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

"Apologize."

The sound of those two words hitting the ground was louder than the sound of a large iron spoon falling to the ground.

Li Aihong is still coughing.

Her face was covered in face cream mixed with snot and tears, and the fire in her throat hadn't subsided yet. Gu Changfeng's words were like a slap in the face.

The cafeteria was so quiet that only the sound of sniffling could be heard.

Qian Mei huddled behind the stove, wishing she could disappear into the coal ash heap. She had been shouting the loudest just moments before, but now she didn't dare utter a single word.

The quartermaster held the glass bottle as if it were a hand grenade.

He glanced at the disheveled Li Aihong, then at the dark-faced Gu Changfeng, and cleared his throat: "This is pure chili powder. No opium poppies, no contraband. It's just that this variety... is indeed strangely spicy."

The facts are on the table.

The soldiers and their wives who were watching whispered among themselves. Those who had just been suspicious of Lin Wanrou now looked at Li Aihong with completely different expressions.

Li Aihong caught her breath, straightened up by holding onto the table, and refused to admit it. After being so domineering in the compound for so many years, was she really going to bow down to someone from the countryside? Where would she, as the wife of a political commissar, put her face afterward?

"Cough... even if it's chili peppers..." Li Aihong's voice was hoarse like a broken gong, "you can't just bring them into the mess hall. What if the soldiers get sick? Who's responsible? This is utterly disorganized and undisciplined!"

Gu Changfeng took a step forward. His military boots slammed onto the concrete with a dull thud.

Li Aihong was so frightened that she stepped back and bumped her lower back on the cutting board.

"Is it so hard to admit that someone is better than you?" Gu Changfeng ignored her comment and pressed on to the point, "Because of jealousy, you're throwing around political accusations. Li Aihong, have you completely forgotten your political awareness?"

"You—" Li Aihong trembled with anger.

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Meng Yaya poked her head out from behind Lin Wanrou.

She popped the last few sunflower seeds into her mouth, clapped her hands, and walked over to Li Aihong with her short legs.

The little girl tilted her head back, her face innocent and carefree, but her words were barbed.

"Auntie Fatty, you took such a big slurp just now, were you trying to steal all everyone's food?"

Meng Yaya pointed to Li Aihong's pot of braised pork, which was mostly left over and covered with a layer of white lard, looking greasy.

"My mom ate all the tofu she made, but you still have so much meat left. Even pigs wouldn't eat it, you're so wasteful."

That was a precise strike. In this day and age, wasting food is a grave sin.

Li Ai's face flushed a deep liver color: "You ill-mannered wild child, what right do you have to interrupt adults!"

"I'm well-mannered." Meng Yaya blinked her big eyes, her voice clear and crisp, echoing throughout the cafeteria. "My mother taught me that it's okay if you're not capable, but you can't blame others for being smart just because you're not smart."

She walked over to Lin Wanrou, hugged Lin Wanrou's leg, and rubbed against her.

"Auntie Fatty, do you know why my mom's cooking is so delicious?"

Meng Yaya turned around, facing everyone, and patted her chest with her little hand.

"Because there is love in it! Mom loves Dad, loves Ya Ya, and also loves the uncles who protect our country, so when she cooks, her heart is sweet and the food tastes delicious."

The little girl tilted her head, looked at Li Aihong, sighed, and shook her head like a little adult.

"Unlike some people, who are sour-hearted and full of bad intentions. Their sour hearts make their cooking sour and spoiled. No wonder the uncles don't like it."

coax--

A burst of barely suppressed laughter erupted in the mess hall. Several young soldiers covered their mouths, their shoulders shaking like leaves.

"When your heart is sour, the food tastes sour"—that's such a harsh and scathing remark.

Zhao Tiezhu, that simpleton, couldn't help but blurt out, "No wonder the braised pork smelled vinegary today! It's gone bad!"

Li Aihong's rationality completely snapped.

Being rebuked by Gu Changfeng is because of her superior rank; being outshone by Lin Wanrou is because of her inferior skills; and now even a three-year-old brat dares to ride on her neck and poop?

"You little beast! I think you need to be disciplined!" Li Aihong roared, raising her hand to slap Meng Yaya. Her movements were swift, filled with the fierce force of her anger and embarrassment.

