Liu Shutong’s dormitory was on the other side of the military district’s residential area. Qin Yuyue led the two children there while asking for directions along the way, just in time to run into a training unit returning from drills.
Rows of upright, disciplined soldiers marched past the mother and her children in neat formation, instantly drawing the attention of the two little ones, whose round eyes followed them curiously.
Now that they were full and fed, the children no longer looked as lifeless as before. The little girl kept tugging at Qin Yuyue with questions.
“Mom, Dad wears clothes like that too, right? Is he that impressive too?”
Blood ties were a mysterious thing. It was perfectly natural for children to want closeness with their father.
Qin Yuyue wasn’t cruel enough to badmouth their father in front of them.
Instead, she patiently explained, “That’s right. Xiao Yue and Xiao Feng’s father is just as impressive as those uncles.”
“Wow!”
Xiao Yue’s eyes immediately lit up as she stared at the marching soldiers in fascination.
Within the formation, a familiar face glanced over.
Huo Guangji had excellent hearing. Even from a distance, he still caught the conversation between the mother and children.
Hearing the innocent voice of the little girl, the corners of his lips unconsciously lifted. He turned his head toward them.
Then, with a single glance, he froze briefly.
On the distant square stood a woman in a green military uniform. Her long hair fell loosely around her shoulders, her slender waist seeming delicate enough to grasp with one hand. The curtain of hair partly hid her face, yet her gentle voice drifted clearly to his ears.
“If Xiao Yue likes it, then someday you can be this impressive too. If you become a soldier, you can be this impressive. Look, Auntie Wei is a soldier too, right?”
The side of her face seemed to glow softly beneath the light, and for a moment Huo Guangji’s marching steps became uneven.
“Captain, you stepped on my foot!”
The soldier in front of him finally muttered a complaint under his breath.
Huo Guangji’s expression changed instantly, and he hurriedly lowered his head.
He really must’ve lost his mind. How had he suddenly thought that woman…
Forget it. She was just a money-obsessed woman. No matter how pretty she looked, it was useless.
Standing beside him, Zhao Fushui didn’t even need to look to guess what Huo Guangji was thinking, and he couldn’t resist teasing him.
“So that’s where the captain’s soul wandered off to—it turns out he spotted Sister-in-law!”
“That’s Sister-in-law? Let me see!” Ning An and the others immediately craned their necks to look.
“No whispering in formation!”
Huo Guangji’s face darkened as he snapped the order before quickly speeding up his pace.
Knock knock knock—
“Coming!”
Wei Wenjie had just returned to her dormitory after dinner. Hearing the knock, she immediately got up to answer the door.
The moment she opened it and saw Qin Yuyue standing there with the two children, she almost failed to recognize her.
“Sister-in-law?” she exclaimed in surprise. “Good heavens, after washing up you look like a completely different person! I almost didn’t recognize you!”
She wasn’t just flattering her either. The original Qin Yuyue truly had excellent features.
Even though she’d become so thin, it was still obvious that her foundation was beautiful.
Her skin had darkened from the sun, but her large eyes, high nose bridge, and thick long hair—which remained lush even after she’d grown this gaunt—were practically the standard traits of a beauty.
Embarrassed by the praise, Qin Yuyue lowered her head and smiled.
“Section Chief Wei, the children and I wanted to trouble you with something.”
“Of course!”
Wei Wenjie responded readily and immediately pulled them inside to talk.
After both sides sat down, Qin Yuyue explained why she had come.
“We only just arrived at the unit today, so it’s a little embarrassing to ask, but I’d like to borrow some cooking utensils from you. I feel bad constantly eating the unit’s food allotment.”
Qin Yuyue couldn’t pretend not to notice people’s kindness. The company commander and his wife kept generously giving them things, and in an era where everyone lacked food and clothing, how could she shamelessly keep accepting charity without saying anything?
Wei Wenjie looked surprised and quickly asked, “Sister-in-law, did someone make things difficult for you? Tell me, and I’ll go deal with them!”
“No, no, no!”
Qin Yuyue hurriedly waved her hands.
“The soldiers in this unit all eat according to the state ration system. Nobody here has an easy life. I was just thinking that if we could cook some things ourselves, it might lighten everyone’s burden a little. I saw that the area around here is all mountains. Back in the village, we survived by relying on the mountains too. I can always find something to feed the children.”
Those words made Wei Wenjie’s throat tighten emotionally.
She immediately understood—things clearly hadn’t gone well between Qin Yuyue and Huo Guangji, and she was still holding onto that grievance inside.
Otherwise, as the dependent of a military officer, how could she not know she could simply apply for rations through logistics?
Women from the countryside were often like this. No matter how hard life became, they still refused to take advantage of others.
“Sister-in-law! Come on!”
Wei Wenjie suddenly grabbed Qin Yuyue and stood up.
“I’m going to find Huo Guangji and settle this properly! I refuse to believe that even for my sake he wouldn’t support you and the children!”
“Section Chief Wei, you misunderstand!”
Qin Yuyue quickly waved her hands again.
Seeing how angry Wei Wenjie looked, she hurried to explain.
“I just want to find some work around the unit. I can’t just eat and drink for free forever, right? I can see life here isn’t exactly wealthy either.”
Wei Wenjie eyed her suspiciously for a moment. Only after confirming there truly wasn’t any grievance on Qin Yuyue’s face did she sit back down.
“Sister-in-law, it’s not that I oppose you cooking for yourselves. The main problem is that the mountains behind the camp are dangerous. If anything happened to you or the children, how could we face Little Huo? Besides, logistics already issues food rations for dependents, even if the portions are smaller.”
She thought for a moment before suddenly saying, “How about this? The cafeteria still needs a helper. If you don’t mind…”
“I don’t mind at all!”
Qin Yuyue’s heart leapt with joy, and she answered immediately.
Forget cafeteria work—even if she had to do heavy labor hauling dirt by the riverbank, she’d accept it. As long as she didn’t have to bow her head to Huo Guangji.
“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow I’ll speak with the cafeteria and take you there to try it out. It’s only about two hours of work a day. There’s not really any pay, though—we calculate everything into meal tickets according to work hours. While you help in the cafeteria, leave the children with me! I’ll watch them for you!”
As Wei Wenjie spoke, she reached out and gently touched the children’s soft little faces.
“That’s fine! Meal tickets are fine too!”
Naturally, Qin Yuyue was thrilled.
Even without relying on Huo Guangji, she could still feed herself. Meal tickets were perfectly good. Once she saved up a little, she might even be able to trade some with soldiers for cash.
She hadn’t expected such an unexpected gain from this trip.
As Qin Yuyue walked back along the road with the two children, joy filled her heart.
Since Huo Guangji refused to give her money, then she’d simply keep wearing him down—either until he finally paid enough to send her away, or until she managed to save enough money herself.
At the very least, once she left, she’d be able to support the two children on her own.
The moon had already risen, its light shining down on Qin Yuyue as she walked proudly with the children in tow.
For the first time since transmigrating into this world half a month ago, she finally felt something like hope.