“Hey! You little brat!”
Qin Yue’e glared angrily.
She had carried this boy all the way here. Whenever there was even a bite of food, she always gave it to him first, yet he had never said a word.
But when it came to Huo Guangji, just one egg was enough for him to recognize this bargain of a father!
Huo Guangji, however, was quite pleased. He turned and glanced at Qin Yue’e.
“I’m his father to begin with. Why are you scolding him?”
Qin Yue’e rolled her eyes.
Right. I shouldn’t scold him. I should be scolding you!
You lousy scumbag. You’ve ignored your children for years, and now you think giving them an egg is enough to make you their father?
Not a chance!
Qin Yue’e immediately picked up both children and turned toward the door.
“If you’re determined to sleep here, then we’ll sleep in the room next door!”
Huo Guangji frowned.
She hates me this much? Then why did she go complain to the company commander and get him to force me to sleep here?
“Don’t drag the children around in the middle of the night. I’ll sleep in the room next door.”
Huo Guangji didn’t intend to argue with her. Besides, she was still his wife.
He gathered up his bedding and belongings and left.
Without Huo Guangji around, Qin Yue’e slept wonderfully that night, sleeping soundly until dawn.
She wasn’t particularly late getting up. After washing and getting herself ready, she went next door to take a look.
Huo Guangji had actually gotten up even earlier than her and had already gone out for morning exercises.
Good. He’s not here. At least I don’t have to see him and get annoyed.
Qin Yue’e felt considerably better.
After washing the two children, Wei Wenjie came looking for her.
“Sister-in-law, come with me to the mess hall. I’ll show you the job. Take a look first. If it’s too tiring, you don’t have to do it!”
Wei Wenjie was very easygoing.
“Okay!”
Qin Yue’e quickly took the children and followed her out.
It wasn’t easy to find work in the unit, so there was no way she was going to be picky.
Surviving comes first.
When they arrived at the mess hall, breakfast had just been prepared.
Without another word, Wei Wenjie made Qin Yue’e and the two children sit down and eat first.
Qin Yue’e felt a little embarrassed and didn’t eat much.
While they were talking, the head cook in charge of the mess hall came out.
There were more than 300 soldiers and logistics workers in the unit.
More than 300 people—and most of them were young men with huge appetites.
Cooking for that many people was no easy task.
The head cook, Zou Zhengping, was from the same hometown as the company commander. He had joined the unit around the same time as Wei Wenjie.
Unlike Wei Wenjie, who served as a cultural and entertainment soldier, Zou Zhengping had started out as a military cook. Naturally, he wasn’t as educated, but he was an honest and straightforward man.
The moment he saw them, he pulled out half a steaming braised pig’s ear, cut it into two pieces, and handed one to each of the children.
At that time, soldiers’ meals still consisted mostly of coarse-grain steamed buns. Even the company commander usually ate stir-fried sweet potato leaves.
Braised pig’s ear was such a luxury that they probably wouldn’t even see it during the New Year.
How could Qin Yue’e accept it?
She hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, no! Deputy Director Zou, we can’t take this! The mess hall keeps track of its supplies. If you cut off such a big piece for us, the numbers won’t add up later. We’d only be causing you trouble and getting you into trouble.”
Zou Zhengping looked at Qin Yue’e in surprise.
Then he turned to Wei Wenjie and laughed.
“Sister-in-law, didn’t you say Huo Guangji married a village woman? With the way she thinks, she doesn’t look like a village woman at all! Look at how clearly she explained everything the moment she opened her mouth. She practically explained how my entire mess hall operates. What village woman thinks like that? I’m telling you, she’s probably even sharper than the cashier who works under me!”
Wei Wenjie covered her mouth and laughed.
She took the pieces of pig’s ear and placed them into the children’s hands before pulling Qin Yue’e aside and explaining.
“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. You just happened to come at the right time. The mess hall is testing some new dishes today, and Old Zou is using you as the taste testers!”
“A cultural troupe from the city is coming to visit our unit in a couple of days. The performers are all women, so we can’t exactly make them eat the same food as all these big, hungry soldiers.”
“These dishes are being prepared specifically for them. Old Zou is just worried that he might have made them badly because he’s not used to cooking them. So let the children have some and see how they taste!”
Although Wei Wenjie put it that way, Qin Yue’e wasn’t foolish enough to pretend she didn’t understand.
They were clearly giving the children something good because they felt sorry for them.
She understood that perfectly.
She quickly looked up.
“Deputy Director Zou, when I was back in my village, I used to help manage wedding and funeral banquets. I can handle chopping, preparing ingredients, serving dishes—whatever needs to be done. If there’s any work, just tell me!”
She kept her attitude humble, which made Zou Zhengping like her even more.
News that Huo Guangji’s wife had arrived at the unit had already spread throughout the entire camp.
The moment Zou Zhengping saw the mother and her two children, all he could think was how painfully thin they were.
He had experienced hunger himself, so he knew exactly what it felt like.
When someone had gone hungry for a long time, seeing meat was enough to make their eyes light up. Who would still care about dignity at a time like that?
Not grabbing the food and devouring it immediately was already considered being overly concerned with one’s pride.
But these three were different.
Although they were thin enough to break your heart, even the two little children merely held the pieces of pig’s ear Wei Wenjie had given them.
They kept looking at Qin Yue’e instead of eating.
Poor but proud.
That was Zou Zhengping’s first impression of Qin Yue’e.
No wonder she had immediately started looking for work as soon as she arrived at the unit. She wanted to earn food for herself and her children.
Just for that alone, Zou Zhengping felt that she was a decent person.
“Qin Yue’e, right? I know about what happened between you and Little Huo. Don’t worry. You can stay and work in the mess hall.”
“I can’t promise you much else, but I can guarantee one thing—you and your children will never go hungry here!”
Zou Zhengping made the decision on the spot.
“Come with me to the kitchen. We’ll see what kind of work you can handle.”
“Alright!”
Qin Yue’e told the two children to stay with Wei Wenjie on the bench and eat the pig’s ear before following Zou Zhengping into the kitchen.
After Qin Yue’e left, the two children stared curiously at the meat in their hands.
Wei Wenjie asked gently,
“Sweetie, why aren’t you eating? It’s meat! It’s delicious. Come on, eat!”
Little Zhuyue looked at Wei Wenjie.
Then she suddenly smiled, blinked her big eyes, and held the piece of meat up to Wei Wenjie’s mouth.
“Auntie Wei, you eat first!”
“Oh, sweetheart!”
Wei Wenjie’s heart practically melted.
She took a tiny bite of the skin from the pig’s ear and pretended to chew it before narrowing her eyes and coaxing the little girl.
“Mmm, it’s delicious! Come on, sweetie, eat!”
Only then did Zhuyue happily stuff the pig’s ear into her mouth.
Qingfeng still didn’t quite understand what it was.
He simply watched his sister with his big, curious eyes.
Zhuyue reached over and stuffed the piece of meat in his hand directly into his mouth.
“Meat. Bite!”
“Om nom—”
The little boy bit down.
The rich juices burst into his mouth, making his eyes widen in surprise.
Zhuyue narrowed her eyes.
“Tasty?”
“Tasty!”
Qingfeng mumbled out the second word of his life.
Watching the scene, Wei Wenjie felt a lump in her throat.
She quickly turned away to wipe her tears.
And for the first time, she couldn’t help feeling a little resentful toward Huo Guangji.
How could he possibly have a heart of stone?
How could he ignore two such adorable children for so long?