Qian Yuelan didn’t know that her mother-in-law was just trying to scare her.

She thought her mother-in-law really meant it.

She didn’t want to leave the Qin family. Without the Qin family, she wouldn’t have an answer to give to Lu Cheng by evening.

But by afternoon, that answer had already come.

Lin Qingqing and Qi Shao, along with the others, cleaned up the canteen before heading back to the residential area.

As soon as they arrived, they found the house very lively.

Qin Ming and Lu Haici were playing, while Zhang Hongping, Yang Mailian, and Qian Yuelan were under the eaves.

Lin Qingqing raised an eyebrow. “We have guests, welcome, welcome.”

Her face showed no sign of any conflict with Yang Mailian or Qian Yuelan.

Zhang Hongping smiled and said, “Not at all, we came too early and disturbed you.”

Lin Qingqing replied, “There was something going on at the canteen today, so I stayed a bit longer.”

She entered the house and saw Lu Cheng and two elderly men sitting inside.

“You’re back,” Lu Cheng stood up. “This is General Qin, and this is Colonel Qian.”

Lin Qingqing had been guessing, and upon hearing Lu Cheng, she quickly said, “Hello, General Qin. Hello, Colonel Qian.” Although Colonel Qian held a higher military rank than Lu Cheng, he was obviously older.

General Qin laughed heartily and said, “Little Lin, Lu Cheng told me you’re still planning to take the high school entrance exam. You’re quite impressive. You cook well and study hard. You’re a great role model for women.”

Lin Qingqing responded, “You flatter me, General Qin. I often hear Qin Ming mention you. He says his grandfather is a great hero, and that he wants to be like him when he grows up. It’s truly an honor to meet you today.”

She glanced at Lu Cheng, seemingly asking, how did General Qin know about her plans to take the high school exam?

When General Qin heard Lin Qingqing’s words, he couldn’t stop smiling.

Lu Cheng’s wife was really something.

If Lin Qingqing had said someone else had mentioned him, he might have thought she was just saying nice things, but since it was his grandson who mentioned him, General Qin believed it.

For him, no praise from others could make him as happy as hearing praise from his grandson.

“Stop spouting nonsense,” Zhang Hongping interrupted.

She knew this was something her grandson would say. “Xiao Ming has been spoiled by the old man, always listening to him boasting.”

General Qin was unhappy: “What do you mean by that? When did I boast? When I was young, I—”

“Enough, let’s talk about the important matters. I’ve heard that same old story at least twenty times,” Zhang Hongping cut him off.

Among all present, only Zhang Hongping dared interrupt him.

General Qin felt embarrassed by his wife, but there was nothing he could do.

He could only straighten his face and say, “Lu Cheng’s wife, I truly apologize for the trouble this time. I’ve caused you trouble.” He then looked toward Yang Mailian and Qian Yuelan.

Yang Mailian and Qian Yuelan didn’t dare to delay any longer.

They were eager to leave immediately.

So both of them took out their apology letters.

Qian Yuelan said, “Comrade Lin, I’m sorry.”

Although she was smiling on the outside, there was no smile in her eyes.

But Lin Qingqing wasn’t bothered.

Today, they came to apologize because General Qin had brought them here.

If they said anything unpleasant, it would be an insult to General Qin. “It’s okay,” she generously forgave them.

Compared to Qian Yuelan, Yang Mailian’s smile had already become stiff.

She couldn’t really smile, but there was nothing she could do. “Comrade Lin, everything is my fault. I apologize to you. I can’t write, so it’s my daughter-in-law Yuelan who wrote this apology letter for me, and Colonel Qian has vouched for me. I won’t speak of these matters again in the future.”

She felt like her dignity was ruined by Lin Qingqing.

From now on, whenever she saw Lin Qingqing, she would just avoid her.

Lin Qingqing smiled and said, “It’s okay.”

Once the apology letters were handed over, Qian Yuelan immediately said, “Dad, Mom, I have something to take care of at the hospital, so I’ll leave first.”

Yang Mailian added, “I have clothes to wash at home, so I’ll leave too.”

Without waiting for anyone to agree, the two of them hurriedly left.

Colonel Qian said, “I’ll leave too. Deputy Regiment Leader Lu, I apologize again for the trouble caused by this matter.” He sighed deeply.

General Qin followed suit and said his goodbyes as well.

Lu Cheng stood up. “I’ll see you out.”

One by one, they left.

The only one who stayed behind was Qin Ming, who was still playing with Lu Haici.

Ji Yang from next door also came over, so Qin Ming didn’t want to leave.

Zhang Hongping said, “Then don’t go outside in the sun. Stay inside and play, okay?”

She was worried about the heat and didn’t want the child to get sunstroke.

Qin Ming replied, “Okay.”

With the apology letters in hand, the matter was officially over.

However, with this matter behind them, Lu Haici was about to face his “winter” because the little rascal was on summer vacation, which meant Lu Cheng would start training him.

As for Lin Qingqing, she didn’t interfere.

She knew Lu Cheng had everything under control.

“Comrade Lin, this is your payslip. Please check it to see if there’s any issue. If everything is fine, just sign it, and I’ll give you your salary.”

On the afternoon of July 1st, Qi Shao came to give Lin Qingqing her salary.

Lin Qingqing checked her payslip.

It was three yuan, and everything was correct.

