At this time, Father Huo was still unaware that his eldest son had already set his sights on the family assets.
After returning to the military district, he attended two consecutive meetings and didn’t arrive home until past nine in the evening.
Noticing how quiet the house was, Father Huo instinctively softened his movements.
"Have Mom, Dad, and our daughter-in-law all gone to bed?"
"Yes, they waited for you for a long time, but since you didn’t come back, they were too tired and went to sleep first."
"By the way, we’re taking our daughter-in-law out tomorrow morning to explore, so we won’t be back for lunch. You can eat at the canteen."
Father Huo wore an expression that said, "I knew it."
"Alright, have Xiao Chen drive you tomorrow."
"No need. Our daughter-in-law can drive. I already filled out a vehicle request form at the motor pool this afternoon. We’ll take the car ourselves."
As the Capital City, the military district had reserved three vehicles for the convenience of military families.
If there was a need for a car, one only had to apply in advance.
The fuel cost was just 0.12 yuan per kilometer—less than half the price of state-run taxis in the city.
Seeing that Mother Huo had everything well arranged, Father Huo didn’t press further.
He took out all the money and ration coupons from his pocket.
"Take these. Since it’s our daughter-in-law’s first time in the Capital City, don’t hold back on spending when you’re out."
"As if I needed you to tell me that?"
Mother Huo chuckled as she accepted the money, then pulled out a piece of brown fabric from the wardrobe.
"Here, this is from our daughter-in-law—for you."
"For me?"
Mother Huo nodded and held the fabric up against Father Huo to check the fit.
Worried he might not recognize its value, she even gave him a quick lesson.
"This is ‘Huadane’ fabric from Factory No. 3 in Shanghai. Without even counting tailoring fees or ration coupons, just one meter of this costs over twenty yuan."
"The real issue is that even if you have the money, you can’t buy it. It’s been out of stock in the Capital City for ages."
"Our daughter-in-law thought of you and specially carried it all the way back from Qiongzhou Island. You better remember this kindness."
"That expensive?"
Father Huo clicked his tongue. "Such fine fabric is wasted on me."
"I said the same thing, but our daughter-in-law insisted there’s no waste when it’s for family."
"Honestly, this color suits you perfectly."
Mother Huo then mentioned how Jiang Si had also gifted Grandma Huo and the others a century-old ginseng.
Father Huo fell silent for a moment. "That’s no small gift."
"Exactly. They went back and forth over it all afternoon, but in the end, they couldn’t refuse our daughter-in-law and had to accept it."
"Don’t worry about it. Mom and Dad know what they’re doing—they won’t let our daughter-in-law lose out."
But Mother Huo had something else to discuss. "Old Huo, sit down. There’s something I need to talk to you about."
Seeing her serious expression, Father Huo sat down, puzzled.
"Just say what’s on your mind. Why so formal?"
Mother Huo thought to herself, How else am I supposed to bring this up?
Sure enough, after she voiced her thoughts, Father Huo was stunned for a long moment.
"What, you don’t agree?"
Though his opinion didn’t really matter—Mother Huo had already discussed it with Grandma Huo and the others earlier that afternoon—his silence still irritated her.
Fortunately, Father Huo quickly snapped out of it.
"I’m not against it. Even if you hadn’t brought it up, I was already planning the same thing."
Now it was Mother Huo’s turn to be surprised. "But before, you always said—"
Father Huo gave a bitter smile. "Like you said—that was before."
Seeing his expression, Mother Huo understood immediately.
"Did the eldest and his wife start causing trouble again at home?"
Father Huo had wanted to avoid mentioning these unpleasant matters, but since she asked, he laid it all out.
"The eldest’s wife wants a divorce and says she’s taking the three children with her."
"Tingtao knelt and begged me, asking me to spare the Su family for the sake of the kids."
In the past, hearing this would have left Mother Huo either trembling with rage or cursing the eldest couple.