Lin Wanrou's expression changed drastically, and she instinctively tried to block it.

But someone was faster than her. A large hand intercepted Li Aihong's wrist in mid-air.

Gu Changfeng's grip was extremely strong, like a pair of pliers.

"Ah!" Li Aihong screamed in pain as her wrist joints cracked and dislocated.

Gu Changfeng remained expressionless, increased the force in his hand, and flung Li Aihong away.

Li Aihong staggered a few steps and sat down on the ground with a thud, her hair disheveled, looking like a shrew.

"You lay a hand on military families, you lay a hand on children." Gu Changfeng looked down at her. "Li Aihong, do you want to go to solitary confinement to clear your head?"

Li Aihong was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face. She sat on the ground, throwing a tantrum, yelling, "Murder! Gu Changfeng hit me! Is there no law anymore?!"

"What's all the noise about!" A loud shout came from the entrance of the cafeteria.

The crowd that had been watching the spectacle quickly parted to make way.

A middle-aged man wearing a military uniform with four pockets strode in, his face dark and his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

He is the deputy political commissar, Zhang Debiao.

Zhang Debiao had just finished a meeting when he heard that his wife was making a scene in the cafeteria. When he came in, he saw his wife sitting on the floor crying and screaming, her makeup ruined and her wrists red and swollen.

Gu Changfeng stood to the side, his face cold, looking like a demon.

"Old Zhang! Old Zhang, you've finally arrived!" Li Aihong rushed over as if she had seen a savior and hugged Zhang Debiao's leg.

"Gu Changfeng is bullying me! He let his wife poison the cafeteria and even let that bastard child insult me! You have to stand up for me!"

Zhang Debiao looked down at his disheveled wife, feeling utterly humiliated.

Although he knew his wife was usually domineering, this was, after all, a public place. Even when beating a dog, one must consider its owner; Gu Changfeng's treatment of his wife was a slap in the face to him.

"Commander Gu." Zhang Debiao helped Li Aihong up, then looked at Gu Changfeng with a stern face. "What happened? Lashing at a female comrade...that's not befitting your status, is it?"

Gu Changfeng didn't back down. He shielded Lin Wanrou and Meng Yaya behind him, his back ramrod straight, like a javelin.

"She falsely accused a military family member of poisoning and even tried to beat my daughter." Gu Changfeng's voice was calm, without the slightest hint of guilt. "I was only acting in self-defense."

"Stained?" Zhang Debiao glanced at the empty vegetable basin, then at Li Aihong's swollen wrist.

"It's strange enough that a few pieces of tofu can taste like meat. As a cadre's family member, Ai Hong's questioning was for the sake of the military's safety. Even if the method was wrong, you shouldn't have resorted to violence."

Zhang Debiao is trying to take sides.

He picked up the bottle containing chili powder and shook it.

"Since this has caused a misunderstanding, let's seal it up and take it away to the military region's laboratory for a detailed examination." Zhang Debiao's tone was firm. "Until the results are in, this vegetable is problematic, and the person is also a suspect."

This is to solidify the charges.

Once the items are taken away, Zhang Debiao has the final say on when the test results will come out. If it drags on for ten days or half a month, Lin Wanrou's reputation will be ruined.

Now that she had a powerful backer, Li Aihong immediately straightened her back and glared maliciously at Lin Wanrou: "Yes! Investigate! We must investigate thoroughly! They must have put in some dirty tricks!"

Lin Wanrou bit her lip, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

Meng Yaya quietly pulled out a pebble from behind Gu Changfeng. She was considering whether she should give this blind deputy political commissar a good slap on the knee.

Just then, Gu Changfeng reached out and took the bottle from Zhang Debiao's hand.

"No need to check anymore."

Zhang Debiao was taken aback: "Gu Changfeng, you want to disobey orders?"

"I said, no need to check." Gu Changfeng unscrewed the bottle cap and poured some more chili powder into the remaining broth.

Bright red powder fell.

Then, he picked up the large aluminum basin that not only had no meat left, but also barely any tofu residue.

"Whether there's a problem or not, my stomach knows best."

Gu Changfeng lifted the basin.

All eyes were on him.

What is he going to do?