Qin Ming, thinking this sounded reasonable, chimed in, “But don’t worry! If your baby brothers bully you, I’ll fight them and make them cry!”

To the kids, crying was the ultimate humiliation.

But Lu Haici shook his head. “If my mom has a little brother, I’ll share all my food and toys with him. I’ll play with him, and if anyone bullies him, I’ll protect him.”

He spoke with conviction, though a shadow of worry lingered in his voice.

He thought, If I’m good, Mom will still love me.

Ji Yang, inspired, said, “Yes, I’ll share my money with my little brother, too. We’ll take care of him together.”

“But your moms won’t love you anymore,” Chen Zhou insisted.

“They will!” Lu Haici replied defiantly. “As long as I’m good, Mom will still love me. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

He packed up his things, slung his little bag over his shoulder, and moved to a corner where Chen Zhou wasn’t.

He sat alone, sulking.

Ji Yang picked up his own bag and joined him, sitting by his side.

They both looked lonely, as if they were reliving the times when they had no mothers and would sit together, feeling sad.

Chen Zhou glanced at them and then looked at Qin Ming, feeling wronged.

After all, he was only repeating what his mom had said.

But seeing his friends upset, he wondered if he had done something wrong.

Qin Ming didn’t quite understand why they were upset, but he knew one thing for sure. “Chen Zhou, you shouldn’t badmouth Lu Haici’s mom. He hates it when people say bad things about her.”

He had learned this the hard way after they’d fought over similar remarks before.

Chen Zhou pouted, feeling even more wronged. “I wasn’t the one saying it! It was my mom.”

“Then go tell your mom not to badmouth Lu Haici’s mom. When my grandma said something bad about his mom, I told her to stop. That’s why Lu Hai Ci and I are friends now. If you don’t talk to your mom, we won’t be friends with you, and you won’t get to eat Lu Hai Ci’s mom’s cooking.”

Chen Zhou, recalling how delicious Lu Haici’s mom’s food was, gave in. “Fine, I’ll talk to my mom.”

“Then go apologize to Lu Haici now and tell him you’ll talk to your mom. My grandpa says a real man admits his mistakes,” Qin Ming said.

With a reluctant but determined nod, Chen Zhou followed Qin Ming over to Lu Haici and Ji Yang’s corner.

Looking as pitiful as possible, he said, “Lu Haici, I’m sorry. I was wrong. Those things were from my mom, not me. I’ll tell her not to say anything bad about your mom. Can we still be friends and eat together?”

Lu Haici still felt a bit sad, not because of what Chen Zhou had said, but because he was worried his mom wouldn’t love him if she had a new baby.

However, hearing Chen Zhou’s apology, he set aside his feelings. “I forgive you,” he said, remembering his mom’s advice that children should resolve their own issues, while adults would handle the grown-up stuff.

Chen Zhou had apologized, so he couldn’t stay mad. “And Ji Yang, his mom talked about your mom, too.”

“Mm.” Chen Zhou apologized to Ji Yang again, “Ji Yang, I’m sorry. I was wrong. Those things were things my mom said. I’ll go back and tell her not to talk badly about your mom anymore. Can we still be friends and keep eating together?”

If there had been any adults present, they probably would have found the conversation a bit awkward, but these were just kids.

Seeing that his good friend Lu Haici had already forgiven Chen Zhou, Ji Yang quickly forgave him too.

In fact, compared to Lu Haici, Ji Yang was more outgoing.

Meanwhile, Lu Haici was more sensitive and thoughtful.

Ji Yang said, “I forgive you too.”

The little friends made up, and when school was out, they all held hands and went to eat together.

This time, they were going to eat at the place where Ji Yang’s mom worked, so Lu Haici suggested they go ahead, as he first went to the Third Company Mess Hall to let his mom know.

At the Third Company Mess Hall, Lin Qingqing hadn’t started eating with Qi Shao and the others because she knew Lu Haici was about to finish school and wanted to wait for him.

When she saw him come in, she began preparing the food, only to hear him say, “Mom, I won’t eat here today. I’m going to the main dining hall for dinner.”

Lin Qingqing was surprised. “Why the main dining hall? Are they serving meat there today?”

She had gotten used to life here and instinctively thought the main dining hall must have something special if he wanted to eat there.

Lu Haici said, “I’m not sure if there’s any meat today. Ji Yang said his mom works in the main dining hall and that her cooking is really good. So the four of us decided to go there together.”

“I see. Alright, you go ahead. Be sure to line up nicely, and if anything happens, come tell me,” Lin Qingqing said, not overly worried.

Lu Haici had become used to going to the main dining hall, and he was probably the kid who lined up there the most often, so everyone knew him.

“Yes, Mom. If they have any meat, I’ll bring some back for you,” he promised.

Lin Qingqing didn’t decline his offer but added, “Make sure to have some yourself too. Don’t go hungry.”

Her words made Lu Haici giggle.

That evening, the Third Company Mess Hall was serving noodles.

Due to a limited supply that week, there wasn’t enough for everyone to have a large bowl, but they were packed with ingredients like potatoes and cabbage.

The thick potato broth mixed with the freshness of the cabbage created a really delicious flavor.

Lin Qingqing had also made herself a bowl with clams and dried shrimp.

Since Lu Haici was going to the main dining hall, she packed some extra for him to share with his friends. “Take this with you. There are four shrimps, so each of you can have one.”

Lu Haici replied, “Alright, I’ll share with them.”

