He dropped a sentence and turned to go to the Liu family's house.
Li Jiang originally wanted to return it, but the aroma of the oysters darted straight into his nose. Not knowing what came to mind, he carried the basin back inside.
Chen Hehua was just coming out of the kitchen holding a dish. Seeing the oysters in his hands, she smiled, "Did Commander Su send these over? This stuff, I wonder how Xiao Lin makes it? She makes everything taste so delicious."
Seeing the familiar tone in his mother's words regarding their neighbors, Li Jiang gave a slight nod.
His wife had never liked the island and couldn't get used to the food here. At the dining table, Li Jiang tried giving her an oyster.
Wang Rou's chopsticks paused for a moment before she gracefully picked the oyster meat into her bowl.
Seeing that his wife seemed to like it, Li Jiang felt a surge of joy. He gave her a few more, carefully peeling the oyster meat out of the shells for her.
Chen Hehua curled her lips. Whenever her son interacted with Wang Rou, it was as if he lost his mind. It was simply unbearable to watch.
While her son waited on his wife, she took care of her grandson.
Li Xuan gave her an oyster and whispered, "Grandma, the broth inside the shell is really good too."
Chen Hehua narrowed her eyes and whispered back, "Your mom doesn't know any better, and your dad is a fool. Don't tell them."
Li Jiang was speechless.
How big could a dining table be? He heard every single word.
Afraid that his wife would be upset, he coughed. Li Xuan immediately hid the smile on his face and lowered his head to eat.
On the other side, at the Ma family's house, a few children were almost coming to blows over the last oyster.
Ma Daniu waved his large hand and swallowed the last oyster himself.
Ma Xiaodong, Ma Xiaonan, and Ma Xiaobei stared blankly for a second before bursting into loud wails.
Liu Chunhua fiercely punched Ma Daniu twice. "Are you really fighting with the kids for food?"
Ma Daniu stood up to dodge and said, "There was only one left, making it hard to split. I was just helping out, is that so wrong?"
Ma Xiaodong sobbed, "We could have each taken a bite."
...
Liu Chunhua scolded, "Alright, alright. Your dad ate it, let it go. Eat your food!"
Boohoo...
The three little ones cried as they shoveled rice into their mouths.
The sound of crying reached Lin Zhilan's ears. She frowned slightly and asked Su Lang, "Should we go take a look?"
Jiang Chengzhou said, "No need. They definitely fought over food and got a beating again."
Three boys... Lin Zhilan's scalp tingled just thinking about it.
But she also had a glutton at home, so she wasn't one to judge.
After letting their food digest for a bit, Lin Zhilan told the two children to take a shower first.
Linlin was tired today and fell into a deep sleep without needing much coaxing.
Lin Zhilan walked to Jiang Chengzhou's room and knocked. "Chengzhou, can I come in?"
"Yes."
He had been lying with his legs crossed, but upon hearing the knock, he immediately lay up straight.
"Aunt."
"Mhm," Lin Zhilan rubbed his head. "Are you still feeling unwell?"
"A little bit," Jiang Chengzhou held out his pinky finger, adding, "Just this little bit."
Lin Zhilan chuckled, took his hand, and massaged his acupoints.
Jiang Chengzhou, who was usually very talkative, suddenly quieted down and quietly gazed at his aunt.
Jiang Chengzhou's memories of his mother were already somewhat blurry.
He was only four the year his mother passed away. He only remembered that she had poor health and was always lying in bed. Occasionally, when she felt better, she would gently pat his head.
At this moment, his aunt's hand seemed to overlap with his mother's hand from his memories—warm and reassuring.
After massaging his acupoints for a while, Lin Zhilan asked softly, "Does Aunt Chunhua across the street often beat her kids?"
"Yeah, all the time."
Jiang Chengzhou thought that his aunt was much gentler than Ma Xiaobei's mother. Anyone could tell she wouldn't hit children.
The next second, Lin Zhilan said in a sinister tone, "Next time you eat without any self-control, I'm going to hit someone too."
Jiang Chengzhou gave his aunt a look of utter betrayal and silently shrank his head beneath the blankets.
Su Lang had just finished washing the dishes when he saw his wife walking out of his nephew's room with a smile.
He couldn't help but smile. "What did you say to the brat?"
Lin Zhilan looked at him.
The man had a captivating face, with handsome and deep features.
Because he had just been washing dishes, the cuffs of his dark green military uniform were rolled up, revealing his strong, well-defined forearms.
No wonder...
Lin Zhilan said, "I ran into Huang Ying and Jiang Xiaohong when I went to the supply and marketing cooperative today."
"Who?"
...
It turned out he didn't even know who they were.
"Nothing." Lin Zhilan suddenly felt that she had overdone it. Why did she even bother asking?
Su Lang lowered his eyes, committing the two names to memory but letting it go for now, and followed his wife to the kitchen.
The weather on the island was hot. If the fresh pork Liu Chunhua had given them wasn't cooked tonight, it would go bad.
Lin Zhilan wanted to fry the meat into minced pork sauce first, so they could use it directly with noodles tomorrow morning.
With Su Lang around, Lin Zhilan only needed to handle the final step; he took care of everything else.
Just as the minced pork sauce came out of the wok, Jiang Chengzhou appeared at the kitchen door. Clinging to the doorframe with a suspicious look, he asked, "Aunt, did you secretly make something delicious for Uncle?"
Su Lang patted his shoulder. "Jiang Chengzhou, how did I never know you were such a glutton?"
Jiang Chengzhou stood on his tiptoes to look into the bowl. Su Lang deliberately lowered it to let him take a sniff, then covered it with a lid and placed it in the kitchen cabinet.
"Stop looking. This is for tomorrow's noodles. Hurry up and go to sleep!"
Jiang Chengzhou let out a disappointed sigh and trudged back to his room, looking back over his shoulder with every step.
In the living room, it was just the two of them left again.
Lin Zhilan and Su Lang locked eyes. Startled by his burning gaze, her heart trembled.
"I'm going to take a shower."
Seeing her run away, a trace of a smile flashed in Su Lang's eyes as he also went to grab his clean clothes.
When Lin Zhilan came out after her shower, she unexpectedly bumped into a solid chest.
"Ah..." she gasped, instinctively stepping back, but the man grabbed her by the waist.
"Why are you running?" Su Lang's voice was husky as he pulled her closer into his arms in that position.
He had just showered as well. Wearing only an olive-green tank top, his body still carried a damp warmth.
"Su Lang..." Lin Zhilan called him softly, the tips of her ears growing slightly hot.
"I just want to hold you for a moment."
Su Lang's gaze carefully traced the woman's flushed cheeks, her moist red lips, and... her collarbone, which still had droplets of water lingering on it.
As if on cue, the military base's lights-out bugle sounded. Soon after, all the lights went out, leaving only darkness.
The dark night became Su Lang's best cover. At the exact moment the lights went out, his eyes turned red, and he lowered his head.
He first brushed her lips lightly. Seeing that she didn't resist, he deepened the kiss.
It was an urgent, frantic kiss.
The surrounding air began to feel thick and humid. Lin Zhilan felt her heart beating erratically. The intimate sounds of their kissing almost scorched her body.
She even suspected that if the man's hands hadn't been supporting her all along, her legs would have already given out.
Su Lang tightly clasped his wife's slender waist, as if holding onto a cloud—sweet, fragrant, and soft. It was so soft that his chest felt like it might cave in, just so he could press her completely into his embrace.
