Xu Chendong ate a meal here. Looking at his grandmother's gray hair, and recalling what Qi Ye had said earlier, he couldn't help but sigh. How to put it? It's really not easy to live this life.

Raising a child to adulthood is a labor of love, and one must not only fear that all efforts will be in vain, but also guard against the child who grew up eating one's own flesh and drinking one's own blood turning around and biting one's own hand.

The meal was all prepared by Grandma. Xu Chendong took a bite and exclaimed, "Wow, this tastes almost as good as the food in our military district's mess hall!"

I was worried about what to say to start a conversation with the old lady, but now I'm not worried anymore.

Look, there's a great skill right here.

He immediately gave a thumbs up, "Grandma, your cooking skills are truly exceptional. To me, it's almost as good as the food in our military region's mess hall."

Grandma was taken aback, thinking he was going to say something important. She didn't take the praise to heart and thought he was just teasing her. She chuckled and said, "Eat more if you like it."

Grandma's lack of confidence was obvious, and Xu Chendong became anxious, "I'm not joking with you, I'm serious. It's delicious, this flavor is really hard to come by. If it were before, I could cook my own home-style dishes..."

At this point in his speech, Xu Chendong came to his senses and, like a chicken with its neck caught in its throat, suddenly fell silent.

Qi Ye glared at him. "Brother, what are you saying?"

Saying that now would be considered speculation and profiteering, and could potentially land you in jail.

Xu Chendong said sheepishly, "I got carried away for a moment. It's alright, it's alright, we're all family, it's nothing."

Shen Fenghua immediately instructed her two children not to tell anyone about this. Of course, she didn't repeat the instruction several times, because children's memories are very peculiar; the more something is forbidden, the clearer they remember it.

On the contrary, those who downplay the past are likely to forget about it in a couple of days.

Grandma chuckled, "If you like to eat, come and eat more. There are only a few people in our family, and I'm getting old, so I like things to be lively and bustling."

“Sure!” The old man likes a lively atmosphere, so this is easy to arrange. Xu Chendong immediately got excited. “Then I’ll get some good stuff later, and we can all sit down together and have a meal or something.”

Shen Fenghua was stunned. What is this?

Climb up the pole.

"However, we can't let Grandma do everything. My wife isn't very good at cooking, but she's quick and agile. Grandma, could you keep an eye on her and let her help out? You can also give her some pointers on cooking."

When this was mentioned, Xu Chendong complained bitterly, "My wife is good in every way, but she's only good at cooking. I've been eating low-oil and low-salt food for most of my life, and I just can't take it anymore."

To be honest, the food at the Xu family's house was better than even the military region's canteen.

Shen Fenghua frowned. "Then, Brother Xu, haven't you ever thought about trying to cook for yourself?"

After all, cooking isn't something women are born to do. For example, in her own home, sometimes when Qi Ye comes home early, she can roll up her sleeves and head to the kitchen.

Shen Fenghua felt that it was not a bad idea to divide the work among those who were capable.

At the mention of this, Xu Chendong became dejected and said awkwardly, "It's not that I don't want to do it, it's just that when I go into the kitchen, the house suffers."

Qi Ye had something to say about this. He put some food on Shen Fenghua's plate and comforted her, "Don't get agitated, wife. It's not that my brother doesn't want to do it, it's just that he can't do it."

In the Xu family, if Xu Chendong's wife's cooking is considered bland and tasteless, then Xu Chendong's own cooking is considered deadly.

He burned two iron pots in the house while cooking, and afterwards, even if he didn't burn the pots, the food he cooked was either undercooked or barely edible. After eating, the whole family would line up to go to the hospital for IV drips.

After hearing all this rather dramatic story, Shen Fenghua was stunned.

She chuckled awkwardly, "Actually, I still can't keep up with you."

However, they are evenly matched; otherwise, given Chen's mother's stubborn nature, would she not have been allowed to cook?

They would only stop when they had squeezed every last drop of value out of her.

Xu Chendong moved his whole family here. At first, Xu Chendong hadn't decided where to live, but now that he saw Qi Ye's family, he decided that it would be just a place nearby that wasn't too far away or too close.

Xu Chendong has a good personality. Although he is Qi Ye's superior, he doesn't put on airs and talks and laughs with his grandmother.

Grandma had a good impression of him, and when she learned that he was going to move to live nearby, she invited the whole family with a smile.

After Xu Chendong left, Qi Ye made an excuse and followed him out.

Shen Fenghua knew there might be something going on, but she didn't care. Some things are better left unknown.

Xu Chendong, having eaten his fill, strolled out with his hands behind his back. Qi Ye caught up and put his arm around him, "Hey, why did you follow me out?"

Xu Chendong smiled and said, "Aren't you going to stay home with your wife and kids?"

"I have something to tell you," Qi Ye said, then took the roll of money out of his pocket and shoved it into Xu Chendong's hand.

Xu Chendong: "!!!"

In his eyes, this was like a hot potato. "What are you doing, kid? Bribing me?"

His eyes widened, as if to say, "I never expected you to be this kind of person." Qi Ye sighed deeply, "Do you think I'm possible?"

After saying that, Qi Ye picked up the money from the ground and joked, "Even if I wanted to bribe you, with my pockets being emptier than my face, how could I possibly come up with this much?"

Xu Chendong: "..."

He glanced at his empty pockets and nodded in agreement. "Indeed, that makes a lot of sense."

"So," Xu Chendong changed the subject, "where did this money come from, and what are you giving it to me for?"

Qi Ye became serious and told Xu Chendong what had happened that morning. Finally, he frowned and analyzed, "I think he must have connections on our side, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to figure it out so clearly."

After all, he wasn't asking me to deliver the message, but rather to slow down my pace.

This proves that he has information channels regarding the relevant military region, but it's just not that fast.

Xu Chendong sneered, "It's true that in a big forest, there are all kinds of birds. But it doesn't matter. Some food is edible, and some food is not. As for what kind of demons and monsters are hiding in there, that's easy to deal with. We'll find out by testing."

The two exchanged a glance; their tacit understanding, forged from sharing a trench over the years, had not come from nothing.

The two immediately came up with an idea.

Shen Fenghua was unaware of all this. She was resting at home during her pregnancy. When she felt that her body was ready, she thought about going back to work. Of course, she didn't forget about her mother.

After returning to work, she discovered that the factory manager was practically treating her like a little mascot.

There wasn't much work to do, and most of it had already been arranged, so she had her own tasks to do without being overworked.

As for Li Xiu'e, he had already been kicked out of the factory.