I spent a sleepless night.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Jiang Xuan got out of bed and went to check on Diandian and Fanxing's room. Both children were still fast asleep.

Sister Lan is still working the night shift and hasn't come back yet. There's no sound from the Sun family next door; they probably haven't gotten up yet.

She went to the kitchen, quietly turned on the gas stove, and began preparing breakfast.

The two children are picky eaters, and they usually eat steamed buns for breakfast.

She decided to cook something her child had never eaten before.

She thought of egg pancakes.

In her previous life, her family's housekeeper was an exceptionally good cook, and she even studied under her for a period of time.

Egg pancakes are one such example.

When they came back last night, they bought some vegetables at the store at the entrance of the residential compound, including cucumbers, carrots, bean sprouts, and lettuce.

Lettuce is just what you need.

Last night she planned to make millet and pumpkin porridge, and soaked the millet.

Now that Lu Shengye is gone, there's a lot of Xiaomi left, and Jiang Xuansheng has taken some out.

She poured water into the pot, and after the water boiled, she put the millet in. Then she took out a small pumpkin from the cupboard, washed it, placed it on the cutting board, cut it into small pieces, and put it into the pot to cook.

Since last night, her eyelids had been twitching nonstop, and she prayed silently in her heart: Please, Shengye, nothing bad will happen to you.

The porridge began to cook, and steam gradually filled the kitchen, carrying the aroma of pumpkin and millet. Her mood calmed down a little, and the scene of him trying to touch her hair last night flashed through her mind.

"Jiang Xuan, are you home?"

Zhou Dongmei's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Hey, Sister Mei." She turned the stove down a little and poked her head out of the kitchen, calling out, "The door's open, come in."

Zhou Dongmei carried two cornbread buns into the kitchen. "The buns I steamed yesterday turned out pretty good. I put in the right amount of baking soda. Here, have a taste. They smell so good! What are you making?"

"Thank you for thinking of me, Sister Mei. I'm cooking pumpkin and millet porridge and I'm going to make a few more pancakes. We can eat them together later."

"I already ate it."

"You ate so early?"

"Sigh, my husband had to go on a mission in the middle of the night last night. I'm a light sleeper, and with all that noise, I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night."

Jiang Xuan exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, Platoon Leader Liu is on a mission too?"

"Yeah, did your man go too?"

Jiang Xuan nodded, "Someone came shouting in the middle of the night last night, it was quite scary."

Zhou Dongmei laughed heartily and said, "Don't worry too much. They are all soldiers who train regularly and know how to protect themselves. Look at my husband, Lao Liu, who is also away on missions all year round, and he's doing just fine, isn't he?"

Jiang Xuan nodded slightly, but she still couldn't suppress her worries.

"Sister Mei, my eyelid keeps twitching. I don't know if he's in danger. I just feel uneasy."

Zhou Dongmei picked up the small broom from the cutting board, broke off a tiny piece, and said, "Here, put this on your eyelid and it will stop twitching."

Will this work?

"Of course there is. You can try it. I used to do this all the time when my eyelids twitched. Come on, close your eyes, and I'll put the patch on for you."

Jiang Xuan closed her eyes.

“I was like that when we first got married. Every time Lao Liu went on a mission, I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep. Later, I relaxed. If you’re with a soldier, you have to be strong.”

“I believe our Lao Liu can complete the mission and return safely. Jiang Xuan, you are young, let me tell you, soldiers are here to protect our country. While they are on missions, we should take good care of ourselves and the children at home, so that they can rest assured.”

Zhou Dongmei continued, "If you're really worried, you can chat with me, or do something you like to pass the time. In short, you have to believe that they will return safely."

After being comforted by Zhou Dongmei, Jiang Xuan realized that she had been a bit too emotional.

She had witnessed Lu Shengye's abilities.

She believed that he would be alright.

Jiang Xuan took out flour and water, preparing to knead the dough.

"Hey girl, what else do you want to do?"

"I made egg pancakes for my two kids, because both of them are picky eaters."

Zhou Dongmei lowered her voice and said, "Girl, I'll ask you something I shouldn't: you're so young and beautiful, why did you marry a divorced man?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying the Lu family or Platoon Leader Lu are bad. It's just that being a stepmother is not easy, and I'm afraid you'll suffer."

Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Sheng Ye saved me."

Zhou Dongmei was surprised. This girl was so honest. It was perfectly normal for soldiers to save people. How could she have gotten herself into trouble?

The Lu family is indeed well-off, and Platoon Leader Lu is also outstanding in appearance, but this second marriage, especially with a child, is just disgusting no matter how you look at it.

However, sugarcane can't be sweet at both ends.

She nodded knowingly. "I like girls like you. By the way, do you know how to sew?"

"Yes, I can. Sister Mei, is there anything I can help you with?" Jiang Xuan skillfully rolled out the dough.

"I really do have something to trouble you with. My son is about to go to college, and he sweats a lot on his feet. I'd like to make him a few more pairs of insoles. He's a boy, so I don't need any embroidery or anything. Just some stitching with a sewing machine will do."

"Sister Xingmei, I need to take my child to kindergarten later, I'll bring it over then."

Zhou Dongmei smiled broadly, "Okay, I'll head back now. I still have a few clothes to wash. I'll come back at noon. Thank you, sister."

"The egg pancake will be ready soon. Eat it before you go wash up."

"I'm not eating anymore. Eggs are a rare commodity. I'll save them for the baby. You go ahead and do your work."

*

Just as Jiang Xuan finished making three egg pancakes, Fanxing came in.

The little girl found herself a white dress and put on socks and shoes.

"Honey, you're awake? Go wash your hands, then it's time for breakfast."

Fanxing obediently replied, "Okay."

Then he ran towards the pool.

Jiang Xuan served the millet porridge and placed it on a plate with the egg pancake, then brought it into the house.

Diandian hasn't gotten up yet; she's sleeping soundly with her little bottom sticking up.

Jiang Xuan pulled back the covers and gently patted his bottom. "Wake up, you little lazybones."

Dian Dian turned over and continued sleeping.

"Get up quickly, Auntie made something delicious."

Fanxing ran over, quietly leaned close to her brother's ear, and shouted in a clear voice, "Get up!"

Lu Diandian suddenly woke up and started to sit up.

He rubbed his eyes and glared at Fanxing. "Lu Fanxing, what are you doing? You're making my ears go deaf."

"Who told you not to get up?" Fanxing said matter-of-factly.

"I'm sick, and I don't need to go to school, so why should I get up?"

"Aren't you perfectly fine?"

"I'm taking medicine, didn't you see?"

Jiang Xuan said, "Dian Dian, how are you feeling today? Is there anything wrong with you?"

With a quick glance around her little eyes, she scrunched up her face and said, "I... I still have a bit of a stomachache."