Zhao Hong looked up and immediately saw the figure she had been longing for, her eyes instantly reddening.
"Cheng, Cheng Ming."
"Is Cheng Ming someone you can just call? I'm the one by his side now. Who are you putting on this act for? Do you think a hen that can't lay eggs can interfere in someone else's marriage?"
Lin Xiaohui's tone was extremely sharp and mean, leaving Zhao Hong blushing furiously.
"What kind of fly is buzzing around here? Get lost quickly." Jin Kun sat in his seat, looking at Lin Xiaohui and Lu Chengming with annoyance.
"Who are you calling a fly? It's said that fish find fish, shrimp find shrimp, and turtles find their mates. I see it's true, you two really are a perfect match."
Jin Kun stood up and, without hesitation, slapped Lin Xiaohui.
Lin Xiaohui was completely stunned, covering her face and looking at Jin Kun in disbelief. "You, you dare to hit me?"
"Hitting you is too light. I don't care if you're a man or a woman, if you get in my way, I'll beat you. Get out of here now."
"Cheng Ming!" Lin Xiaohui turned to look at Lu Chengming for help. Just as he took a step forward, Jin Kun suddenly took a knife from his pocket and slammed it onto the table. Everyone present was startled.
Lu Chengming weighed the situation and didn't dare to speak. In the end, he could only choose to pull the unwilling Lin Xiaohui away.
"Thank you today." After this incident, Zhao Hong's opinion of Jin Kun changed slightly; she thought he was quite manly.
Jin Kun put away his knife. "It's nothing. We've been out for quite a while. How about I escort you back to your dormitory?"
Zhao Hong nodded, and the two walked forward side by side.
...
"Auntie, these are meat buns steamed by my mother. They're very fragrant and she said you won't have to cook dinner tonight." Wang Yanhui and Wang Yanchao, the brothers, came in, holding a large plate of buns.
Since Zhao Guiying started selling crabapples, she had earned more than thirty yuan in less than a month, greatly improving their family's living conditions.
She believed this was all thanks to Chen Lishu. If she hadn't given her advice, she wouldn't have made so much money. Therefore, whenever the family cooked something delicious, they would send the children over with it. When Chen Lishu was not home, Gu Xingdong was even invited to eat twice.
Chen Lishu quickly reached out to take the plate, went to the kitchen to get something to pack the buns into, and then returned the plate to the brothers. "Please thank your mother for me when you go back."
The brothers took the plate and ran off. Not long after, they came back to call Rui Rui out to play.
"Gu Rui, I bought some new marbles. Do you want to try them?"
Rui Rui's eyes lit up. He glanced at Chen Lishu, who touched his little head and smiled, "Go ahead, don't run around, and be careful."
"My deskmate, Little Fatty, has Journey to the West cards. I traded them for something else. Wait a moment, I'll go get them for you to see."
Rui Rui said and ran back into the house. He took out the cards he had specifically brought back, and soon the three of them left the room together and went to the yard to play.
...
Wu Zheng sat casually on a chair nearby. "Old Gu, have you told your wife about leaving?"
Gu Xingdong shook his head. "Not yet."
He had originally wanted to find a suitable opportunity to tell her, but he had been busy, and Chen Lishu had also been busy. During the little time they had together, he didn't want her to worry prematurely.
"My wife has been causing a lot of trouble for me lately, and I haven't told her yet either," Zhou Liang said helplessly, shaking his head.
Wu Zheng asked, "Is it still about changing the child's surname?"
Zhou Liang leaned back. "I don't even know what she's thinking. It's clearly our Zhou family's lineage, yet she insists on having the child change their surname to Zhao. If this gets out, where will I save face?"
Wu Zheng patted his shoulder. "We don't know when we'll be back this time. Try to appease her as much as possible."
The war in the south had been going on for almost a year. Although they had done plenty of training, this was a real battlefield with live ammunition, where life was in danger at any moment. At such times, it was best not to leave with any regrets.
None of the three men spoke, and the atmosphere in the room became a bit silent.
"Don't worry, I'll look after your wives and your children. I'll definitely foster a spirit of unity, friendship, and mutual assistance. Your children are my children, and your wives..."
Gu Xingdong raised an eyelid. "Get lost."
Wu Zheng chuckled. "Look at you. I haven't finished speaking. Your wives are like my own sisters and sisters-in-law. You misunderstood. I'm really not that kind of person."
"Old Wu, I finally understand why you always have more training than others. With your mouth, Old Gu is being very polite to you."
As they were talking, Wei Gang pushed the door open. "Oh, it's this late, aren't you going home?"
Gu Xingdong glanced at his watch and stood up. "Let's go."
...
Rui Rui and the Wang brothers were playing marbles by the flowerbed. Wei Xiaoya, who had been watching the game from the side, suddenly stepped forward and clutched the marble she had been eyeing for a long time into her hand.
"What are you doing?" Wang Yanchao, who was aiming, said unhappily after being disturbed. "Put the marble back quickly!"
Wei Xiaoya quickly hid her hand behind her back when she heard this.
Rui Rui, being the closest to her, stood up and walked towards her, frowning. "Wei Xiaoya, give the marble back to us."
Wei Xiaoya stubbornly pursed her lips. "It fell by my feet, so I picked it up."
"How can you be so good at picking things up? If you say that, then the sun is also shining on you. Why don't you take it home?" Wang Yanchao reached out unhappily. "Hurry up and give us the marble back."
Wei Xiaoya still clutched it tightly, refusing to let go.
Wang Yanchao exchanged a look with Rui Rui. He went up and hugged her, while Rui Rui tried to pry the marble from her hand.
"Waa..."
Seeing the marble being snatched from her hand, Wei Xiaoya burst into tears.
"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Old Mrs. Wei, who was chatting with someone not far away, heard the sound and quickly ran over. Upon seeing the two boys bullying Wei Xiaoya alone, she unceremoniously slapped each of them, pushing the two children to the ground.
Rui Rui's hand accidentally hit the edge of the flowerbed, scraping his skin.
"Grandma, they snatched my marble," Wei Xiaoya complained tearfully.
"Goodness, you two shameless brats, are you itching for a beating? How dare you bully our Xiaoya! Who are your parents? I'll find your families and settle this!"
"You old woman, you're so unreasonable! That was clearly my brother's marble," Wang Yanhui went forward to help Wang Yanchao and Rui Rui up, saying defiantly to Old Mrs. Wei with his chin slightly raised.
"Yours? Who doesn't know our Xiaoya is usually the most honest? Would she snatch things from others? You little brat, how dare you lie."
"Grandma, I want the marble." Wei Xiaoya pointed at Rui Rui, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Whose child are you? Hand over the marble quickly, or I'll start hitting people." Old Mrs. Wei stepped forward and reached for Rui Rui. Rui Rui immediately put the marble behind his back.