"What do you mean by this?"
Su Ding and Fan Biyun were both dumbfounded.
"The two children can't be separated from their parents, can they? Brother Lang has already taken that into consideration for you."
Su Ding and Fan Biyun almost coughed up blood in frustration.
"Brother, Sister-in-law, pack your things."
Su Lei was still crying, but Fan Biyun had no tears left to shed.
Now, Su Ding's parents were washing their hands of the matter.
Their food and oil rations had also been transferred to the Northern Frontier.
If they didn't go to report for duty, they would lose their jobs too.
They couldn't possibly take their children and go begging on the streets as a family, could they?
Su Ding and Fan Biyun pushed their way through the crowd of onlookers and went upstairs to pack their belongings.
...
The affairs of Su Ding's family did not affect the others' mood for the New Year.
For the residents of the factory family quarters, it merely provided some extra gossip during the holiday.
Although Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng still cared somewhat in their hearts, they did not show it in front of Lin Zhilan and the others.
Moreover, since Su Lang had unplugged the phone line, sparing them from hearing Su Ding's family complaining, the elderly couple soon put the matter to the back of their minds.
Before the New Year, Lin Zhilan and Su Lang met up with Deng Jing and Su Jue, and the two families took their children to climb the Great Wall and visit the temple fairs.
They saw everything there was to see and played everything there was to play.
On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together once again.
Auntie Yu also came over early, intending to help prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.
Liu Feng was still hospitalized, so Auntie Yu had to spend the New Year at the hospital this year.
Lin Zhilan gave her a New Year's gift and urged her to head back early, "It's the New Year, and we finally made it back. Auntie Yu, just treat this as a day off. With so many of us here, are you worried we won't be able to cook a good New Year's Eve dinner?"
Auntie Yu hurriedly replied, "I know you are a great cook, but I can at least be your assistant."
Lin Zhilan gave a playful smile, "There are plenty of people fighting to be assistants today, so don't compete with them."
She pursed her lips toward Su Lang and Su Jue, signaling Auntie Yu to look.
The two grown men didn't know the first thing about cooking.
At the moment, they were only fit to be assistants.
Auntie Yu finally smiled, "Then I'll head back first?"
"Yes, I'll go to the hospital to see Liu Feng tomorrow and wish you a happy New Year then."
Auntie Yu held her hand, "Then I'll be waiting for you."
Although they were of the same generation, Lin Zhilan was much younger than Auntie Yu.
Auntie Yu respected her, yet also saw her as a youngster, having even prepared red envelopes for her and her two children.
After seeing Auntie Yu out.
Deng Jing smiled and said to Lin Zhilan, "You really are popular. I've never seen Auntie Yu be so affectionate with anyone else."
Auntie Yu's relationship with her mother-in-law, Xu Yueyun, was considered quite good.
But Auntie Yu always remembered her place as a worker, speaking and acting with polite formality.
However, toward Lin Zhilan, her enthusiasm practically overflowed.
Lin Zhilan laughed, "I can't help it. Maybe I'm just universally loved."
Lin Zhilan knew that Auntie Yu was so affectionate toward her mainly because of Liu Feng.
But what did that matter?
All she needed to know was that she was receiving goodwill.
Standing nearby, Su Pei chuckled.
Little Aunt was really interesting.
Lin Zhilan tugged at the small pom-pom on her hat, "Do you like Little Aunt?"
Su Pei blushed and nodded gently.
Everyone laughed.
Seeing that her daughter's face was burning red, Deng Jing smiled, "Alright, go outside and play with your sister."
Su Pei pursed her lips, sneaked another peek at Little Aunt, and then ran out of the kitchen.
Deng Jing shook her head helplessly, "These two little girls have had their souls stolen by you and Linlin."
Su Pei loved her Little Aunt, and Su Yao loved following her younger sister.
It was as if the two sisters had fallen completely under the spell of Lin Zhilan and her daughter.
All they ever wanted was to play with them.
