After the afternoon training session ended, Zhou Jinshan received a notification and ran to the political commissar's office.

Political Commissar Lin glanced at the sweat on his forehead and laughed, "I called you here, but I didn't give you a specific time. Why are you running so fast?"

“How could I not be anxious about the political commissar’s order?” Zhou Jinshan replied loudly.

Political Commissar Lin chuckled: "I think you're rushing to your wife's parents' house for the Lantern Festival. Look at you, you're practically becoming a live-in son-in-law."

Zhou Jinshan, however, was thick-skinned and showed no shame whatsoever: "A son-in-law is like half a son, so it's only right that I spend the holiday with my mother-in-law."

Political Commissar Lin pointed at him and said, "Alright, you're filial. Now you have a chance to continue being filial to your mother-in-law."

"What opportunity?" Zhou Jinshan immediately pressed.

Political Commissar Lin laughed: "Of all the trainees in this batch, one or two will be selected to stay at the school, and you were the first person I thought of."

...

On the Lantern Festival, the tailor shop closed half an hour early.

Feng Mingshu rushed home and made glutinous rice balls with his family, some with sesame filling and some with red bean filling.

The twins were having a great time, and their little faces were covered in glutinous rice flour. Feng Mingshu felt sorry for them and tapped their foreheads before shooing them out to play.

"Sis, are you deliberately making us go out to wait for brother-in-law?" Xiaomingxue playfully stuck out her tongue at her sister, then ran out laughing.

Feng Mingshu: "..."

Could she say that she genuinely cared about the food and also wanted to send her younger siblings outside the courtyard to wait for the batch of cloth?

As night fell, Wang Sujuan delivered a batch of defective fabric as promised, packed into two large boxes.

Feng Mingshu rushed to receive it and happened to run into Zhou Jinshan, who was riding back on his bicycle.

"What is this?" Zhou Jinshan asked after parking the car.

The twins were also very curious and reached out to open the box, but Feng Mingshu, afraid of being seen and gossiping, quickly stopped them: "It will be difficult to move if the packaging is opened. You two go inside first and help Mom cook the glutinous rice balls."

The twins obediently ran home.

Zhou Jinshan stayed behind, naturally walking over to move the boxes. Feeling their weight, he glanced at Feng Mingshu, then easily picked them up and carried them inside.

Feng Mingshu tried the second box but almost strained her back.

The young deliveryman quickly said, "Comrade, the box is quite heavy, let a man carry it. Oh, and there's an envelope too, Director Wang asked me to give it to you."

As he spoke, the young man pulled an envelope from his pocket.

Feng Mingshu immediately recognized the envelope she had delivered that morning, but it was more than half the size of the one she had given her that morning. It must be the remaining money. She took it and thanked her with a smile, "Thank you, Comrade."

The young man chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head: "Comrade, don't be so polite."

Zhou Jinshan walked out of the courtyard and glanced at the young man with a detached look. The young man seemed to realize what was happening and hurriedly said, "Then I'll be going. Goodbye, comrade."

The young man got on his tricycle and rode away quickly.

Feng Mingshu turned her gaze to Zhou Jinshan with a smile, but Zhou Jinshan seemed to have done nothing, calmly picking up the second box and walking inside.

Feng Mingshu wanted to lend a hand, but was refused. She was happy to take it easy and went into the building empty-handed.

In the living room, the twins were gathered around an open box, excitedly exclaiming, "So much fabric! Sister, where did you get this?"

“Of course we’ll buy them,” Feng Mingshu replied with a smile. “Tell me what clothes you want to wear, and I’ll make them for you in the next couple of days.”

The twins were immediately drawn to the new clothes and started chattering excitedly about the style.

Hearing the noise, Yu Jingqiu came out of the kitchen. She looked at her daughter, waiting for an answer.

"Mom, I did someone a favor. She happened to have some defective fabric, so I bought a batch from her," Feng Mingshu explained, downplaying the issue.

Yu Jingqiu remained noncommittal, turning her gaze to her son-in-law, Zhou Jinshan.

"Mom, I know about this." Zhou Jinshan calmly recited the text for Feng Mingshu.

"Xiao Zhou, don't spoil her in the future," Yu Jingqiu said gently before calling her daughter to the kitchen to help.

Feng Mingshu inwardly groaned, but had no choice but to go to the kitchen.

The water in the pot began to boil, and round glutinous rice balls floated on the surface. Feng Mingshu also told his mother about the source of the fabric and the whole story.

Then, she received a tap on the forehead and cried out in pain.

Yu Jingqiu was so angry she laughed: "You're still complaining about the pain? What are you going to make Xiao Zhou think of this?"

"Mom, I know I was wrong, it won't happen again." Feng Mingshu clasped her hands together and repeatedly promised.

Yu Jingqiu gave her a reproachful look: "Go get a bowl and serve the glutinous rice balls."

Knowing she had passed the test, Feng Mingshu happily went to get a bowl to serve the glutinous rice balls.

Zhou Jinshan washed his hands and came to the table. He noticed that there were extra glutinous rice balls in his bowl, and they were also extra large. He looked up at his busy wife.

Feng Mingshu noticed his gaze and immediately turned around to ask, "Is there enough Yuanxiao to eat? If not, there are more in the pot. I'll get you some more."

"That's enough, stop what you're doing and sit down." Zhou Jinshan pulled her aside.

"There's one more dish, I'll go get it."

"You sit down, I'll go." Zhou Jinshan pressed her down into a chair and strode into the kitchen.

On the Lantern Festival, the bright moon hangs high in the sky, and the glutinous rice balls in the bowl are plump. The twins bite out coins that symbolize good fortune one after another, and they are overjoyed.

Feng Mingshu was amused when suddenly a plump glutinous rice ball appeared in her bowl. She paused for a moment, then turned to look at Zhou Jinshan.

With a smile in his eyes, Zhou Jinshan said, "You gave me too much. You can eat one for me."

Feng Mingshu had witnessed firsthand how much this man could eat, so she asked, "Don't you like glutinous rice balls?"

Zhou Jinshan hummed in agreement.

Feng Mingshu regretted not asking clearly beforehand, so she scooped up the glutinous rice ball and put it in her mouth. But after taking a bite, she realized something was wrong. She opened her mouth and spat it into the spoon, and sure enough, she saw a coin inside.

"Sister is so lucky!" Xiao Mingxue exclaimed happily.

Feng Mingshu realized what was going on and turned to look at Zhou Jinshan: "How did you figure out there was a coin hidden inside?"

There were six one-cent coins in total. After washing them and scalding them with boiling water, they were wrapped in glutinous rice balls. But when they were put into the pot to cook, the glutinous rice balls swelled up and Feng Mingshu couldn't tell them apart. They were also served randomly, so whoever got to eat them depended entirely on luck.

Now that someone is cheating, she naturally wants to find out the truth.

But the man replied seriously, "I didn't notice. It just so happens that this is the last one left, so I'd like you to eat it."

"...Do you think I'm easy to fool?"

Zhou Jinshan took her hand under the table, a smile in his eyes, and said in a low voice, "Ming Shu is not easy to fool. I was just lucky."

Feng Mingshu: "..."

Feng Mingshu pulled her hand away, glared at him, and then ignored him for the rest of the time until she returned to her bedroom.

"Mingshu, there's something I need to discuss with you."

"Are you trying to lie to me again?"