With one day off each week, Shu Yao only wanted to lie in bed like a corpse on that day.
Next week, she was scheduled for the night shift, from eleven at night to seven in the morning, which meant she had to leave in the evening.
She took the child to the nursery as usual. There were not many children during this time slot; including Shen Huaiyu, there were only three. One of the nursery attendants was someone Shu Yao had never seen before.
However, the attendant had a very good attitude and gently placed the baby on the little bed.
Shu Yao was working the night shift now and needed to go home to catch up on sleep, so she planned to come back and pick up the child after she had rested.
“Of course. There are people here twenty-four hours a day. You can rest assured leaving the child with us.”
Hearing the nursery attendant say that, Shu Yao felt reassured.
It was not until after four in the afternoon, when the sun was no longer so harsh, that Shu Yao slowly made her way toward the Food Factory to pick up the baby.
This was also the time when the morning shift workers got off work. There were countless people at the factory entrance, and Shu Yao was going against the flow, carefully avoiding the crowds and bicycles.
“Hey, that’s Comrade Shu Yao from the Syrup Workshop.”
“Oh my, she’s so young and so courageous!”
“Her consciousness is truly high. She should draw a clear line with capitalists and capitalist roaders.”
…
Shu Yao felt countless pairs of eyes filled with admiration turn toward her. The propaganda section must have copied the wall newspaper.
Those gazes seemed almost tangible as they landed on her. Even though Shu Yao had once been a livestream host, she had never witnessed a scene like this. After all, back then, the only things in front of her had been a phone and a barrage of comments.
It was as if Shu Yao had a rocket launcher attached to her behind; she instantly shot into the nursery.
If only she had known, she would have come later.
The nursery attendant did not let her off either, pulling her along and praising her enthusiastically.
Shu Yao finally managed to escape, but her cheeks were stiff from smiling.
On the way home, she suddenly sighed. She finally understood why this era had so many insane things.
Publishing notices severing relationships and divorce were merely the mildest of them. There were far more cases of relatives Reporting to the Authorities on one another: children Reporting to the Authorities on their parents, wives Reporting to the Authorities on their husbands, and students Reporting to the Authorities on their teachers.
How difficult it was to become a hero.
And how easy it was to become a hero.
Shu Yao bounced the Little Brat in her arms and gave him a kiss. He was still a child who understood nothing, with a pure and innocent mind.
However, it was strange. Shen Huaiyu seemed to have little energy today. His tiny mouth kept sucking, as if he wanted milk.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you used to staying in the nursery for so long?”
“Has your appetite grown too?”
Shen Huaiyu said nothing, only whining repeatedly in a way that sounded like he wanted milk.
When Shu Yao returned, she prepared a bottle of milk for him. The moment the nipple reached Shen Huaiyu’s lips, he eagerly held it with both hands and gulped down the milk.
“Looks like you really can eat more now.”
Shu Yao rubbed his little belly.
“Should I ask the nursery attendant aunties to prepare more milk for you from now on?”
Shen Huaiyu drank with all his might, occasionally making an “mm” sound, as if responding.
Shu Yao immediately smiled.
After Shen Huaiyu finished the entire bottle, Shu Yao buried her face in his chubby little body and took several deep sniffs.
Ah, this was even more satisfying than sniffing a furry child!
Shen Huaiyu giggled at her antics, and then he spit up…
So, may I ask, what was the point of eating?
Shu Yao stared blankly at the child radiating a sour stench.
On Wednesday afternoon, Shu Yao went to pick up Shen Huaiyu. From far away, she saw a military vehicle parked at the entrance.
“Comrade Fan, why are you here again? Is Grandfather…”
“Comrade Lu?”
The person unmistakably sitting in the driver’s seat was Lu Dingyuan.
Shu Yao looked at the courtyard gate, then at Lu Dingyuan, and asked uncertainly:
“Are you here for me?”
“Mm.”
Lu Dingyuan was still as taciturn as he had been that day. He got out and opened the rear door for her.
“Commander Shu wants to see you.”
After Wen Xia was harshly scolded by Shu Zhenzhong, she still did not give up. She went to find Qin Chunmei, who thought it over and decided that it was not impossible.
