Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

"This is... from Doctor Sun again?" Gu Changfeng's voice was tense.

Did that old man empty the supply and marketing cooperative?

"Okay." Meng Yaya didn't change her expression. She squatted down, picked up the noodles like she was picking up stones, and stuffed them into Lin Wanrou's arms.

"Grandpa Sun said this is what...dowry! Yes, the dowry kept at the bottom of the trunk!"

Lin Wanrou held the noodles, at a loss for what to do.

"I'm not going to the cafeteria." Meng Yaya plopped down on the stool, her two short legs dangling in the air.

"I want Mom's handmade noodles... no, even regular noodles will do. And they have to have scallions and lard!"

She stretched out her chubby finger to make a request, behaving like a wealthy landowner.

Gu Changfeng looked at the sky.

The cafeteria probably only has soup left right now.

He glanced at Lin Wanrou's hands, which still bore red and swollen scratches, his Adam's apple bobbed, and finally bent down to pick up the potatoes from the ground.

"Where do I do it?" he asked.

Courtyard No. 6 has been abandoned for half a year, and there isn't even a single piece of firewood in the kitchen.

"There are bricks in the yard, let's build a stove." Meng Yaya directed confidently, pointing to the withered branches in the corner of the wall, "That's firewood."

Without saying a word, Gu Changfeng took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and started moving bricks.

The dignified leader, whose hands usually wield guns, skillfully built a makeshift stove in the courtyard.

Lin Wanrou was also busy.

She found an aluminum pot with a chipped hole, washed and cut the potatoes into chunks.

With that one slice, the potato pieces were all the same size, and even the skin was peeled as thin as a cicada's wing.

This was a skill she honed at the Meng family home; her knife skills were honed out of necessity so as not to waste a single grain of food.

"Dad, the fire's too big!" Meng Yaya pulled up a small stool and sat down beside him, acting as a supervisor. "Are you boiling water or smelting steel? Keep the fire down!"

Gu Changfeng frantically pulled firewood out of the stove.

He coughed twice from the smoke, and a streak of black ash smeared his stern face.

Lin Wanrou glanced at it, wanted to laugh but didn't dare, so she could only purse her lips, take out a handkerchief from her pocket and hand it over: "Wipe it off."

Gu Changfeng took the handkerchief.

It was a faded floral print cloth, with a faint scent of soap.

He wiped his face haphazardly, turning the once clean handkerchief black.

"Give it to me." Lin Wanrou naturally reached out to take it back.

Fingertips touch.

Gu Changfeng's fingers were rough and warm, while Lin Wanrou's fingers were cool and soft.

Both of them recoiled as if burned, quickly withdrawing their hands.

Meng Yaya rolled her eyes.

They're an old married couple, yet they're more indecisive than a naive young virgin.

"The water's boiling! Now!" Meng Yaya shouted, breaking the sticky, awkward silence.

As the noodles were put into the pot, white steam rose up.

Meng Yaya dripped a few drops of sesame oil she had taken out of her handbag (space) into the pot, and sprinkled on some chopped green onions.

The overpowering aroma instantly exploded in the courtyard.

That's the aroma of refined carbohydrates mixed with oil, enough to whet your appetite.

Several dark little heads popped out from the wall of the neighboring courtyard, and the sound of slurping saliva rose and fell.

Meng Yaya turned around, grinned at the wall, and shook her little fist.

Those heads all shrunk back in a flash.

Dinner is ready.

Since there was no table, they used that large millstone as a dining table.

Three people were standing around the millstone, each holding an enamel mug.

Lin Wanrou sat stiffly, picking up two noodles with her chopsticks and sipping them slowly.

Gu Changfeng, on the other hand, sat with an air of authority, eating as if he were in battle, finishing a whole pot of noodles in just a few bites.

Meng Yaya looked at the two people.

One was like a wronged, submissive wife, the other like a heartless, useless rice-cooking machine.

In this family, apart from her, no one is normal.

"Dad," Meng Yaya picked up a large potato from her bowl and threw it into Gu Changfeng's empty jar without saying a word, "Did Mom cook it well?"

Gu Changfeng paused for a moment, looking at the potato glistening with oil: "Delicious."

"Aren't you going to compliment him?" Meng Yaya said, exasperated. "Grandpa Sun said, 'A man who doesn't have a sweet tongue will end up sleeping in a pigsty.'"

"cough!"

Gu Changfeng almost choked to death on his own saliva.

