AYLS – Chapter 135

The regiment commander Sheng, quickly discovered that the children in his household had all gone to work at the chicken farm.

He normally didn’t pay close attention, but he noticed that Zhang Lanlan and Li Xiaojun had been coming home especially late every day, and they carried the same smell as the Wen Wu brothers.

Thinking about the strange behavior of his two sons these past few days, he couldn’t help but start putting the pieces together in his mind.

After finishing his work, he didn’t go home immediately but headed straight to the chicken farm.

And the moment he arrived, he saw three boys sweeping chicken droppings, while Zhang Lanlan was mixing chicken feed.

At that moment, the regiment commander’s face darkened with anger.

He felt the kids were openly disobeying him—saying one thing in front of him and doing another behind his back.

He usually didn’t like disciplining Zhang Lanlan and the others too harshly. He always felt too soft-hearted. But today, he thought it was necessary to teach them a lesson.

Children must not be dishonest.

He clasped his hands behind his back and shouted from outside, “Lanlan! Xiaojun! Get back here!”

The kids all jumped in fright.

Especially Zhang Lanlan and Li Xiaojun—they looked extremely guilty.

Zhang Lanlan held her small bowl tightly, face flushed red. “Uncle, why are you here?”

“If I didn’t come, I wouldn’t have known that you agreed so nicely in front of me, yet secretly ran over here behind my back. How could you do this? Ah…”

He still couldn’t truly get angry at the kids.

So he forced himself to sound serious. “I said you should stay home doing homework and studying. You need to accomplish something in the future.”

Sheng Wen glanced at the two of them. Normally he would’ve gloated, but over the past few days, they had developed a bit of revolutionary camaraderie. So he said awkwardly, “Just go back, don’t cause trouble here. Awu and I can handle this.”

“You brat, don’t talk sarcastically. You knew about this and didn’t tell me. So all that talk about relying on yourself—was that just empty words?” When it came to his own son, the regiment commander was much more confident scolding.

Li Xiaojun said, “Uncle, we insisted on coming. It has nothing to do with Awen and the others.”

Sheng Wen angrily threw the broom. “If you’re so capable, then tell them to leave and stop causing trouble. Who needs their help anyway? They just love sticking their noses into things.”

Seeing his attitude, the regiment commander was about to explode. Just then, Lin Qiao heard the commotion and came out from inside. Seeing the situation, she asked, “Why is it so noisy…? Ah, Regiment Commander, you’re here.”

“Comrade Xiao Qiao, good timing. Tell me, what’s going on? I remember the regiment only approved letting two kids come, right?”

“Yes. Zhang Lanlan and Li Xiaojun are doing voluntary work. They wanted to contribute to the regiment’s chicken-raising task by offering their abilities. I was even thinking of applying for a small reward for them.”

The regiment commander nearly laughed from anger. If she weren’t a female comrade, and if she were instead one of his soldiers, he would’ve given her a proper dressing down.

“Come to the office. We need to talk.” He still had to give her some face.

Lin Qiao wasn’t afraid at all. She told the kids to continue working, washed her hands, and followed him.

Watching their backs, Sheng Wen felt uneasy. “My dad isn’t going to scold Sister Xiao Qiao, right? He’s so fierce—what if he scares her?”

Sheng Wu asked, “He is really fierce… Should we go help her?”

Zhang Lanlan said, “What about the work?”

“Of course you two will do it. This whole mess is because of you.” Sheng Wen huffed, then dragged Sheng Wu along to “help,” thinking that getting beaten—well, it wasn’t like it would be the first time.

When the regiment commander returned to the office, he intended to criticize Lin Qiao—she couldn’t keep doing things like this. It wasn’t good for the kids.

Before he could speak, Lin Qiao started first.

“Regiment Commander, I’ve actually been wanting to talk to you too.”

“Oh? You still want to talk to me? Fine. What do you have to say?”

“It’s like this. Lanlan and Xiaojun come to work every day—shouldn’t we give them a small allowance? If nothing else, at least give them a meal. Or we can go with what I said earlier: assessment. Whoever performs well stays. That way they’ll accept the results. Having them do volunteer work all the time—I really feel bad.”

The regiment commander said, “Since you think this way, then why did you still let them work today?”

“Working isn’t wrong. What’s wrong is working without reward.” Lin Qiao said confidently. “Honestly, you’re being biased. Awen and Awu can come, but Lanlan and Xiaojun can’t? That’s completely unfair. If I were Lanlan or Xiaojun, I’d definitely feel upset.”

Regiment Commander: “…Do you understand the fact that these children are the orphans of martyrs? They should be properly cared for.”

“I know that. That’s exactly why they should participate in work.”

Lin Qiao looked him straight in the eye, unafraid. “Can you guarantee that you’ll always be able to protect them?”

“If one day they leave you, how are they supposed to survive? Have you thought about that?”

The regiment commander was stunned. No one could make such a promise.

