Sun Xiaohong could no longer tolerate it and wanted to rush in to find Lin Yue, but Sun San stopped her.

“Xiaohong, if you go now, it will only make things worse. Not only will Lin Yue not let you stay, but he will also humiliate you.”

“Third Brother, what should we do then? Lin Yue hasn’t contacted me yet. Has he… already started seeing other women? He’s not someone who can control himself!”

Sun Er added, “Hmph, I’ll just catch him alone and give him a beating…”

“Second Brother! Do you want to go to jail?” Sun San said sternly, “Assault is illegal. Have you thought about how that will affect Mother, my wife, and the children?”

Sun Er grumbled in frustration.

In the end, Sun San gave Sun Xiaohong some advice, “In a few days, we’ll be going for training. With only an old lady at home, you can come back and talk nicely. You have to endure insults and not retaliate. Try to soothe Bao’er. If he cries, you can come back.”

Sun Xiaohong had to hold back her frustration.

She was really worried that Lin Yue might not be able to resist and seek out other women.

If she could attract him, couldn’t other women do the same?

He was young and handsome, now a tractor driver, and the family’s situation was improving.

Wouldn’t women be eager to chase after him?

Sun San dragged her away forcefully.

In these days, Lin Shu was living quite comfortably at home.

After Sister Lu Da became a tractor driver, Fang Dihua didn’t let her work but had her stay home to help with chores and assist Lin Shu.

After cutting down three large trees, the yard felt much more open and brighter, and the vegetables were growing better.

Now the garden was lush with plants—vegetables, flowers, and vines—turning the spacious farmhouse yard into a large garden.

Anyone who saw it couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, what a beautiful yard!”

Sister Lu Da had recently helped repair the small fish pond Lin Shu had designed.

She went back to her hometown to buy a batch of fish fry and added them to the pond, along with some aquatic plants.

Initially, she thought a stagnant pond in the yard would smell bad in the summer and would not support fish.

But Lin Shu’s design was ingenious.

On one side, there was an inlet with a higher elevation; on the other side, there was an outlet with a deeper trench.

The outlet trench wound around to the vegetable beds, so when draining the water, it could also water the vegetables.

This made the pond water more nutritious, promoting better vegetable growth.

The excess water flowed through a drainage ditch to the outside.

The water channel had a small stone sluice gate that could block the water if needed.

Lin Shu’s green compost pit was also completed, filled with humus soil with no foul odor.

It was environmentally friendly and used to fertilize the vegetable beds, making the vegetables grow lush and dense.

The vegetables at home were more than they could consume!

She also needed to distribute food to Aunt Li, Jin Ping’er, Old Lady Qiu, Old Lady Wang, and others.

Every day, she made soybean paste eggplant for the family, making Brother Lu Dage look forward to coming home for meals, practically wanting to eat five times a day.

Brother Lu Dage was happy with the food, and Sister Lu Da was happy too.

After cutting down the trees, there was more space in the yard.

Lin Shu asked her family to help lay a foundation for a new area and to find two sets of stone mills.

A larger mill would be used for grinding flour, so they wouldn’t have to go to the mill every time they needed flour.

A smaller one could be used to grind various grains.

She didn’t have to work in the fields under the sun or rain, so she wanted to show her gratitude by making delicious food for her family.

Cornmeal steamed bread was really hard and unappetizing without fermentation, which wasn’t good for people with sensitive stomachs.

She wanted to make Shandong pancakes.

In her previous life, Shandong pancakes were very famous, and she had learned how to make them.

She was skilled not just in Shandong pancakes but also in various pancake recipes.

Unfortunately, she lacked fine flour now, which limited her options, so she could only make corn pancakes, millet pancakes, bean and sorghum pancakes, sweet potato powder pancakes, and egg pancakes.

She varied the pancakes with different ingredients and fillings to make them nutritious and delicious.

Slurp…

…..

In a military district.

Lu Shaotang and Chen Yanming returned from the training field.

Chen Yanming looked exhausted, while Lu Shaotang, in his military uniform and clean shirt, looked fresh and neat.

Chen Yanming, feeling envious, asked, “Brother Lu, didn’t you participate in the competition?”

Lu Shaotang replied, “I met you before.”

Chen Yanming asked, “So why do you look so… stylish?”

Chen Yanming was covered in sweat, and he couldn’t understand why Lu Shaotang looked so clean.

Lu Shaotang explained, “I told them I was injured, so they let me go.”

Chen Yanming retorted, “Stop pretending! You’re as strong as an ox!”

