Su Lang didn't have a habit of lazing in bed, but gazing at his wife in his arms, he could somewhat understand the charm of "a short spring night, the sun rising high, and an emperor skipping court from then on."
Su Lang kissed his wife's hair, then her earlobe, as if unsatisfied, he cupped her face and kissed her lips.
Only when Lin Zhilan impatiently pushed him did Su Lang reluctantly pull back a little.
He got dressed and went downstairs with a light step.
Even while rinsing rice in the kitchen, he hummed a military march.
Jiang Chengzhou, still groggy from the bathroom, heard the commotion in the kitchen and thought his uncle had lost his mind.
Su Lang caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye and said with a beaming smile, "Chengzhou, what do you want for breakfast? Uncle will cook it for you."
In the heat of summer, Jiang Chengzhou shivered. "No need, I'll take my sister to Grandma's house for breakfast."
Su Lang raised an eyebrow. "Fine, go ahead."
Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng had already planned to return to the capital soon.
Originally only a three-month home visit, the elderly couple had already stayed on the island for half a year.
Now that Su Lang could come home every day and Linlin could start kindergarten at the military compound in the fall, the two elders felt embarrassed to stay any longer.
Although Lin Zhilan and Su Lang both tried to persuade them, they insisted on returning to the capital.
No matter how nice the small Western-style house was, leaving it unoccupied for long would only let it fall into disrepair.
They had to go back to look after Jiang Chengzhou's house.
Besides, all their old friends were in the capital.
Xu Yueyun thought carefully: if they wanted to stay on the island long-term, they'd need to transfer their household registrations here.
But the capital was ultimately the political center; staying there, they could build connections, which might benefit the children's future development.
Lin Zhilan and Su Lang still respected their wishes but urged them to stay a while longer.
It happened that Lin Zhilan had invited her second sister-in-law Deng Jing and two little nieces to visit.
They could all go back together then, keeping each other company.
In mid-July, the hottest time on the island.
Deng Jing took her two children and boarded the train to Yangcheng.
Su Lang cleaned out the room Xu Yueyun had once stayed in and fixed it up a bit.
Since they were finally visiting the island, Lin Zhilan also ordered some sea fish, sea duck eggs, seaweed, shrimp, crab, and snails from Grandpa Yan Yuan's place.
Deng Jing and the children arrived in the evening.
Liu Chunhua happened to have the day off, so she helped Lin Zhilan kill a chicken early, and Lin Zhilan simmered it into a soup.
As soon as the three arrived home, they were served chicken soup with shrimp noodles.
After some time apart, the children had become a little shy.
Linlin nestled in her mother's arms, blinking her big eyes, watching her two elder sisters eat noodles.
Deng Jing smiled. "Linlin, want some?"
Lin Zhilan looked down at her daughter, who nodded sweetly.
She had just eaten, and Lin Zhilan knew she wasn't hungry—just wanted to join the fun.
Lin Zhilan turned to her older nephew. "Do you want some?"
Jiang Chengzhou grinned. "Yeah!"
"The chicken soup is in the pot. If you want some, help yourself to noodles and just give your little sister a bite."
"Got it!" Jiang Chengzhou didn't hesitate and headed straight to the kitchen.
Deng Jing was surprised. "Chengzhou can cook noodles by himself now?"
Lin Zhilan spoke with a hint of pride, smiling. "It's not just noodles—he can also make porridge or cook simple dishes, no problem."
Deng Jing looked down and patted her daughter's head, her tone tinged with emotion. "My mom told me before to teach Peipei housework. She said if a girl can't do chores, she'd be looked down on when dating. But I can't bear to—I always feel she's still too young."
Lin Zhilan frowned slightly at this. "Second sister-in-law, I think that way of thinking is wrong. We're raising our own daughters, not someone else's future daughter-in-law. Even if they want to find a partner in the future, is it only so they can do housework for another family?"
She spoke playfully, and Deng Jing laughed, then thought it over and slowly nodded. "What you're saying... it makes a lot of sense."
"Not just kind of—it really is the truth," Lin Zhilan said firmly. "People marry to be happy. Whether it's a girl or a boy, both should share family responsibilities, including housework. Girls can learn, but first and foremost, it's to take care of themselves, not to please others."
Deng Jing felt much lighter after hearing this. "I'll follow your advice. Besides, I really can't bear to put the kids through it."
Lin Zhilan gently squeezed Linlin's little hand and turned to Su Pei, who was watching her intently. "Peipei, isn't Auntie right?"
Su Pei pursed her lips into a smile and nodded softly, her eyes lighting up as she looked at her aunt.
Over in the kitchen, Jiang Chengzhou had already boiled the noodles.
After eating, the children were all sweaty, and Deng Jing's blouse was soaked through.
Lin Zhilan told them to take a shower first.
After her shower, Deng Jing also washed her and her daughters' clothes and hung them on the triangular drying rack in the yard.
Once bathed, the mother and her two little girls felt a lot more comfortable.
Deng Jing began unpacking the specialty goods she had brought.
For Lin Zhilan, she brought shampoo from the Friendship Store in the capital, and for the children, some chocolate.
There was also a large piece of five-spice smoked meat.
"I know you love red sausage, but it has too much water—couldn't keep it in this heat. This smoked meat tastes a bit like it; just make do. In winter, I'll send you some red sausage," Deng Jing said.
Lin Zhilan took a piece of chocolate for the children to break and share, while smiling. "I invited you here to have fun, not to bring things!"
Deng Jing shot her a fake glare. "If you say that, I'll never accept anything you send my way. I can't be that thick-skinned."
Lin Zhilan chuckled softly and took her arm. "Come on, let me take you to see Mom and Dad first, and we'll walk around the neighborhood."
Deng Jing had never been on a military base and was a bit nervous. "Can we walk around anywhere?"
"Of course," said Lin Zhilan. "As long as you don't head east toward military headquarters, you can go anywhere else."
Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng, knowing their second daughter-in-law was coming, had also prepared a room at their place.
The house had only three rooms: the elderly couple occupied the largest one, with the two small rooms used by Auntie Yu and Liu Feng, respectively.
Knowing Deng Jing and the kids were coming, Auntie Yu had cleaned her own room for them, planning to sleep on the bamboo couch in the living room.
But Liu Feng objected and insisted on switching with his mother.
In the end, Auntie Yu slept in Liu Feng's room, and Liu Feng slept on the living room couch.
When she heard the arrangement, Lin Zhilan laughed. "I still have a spare room. Second sister-in-law, you and the kids can stay with me. You should go back to your room—the mosquitoes here in summer are big and fierce. If you sleep in the living room one night, you'll wake up covered in bites."
Deng Jing hesitated.
Staying here would only make Liu Feng uncomfortable, but staying at Lin Zhilan's might be inconvenient for the couple.
Su Pei tugged at her mother's hand. "Mommy, I want to stay with Auntie."
Deng Jing looked at her younger daughter...
Su Yao had somehow already moved to stand beside Linlin.
"Second sister-in-law, just stay with me. The girls can bunk together. And... Su Lang's been sleeping in the dorms lately, so you don't have to worry about it being awkward."