Deng Jing didn't even know what her two little girls would do when her sister-in-law's family returned to the island.
Lin Zhilan raised an eyebrow proudly, "I'll take that as a compliment."
Deng Jing also smiled.
She understood why her two daughters liked their Little Aunt so much.
It was too easy for Lin Zhilan to make someone like her.
As long as she showed just a little bit of kindness, people couldn't help but want to get close to her.
The New Year's Eve dinner wasn't overly complicated.
Su Bingcheng had ordered a whole sheep.
It was an authentic Inner Mongolian sheep, acquired through the connections of an old comrade-in-arms.
Su Lang had been busy in the courtyard for half the morning.
He spent the time deboning, dividing, and rolling the meat.
Lin Zhilan stood at the doorway watching. Seeing him slice the meat so thinly and neatly, she couldn't help but remark, "I didn't know Commander Su had such skills. It's a pity you didn't become a chef."
Because he was working, Su Lang wasn't wearing much.
He was in good physical shape and wasn't afraid of the cold.
In the sub-zero weather outside, his sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing his firm, muscular arms.
Hearing his wife's words, his dark eyes swept over, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "If I were a chef, would I have met you?"
Beside them, Deng Jing burst out laughing.
Lin Zhilan's ears turned red for a moment as she replied, "If you were a chef, maybe I would have taken the initiative to find you."
"Really?" Su Lang lightly tapped the blade of his knife against a bone. "It's a deal then. Tomorrow I'll change careers and go find a master to apprentice under."
"Alright, I support you."
Su Lang lowered his head and smiled. The rough military camp life had rubbed off on him, giving him a slight roguish charm. "Come here and inspect the results of my work."
Lin Zhilan shook her head, "It's freezing outside. I'm not going out."
"I'll start a fire for you."
Su Lang looked around and grabbed a few pieces of rotten wood from the edge of the courtyard.
In no time, he had a fire going.
Lin Zhilan linked arms with Deng Jing, "Second Sister-in-law, let's go warm ourselves by the fire together."
Deng Jing quickly pulled her hand away, "You husband and wife go talk. I'm not going."
Su Lang was already turning thirty this year.
And Lin Zhilan wasn't exactly a young girl anymore either.
But looking at the way the couple interacted, it was just like a pair of young people who had just started dating.
It made onlookers blush.
Deng Jing didn't dare intrude on that.
Since she refused to go, Lin Zhilan had no choice but to drop it.
The children were all playing inside the house.
Only Lin Zhilan and Su Lang were left in the courtyard.
Every household was busy preparing their New Year's Eve dinner, so the outside was very quiet.
No matter how well Su Lang sliced the meat, Lin Zhilan got bored of watching after a while.
However, she didn't want to leave Su Lang outside alone to work in the freezing cold.
"Wait here."
Lin Zhilan tossed out those two words and turned to go back inside.
The weather was nice today, with a bright sun.
The snow and ice on the paths had melted a bit, making them very slippery.
Su Lang stared at her back, only feeling at ease once she was safely inside the house.
A short while later, Lin Zhilan came back out.
She was holding a bunch of bamboo skewers in her hand.
They were originally meant for making candied hawthorns for the children.
She had "stolen" a few to have Su Lang cut some well-marbled chunks of mutton.
Su Lang knew exactly what she was thinking the moment he saw them.
"Don't get your hands dirty, I'll skewer them for you."
Lin Zhilan smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "So proactive? I'll let you eat the first skewer later."
Su Lang glanced up at her, his eyes filled with undisguised doting. "It is my humble honor to serve Doctor Lin."
Lin Zhilan gave him a playful glare and took the skewered mutton from his hands.
The fire Su Lang had started earlier had produced just enough embers for roasting meat.
The flames licked the surface of the meat skewers, making a sizzling sound.
Fat dripped into the fire, occasionally sparking small bursts of embers.
Before long, the surface of the meat changed color, and a savory aroma drifted up with the heat.
Upstairs, a pair of eyes was staring right at them.