He looked up and met Lin Wanrou's eyes, which were somewhat flustered yet filled with anticipation.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on Lin Wanrou's face, giving her a soft golden edge, making her look exceptionally gentle.

"It smells delicious." Gu Changfeng hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter two words: "It tastes better than what the cooks make."

Lin Wanrou's face flushed red instantly, and she lowered her head even further, almost burying it in the bowl.

"Changfeng... if you like it, there's more in the pot." The voice was barely audible.

"Just eating isn't enough." Meng Yaya tapped the rim of the enamel mug, making a crisp sound. "Mom, look at what's on Dad's face?"

Lin Wanrou looked up.

Gu Changfeng hadn't wiped his face clean enough; there was still a patch of black ash on the tip of his nose, which, combined with his serious expression, made him look particularly comical.

"Pfft."

Lin Wanrou couldn't help but laugh out loud.

That smile instantly dissipated much of the previous somber and resentful feeling.

Gu Changfeng touched his nose somewhat blankly, getting his hand covered in dust.

Seeing the smile on his wife's face, his heart, which had long been hardened on the battlefield, inexplicably softened.

"And Mom too." Meng Yaya turned her head and aimed her criticism at Lin Wanrou, "Get some food for Dad! He's the pillar of the family, he should eat more."

Lin Wanrou hesitated for a moment, then picked up a small piece of pork crackling from her bowl—a piece she actually didn't really want to eat.

Her hands trembled slightly, but she still put the piece of fried pork crackling into Gu Changfeng's bowl.

"You eat too." Gu Changfeng frowned, picked up the fried pork cracklings and put them back, then scooped the remaining potatoes from his bowl and gave them to Lin Wanrou. "They're too thin, they're uncomfortable to hold."

The air suddenly became quiet.

Meng Yaya: ? ? ?

Lin Wanrou was completely blushing; even the roots of her ears were red as if they were about to bleed.

Gu Changfeng belatedly realized what vulgar things he had said, and a blush of embarrassment spread across his dark red face.

He really just wanted to say that she was too thin and needed to eat more, he absolutely didn't mean anything else!

"Alright, alright, let's eat!" Meng Yaya rolled her eyes and buried her face in her bowl, slurping her noodles.

This generation of parents is so hard to manage.

The car was going too fast, and her three-year-old child got a little carsick.

Although the meal was chaotic, it was the most heartwarming meal the family of three had eaten in the past three years.

Late at night.

There was no electricity in courtyard number six; only moonlight shone on the window frames.

The family of three squeezed onto that makeshift bed.

Gu Changfeng slept on the outermost side, his body taut and straight, as if ready to charge at any moment upon receiving orders.

Lin Wanrou huddled on the innermost side, wrapping herself up like a silkworm.

Meng Yaya slept in the middle, spread out in a "big" shape, with one leg resting on her father's stomach and the other hand holding her mother's hair.

Hearing the steady breathing sounds coming from both sides, Meng Yaya opened her eyes in the darkness.

The first step has been taken.

As long as the two don't divorce, she, as an "unregistered resident," can do whatever she wants in the compound.

……

"Beep—beep beep—beep—"

The resounding bugle call shattered the morning tranquility.

It was still dark, just past five o'clock.

The bed next to me suddenly felt lighter.

Meng Yaya turned over groggily and felt Gu Changfeng get out of bed quietly.

After a rustling sound of clothes being put on, there was the crisp sound of a belt being fastened.

"Sleep a little longer," Gu Changfeng said in a low voice to Lin Wanrou, who was just about to get up. "I'm going to the training ground."

"Why are you up so early today?" Lin Wanrou's voice was hoarse from just waking up.

"The entire army will hold a grand competition." Gu Changfeng's voice carried a chilling aura. "Those lads in the First Regiment are itching for a beating; we need to loosen their bones."

The door was closed gently.

Meng Yaya, who was snoring, suddenly opened her eyes.

Those large, clear black and white eyes were now wide awake, brimming with intelligence.

A grand competition?

Loosening bones?

In the past few years since the apocalypse, she has spent her time killing zombies and running for her life. She hasn't seen any serious combat competitions like this in a long time.

Those chubby little hands made two grasping motions in the air.

Itchy hands.

I want to fight.

Meng Yaya, like a nimble kitten, crawled out of the covers.

She glanced at Lin Wanrou, who was still fast asleep, grabbed the floral blouse she had worn the night before, draped it over her shoulders, and jumped off the bed barefoot.

Put on your shoes, open the door, and make a quick getaway.