Huo Guangji stood at the doorway, looking at the woman inside the room.
On her thin face, those eyes were shining brightly with a kind of light he couldn’t understand.
Although he didn’t know why the mother and children had ended up in such a miserable state, Huo Guangji believed that since they were his children, there was no way they should carry another family’s surname.
He tossed the large bundle in his hand onto the floor and gave Wei Wenjie a salute.
Wei Wenjie quickly shot him a meaningful look. The woman had already changed the children’s surname—if he still didn’t coax his wife properly now, she really might disappear for good!
“You two haven’t seen each other for so long. You must have lots of private things to talk about. We won’t stay here being third wheels!”
She pulled another woman along and left. Before going, she thoughtfully shut the door behind them.
Inside the room, only Huo Guangji, Qin Yuyue, and the two children remained, staring awkwardly at one another.
The children didn’t recognize Huo Guangji at all and only kept burrowing into Qin Yuyue’s arms.
Huo Guangji was the first to speak.
“The money I mailed home was addressed under Mother’s name. Every three months, I sent money to the production brigade. How could you possibly not receive it?”
What exactly did he mean by that?
Was he implying that she had received the money but deliberately starved his children anyway?
Qin Yuyue’s expression immediately darkened.
“So Captain Huo thinks I intentionally withheld food from my own children? Then I must truly be impressive—not only able to secretly hide the salary you sent home right under your entire family’s noses, but also capable of starving myself and the children into this state without spending even a single cent to fill our stomachs!”
Huo Guangji’s gaze shifted slightly away, and he frowned.
“That’s not what I meant…”
He was simply confused. He had clearly mailed all his salary home, so why did it seem as though Qin Yuyue and the children had never seen any of that money?
At his rank, his salary and allowances together came to about thirty-five yuan a month. It wasn’t a fortune, but it should have been enough for Qin Yuyue and the children to survive on.
Qin Yuyue rolled her eyes and ignored him.
She refused to believe this man truly didn’t understand what kind of family he came from.
There were nine brothers and sisters in the family altogether. Huo Guangji was the eldest, and some of the younger siblings were still toddlers. In such a huge household, by the time those thirty-five yuan reached Qin Yuyue’s hands, she’d be lucky to see even fifty cents of it!
Especially that mother-in-law of hers—she was infuriating.
Seeing that her eldest son ignored his wife and children, the old woman constantly abused the original owner of the body, forcing her to do every kind of labor possible without allowing her even a moment’s rest.
The original Qin Yuyue woke earlier than chickens and slept later than dogs every day. Even while pregnant, she still had to work under the blazing sun in the fields. When she came home, the entire family would already be sitting cross-legged on the heated kang bed waiting for her to cook.
Thinking of it, Qin Yuyue couldn’t help snorting coldly.
“If Captain Huo finds us mother and children unpleasant to look at, then naturally you can pay us off sooner. As long as the money is enough, we absolutely won’t stay here a single extra day!”
She truly wanted nothing more to do with this family. As long as Huo Guangji paid sufficient child support, she’d have money, children, and no husband—what carefree days those would be!
Across from her, Huo Guangji’s brows furrowed ever so slightly.
This woman had traveled thousands of miles to find him… just for money?
No wonder the matchmaker had mentioned before the wedding that her father was drowning in gambling debts. If not for the bride price, she probably wouldn’t have rushed into marrying him either.
“I don’t have any money with me for now. If you insist on staying at the unit, then stay.”
Huo Guangji’s voice suddenly turned colder. After tossing out those words, he turned and left without another glance.
Bang!
The door slammed shut heavily behind him.
Qin Yuyue’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Did this man think she had come here begging for handouts? Had a dog eaten his conscience? The children were practically skin and bones from hunger, yet he still wanted to clutch his salary tightly in his pockets?
What a complete scumbag!
Just as Huo Guangji stepped outside, Xiao Li came over carrying two large bags.
The moment he saw Huo Guangji emerge, Xiao Li immediately grinned.
“Captain Huo! So? Did Sister-in-law forgive you?”
Mentioning Qin Yuyue only made Huo Guangji’s already dark expression turn even darker.
Thinking of that woman stubbornly arguing back at him sentence after sentence made his temper flare all over again.
Lowering his eyes, he noticed the two bundles in Xiao Li’s hands, one large and one small.
“What’s inside those?” Huo Guangji asked.
Xiao Li completely failed to notice anything wrong with his expression. Excitedly, he opened the bundles and introduced their contents as though asking for praise.
“The big one’s clothes for Sister-in-law and the children! Section Chief Wei gave two sets of new fabric, and the Women’s Federation at the unit donated some too. The rest are old military uniforms from us soldiers. They aren’t brand new, and the sizes don’t fit, but at least they can be altered for the kids!”
“And this smaller one’s food for the children! The little girl said eggs smell good, so I got three of them!”
Xiao Li happily opened the lunch tin.
Inside lay three plump white boiled eggs.
The rest contained millet porridge, some stir-fried sweet potato leaves, and two large sweet potatoes about the size of sandbags. One look showed they were the red-fleshed kind—definitely sweet. There was even some pickled vegetables with sesame oil on the side.
Huo Guangji frowned almost imperceptibly.
Although the unit wasn’t starving, the food wasn’t exactly luxurious either.
The contents of this lunch tin were nearly on par with what section-level cadres received.
For an ordinary squad captain like him, his daily ration was usually just four coarse-grain steamed buns. Sweet potato leaves were unlimited, but they didn’t fill the stomach—they only made people use the toilet more without gaining any weight.
He didn’t want to take advantage of the unit’s generosity.
He was about to refuse when suddenly he heard a childish voice from inside the room.
“Mom… does Dad not like us?”
His heart instantly trembled.
At once, he thought of the children’s huge eyes—eyes so starved they had almost become numb.
Huo Guangji’s expression darkened.
Forget it. Rules or no rules, it didn’t matter anymore. His meal coupons for the month hadn’t been used yet. He should still be able to support the three of them.
He lowered his head, took several meal tickets from his pocket, and stuffed them into Xiao Li’s hands.
Xiao Li hurriedly tried to refuse.
“No need, no need, Captain Huo! The company commander already said the little girl’s meals would be counted under his account!”
“Take them.”
Huo Guangji forcefully shoved the tickets over.
How much ration allowance could Liu Shutong possibly have? Were his own wife and children supposed to rely on the company commander to feed them?
He closed the lid of the lunch tin.
“Take it in before it gets cold.”
After saying that, he lowered his head and walked away.
Xiao Li stared at his back, completely puzzled.
So… had the captain managed to soothe his wife or not?
He didn’t say a word!
How was Xiao Li supposed to report back to the company commander?
He glanced toward the room and suddenly had an idea.
He could always ask Sister-in-law indirectly instead! After all, the company commander only wanted an answer. As long as he gave one, wouldn’t that be enough?