“In many places, people can only eat food substitutes, and in many other places, they can’t even get food substitutes.”

"The military region is now serving coarse grains, wild vegetables, and dried porridge every day. Even so, it's still quite thin and watery, barely enough to fill our stomachs."

She now only dares to prepare some dry food in the small courtyard, occasionally adding some dried meat to give her two sons some extra nutrition.

Qing Xuanzi also sighed: "In the face of natural disasters, no one can change them; we can only try our best to find ways to improve them."

"Forget about that for now. Go back and have Lian Hu bring the two boys over for a meal."

Fu Ya reluctantly put Rong Jiaojiao down: "Then I'll go and come back quickly. I'll cook when I get back."

Qing Xuanzi nodded, and Fu Ya patted her daughter's head before pushing her bicycle out of the yard.

Rong Jiaojiao looked at her mother walking away with a puzzled expression, then looked at Qing Xuanzi with a questioning look: "Mommy, let's go..."

Qing Xuanzi explained softly, "Mom went to pick up your brothers, she'll be back soon." He picked up Rong Jiaojiao, "Come on, let's go see if the room is dirty."

Qing Xuanzi led Rong Jiaojiao around to look at the place. It was spotless inside and out, which meant that the couple often came to clean.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, I released the pheasants and rabbits I had hunted on the way, intending to have Ronglianhu deal with them when he arrived.

We also added some fruits and vegetables, and some fresh rice, so that they could have a good meal.

In the family compound, Rong Lianhu saw that his wife had returned earlier than expected, and her eyes were red. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's wrong with your eyes? Did someone bully you?"

Upon hearing their father's words, the two sons rushed out of the house, their eyes filled with concern.

Fu Ya smiled and shook her head, saying eagerly before even starting the bicycle, "Lian Hu, you have lofty ambitions! Come on, let's go to town, Jiao Jiao is back..."

Rong Zhigao and Rong Zhiyuan jumped for joy when they heard that their younger sister was back. Before Fu Ya could finish speaking, they turned around and went back to their room at the same time, rummaging through drawers and cabinets to find the candy they had saved and the little trinkets they had specially left for their sister.

Rong Lianhu also exclaimed excitedly, "Jiaojiao is back! When did she come back?"

"I just got back. Brother Qingxuan told us to go to town for dinner."

Rong Lianhu strode forward, picked up his bicycle, turned it around, and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go now."

The two brothers, each carrying a small bag, nimbly climbed onto the front bar.

Rong Lianhu almost lost his grip on the handlebars, and once again felt that his family was missing a bicycle.

It was the time when everyone was heading to the canteen for lunch after work. On the way, we encountered many people who asked, "Commander Rong, where are you and your family going at this hour?"

Rong Lianhu said with a smile, "Let's go see my daughter."

He told everyone he met, and in no time, the whole family compound knew that Battalion Commander Rong's little daughter, who had been taken away by his master, had returned.

A short while later, Rong Lianhu brought his family to Qing Xuanzi's courtyard.

As soon as they arrived, the gate opened automatically, and Rong Jiaojiao wandered around the courtyard.

Hearing the door open, she turned around and saw her two older brothers running towards her, recognizing them at a glance.

"Clatter!"

He hopped around on his feet, and his hands were busy waving.

She clearly not only remembered her two older brothers, but was also very happy to see them.

"Little sister!" Rong Zhigao and Rong Zhiyuan each held one of Rong Jiaojiao tightly, their eyes full of doting affection.

"You've grown taller!"

Rong Jiaojiao tilted her head back and exclaimed, "Dede, Bao Gao Gao, Piao Piao!"

Rong Zhiyuan touched his sister's face and asked, "Little sister, you can talk so much now, that's amazing."

Rong Jiaojiao's eyes sparkled: "Baby, you're awesome! Great job!"

Rong Zhiyuan took out a small bag from his arms and handed it to his younger sister. He put it on the ground and opened it: "Little sister, look, these are all things we left for you. There's candy and your favorite doll."

He remembered that his younger sister liked the doll he gave her last time, so this time, he saved up his allowance for half a year and let her use it to buy Wang Pan'er's rag doll again.

He said, "This one is different from the last one; it's even prettier."

Rong Zhigao also took out candy, as well as his handmade wood carvings, and various kinds of local dogs.

Rong Jiaojiao touched this and that, clearly liking them all.

Rong Lianhu also wanted to hug his daughter, but seeing the three siblings getting along so warmly, he didn't disturb them. He just stood aside with a happy smile on his face.

Seeing this, Fu Ya's eyes reddened again. She walked to Rong Lianhu's side and said, "Let them play together for a while. Let's go cook together first."

Rong Lianhu nodded slightly, turned to look at Qing Xuanzi who had been smiling without saying a word, and said, "Brother, I'll go cook with Xiaoya first, and we'll talk in detail later."

Qing Xuanzi waved his hand: "Go!"

He waved his hand to set up a table, then placed apples, tomatoes, and cucumbers on it, beckoning to the three siblings: "Come on, come and eat some fruit."

Rong Zhiyuan asked, "Uncle Qingxuan, can my little sister have some candy now?"

Qing Xuanzi shook his head: "She's too young, she'll choke on the candy." Seeing the brothers' obvious disappointment, he changed the subject, "But you can dissolve a small amount of sugar in water and feed it to her."

Rong Zhigao and Rong Zhiyuan exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes, and quickly nodded: "Okay!"

Qing Xuanzi smiled slightly, picked up an apple from the table, cut it in half, took out a spoon, scraped the apple into small pieces, and handed it to Rong Jiaojiao's mouth: "Come on, Jiaobao, have some fruit first."

Rong Jiaojiao opened her mouth wide, waiting to be fed. By the end, her face was full of joy.

Seeing her two older brothers looking at her, she generously pushed an apple to each of them, saying, "Clatter, clatter!"

Qing Xuanzi also said, "Your sister is asking you to eat, so eat quickly."

The two then took the apples from Rong Jiaojiao's hands, took a bite, and nodded with satisfaction: "So sweet, thank you Uncle Qingxuan, thank you little sister!"

Rong Jiaojiao clapped her hands: "Bao, great!"

The three of them laughed heartily and joined in the praise.

Fu Ya and Rong Lianhu were busy in the kitchen, listening to the laughter and chatter outside, and they quickened their pace in perfect unison.

While cooking, Fu Ya said, "I don't know how many days Brother Qingxuan will stay this time. Last time he came back, we didn't even get to spend much time with our daughter before he left. I hope he can stay for a few days this time so I can spend some quality time with her. I'm afraid that if this continues, she won't even recognize me anymore."

Rong Lianhu also said, "Yes, she grows up so fast. She's smart and beautiful. No other baby can compare to our Jiaobao."

"Yes, no one can compare to Jiaobao..."

The couple both agreed that their daughter was the best in the world, and they kept praising her endlessly in the kitchen.

Qing Xuanzi, listening from outside, wanted to roll his eyes. He'd never seen anyone praise their daughter like that. However, he also felt that no one could compare to his precious disciple…

The three siblings in the courtyard were playing and laughing together, and it took Rong Lianhu and Fu Ya more than an hour to cook the meal.

A pot of pheasant soup, a braised rabbit, and several vegetable dishes—this was the most sumptuous meal the Rong family had eaten since the Lunar New Year.