So she discussed it with Lu Dakui again.
Lu Dakui thought that becoming in-laws with the old company commander would truly be something to wish for. As for being demoted by a generation, he did not care in the slightest.
Since Sister-in-law had come to him, it meant that the old company commander was probably interested too. He once again carried wine over and had a drink with Shu Zhenzhong.
Shu Zhenzhong investigated Lu Dingyuan’s record. At such a young age, he was already the battalion commander of the independent battalion, and was no worse than an ordinary Regiment Commander.
The only problems were that he was somewhat old, had been married before, and had a child.
Given his Yaoyao’s qualifications, it would not be difficult to find her a man who had never married before.
When Lu Dakui came to him, he neither agreed nor disagreed. He merely said that the two children should get to know each other first.
He thought that when Yaoyao had taken a liking to Shen Zhongyue back then, perhaps she simply liked men who were older.
He had once heard somewhere that girls without fathers were prone to liking men older than themselves.
Lu Dingyuan was already among the best-qualified men of his age. Finding someone good-looking, never married, and with good conditions would be difficult.
At the very least, after searching through the men under his command for a long time, he had not spotted a single one.
Shu Yao could wait, but Lu Dingyuan could not. His medical leave was about to expire, and he would soon have to return to Minzhou. Lu Dakui and Qin Chunmei urged him to hurry and spend more time getting to know her.
Of course, Lu Dingyuan was not some kind of pervert who would develop feelings for a girl ten years younger than him after meeting her only once.
He simply…
Lu Dingyuan carefully examined Shu Yao’s appearance.
She looked so similar—far too similar. She looked even more like her than a biological child would.
He had felt that the girl looked familiar during dinner that day. After examining her more closely today, he realized that his feeling had been right.
Shu Yao felt Lu Dingyuan’s gaze. Three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds passed, and she could not take it anymore. She raised her head and glared fiercely at him.
What are you looking at, you old thing!
Lu Dingyuan coughed awkwardly. The instant he closed the car door and turned to get into the driver’s seat, he felt a little amused.
“Grandfather, why did you have comrade Lu pick me up today? He is a battalion commander, after all.”
The Old Master was wearing a military uniform and was still sitting in the living room.
The Old Master seemed to have taken a liking to sitting on the living room sofa recently.
“Lu Dingyuan is only ten years older than you. Don’t call him Uncle; you’re making him sound old.”
Shu Zhenzhong naturally reached out and took hold of his Granddaughter’s arm.
So? Wasn’t it you who told me to call him Uncle?
Otherwise, he was only six or seven years older than her actual age. How much must she have wanted to lower herself by a generation?
“Yaoyao, what do you think of Lu Dingyuan?”
“He’s just like that.”
Shu Yao speared a piece of cut watermelon with a fork. In this era, watermelons were rare fruits, and anyone who wanted to eat one had to get a doctor to issue a fever certificate.
“Yaoyao, since you’ve already divorced that boy from the Shen Family, do you want to find someone else?”
Shu Zhenzhong looked at his Granddaughter, who was focused only on eating watermelon. Somewhat exasperated by her lack of understanding, he had no choice but to make himself clear.
Shu Yao finally understood, her face filled with absurdity.
“Are you trying to set me up with Lu Dingyuan?!”
“No, no.”
The Old Master waved his hands repeatedly.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be him. What kind of person do you like? Grandfather can look around for you.”
Shu Yao was inexplicably brought over, then inexplicably sent away. Lu Dingyuan was driving again; Comrade Xiao Fan had the day off.
Shu Yao sat behind the front passenger seat, occasionally staring at Lu Dingyuan for a while.
This time, Lu Dingyuan could not take it anymore. He turned and glanced at her, his eyes filled with inquiry.
“No, how did the Old Master come up with the idea of setting us up?”
Are we a good match?
Oh, one widower with a child and one divorcee with a child. Perhaps in the eyes of the older generation, that was quite a good match?
To be honest, since she had traveled to this era, Shu Yao had not planned to be unconventional and remain unmarried for her entire life, but this…
This was far too hasty!
How long had it even been since her divorce?
Could Wen Xia have stirred up trouble again?