Song Qingcai didn't believe he had already eaten. The dumplings were so hot this morning; they must have been bought right after they came out of the pot.
"Eat up, it won't taste good when it gets cold, and the two of us can't eat that much."
Lu Yang then sat down, but he swapped his box of dumplings with Song Qing's. She was really starving, and she had already eaten almost half of the dumplings in no time.
The dumplings in front of her were plentiful again. She looked up at the man opposite her, who had already picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
Having served in the military for many years, he always emphasized speed when on missions, and he ate very quickly.
However, he wasn't very focused on eating; he kept glancing at Song Qing or at An'an in her arms.
Song Qing was in a good mood, so she let him look at her. Although she was hungry, she didn't eat much, and neither did An'an. One box of dumplings was just right for the two of them.
However, Song Qing was still very grateful for Lu Yang's kindness in giving her a portion of his dumplings because he was worried that the two of them wouldn't have enough to eat.
Well done. In the future, we should always think of them first when we have something good.
An'an noticed her annoying father's gaze, and she was slightly annoyed. Her little face was tense, and she even lost her appetite for the dumplings.
Song Qing had already finished eating, and there were still a few dumplings left in the lunchbox in front of her. She patiently coaxed An'an to eat one more, picked up a dumpling with her chopsticks, and then pushed the lunchbox in front of Lu Yang.
Lu Yang frowned as he looked at the mother and daughter. Why were they eating so little?
"An'an, be a good girl and eat the last one. After you finish, we'll go out."
An'an didn't want to eat anymore. If it were just her and her mother, she probably would have whine and begged. But now that her cheap father was sitting in front of her, she could only open her mouth and take a bite of half a dumpling. She just couldn't eat the other half.
Lu Yang frowned. "Eating so little, be careful you don't stunt your growth."
Being a picky eater is not a good habit. No wonder kids these days are so lucky. He used to stuff anything edible into his stomach as soon as possible.
Upon hearing this, An'an had long forgotten that she was still sulking with him. She glared at him angrily with wide eyes and then turned her head away.
Song Qing was speechless. If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all. He's only been someone's father for a few days now, and he's already criticizing him. Isn't this just pushing people further and further away?
Lu Yang, who had been repeatedly lashed out at by the mother and daughter, looked bewildered. Had he said something wrong?
He wasn't wrong. During famines, children often didn't have enough to eat, and even if they grew up and had food, they still wouldn't grow tall.
But he wasn't stupid; he could only think these things to himself. If he said them aloud, he probably wouldn't get a good look at him.
Lu Yang had only two dumplings left, so he quickly ate them one after another, not wanting to keep the two of them waiting. Suddenly, half a dumpling appeared in front of him.
An'an kept her head buried in her mother's arms, unwilling to look at Lu Yang, so she naturally didn't see this scene.
Song Qing was full, but she could easily eat half a dumpling more. However, she wasn't going to indulge the man.
If you want to be a father, you can't just be a domineering dad all the time. He also needs to be involved in the little things, starting with leftovers.
Lu Yang didn't mind and quickly finished the dumplings. He packed up the lunchbox and took it out to wash, while Song Qing tidied her daughter's clothes.
"I won't go out today. I'll go check out the apartment I've been allocated and buy some furniture."
The military area is a bit far from the city center, so there will be plenty of time to explore it later. Right now, the most important thing is to look at the houses.
Lu Yang nodded and placed the lunchbox on the table. Suddenly, he paused and glanced at Song Qing cautiously.
"How about we go to the city? Didn't I say I'd take you to see a movie?"
He thought his glance was very subtle, but Song Qing had noticed it long ago, and she suddenly had a bad feeling.
"An'an, sit inside for a while. Mommy and Daddy have something to talk about and will be back soon."
After giving her daughter a few instructions, Song Qing walked straight to the door, while An'an obediently sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and played by herself.
Lu Yang, still trying to appear calm, stood at the door. "What's wrong?"
"Where is the allocated house? Can't we go see it today?"
"Of course we can go. I just suddenly remembered that I promised An'an I would take her to the movies."
Song Qing crossed her arms and carefully looked at the man in front of her.
"Have the military housing units really been allocated? You didn't just trick us into coming here, did you?"
"How could that be!" Lu Yang hurriedly interrupted, "I'm not that kind of person."
He initially tried to evade the issue, but seeing Song Qing's expression, he quickly told her everything.
After hearing this, Song Qing felt like kicking him to death. How come she had never noticed how unreliable this man was before?
That's true. The two of them hardly had any chance to interact before, and when they met again later, he always had a serious expression on his face. He never looked as annoyed as he did now.
Lu Yang knew he had done something stupid. If he didn't handle this properly, she might get really angry and take the child back to Xin'an.
It turned out that yesterday afternoon, Song Qing said she would go to Ancheng, and the two had a falling out. The battalion commander of the 7th Battalion in the same regiment saw that he was in a bad mood and took him out for drinks. But when he drank too much, things got messy.
Lu Yang poured out his grievances to the Seventh Battalion Commander, who sympathized with his plight. However, upon hearing that Lu Yang's family might not be coming to accompany him, the commander immediately thought of the house that had been allocated to him.
In recent years, many military dependents have come to live with their families, and the newly built family housing is simply not enough. The military has just built a few more family housing buildings, but even more military dependents have submitted applications to come and live with their families.
There's nothing we can do. There used to be a group of residential houses in the old district that were included in the family compound area. The original plan was to demolish those houses and build more buildings, but now we simply don't have the capacity to do that.
With batches of military dependents arriving, the military had no choice but to repair the civilian houses and arrange for a group of military dependents to move in first.
The old houses certainly can't compare to the newly built red brick houses. Those newly built buildings are so beautiful; those who came to join the army a few years ago are extremely envious.
The battalion commander of the 7th Battalion was named Wang Minggui. He had known Lu Yang for many years. When their batch of people were assigned housing, Lu Yang was assigned a new family building, while Wang Minggui was assigned a house in the old district. His wife had already moved there with their child.
Knowing the housing allocation results, Wang Minggui's wife, Zhou Lian, was certainly dissatisfied, but she couldn't go to the higher-ups to make a scene. She secretly complained to Wang Minggui for who knows how long.
They were all in the same regiment, both battalion commanders. Her husband was so much older than Lu Yang, so why was their house allocated to the old district?
It's all my husband's fault for being so clueless and not knowing how to cultivate relationships. See? He's always the one who misses out on good opportunities.
"You mean you're going to give the house to that Seventh Battalion Commander?" Song Qing gritted her teeth, glaring hatefully at Lu Yang.
“It wasn’t that he offered it to us. He thought we didn’t need that house anymore, so he offered to exchange it for a house in the old district, but I didn’t agree.”
The Seventh Battalion Commander, who was eyeing the red brick house, quickly made a deal with Lu Yang: if his family really didn't come to join the army, the house would definitely be given to him.
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