During her days off, Nan Sheng spent her time either cooking delicious meals for the children or locking herself in her room, writing furiously. Her notes focused primarily on weapons and chips, though she made sure not to stray too far from reality. After all, introducing weapons from fifty or sixty years into the future would make production impossible—even sourcing the parts would be a challenge.
On the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Han returned home unexpectedly early. He joined his family for dinner and let out a satisfied sigh after taking a bite of braised pork.
"During training today, I kept wondering what delicious food you’d made at home. This braised pork is incredible—your cooking is amazing, dear!"
Lin Han showered praises at the table, making the two children stifle their giggles. In the past, their mother had been the one to lavish compliments on them, but now that she’d grown more reserved, their father had taken up the habit.
Nan Sheng couldn’t help but laugh at her husband’s antics. "If you put half as much effort into flattering your superiors as you do me, I bet you’d be a division commander by now."
Lin Han, thick-skinned as ever, brushed off the remark. Still, he wasn’t as taciturn at work as he used to be—even Regimental Commander Ye had stopped glaring at him.
Since he’d returned early for once, the couple spent an intimate evening together. After ensuring his wife was completely spent, he gently asked,
"Darling, do you still not want children?"
Nan Sheng’s drowsiness vanished in an instant. "You didn’t forget protection, did you?"
"Of course not!" Lin Han wouldn’t dare. If they were to have a child, it had to be with her consent—he’d never act recklessly.
Relieved, Nan Sheng sighed. "Lin Han, don’t ask again. I’ve made up my mind—I don’t plan on having children in this lifetime."
She had endured enough hardship in her earlier years. Now, she was content simply enjoying the joy the children brought her—whether they were biologically hers or not didn’t matter. Even before coming here, she had planned to adopt from an orphanage once she had enough savings. She didn’t need children to care for her in old age; she just wanted companionship.
Lin Han didn’t argue. Instead, he silently pulled her closer. Despite her seemingly harmonious family life, he sometimes sensed a loneliness in her, as deep as his own—a need for someone by her side.
He had assumed it was because they didn’t have children, which was why he’d brought it up today. But since she refused again, he resolved to be even more devoted to her.
By the time Nan Sheng woke up again, the children had already gone out to play. She reheated some congee and steamed buns for breakfast, and just as she finished, Hua Fen and Yuying arrived together.
"Sister-in-law, hope we’re not disturbing you?"
"Not at all! I was just feeling a bit lonely. Come in and sit."
With the New Year approaching, everyone longed for a reunion. Hua Fen wanted Lin Han to inquire about when Zhang Yiheng and Li Gongliang might return.
"Of course, sister-in-law. I’ll mention it to Lin Han when he gets back, but if it’s classified, even he might not know."
After the two women left, they returned to their respective homes—but the atmosphere in each was entirely different. Hua Fen had already prepared all the New Year’s goods and carried on as usual. Even if she worried about her husband, she couldn’t show it in front of the children.
Yuying, however, had done no preparations at all. In her mind, the New Year would only begin when her husband returned!
Her children watched her with hopeful eyes, only to be scolded before retreating to the hallway, where they could at least catch whiffs of delicious aromas from other homes.
Military families came from all corners of the country, each with their own traditions and specialties. At her daughter’s request, Nan Sheng had even fried up a small batch of sweet glutinous rice cakes.
Thank goodness for encyclopedias, or she would’ve definitely messed up.
After frying the sweet cakes, the two kids ate a few pieces and even grabbed a couple more before running outside to play. Nan Sheng didn’t stop them—after all, it was almost New Year’s, so why not let them share snacks with each other?
But she let her guard down too soon. In less than half an hour, the kids were already fighting downstairs.
The reason? The Li family’s kids from across the hall had tricked everyone out of their treats, freeloading without sharing anything in return, and ended up getting beaten up for it.
The moment parents heard children crying, they rushed downstairs, afraid their own kids might be at a disadvantage. Nan Sheng was no exception—only to find her naive little daughter standing at the front of the crowd, watching the commotion.
When she spotted Nan Sheng, the girl quickly said, "Mom, I didn’t fight! I was just looking."
Nan Sheng smacked her lightly on the bottom. "What’s so interesting about watching a fight? Last time someone did that, guess what happened? A knife flew right at his head!"
Siqi retorted, "Mom, there’s no knife here!"
Ugh, grown-ups were so annoying, always trying to scare kids.
The situation was simple enough. Nowadays, every household had snacks and treats, and none of the kids went outside empty-handed. They’d take bites of each other’s food, sharing freely.
The two Li sisters had taken plenty of bites from others, promising to bring their own treats later—but once they’d eaten, they conveniently "forgot."
Siqi hadn’t swapped snacks with anyone—she was grossed out by the idea of sharing saliva. But when she saw little Wangdi looking pitiful with nothing to eat, she broke off half of her sweet cake and gave it to her.
By then, Yuying had come downstairs too. At first, she was furious, but once she realized her own kids were the greedy ones, she started hitting and scolding all three of them.
But if you looked closely, you’d notice Zhao Di, the eldest, wasn’t actually getting hit—the slaps all landed on the two younger ones, who wailed miserably.
Even Siqi couldn’t help speaking up for Wangdi. "Auntie, Wangdi didn’t trick anyone out of their food! Why are you hitting her?"
Yuying tried to save face. "Mind your own business, Siqi! Wangdi’s the greediest one—she probably egged her sisters on!"
Siqi was stunned. Was that really how it happened? She hadn’t heard anything like that.
The other parents exchanged glances, at a loss for words. They were just kids—making such a scene would only mean no one would want to play with Yuying’s children in the future.
"Alright, Yuying, stop hitting them. If they like the snacks, I’ll send some New Year treats over to your place later."
"Yeah, me too. No need to be so frugal—it’s the New Year. Let the kids have some fun."
