He couldn't help but look out the window. Lu Zhixia should have already gotten up by now. Her train was at 8 a.m., and he wouldn't be able to see her off.
Soon the son returned, followed by the gossipy Ma Chao.
Gu Huailin put the basin back in its original place. "Dad, there are so many people in the water room. Luckily, Uncle Ma helped me save a spot."
Ma Chao swaggered over, "Captain! You brought your son here without telling us!"
Gu Lingxiao said, "Even if I didn't tell you, you already know, don't you? These next few days, the child is staying in the military dormitory, and you're not allowed to take him out!"
Ma Chao understood the implication in her words, "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
Gu Lingxiao nodded, signaling with his eyes that he didn't want to talk about it in front of his son.
Ma Chao nodded knowingly, then grabbed the little guy.
"Stay put in your dorm and I'll give you a toy gun later!"
"Really? Uncle Ma?" Gu Huailin had always longed to own a pistol.
Ma Chao: "Of course it's real, but not the real thing. I'll make you one out of wood. It'll look almost exactly like the real thing. When you go to school, show it to your classmates, and I guarantee you'll be the coolest kid in the class!"
Gu Huailin nodded happily; it felt so good to have his wish fulfilled!
"Shall I go get some food for the kids?" Ma Chao said.
Gu Lingxiao said, "Go! See if you have any eggs to crack!"
Ma Chao picked up the lunchbox on the table. As he passed the child, he measured his height with his hand and thought the child was a bit short, but looked just like his father.
Whenever the anniversary of his death arrives, the group of them would gather together to burn paper money for him and chat about recent events.
They've persevered for nine years, and in the blink of an eye, their child is already so grown up. Time can sometimes be terrifyingly fast!
Ma Chao quickly brought the food back and showed it to them as soon as he entered the room.
"Ta-da! Guess what delicious food I caught?"
"It smells so good!" Gu Huailin said.
Ma Chao took the lunchbox out from behind and said, "I mentioned to the head chef that I specially made fried rice with eggs for the kids, and I used a lot of lard!"
Gu Lingxiao said, "Don't do that again next time. People will think we're getting special treatment."
Ma Chao opened the lid, revealing glistening fried rice inside the lunchbox, with eggs and rice grains clearly separated, and plenty of lard adding to its shine.
"Don't worry about all the gossip, this is what the child deserves!"
Gu Lingxiao said to his son, "Today we're getting special treatment; we're having fried rice."
Gu Huailin sat down at the table. "Dad, Uncle Ma, let's eat together!"
Gu Lingxiao said, "We won't eat with you. Your Uncle Ma and I will eat at the cafeteria."
Gu Huailin then picked up his spoon and ate heartily, but after only two bites, he felt it wasn't that delicious. He then said to his father, who was about to leave,
"Mom's fried rice is still the best."
“Your mom’s gone on a long trip, so just make do with what you have for the next few days! I also want to eat your mom’s cooking!” Gu Lingxiao said.
Ma Chao seized the opportunity to joke, "Then why don't you hurry up and marry her? That way, you can eat her openly and honestly."
Gu Lingxiao: "I wanted to too! But they didn't agree, did they?"
Ma Chao burst into laughter, thinking to himself that even the captain had his moments of being outmaneuvered. Usually, the captain was the one scolding them, but now the captain was completely under Lu's thumb. How amusing!
Gu Lingxiao put on his hat, thinking about the antiques under the bed. Although no one would come to his room specifically, what if something happened?
He wouldn't be able to explain it, so he gave the lock and key to his son.
"If you need to use the restroom, remember to lock the door. Don't leave it open, understand?"
"Okay, Dad, I got it," Gu Huailin replied obediently.
Ma Chao said, "Captain, can we go now? If we don't go to the cafeteria soon, we'll really be eating leftovers."
Gu Lingxiao: "Okay, let's go now!"
So they opened the door and left the dormitory. It was late to go eat at this time, and sure enough, there weren't many people eating in the cafeteria. They lined up in order.
Each person got a bowl of vegetable soup, and the staple food was multigrain pancakes. The eggs were all gone.
They found a place to sit down. Ma Chao took a sip of the vegetable soup, shook his head helplessly, and said...
"It's tasteless and bland, with no oil or fat!"
"Eat up!" Gu Lingxiao said.
While eating his flatbread, Ma Chao thought about the dishes Lu Zhixia had cooked, and couldn't help but tell his captain...
"When my sister-in-law comes back, how about we pool our money and get together at that little courtyard?"
Gu Lingxiao: "Looks like you're really craving it."
Ma Chao: "You know how much we train every day, but we get so little meat. It's not just me, everyone craves meat!"
Gu Lingxiao also felt that the food was indeed too bland; even though there was meat, there were only a few pieces. He thought that if this continued, a person's body would become increasingly depleted. So he told Ma Chao...
"When we go on this training exercise, I'll see if we can hunt some wild game in the mountains to improve your meals!"
"Thank you, Captain!" Ma Chao said happily.
Gu Lingxiao sipped the soup with a spoon, finding it tasteless, but his mind was already elsewhere, flying back to the tenement building. He missed it terribly after only a few hours apart!
——
A tenement building.
Lu Zhixia ate the hot steamed dumplings. She never expected to receive such treatment. She could never get enough of delicious food.
Su Lan said, "Eat slowly, there's still some left in the pot!"
Lu Zhixia took another sip of rice porridge, squinted her eyes, and said, "This breakfast is really delicious!"
Su Lan said, "As long as it tastes good, that's all that matters. I got up early this morning to prepare it especially for your farewell."
Lu Zhixia: "Sister Lan, you're the best to me!"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
