“Hey! You little brat!” Qin Yuyue glared angrily.
She had carried him all the way here, giving him every bite of food she could spare without complaint.
Yet the moment they got to Huo Guangji, one egg was enough for the boy to acknowledge this bargain-bin father!
Huo Guangji, on the other hand, actually looked pleased. He turned to glance at Qin Yuyue.
“I am his father. Why are you scolding him?”
Qin Yuyue rolled her eyes dramatically.
Right. She shouldn’t scold the child—she should scold him instead!
This lousy scumbag had ignored the children for years, and now he thought one egg was enough to buy himself the title of father?
No chance!
Qin Yuyue immediately picked up both children and turned to leave.
“If you insist on sleeping here, then we’ll go sleep in the next room!”
Huo Guangji frowned slightly. If she disliked him this much, then why had she gone complaining to the company commander and forced him to sleep here in the first place?
“It’s late. Don’t drag the children around at night. I’ll sleep next door.”
Huo Guangji had no intention of arguing with a woman—especially when that woman was his wife.
He gathered up his belongings and left.
Without Huo Guangji around, Qin Yuyue slept soundly that night, all the way until morning.
She didn’t wake up particularly late, but after getting ready and peeking next door, she discovered that Huo Guangji had risen even earlier and already gone out for morning drills.
Good. At least she didn’t have to see him and stew in frustration.
Her mood improved considerably.
After washing up the children, Wei Wenjie came knocking.
“Sister-in-law, I’ll take you to the cafeteria to have a look! You can try the work first. If it’s too tiring, then we won’t do it.”
Wei Wenjie was extremely easygoing.
“Alright!”
Qin Yuyue quickly took the children and followed her out.
Finding work inside the military compound was already difficult enough. How could she possibly be picky? Surviving came first.
By the time they arrived at the cafeteria, breakfast had just been prepared.
Without another word, Wei Wenjie immediately sat Qin Yuyue and the children down to eat first.
Feeling embarrassed, Qin Yuyue only ate a little.
While they were talking, the head cook came out from the kitchen.
The military company, including logistics staff, totaled more than three hundred people. Three hundred young men with huge appetites—cooking for them was no easy task.
The head chef, Zou Zhengping, was a fellow villager of the company commander. He and Wei Wenjie had joined the unit during the same period. The difference was that Wei Wenjie had been part of the arts division, while Deputy Director Zou had started as a cook. His education was lacking, but his personality was honest and straightforward.
The moment they met, he pulled out half a still-warm pig ear, chopped it in two, and handed the pieces directly to the twins, Zhu Yue and Qingfeng.
In those days, soldiers still survived mostly on coarse-grain buns. Even the company commander ate stir-fried sweet potato leaves most days. Braised pig ear was the kind of luxury people rarely saw even during New Year celebrations.
How could Qin Yuyue possibly accept it?
She hurriedly waved her hands to refuse.
“No, no! Deputy Director Zou, we can’t accept this! The cafeteria inventory is all accounted for. If you cut off such a large piece for us now, the numbers won’t match later. We’d just be causing trouble for you!”
Zou Zhengping looked at Qin Yuyue in surprise before turning to laugh at Wei Wenjie.
“Sister-in-law, didn’t you say Huo Guangji married a village woman? With brains like this, she doesn’t seem like an ordinary village woman to me! Listen to how clearly she talks—she practically explained my cafeteria management system back to me. What village woman thinks like that? Honestly, her head works even better than my accountant’s!”
His words made Wei Wenjie cover her mouth and laugh.
She accepted the pig ear and stuffed it into the children’s hands before gently explaining things to Qin Yuyue.
“Sister-in-law, don’t be nervous! You just happened to come at the right time. Our cafeteria’s testing dishes right now. Old Zou’s using you as taste-testers! In a few days, the city’s performance troupe is coming to the unit. The troupe members are all women, so we can’t have them suffering alongside these rough young soldiers. These dishes are specially prepared for them, but the chef was worried his skills were rusty and the food wouldn’t taste good. So let the children try it!”
Even though Wei Wenjie said it lightly, Qin Yuyue wasn’t foolish.
She knew perfectly well that they simply pitied the children and wanted to feed them something good.
Immediately, she raised her head and said earnestly:
“Deputy Director Zou, back in our village I used to help manage wedding and funeral banquets. I can pass dishes, prep ingredients, chop vegetables—anything. If there’s work to do, just tell me!”
She deliberately lowered herself humbly, and that only made Zou Zhengping like her more.
News about Huo Guangji’s wife arriving at the unit had already spread through the entire camp. The moment he saw the mother and children, he thought they looked pitifully thin.
Zou Zhengping himself had known hunger before. He understood that feeling all too well.
When your stomach has no oil or fat in it, your eyes shine the moment you see meat. Who still cares about dignity at that point?
Not snatching the food outright already counted as having pride.
But looking at this mother and her children now—even though they were heartbreakingly thin, neither child immediately stuffed the meat into their mouths. They only held the pig ear carefully while constantly glancing toward Qin Yuyue.
Poor, yet unbroken in spirit.
That was Zou Zhengping’s first impression of Qin Yuyue.
No wonder this woman had rushed to find work the moment she entered the military compound. Based on that alone, he felt she couldn’t possibly be a bad person.
“You’re Qin Yuyue, right? I know about the situation between you and Little Huo. Don’t worry—stay in the cafeteria. I can’t promise much else, but I guarantee you and the children won’t miss a single meal!”
Zou Zhengping made the decision on the spot.
“Come on, follow me into the back kitchen. Whatever you can do, you can help with!”
“Alright!”
Qin Yuyue instructed the children to stay seated with Wei Wenjie and eat the pig ear before hurrying after Zou Zhengping.
After she left, the children stared at the pig ear in their hands with wide-eyed curiosity.
Wei Wenjie asked gently, “Sweethearts, why aren’t you eating? It’s meat—delicious meat! Hurry and eat!”
Little Zhu Yue looked at Wei Wenjie, then suddenly broke into a bright smile. Blinking her big eyes, she lifted the meat toward Wei Wenjie’s mouth.
“Auntie Wei eats first!”
“Oh my goodness, precious baby…”
Wei Wenjie felt her heart melt completely.
She symbolically nibbled the tiniest bit of skin from the pig ear and squinted happily.
“So delicious! Now hurry and eat, sweetheart!”
Only then did Zhu Yue happily stuff the pig ear into her mouth.
Qingfeng still didn’t quite understand what it was. Seeing his sister eat, he stared at her with huge eyes.
Zhu Yue reached over and shoved the meat in his hand directly into his mouth.
“Meat. Bite!”
“Awoo—”
The little boy bit down hard. The juices burst instantly across his tongue, startling him so badly his eyes went wide.
Zhu Yue squinted happily.
“Tasty?”
“Tasty!”
Qingfeng muttered the second complete word of his life.
The scene before her made Wei Wenjie’s chest ache painfully. She quickly turned away to wipe her tears.
At the same time, a trace of resentment toward Huo Guangji rose in her heart.
How could he ignore two children this adorable?
Was his heart made of stone?