Chapter 93 First Day of School

As soon as they were discharged from the hospital, a rich aroma of beef wafted over. Mingming sniffed and said, "Mom, it smells so good! Is everyone stewing beef?"

Xia Xiaofang nodded with a smile: "I reckon so, the fragrance has wafted across half the street."

The beef that everyone buys during the day might spoil if it's not eaten quickly in this weather.

Besides making beef sauce, I guess everyone also saves some to stew.

The next morning, freshly steamed buns and a small dish of glistening beef sauce were laid out on the dining table at Lu Mingyue's house.

Huo Zheng picked up a piece of steamed bun, spread a thick layer of sauce on it, and chewed it with relish: "This sauce is much better with rice than the pickled vegetables in the cafeteria."

Lu Mingyue put down her chopsticks, took out three sealed bottles of beef sauce from the cupboard, and handed one to Huo Zheng: "Take one to the office. If you're too busy with training to go home, you can eat it with steamed buns for lunch."

"Okay, thank you, wife."

Huo Zheng smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth.

Lu Mingyue gave him a reproachful look, "The children are still here."

The next day at noon, Huo Zheng had just put the beef sauce on the table in the canteen when his comrade-in-arms came over and asked, "Huo Zheng, your sauce looks delicious. Where did you buy it?"

Huo Zheng scooped a spoonful and mixed it into the rice, raising his eyebrows proudly: "Made by my Mingyue, it's even more authentic than what's sold at the supply and marketing cooperative."

As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of chopsticks reached over, and everyone took a bite. In no time, they had tasted almost half a bottle.

Everyone praised the taste and envied him for having such a skilled cook as his wife.

"Hey, hey, leave some for me, you shameless bunch."

Huo Zheng was squeezed to the outside of the crowd. If it weren't for the timely rescue, even the bottom of the bottle would have been gone.

On the other side, Qin Lie also took out a bottle of beef sauce from his lunchbox.

It was what Lu Mingyue asked them to take back a few days ago.

He had just opened the lid when his comrade at the next table came over, drawn by the aroma: "Qin Lie, your sauce smells just as good as Huo Zheng's. Are they made at the same place?"

Qin Lie replied with a smile, "That's right, it's Huo Zheng's wife's cooking. Next time, you should let your husband learn it too."

In the days that followed, Huo Zheng and Qin Lie's beef sauce became a popular item in the cafeteria.

Every time they take it out, it always attracts a lot of envious glances.

---

Lu Mingyue then took out some floral fabric and cotton thread and sat on the stone bench in the corner of the courtyard to work.

She plans to make a backpack, since most children nowadays wear crossbody bags to school, but this type of bag has long been detrimental to children's development.

Lu Mingyue still wanted to make backpacks according to the conditions of later generations for greater convenience.

She cut the fabric pieces according to Leilei's height, held the silver needle between her fingertips, and sewed the schoolbag stitch by stitch, making sure the stitches were even and solid along the edge of the fabric: "Leilei will be carrying books on his back, so I need to sew two more lines to make it sturdy."

Huo Zheng squatted down beside her to help her straighten the stitches. As the fabric gradually stiffened, he smiled and replied, "I'll go split a thin piece of wood later to support the bottom of the backpack, so it won't get deformed when filled with thick textbooks."

Lu Mingyue hummed in agreement, picked out red embroidery thread from the sewing basket, and carefully embroidered the two characters "Leilei" on the inside of the schoolbag. The characters were small and clear.

Sew your name on so you won't get confused with others at school.

After finishing sewing the schoolbag, Lu Mingyue went into the room and found two enamel water cups. She wrote her name on one cup and wrapped the handle with cotton thread to prevent it from slipping.

The other one was washed and filled half a cup with warm water.

Even though Yao Yao doesn't go to school, we still prepare a water bottle for her so she can play with it when we take Lei Lei to school later.

