t naive; from that day when he blew-dried her hair to Lu Cheng’s words now, and the little moments they shared, they hinted at something she had been ignoring or perhaps didn’t want to acknowledge.

That is…

Lu Cheng really sees her as his wife.

Or perhaps, as he said that night, he was attracted to her and wanted to be revolutionary partners with her.

So what about herself?

What did she think?

Was she just going to wait until conditions allowed her to divorce Lu Cheng in the future?

Wouldn’t that just mean wasting a few years of Lu Cheng’s life?

But if she didn’t divorce, she wasn’t the original owner, and she couldn’t comfortably live as a true wife to Lu Cheng.

Besides, did she like him?

Maybe she had some affection for him.

It stemmed from his good looks, then developed into an appreciation for his character.

To be frank, who wouldn’t want a tall and handsome partner?

“Mom, I’ll give you the money too, so we can be filial to Grandpa and Grandma, and Great-Grandma.”

Lu Haici actually liked his grandparents and Great-Grandma quite a bit because Great-Grandma treated him well.

Before Lin Qingqing married Lu Cheng, he had taken Lu Haici to visit, so he had naturally met Lin’s grandmother.

With Lin’s grandmother being so shrewd, she certainly wouldn’t treat Lu Haici poorly; on the contrary, she was very kind to him.

As a result, Lu Haici, who had never had relatives from his mother’s side, had a very good impression of Lin’s grandmother and the Lin family.

Lin Qingqing snapped back to reality because of Lu Haici’s words: “Alright then, when Mom gets her salary, let’s go to the department store together to pick out gifts for Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa, Auntie, and Grandma and Grandpa, okay?”

“Sure!” Lu Haici was happy at the thought of it, but then he frowned again. “But Mom, I don’t have any money. Sigh… I want to earn money too, but I don’t know where little kids can earn money.”

Hearing him sigh, Lin Qingqing found it quite amusing. “I have money! I can tell them that although I bought the gifts, they were all picked out by you. The gifts you seriously selected for them will definitely make them happy.”

Lu Haici’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Really?”

Lin Qingqing replied, “Of course it’s true.”

“How about we go together then?” Lu Cheng took the opportunity to say.

As a man, he was proactive in his work and not the type to be shy in life. “I haven’t bought anything for my grandparents or my in-laws yet, so I should show my filial piety.”

Lin Qingqing found it hard to refuse: “If you’re free then, that would be nice. You can help us carry things.”

Lu Haici chimed in, “Carry things, carry things…”

Lu Cheng glanced at his son: “As a little man, you can’t even carry anything. What am I supposed to say about that?”

Lu Haici was instantly stunned, his eyes wide open in disbelief at what his father had just said.

“Don’t mind your dad.” Lin Qingqing patted the little guy’s back. “You’ve done wonderfully; you can wash your own dishes. And remember when I was sick for half a month after you came here? You took care of me. You served me food and got me vegetables. Did you forget?”

Lu Cheng felt like he had received a fatal blow.

During that half month, his wife had been sick and nearly burned up with fever, and it was their five-year-old son who had taken care of her.

So… did that little rascal replace him in Lin Qingqing’s heart?

The more Lu Cheng thought about it, the more he felt that might be the case.

He even wondered if she hadn’t asked to share a room with him in the past few days because she was still mad at him.

No, he needed to clarify this situation