Although he was a little reluctant, he was also grateful to his friends, especially Qin Ming, who had shared his snacks, and Ji Yang, who was a loyal friend.

Even Chen Zhou had apologized today, so he was willing to share.

With a lunchbox in hand and his ration booklet, Lu Haici happily headed off to the main dining hall.

Lin Qingqing was left to enjoy her seafood noodles on her own.

After everyone at the mess hall finished eating, the comrades of the Third Company returned, creating quite a scene when they saw the noodles.

“Quick, get me a bowl!”

“Me too!”

“And me!”

One of them, noticing Lu Cheng, curiously asked at the counter, “Squad Leader Qi, what’s Deputy Captain Lu eating tonight?”

Although Lu Cheng had made his decision, he felt tense upon entering the Third Company Mess Hall, especially when he thought about facing Lin Qingqing.

It was as if he was a machine that couldn’t relax even if he wanted to.

Still, he instinctively looked toward the counter, hoping to see her, but as usual, she wasn’t there—always staying in the background.

Hearing the soldier’s question, Lu Cheng glanced at Qi Shao.

Qi Shao brought out a bowl of noodles from the counter. “Deputy Captain Lu, Lin made this for you. It’s noodles too.”

“I see big shrimp in there—a lot of big shrimp.”

“And other kinds of seafood, though I don’t know all their names.”

“Must be clams, right? We have those back home too.”

“Madam Lin is so good to Deputy Captain Lu.”

“That’s true, he’s really lucky.”

Amid the envy of his comrades, Lu Cheng took the seafood noodles with composure, though his heart was in turmoil.

On any other day, he would have found the noodles delicious, and he would have felt fortunate.

But tonight, eating these noodles left him with a mix of enjoyment and bitterness—because the one who had made this meal was not the wife he cherished.

He ate the noodles with a tinge of sadness and lingered in his seat afterward, breaking his usual routine of going straight to the back kitchen.

Instead, he waited a bit, washed his bowl, and then stood by the kitchen entrance.

Before Lin Qingqing finished her shift, he saw Lu Haici returning from the main dining hall.

After finishing his meal, Lu Haici went to look for his mom, but with a glum expression.

He dashed toward the kitchen like a little calf, only to see his dad standing by the door.

“Dad?” he asked. “Dad, aren’t you going in to wait for Mom?”

Lu Cheng looked at his son with a mixture of envy and complexity. “I’ll wait out here. You go ahead.”

He hadn’t mentioned his feelings about Lin Qingqing to his son—there was no point, as he wouldn’t understand.

“Okay,” Lu Haici said, then ran inside.

Lu Haici quickly found his mom, looking quite upset. “Mom, I don’t want to eat at the big cafeteria anymore.”

Lin Qingqing was about to ask how the food was when she heard her son’s complaint and assumed he had been bullied.

She immediately expressed her concern, “What happened? Did something go wrong?”

Lu Haici replied, “The food in the big cafeteria isn’t as good as what you make! Tonight’s dinner isn’t as good as the noodles you made. After my friends had shrimp, they wanted to eat my noodles. I gave them a little bit, just a tiny bit, because I wanted to eat, too.”

Lin Qingqing couldn’t help but laugh. “Then we won’t go there tomorrow; we can eat here instead.”

“Okay,” Lu Haici nodded vigorously. “Qin Ming told me he won’t go to the big cafeteria anymore; he’ll eat here with me.”

“Today, Qin’s aunt came here to make noodles,” Qi Shao chimed in, having just returned from outside.

He had overheard Lu Haici’s words. “She came for lunch, too, and said she’ll be making food here from now on.”

Lin Bao added, “If it’s just her, that’s fine, but if more people start coming, we might not have enough for our comrades in the third company.”

After all, the cafeteria’s budget was limited, and feeding the unit was already a challenge, let alone accommodating others.

Qi Shao remarked, “There shouldn’t be too many outsiders, right?”

Lin Bao replied, “That’s not certain. Comrade Lin’s cooking is so good; who knows if other comrades will come over?”

Lin Qingqing suggested, “How about this? If comrades from outside the third company come, we’ll put up a notice outside saying we need to prioritize our own comrades first. Anything left can go to the others.”

Qi Shao nodded. “That sounds good.”

Once they wrapped things up, everyone clocked out for the day.

As Lin Qingqing held Lu Haici’s hand while leaving, she had intended to ask about his father, but after what had happened that day, she held back the question.

Upon stepping outside, she saw Lu Cheng leaning against the doorframe.

Lu Cheng was tall, and his relaxed posture against the door was different from his usual upright and serious demeanor.

Under the light, he looked somewhat languid, casting shadows around him that added an air of nonchalance.

Seeing him like that surprised Lin Qingqing and made her pause.

Hearing the commotion, Lu Cheng turned his head and spotted them.

He straightened up. “Done for the day?” His deep voice carried a hint of restraint.

“Yes,” Lin Qingqing replied. “You don’t have to wait for me. The road back from here is safe enough.”

If this place wasn’t safe, then nowhere in the country would be.

“I’m used to it,” Lu Cheng said casually.

But he really had gotten used to waiting for her to finish work so they could go home together.

This feeling of routine was a bit frightening.

A moment of silence fell between them.

Lu Haici, holding one parent’s hand in each of his, was too young to sense the atmosphere between them.

He happily swung their hands and started talking about his day at kindergarten. “Mom, Chen Zhou apologized to me today, and I forgave him.”

Lin Qingqing, intrigued, asked, “What happened between you and Chen Zhou?”