She then signed her name: “Thank you, Squad Leader. Thank you for your care in June. Let’s continue to work hard together in July.” She was so excited.

She had finally received her first salary in this world.

It felt amazing.

Now that she had a salary, she could feel a bit more at ease.

The days of asking men for money were definitely not what she wanted.

Qi Shao said, “No need to thank me, no need to thank me.”

In July, everyone in the third cooking team became much happier, and their enthusiasm for work increased.

Qi Shao didn’t know that there’s a saying: “A man and woman working together makes the job easier.”

After Lin Qingqing received her three yuan salary from the cooking team at noon, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative in the afternoon to settle the bill.

“Sit still, don’t let your little feet go near the bicycle,” Lin Qingqing reminded as she went to pick up Lu Haici.

He was sitting behind her on the bike.

“I know. I won’t let my little feet go in,” Lu Haici, a seasoned bicycle rider for his age, said confidently.

Lu Cheng stood by the door and watched them, feeling a bit envious.

It seemed like Lu Haici had heard his father’s unspoken thoughts.

He waved at Lu Cheng and said, “Goodbye, Dad. We’re going to the supply and marketing cooperative!”

Lu Cheng stared at his hand without expression.

This little rascal seemed to think today’s task wasn’t heavy enough.

Next year, the training time would be extended by ten minutes.

Lin Qingqing felt the little rascal was tempting fate.

She said, “Alright, sit properly. I’m going now.”

Lu Haici quickly withdrew his hand, holding onto the bicycle seat with both little hands. “Mom, I’m ready.”

Lin Qingqing hopped onto the bicycle, her feet just touching the ground.

She turned to Lu Cheng and said, “Lu Cheng, I’m going to settle the bill at the cooperative. Do you want anything? I can bring something back for you.”

Lu Cheng said, “No need. Just buy something you like.”

Lu Haici piped up, “Mom, I want milk candy. Can we buy milk candy?”

Lin Qingqing said boldly, “Of course.”

She pushed hard on the pedals, and the bicycle sped off like a blur.

Lu Cheng regretted not saying he wanted some pastries instead.

At the supply and marketing cooperative, Director Ma was waiting for Lin Qingqing.

When Xu Xiaoyao came to pick up goods earlier, she had brought Lin Qingqing’s message that she would come to settle June’s bill.

So Director Ma had already prepared the bill in advance.

It turned out to be quite a sum of money.

Thanks to Lin Qingqing, the cooperative had made a decent profit from the marinated snacks in recent days, contributing to the finances of the cooperative.

“Director Ma,” Lin Qingqing, with Lu Haici in tow, arrived at the familiar office.

She knocked on the door.

Director Ma looked up and saw Lin Qingqing. “Come in! And I see the little one is here. We’ve got popsicles in the cooperative. Does the little one want some?”

Lu Haici blinked his eyes. “Yummy, yummy!”

Once a little rascal had tasted popsicles, it was hard to resist their charm.

In our country, popsicles have existed since 1950.

Now it’s 1963, and they have been around for 13 years.

When Lin Qingqing heard about popsicles, she couldn’t help but feel a little tempted: “Director Ma, could I have two?”

Director Ma laughed heartily: “Of course. This time, the popsicles come with ice cream. Would you like some ice cream?”

Lin Qingqing replied: “Sure, I’ll take ice cream.”

Director Ma personally went to get two ice creams: “Here, try them.”

As soon as Lin Qingqing got the ice cream, she couldn’t wait to take a bite: “It’s so delicious.”

She couldn’t help but exclaim.

Oh my god, she finally got to eat something that would later be available in the future.

After all, in this era, the only thing that could make her excited seemed to be ice cream.

What other goods from this era could spark her interest?

“It’s really delicious,” said Lu Haici, his eyes shining.

What kind of human delicacy was this? It was his first time trying it. “Mom, this isn’t like the popsicles I’ve had before.”

What he had eaten before were sugar-water popsicles, but now he was having ice cream, which was of course different. “This is better than the ones I used to eat.”

Lin Qingqing said: “From now on, you can have one every week.”

In fact, she also wanted to have one every week, so she used her little one as an excuse.

“Really?” Lu Haici’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Thank you, Mom.”

“You’re welcome, but you can only have one a week. Don’t eat too much,” Lin Qingqing reminded.

Eating too many popsicles wasn’t good for you.

Lu Haici was disciplined enough, so he was happy to settle for once a week. “Okay, I’ll listen to Mom.”

Lin Qingqing rubbed his little face: “Then you can go eat slowly. Mom needs to talk business with Director Ma.”

“Okay.” Lu Haici obediently went to sit aside, quietly enjoying his popsicle.

A single ice cream wasn’t very big, and Lin Qingqing quickly finished hers before getting down to business with Director Ma.

“Comrade Lin, this is the account book for the past eight days. Please have a look,” Director Ma pushed the account book to Lin Qingqing.

Lin Qingqing took the account book, then pulled out another one.

This was the account that Yu Xiuyao reported to her every day.

She checked the totals, and everything was correct.

In the past eight days, the total was 1680 pounds.

With a profit of 0.065 per pound, the total was 1092 yuan.

Actually, Lin Qingqing hadn’t expected to make so much in eight days.

If she calculated it, she could still earn around 75 yuan, and by the end of the month, it would be no less than 200 yuan.

Lin Qingqing felt the joy of making money.

After confirming the account book was correct, Lin Qingqing signed it.