But this time, she remained eerily calm, not even bothering to scoff.
"What do you think, dear?"
"What can I think? They’re in their thirties—if they want a divorce, let them. It’s not like I can stop them."
"Just tell them they’re free to divorce if they want."
"The kids belong to both of them—let them decide who gets custody. They don’t need our input."
On this matter, the couple’s stance was surprisingly aligned.
Father Huo nodded. "That’s what I thought too. Let them do as they please."
Still, he decided to give Mother Huo a heads-up.
"Today, the eldest called over his aunt. I think we should wait until she leaves before bringing up dividing the family assets. Otherwise, given how much she dotes on Tingtao, who knows what kind of scene she’ll make."
At this, Mother Huo fell silent.
Dong Lihua had once said something true—the Huo family did owe her.
"Alright, let’s not dwell on this. We should get some rest."
"Don’t worry—she won’t stay in the Capital City for long. At most, two or three days, and she’ll be gone."
Mother Huo nodded. Let’s hope so.
The next morning, after breakfast, the family set off to explore the city.
Aside from the four of them, Liu Lin, the wife of the deputy commander, happened to be heading into town and hitched a ride.
Watching Jiang Si drive smoothly, with skills rivaling even the seasoned drivers from the motor pool, Liu Lin couldn’t stop praising her.
"Yue Ling, I have to hand it to you—your eye for a daughter-in-law is unmatched."
"Where did you even find her? Beautiful, thoughtful, and so poised—she doesn’t get flustered around anyone."
Mother Huo couldn’t suppress her smile.
"Well, I suppose this is the one thing my third son did right—finding me such a wonderful daughter-in-law."
But she couldn’t hog all the joy—she had to share the compliments.
"Your daughter-in-law is plenty considerate too. I remember when you were sick last time—she ran around taking care of everything and even stayed with you in the hospital for days."
"That’s true. My own sons are always so busy I can barely catch a glimpse of them."
"When it really counts, it’s the daughters-in-law who step up."
Mother Huo nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely, absolutely."
From then on, the two mothers went into full praise mode, as if wound up like clockwork.
The trip to the city was anything but dull, though the road near Gongzhufen was rough due to subway construction, full of potholes and bumps.
An hour later, Jiang Si found a parking spot near the square.
In the morning, they strolled around the bustling Qianmen Dashilanr before visiting the Great Hall of the People to see the Ten-Thousand-Seat Grand Auditorium and the provincial banquet halls.
At the time, the Great Hall was only open to the public two days a week, requiring no tickets—just an introductory letter for entry. The only downside was that photography wasn’t allowed inside.
However, this regret was quickly made up for at the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
By noon alone, the four of them had already finished two rolls of film.
By the time they left the Forbidden City, it was almost twelve o’clock.
Jiang Si found a time-honored roast duck restaurant nearby—none other than the later-famous Quanjude.
Though due to the public-private joint ownership policy, it had been renamed Capital City Roast Duck Restaurant.
Additionally, private dining rooms had been abolished, replaced entirely by a communal dining hall for workers, peasants, and soldiers.
After a satisfying meal, the group spent the afternoon wandering around Beihai Park, followed by a visit to the Temple of Heaven.
It had to be said—Capital City had no shortage of places to explore.
On the way back, Grandma Huo excitedly suggested, "Tomorrow, let’s hike Fragrant Hills and then take a boat ride in the Summer Palace."
"The day after, we’ll visit the Great Wall. Oh, and I heard the Capital Theater is staging several new model operas and puppet shows—we could go see those too."
Jiang Si had no objections, but Mother Huo did.
She worried—if they covered all the best sights and eats in Capital City now, what would be left when Third Son returned?
Wouldn’t the young couple have nowhere new to go together?
Just as she was thinking this, Jiang Si smoothly braked and parked the car at the entrance of the residential compound.
As they stepped out, Mother Huo’s gaze landed on a familiar, unruly figure—
