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

The food at the military region’s cafeteria was never terrible, but its main draw had always been the low price. Plenty of single soldiers were willing to eat there, while those whose wives lived on base generally cooked at home.

But now...

The cafeteria was not only cheap, but the food was also good. Everyone was willing to eat there or get takeout.

Wen Ci walked up to the window and her eyes lit up when she saw the pork stew with vermicelli. "I’ll have a serving of the pork stew with vermicelli," she said, "and a bowl of rice, please."

After ordering, she placed her money into a box on the side.

Just a few years ago, you still needed grain and meat ration tickets to eat in the Northwest Military Region. But with the Northwest’s recent rapid development, those tickets were no longer necessary.

Wen Ci found an empty seat and sat down. Before she could even take her first bite, Xue Li cheerfully plopped down across from her. With a sincere smile, he said, "Ma’am, Brother Huo asked me to let you know that he probably won’t be back tonight either."

"He’s not coming back again?" Wen Ci’s eyes fell as she asked slowly, "Is he on a mission?"

Xue Li nodded.

He couldn’t tell her the specifics of the mission, but he was allowed to reveal that Brother Huo was away on duty. He added with a cheerful grin, "Ma’am, if you need help with anything, just say the word!"

"Actually, there is something."

She wanted to know when the bus service would resume. The head nurse had reminded her earlier that day that there was a rehearsal scheduled for next Friday.

And for the rehearsal, they had to dance in their full Water Sleeve costumes.

The higher-ups were taking this year’s Military Art tour very seriously. There had been no military dependents on last year’s tour, but now that the family residences in the Northwest Military Region were complete, they had welcomed the first group of families.

"What’s up?"

Wen Ci asked, "Do you know when the bus service will start?"

"Well..." Xue Li shook his head. His rank wasn’t high enough to know the exact date, but he was sure the buses wouldn’t be running for at least the next two weeks.

Xue Li glanced around before leaning across the table and lowering his voice. "The Military Art tour is coming up, and performers from other military regions will be here. We have to guarantee their safety, so this bus line won’t open until the tour is over, at the very least."

Upon hearing this, Wen Ci’s eyes widened in disbelief.

’Is the situation really that serious? A whole month?’

"Then how does the cafeteria staff get out to buy groceries?"

"All transport, whether for the military wives or the cafeteria’s food supply, is being handled by the motor pool." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Wen Ci was about to say something when she spotted Yu Qing at the entrance, glancing around as if looking for someone. She stood and waved her over.

A moment later, Yu Qing rushed to Wen Ci’s side, looking anxious. "Wen Ci, the head nurse just told me we can’t leave the Northwest Military Region for the time being! What are we going to do about our costumes for the Water Sleeve Dance?"

Wen Ci, having already learned this from Xue Li, tilted her head and thought about what they could do for costumes.

"You could borrow some, couldn’t you?"

Xue Li closed his eyes, thinking hard. He vaguely recalled some of the female soldiers wearing water-sleeve robes during last year’s tour. His eyes snapped open. "They have a set of white water-sleeve robes."

Wen Ci stammered, "Wh... white?"

’It was hard to imagine what a white water-sleeve robe would even look like on...’

Wen Ci took a deep breath, hoping the robes at least had some patterns or embroidery. Otherwise, they would look incredibly strange. "I guess our only option is to borrow from the art troupe performers," she sighed.

With that, she turned to Yu Qing and asked, "Have you eaten yet? Why don’t you eat here at our cafeteria? The head chef is Sister Jing, the one I told you about."

Yu Qing looked embarrassed. "I didn’t bring any money..."

Doctors ate for free at the hospital cafeteria, and she usually sent most of her salary back to her family in the countryside, keeping only a little spare cash in her dorm for emergencies.