When they first found him, he was covered in blood, but after the doctor cleaned his wounds, they found he didn’t have any fatal injuries, just a head injury that had caused him to faint.

Most of the blood on him was from the enemy!

The knife wound on his abdomen wasn’t very deep.

When the dagger was thrust at him, his muscles tensed up and resisted the blade, preventing injury to his internal organs.

His superior physical condition was truly enviable.

The two of them went to the cafeteria to grab some food.

Today, Chen Yanming managed to get some beloved braised pork without having to grab it! A full lunchbox!

“37, message!” The courier ran over and handed Chen Yanming a thick letter.

The letter was so heavy it almost fell into the soup bowl of a nearby soldier.

Lu Shaotang quickly snatched the letter out of the air with a swift movement.

The military zone’s communication system was efficient, so they began using specific methods to send and receive letters, much faster than when they were in the southwest.

Of course, Lu Shaotang couldn’t write letters in his own name because he was currently listed as “deceased,” so Chen Yanming had to handle the correspondence for both of them.

Chen Yanming said, “Old Lu, this is my letter.”

Lu Shaotang replied calmly, “It’s mine. You only write letters out; no one writes back to you.”

Back when they were at military school, Chen Yanming only sent letters out and rarely received replies.

Later, to make it look like he was receiving letters, he started writing letters to himself, but Lu Shaotang saw through it immediately.

They had been rivals back then.

Years later, Chen Yanming was still the same.

Chen Yanming replied with frustration, “It’s not that my family doesn’t write to me; it’s that I don’t let them write. We don’t have a fixed home.”

Lu Shaotang, though appearing calm, had a hint of urgency.

He gently tore open the envelope with his thumb and index finger.

He hadn’t received any letters from home for a long time.

His “death” must have caused his parents great sadness.

They should understand his intentions once they received the remittance.

He hoped they wouldn’t be too sad.

He eagerly pulled out the contents of the letter and was momentarily stunned.

It was… clearly a stack of his child’s homework papers, and… what were these scribbles?

Chen Yanming leaned in, putting his arm around Lu Shaotang’s shoulder to look at the letter.

He read aloud, “Dear Dad, blacked out, Daddy, dear father, blacked out, Dad, hahahaha, Brother Lu, is this your child’s letter? Hahaha, how cute…”

Jealousy! That scoundrel!

The man who always had a cold, stern face and never showed any kindness to women actually had a wife and a child!

It’s outrageous!

He hasn’t been home for years—where did this child come from?

If this is the case, then heaven owes me two children.

He continued reading, “I’m writing to you with Mom, blacked out, Mommy, and little brother. What’s ‘family affairs’? Family affairs?”

“Oh my, what are these scribbles? Are these from the little one?”

“Fighting? Let me see, let me see!”

Chen Yanming grabbed the letter from Lu Shaotang’s hand.

But Lu Shaotang quickly switched the letter between his left and right hands, so fast that Chen Yanming almost couldn’t see how he did it.

Chen Yanming said, “…What are you showing off for? I know you’ve been single for years and your hand speed is fast.”

Lu Shaotang glanced at him, and the letter was quickly tucked away, leaving Chen Yanming unable to find where he hid it.

Chen Yanming exclaimed, “Damn, Lu Shaotang, are you hiding it in your pants?”

Lu Shaotang replied, “I’ll show it to you in the dormitory.”

The letter was from his children!

Lu Shaotang was very excited, though he kept a calm exterior.

He was thrilled to have a son and a daughter—how perfect was that?

He felt proud and respected his wife greatly.

Although she didn’t favor him, she raised their children well, which deserved his utmost respect.

He had always known he had a son and a daughter, but he had never seen their photos.

When he was in a remote and cold place, he couldn’t receive letters, only knowing that his family sent him letters and his leaders had reported he was safe.

His leaders didn’t understand his feelings and only told him his family was well and his wife had given birth to twins.

But he never knew what his wife or children looked like, their weights, or how they had grown.

The leaders didn’t give him these details.

Back then, he had told his parents that due to work regulations, no photos could be sent.

His leaders were kind enough to send photos on his behalf.

Though he knew he had children, he had never seen them and felt a gentle longing for them.

This was the first time he had received anything from his children.

To his surprise, just as he was returning from near death, he received a letter from them.

It felt like a reward and compensation from heaven.

He was deeply grateful and overjoyed.

He felt like his heart was blooming, doing somersaults, and going through a thousand military drills.

He felt as if he had crossed the Pacific Ocean and back.