1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

The two little ones were surprised to be spotted so quickly, and their faces turned a little red, but they still mustered up their courage and asked, "Sister, do you eat meat every day? It smells so good!"

So it turns out they were craving meat.

"It's not meat, it's seafood. Whose children are you?"

The two little children pointed to the opposite side and said, "My house is right next door."

It turns out it belongs to Deputy Division Commander Lin's family.

"Come in!"

The two little ones were quite cute. Qiao Wanqing let them in. There were shrimp and spicy crab dishes in the kitchen. Qiao Wanqing served some for the two children to try.

But just as they were about to eat it, he suddenly stopped. "By the way, are either of you allergic to seafood?"

The two children were taken aback, their big eyes filled with confusion. "What's an allergy?"

this……

Qiao Wanqing asked, "Have you eaten these shrimp or crabs before? Did you feel unwell after eating them? Like getting red spots on your skin or anything like that?"

The two little ones shook their heads.

Qiao Wanqing didn't know if they were unwell or unaware of the situation, but since they were just children and the adults weren't around, it was best to be careful.

Are your older siblings home?

"Yes, they went to the cafeteria to get food, they should be back soon."

That's good.

She filled a bowl with some water and took the two children next door. Their older brother and sister had just returned; the older sister was sixteen and the older brother was fourteen.

The two were looking for their younger brother when they returned from getting food, and as they turned around, they saw Qiao Wanqing returning with the two little ones.

Upon seeing Qiao Wanqing, the girl's eyes lit up. What a beautiful older sister!

Without even realizing it, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he greeted her with a big smile.

"Hello, sister, what can I do for you?"

Qiao Wanqing smiled and said, "Hello, I'm the wife of Brigade Commander Lu next door. My name is Qiao Wanqing. I made some shrimp and crab and brought them over for you to try. I was just about to give them to these two little ones, but I was worried that some children might be allergic to seafood, so I came over to ask you, in case they can't explain it clearly."

The girl was taken aback. Next door?

She immediately realized that her two younger brothers probably couldn't resist the aroma from across the street and had gone to the other person's house to ask for food, which made her feel a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, sister. The child is just being polite. There's no need to be so formal. We've already bought the food."

Qiao Wanqing said nonchalantly, "It's alright, we're all neighbors."

Seeing that Qiao Wanqing was not angry, the girl was relieved and accepted the things Qiao Wanqing brought.

It's normal for the new neighbors in the compound to visit each other; she'll just give them a little something in return later.

"Everyone in my family has eaten seafood, and no one has been allergic."

She took the bowl that Qiao Wanqing had brought to the kitchen, poured the oil into her own plate, and felt a pang of heartache when she saw how much oil was in the bowl. Good heavens, so much oil! No wonder it smelled so good!

Unable to resist, he mixed the rice from home with the bowl, wiped it clean, then washed the bowl and handed it to Qiao Wanqing.

That noon, the four siblings sat in the kitchen eating. They had eaten shrimp and crab before, but they had never tasted anything so delicious.

"I never imagined crabs could be cooked so deliciously! We used to catch them from the river and cook them, but they never tasted that special!"

Lin Ling, the older sister, glared at her younger brother. "Look at how much oil and seasoning they put in here! Can yours compare?"

The younger brother glanced at his bowl and said excitedly, "Sis, let's go buy some to eat! There are some near the dock, or we can catch some in the river!"

Lin Ling sighed, thinking that her younger brother was too young and didn't know the value of daily necessities when he wasn't in charge of the household.

"These crabs come from the sea, so if we want to eat them, we can only buy them at the pier. If we buy enough for our whole family, the money spent on the crabs plus all that oil would probably buy a pound of meat."

"If you're catching them in a stream, they're too small and don't have much meat. You'd need a lot of small crabs to make a plateful, and to make it taste good, you'd need even more oil. It's all shell anyway. Are you sure you want to eat it?"

The two younger brothers: "..."

The third child persisted, saying, "Then we can buy shrimp! Mom has bought shrimp before, but she cooked them better than this."

Lin Ling laughed, "You can definitely buy them. These shrimp are so big and have a lot of meat. But it's the same principle: they need a lot of oil. Two pounds of shrimp can buy one pound of pork. You can stew the pork with some green beans, cabbage, etc., but you can't do that with this."

"Unless you steam or boil it, you can save some oil, but then the taste will be different."

Qiao Wanqing made braised prawns in oil. The broth was delicious, the rice porridge was fragrant, and it was very oily. Steaming wouldn't have the same effect.

The three younger brothers then behaved themselves, lowering their heads and eating obediently.

No wonder there are so few people buying seafood here, even though it's so close to the pier; it's really not worth it.

The two younger children hung their heads, looking somewhat unhappy. Actually, their family was quite well-off, and they could afford to eat something like this occasionally.

Their father earns a high salary, and their mother also works in the city. There are only four children in the family, so the burden isn't too heavy.

Unfortunately, his father has several brothers in his hometown, and his brothers have many children. His grandmother is always trying to get money from his father, because his father's money not only has to support them, but also his entire family in old age...

Sister Xu, who was standing in the corner, peeked out from the corner outside Qiao Wanqing's courtyard wall, her face showing a mixture of relief and resentment.

Fortunately, she hadn't offended Qiao Wanqing too much before. She had just seen Qiao Wanqing come out of this big courtyard and go to the next house. People who can live in such a big house must be of a high rank.

Yes, she mentioned before that she was from Brigade Commander Lu's family. A brigade commander is equivalent to a deputy division commander, a position her husband would probably never reach in his lifetime. Also, she often delivers mountain products to the nannies of several officers in the area, so she knows a bit about this place. The families in the neighborhood are all of similar rank, but the house Qiao Wanqing lives in is the biggest and best. The house next door, further inside, was allocated to Deputy Division Commander Lin's family in advance, while this one outside was kept and now it's been allocated to Qiao Wanqing's family. This can only mean that her husband has an outstanding position and a promising future.

If she offends her, and then whispers in her ear, causing Commander Lu to make things difficult for her man, what will happen? She finally managed to come with her man to the army and start living a good life; she absolutely cannot lose him.

But she was also very resentful. Why could other people live in such big houses at such a young age, while she had worked hard for decades and could only live in a small house of a few dozen square meters?

After passing through the residential compound, which consisted entirely of courtyards, Sister Xu crossed the gravel road and arrived at a spacious square on the opposite side. Beyond this square lay the apartment buildings, a large cluster of densely populated buildings. Some families with many children squeezed into small apartments of only a few dozen square meters, making a constant racket, a stark contrast to the large courtyards across the street.