On the first day of school, Huo Zheng woke Lei Lei up early to get him dressed and helped Yao Yao braid her hair.

As the group left, Huo Zheng held Lei Lei's hand with one hand and carried a cloth bag for buying stationery for the child with the other.

Lu Mingyue held Yao Yao in her arms, with Lei Lei's new schoolbag draped over her arm.

On the way, Leilei would occasionally turn his head to touch the strap of his schoolbag, while Yaoyao held her water bottle and rested her little head in Lu Mingyue's arms.

When they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, Lu Mingyue asked Huo Zheng to help Leilei choose pencils and new erasers, while she held Yaoyao and watched from the side.

After they finished shopping, as they walked towards school, Lu Mingyue handed the schoolbag to Leilei and helped him straighten the shoulder straps.

Huo Zheng squatted down and instructed, "Listen to your teachers at school, and wait for us at the school gate after school. Don't run around."

Yao Yao nestled in Lu Mingyue's arms and reached out to tug at Lei Lei's backpack strap: "Brother, show me your new pencil after school."

Her brother promised her that she could use the new pencil to write after school.

Leilei nodded and walked into the school with his name embroidered on his back.

The couple held Yao Yao and stood at the door for a long time, looking until they could no longer see Lei Lei before turning around.

Yao Yao was still clutching her brother's water cup, whispering that she was waiting for him to come back.

After seeing Leilei into the school, Huo Zheng patted Yaoyao's head, said goodbye to his wife, and turned to walk towards the military camp.

Lu Mingyue carried Yao Yao and slowly made her way to Xia Qinghe's house.

As soon as they arrived at the courtyard gate, they saw Xia Qinghe sitting under the grape trellis picking vegetables. Upon seeing them, she quickly stood up and greeted them, "Come in and sit down, I just brewed some chrysanthemum tea."

Lu Mingyue sat down on the bamboo chair with Yao Yao in her arms and accepted the tea.

At first, Yao Yao nestled obediently in her arms, but after a while she began to twist her body, her little hands occasionally reaching for the cloth bag that Lu Mingyue had placed to the side.

It contained the small marbles that I had prepared for Leilei that morning, but hadn't had time to take with me.

"Mommy, when is my brother coming back?" she asked, tilting her little face up, her voice soft and sweet.

"My brother will be home from school soon when the sun is about to set." Lu Mingyue helped her tidy up the stray hairs on her forehead.

Xia Qinghe smiled and handed over a small wooden bird: "Yaoyao, come play with the little bird. Auntie will braid your hair later. It will be as pretty as the pencil your brother brought you back."

Yao Yao took the little bird, but didn't play with it much. Her eyes kept glancing towards the gate of the yard, and she muttered to herself, "Brother said he would show me his new pencil."

The brother and sister have basically never been apart since they were little, so it's no wonder she misses Leilei right now.

The two sat and chatted, talking about everything from the vegetable patches in the yard to the latest happenings in the residential compound.

Yao Yao lay on Lu Mingyue's lap, clutching a little bird in her hand, occasionally interjecting with comments like, "Brother can also grow cabbages," or "I'm in the paintings your brother draws."

Lu Mingyue felt a warmth in her heart as she listened; the brother and sister missed each other so much after being apart for only a short time.

In the end, it was Mingming who took Yaoyao to see the little fish he had caught, and only then did the little girl temporarily put her brother out of her mind.

As the sun began to set, Lu Mingyue stood up to say goodbye: "I have to go pick up Leilei. That little girl has been waiting for her brother."

Xia Qinghe saw them to the door and said with a smile, "Let us come with you to pick them up tomorrow, so the children can keep each other company."

Upon hearing this, Yao Yao immediately straightened up: "Okay, okay, I'll wait for Brother Mingming with him!"

Their steps were lighter than when they came.

They arrived early; there were no other parents at the school gate yet, and the sun was still very strong. Lu Mingyue and her daughter found a shady spot to stand.