A domineering country girl flirts with her son, and Commander Huo can't resist.

Huo Jiyun placed his hands on her shoulders. "We wanted to make four, but the grain of the other woods is different from these three, so they don't look like a set."

"You're quite particular." Joan opened the wooden box and smelled the fragrance of elm wood.

Do you like it?

"I love it, I love it so much!"

Joan made a gesture of hugging forward, embracing the three wooden boxes into her arms.

"This wooden box is for storing money, this wooden box is for tickets, and this last one... is for jewelry."

After saying this, Huo Jiyun felt a little guilty. Qiao An had no jewelry on her body and was completely naked.

He was indeed irresponsible as a husband.

The women in the military compound at least had some gold jewelry or something.

Huo Jiyun looked at the empty wooden box and made a mental note of it.

Joanne didn't think much of it. She gently stroked the carvings on the wooden box. "Did you carve all of these?"

"Yes, I worked as a carpenter before joining the army, so I know a little bit."

"It's so beautiful."

Qiao An was very happy that Huo Jiyun had this thought.

She used to think her husband was optional, but now she cherishes him a little.

He's handsome, gentle, considerate, and even risked his life to save me. It would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted.

Qiao An rolled her eyes, turned around, and kissed Huo Jiyun's cheek lightly.

The sudden softness and warmth caught Huo Jiyun off guard. By the time he came to his senses, Qiao An had already run to the kitchen to cook.

"Dad, why is your face so red?" Huo Ning looked up and asked curiously.

Huo Chen stared at his face, which was now red all the way down to his neck.

Only Huo Fang covered her mouth and chuckled.

My second aunt is really something; she completely captivated my second uncle in an instant.

When Qiao An brought the meal into the house, Huo Jiyun's expression was still pale.

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"Let's eat."

"Hey! Hey!" Huo Jiyun hurriedly grabbed the bowl and chopsticks, dropping them in the process.

"Aunt Liu has hired two helpers who will come to help at her house tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on things at home, don't worry," Huo Jiyun said, slurping his noodles.

"How's the missing persons case going?" Huo Jiyun suddenly asked.

Qiao An slowly put down her chopsticks. "Qin Lili is dead."

Huo Jiyun looked up. "Just as you thought, it's her husband..."

"No, Chief Jiang and the others are still investigating. The autopsy report results are very..." Qiao An was about to say something when she remembered that the children were still there.

Huo Jiyun understood and immediately changed the subject, starting to talk about the local customs and culture of the Northwest.

Once the children were playing on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the side room, Qiao An told Huo Jiyun the autopsy results.

After hearing this, his eyes darkened, and a murderous aura emerged, making him look somewhat like a living Yama on the battlefield.

"Chief Jiang and the others didn't go home today; they're working overtime at the station. Everyone wants to solve this case before the New Year and give Qin Lili some closure," Qiao An sighed.

If Li Erbiao didn't kill the person, then who could it be? There are only three people in their family.

Joan lifted her eyelids, and the fog in her mind suddenly dissipated.

Li Erbiao's father!

Li Erbiao said his father treated Qin Lili like his own daughter.

If she truly treated her like her own daughter, would she tolerate her son's domestic violence against her?

An old man whose wife died many years ago suddenly finds himself with a beautiful young wife...

It wasn't that Joan was thinking of people in a dark way.

That's just human nature.

Once the idea appeared, it began to climb uncontrollably and eventually took over her entire mind.

Huo Jiyun noticed her strange expression. "What are you thinking about?"

Joanne shook her head. "It's nothing."

This was just her guess, and she couldn't tell Huo Jiyun that.

As the year drew to a close, the work in the production brigade became much less strenuous, and many families began cleaning. Those with money would go to town to buy melon seeds, fruit, and candy to celebrate the New Year.

Qiao An had just finished preparing the fillings for the day when Aunt Liu arrived with her entourage.

Jiang Xiaoyan and Li Qiuping looked at the clean and tidy courtyard and Qiao An, who was dressed in a fashionable outfit, and gave each other a kind smile.

"There aren't many rules when working in our house, but since we're dealing with food that goes into our mouths, it has to be kept clean."

"As for wages and such, Aunt Liu should have told you all about them. I certainly won't treat you all unfairly."

Jiang Xiaoyan had been married into Lianchi Village for less than a year. She didn't know Qiao An well before, but in the past month, she kept hearing her mother-in-law say that Qiao An was arrogant and domineering and a wicked woman.

When Aunt Liu found her, she was still feeling uneasy.

But when I saw him in person today, he seemed quite kind and approachable.

"We all know, don't worry, we definitely won't hold you back," Jiang Xiaoyan said with a loud laugh.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you."

Qiao An said goodbye to Huo Jiyun and left home.

She always kept a precise amount of noodles for Aunt Liu each day, and wasn't worried that they might steal them.

After delivering meals to the armed forces department and the machine tool factory, Qiao An went to the police station.

It was not even nine o'clock yet when Qiao An noticed that the lights in the cafeteria were on.

Upon entering, one could see Jiang Yushun fiddling with something in the back kitchen.

"Chief Jiang, what are you doing?"

Qiao An's words startled Jiang Yushun.

"Hey, I slept at the office yesterday. I'm hungry this morning, so I wanted to see what's available in the canteen."

Qiao An still had dozens of steamed buns left in her space. She reached into her handbag and took out three large steamed buns that were already packed.

"Chief Jiang, I have a few steamed buns here, please have some."

Jiang Yushun's eyes lit up when he saw the white steamed buns, and he picked them up and started eating.

Qiao An poured him some water, afraid he would choke.

"Chief Jiang, how's Qin Lili's case going?"

Jiang Yushun's expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon hearing this.

"We interrogated them again overnight. During the time Qin Lili died, Li Erbiao was working outside. There are witnesses. He is not the murderer."

"Li Erbiao's father went out to play cards with his friends that day, and there are witnesses to that."

"Playing cards?" Qiao An tilted her head, thought for a few seconds, "Is Li Erbiao's family very wealthy?"

"Their family is anything but wealthy; they're so poor that the father and son share one pair of cotton-padded trousers in winter," Jiang Yushun said, pursing his lips and shaking his head.

"Why is he still going to gamble? Shouldn't he be working hard to earn work points for the New Year?"

"Hey, do you know what a lazybones is?" Jiang Yushun said with a disdainful expression. "A lazybones would rather freeze to death than be fed charcoal."

"Qin Lili usually does the housework in their family."

"Poor girl, how could she marry such a jerk!"

Joan's suspicions were once again dispelled; both of them had witnesses, so it seemed the murderer wasn't them.

As they were talking, He Hua led a little girl dressed in tattered clothes into the kitchen.

"Joan, do you have anything suitable for children to eat?"

The little girl looked younger than Huo Ning, with a dark face and messy hair like a bird's nest.

The cotton-padded coat he was wearing had several holes in it, and the cotton wadding had all escaped.

"she is..."

"Qin Lili's daughter, Li Lannu."

"What?" The moment Qiao An heard the name, a fire ignited in her chest.

Who would name their child like that?

Li Lannu looked timidly at the adults in front of her, remaining silent.

Looking into the little girl's innocent, big eyes, Qiao An felt a touch of tenderness in her heart.

She turned around and went to the kitchen to steam an egg custard.

When Li Lannu saw the steamed egg custard on the table, her mouth watered so much that it reached her chin, but she didn't dare to touch it.