“No child who grows up pampered becomes capable. No child who avoids hardship becomes someone who can support themselves. You may not realize it, but a child who is well protected suddenly being left alone—unable to rely on anyone—that helplessness is devastating.”

She spoke from her own past experiences. “You let Awen and Awu work and grow, but Lanlan and Xiaojun don’t get that chance. Isn’t that favoritism? You only focus on disciplining your own kids, not the others. Is that really proper care?”

The regiment commander felt extremely awkward. “You… you don’t understand. If people see them working, what will they think?”

“I don’t care what others think. As long as the children are willing, that’s enough. Do you think other people’s opinions matter more than the children themselves?”

Regiment Commander: “…”

“If their parents were still alive, would they also refuse to discipline their kids? Regiment Commander, this really isn’t responsible. And in the future, if the kids don’t amount to anything—who will you blame? If someone had been willing to patiently teach me back then, today I might have…” She stopped herself. No point bringing up the past.

“…” The regiment commander pressed his lips tightly together. Then he asked, “I heard… you’re also a martyr’s orphan?”

Lin Qiao coughed, not answering verbally, merely nodding quietly, feeling embarrassed.

“You must’ve suffered a lot growing up.” Only those who suffered could have such awareness.

Lin Qiao nodded. “I’ve suffered quite a bit.”

“You think Lanlan and the others should also learn to endure hardship?”

“It’s better to suffer earlier than to suffer when you’re grown. I’ve figured it out—no one’s life can be smooth forever. Everyone will face hardship at some point.” Back when she was living in glory and luxury, she would never have imagined ending up like she had now. “Life is unpredictable.”

Commander Sheng stayed silent for a long while. “Maybe… you’re right. Every child should get a chance.”

Lin Qiao nodded quickly. “Exactly, exactly. Fair competition is the best.”

Commander Sheng said, “Alright, go back to work. I came to talk to you today and ended up getting lectured instead.”

“This isn’t lecturing. I’m just sharing some experience with you.”

“You and Comrade Gu Huayuan really have completely different personalities.” Commander Sheng thought of Gu Huayuan’s meticulous and considerate nature and couldn’t help but shake his head. “Alright, go back to work. I’ll make new arrangements tomorrow.”

“Okay!” Lin Qiao answered loudly, then left the office feeling relieved.

Wen and Wu saw her come out of the office and immediately ran over.

They had wanted to help earlier, but the guard at the door wouldn’t let them in. He said it was an important office area and no one was allowed in. No exceptions.

So they could only wait anxiously outside, listening for any movement inside.

Fortunately, they hadn’t heard their father’s loud yelling.

“Sister Xiao Qiao, my dad didn’t lose his temper at you, right?” Sheng Wen asked.

“How could he? We had a proper talk. Losing temper isn’t right.”

“Really? Not at all?” Sheng Wen and Sheng Wu still couldn’t believe it.

Their dad had such a violent temper—he could start yelling after just a few sentences. He’d just been so serious earlier, and yet he didn’t scold Sister Xiao Qiao?

Lin Qiao firmly said, “Really. And I also talked to him about some things.”

“What things?”

Sheng Wen asked curiously.

Lin Qiao thought about it. She didn’t plan to hide it—she felt it was necessary for them to know what the Commander was thinking.

So she briefly repeated the conversation she had with Commander Sheng.

The two brothers were stunned. Sheng Wen asked in disbelief, “You’re saying him treating us this way… is actually because he cares about us?”

“Strictly speaking, yes. Think about it—would you bother to manage someone who has nothing to do with you?”

“It takes energy to discipline people.”

“But he’s always yelling at me,” the younger Sheng Wu muttered.

Lin Qiao said, “His temper is bad. You can tell him that. But maybe he thinks this way is more effective. You two should talk to him more. Fathers and sons really need communication. Long-term misunderstandings easily turn into conflict.” She thought of her own father again.

Suddenly she remembered she rarely communicated with him. Any time spent together was just going out to play. Maybe that was why he was disappointed in her. So he had another child… No, that child was only a little younger than her. The betrayal must have happened long before. She refused to think about it differently.

She couldn’t help letting out an unhappy little huff.

Sheng Wen asked, “Sister Xiao Qiao, why did you huff?”

“Nothing, just thought of something unpleasant. Anyway, you two still need to communicate properly.”

“I just don’t believe he really cares about us,” Sheng Wen muttered, still doubtful.

The difference in attitude was too huge.

“Then think from his perspective. If you were him, how would you treat Lanlan and the others?”

“And to be honest… Lanlan and the others are more sensible than you two. Isn’t it normal that the Commander doesn’t lose his temper at them?”

“Of course, losing temper is still wrong. If you find it hard to talk to Commander Sheng, then talk to your mom. Don’t always think about throwing tantrums. Tantrums won’t solve anything.”

Back then, when she learned about the illegitimate child, she’d thrown a huge fit. But he didn’t care—no matter how much she threw a tantrum, it was useless.

She shouldn’t keep talking. These thoughts were too depressing.