First Night with the Army: The Stoic Big Shot Is Done Pretending

At her words, Zhu Jing just smiled.

The Living Yama’s fearsome reputation was well-known throughout the Northwest Military Region, but he was also the most sought-after man in the family compound. Countless people wanted to set him up with their younger sisters or nieces.

But the Living Yama rejected them all point-blank.

Zhu Jing unhurriedly teased, "He didn’t have anyone before, but it’s too late now. The Living Yama is married, so there’s no hope for you, HAHAHAHA."

The moment she finished speaking, the woman who had asked the question slipped away in silence.

That woman was Qin Jin’s wife—Zhao Dongmei.

Back home, Zhao Dongmei stared at the cramped room, her eyes filled with overwhelming hatred. Hearing the sound of the door opening, her gaze shifted to the entrance.

Qin Jin surveyed their surroundings. The assigned room wasn’t large, but the conditions were much better than the communal dormitories. He said comfortingly, "We just have to wait two months at most, then we can move into a two-bedroom house."

Only battalion commanders were assigned two-bedroom, single-story houses.

The single-story houses had two main rooms, not including the kitchen and bathroom.

"It’s unfair."

Qin Jin walked over to Zhao Dongmei, took her cold hand in his, and comforted her in a soft voice, "There’s nothing fair or unfair about it. You promised me you came to the Northwest to live a good life."

Although he had married his widowed sister-in-law, he genuinely cared for her.

He sincerely wanted to build a life with Zhao Dongmei.

The hatred in Zhao Dongmei’s eyes gradually subsided. Biting her lower lip, she nodded. "Mm."

-

After watching "Seven-colored Deer," the children’s faces showed they were still craving more. Even though Xiao Pihou had already seen it once, he was still captivated watching it a second time.

"That cartoon was so good."

Wen Ci seemed to remember something. A gentle smile on her face, she slowly asked, "So, do you all want to keep watching cartoons tomorrow?"

"Yes!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Tomorrow, each of you will write a short essay about ’Seven-colored Deer’ for me. Once you’re finished, I’ll let you watch other cartoons."

Instantly, everyone except for Xiao Shitou started to groan and complain.

They were already in elementary school and knew what an "essay" meant.

Only Xiao Shitou, who had just recently started kindergarten, didn’t understand.

Xiao Pihou pouted, blinking his eyes repeatedly, trying to act cute and wheedle his way out of it. "Pretty big sister, can we not write the essay?"

"You can," Wen Ci said after a moment. "Then you just won’t watch any cartoons."

Xiao Pihou: "..."

’He hesitated again and again. It’s just a movie review, isn’t it?!’

’I’ll just write it!’

"How many words do we have to write?"

Wen Ci thought for a moment. Educational resources in the Northwest were poor. Even though Xiao Pihou was already in the fifth grade, he had learned very little.

For a typical elementary school student, a standard essay was five hundred words, but Wen Ci felt a five-hundred-word movie review was a bit too long.

"Three hundred words. Is that okay?"

Xiao Pihou nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes!"

"What about us?" Ah Hua asked.

Wen Ci replied, "Two hundred words."

Ah Hua and Ah Wang were only in third grade and had probably never formally written an essay before. Two hundred words was a very small amount.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the courtyard gate. Xiang Qin was standing outside, holding a coal-oil lantern, and called out, "Time to go home~"

Wen Ci led the children out to the courtyard by the hand. Her eyes landed on Xiang Qin, and she said with a smile, "I was just about to walk the children home."

"No need. We can come get them."

As she spoke, Xiang Qin picked up Xiao Shitou. He was the youngest and had trouble seeing the path in the dark. "Say bye-bye to Auntie, you all."

"Goodbye, pretty big sister."

Wen Ci smiled. "Don’t forget to write your essays!"