He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of several military wives who had been listening intently to the commotion changed.

"Feed? That's a really scary way to put it..."

"What if it's true? Xiao An is only six years old. What if she gets sick from eating it..."

"Shen Tang comes from the countryside, who knows where she got all that random stuff from..."

Whispers spread instantly, and some people began to look at Shen Tang with suspicious eyes.

Lin Qiaozhen's face paled for a moment, and she subconsciously gripped the bowl in her hand tighter.

Wang Xiulian was trembling with anger and was about to retort when a calm and unhurried voice sounded behind her.

"feed?"

Shen Tang, carrying a basket of vegetables she had just picked from the flower bed, walked over at some point. She put the basket down, patted the dirt off her hands, and looked at Bai Wei with a half-smile.

"Nurse Bai, did you learn your hospital's nutrition program through the same channel as your nursing license?"

Bai Wei's face stiffened. Remembering the humiliation of being disciplined by the dean, she glared fiercely at Shen Tang: "Stop talking nonsense! I'm talking about your sauce! It's as yellow as dye. You dare say there wasn't some weird stuff added to it?"

"That golden-yellow stuff is called turmeric," Shen Tang said calmly, her tone as composed as if she were lecturing a student. "According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, turmeric is warm in nature and pungent in taste, entering the spleen and liver meridians. It has the effects of promoting blood circulation, regulating qi, and relieving pain. Modern research has also proven that curcumin can promote gastric juice secretion, increase appetite, and has an auxiliary effect on the recovery of spleen and stomach weakness after illness."

She held up her fingers, counting them one by one: "Besides turmeric, I also used cloves—to warm the middle and relieve nausea, specifically for treating spleen and stomach deficiency and cold; cardamom—to dispel dampness and promote qi circulation, and to stimulate appetite and digestion; fennel—to dispel cold and relieve pain, and to harmonize the stomach and regulate qi. These are all legitimate spices that are both food and medicine. For patients with colds, using turmeric with ginger can also induce sweating and relieve exterior symptoms. Which one is animal feed? Which one is an additive? Nurse Bai, point it out to me."

Bai Wei was overwhelmed by a barrage of traditional Chinese medicine terms, and her lips moved for a long time, but she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

"Moreover—" Shen Tang tilted her head slightly, her tone meaningful, "all the spices I used are from the military region's First Regiment's mess hall inventory. Star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds—the seasonings for the braised pork and braised eggs that the soldiers eat every day are all there."

She paused, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Nurse Bai means that what our military mess hall feeds the soldiers is all animal feed?"

"Boom—" These words exploded like a bomb in the crowd.

The military wives' expressions changed instantly—their husbands and sons ate in the canteen every day! Wasn't this insulting everyone?

"Bai Wei, can't you watch your mouth?!" A military wife was the first to react, glaring at Bai Wei. "What's wrong with the food in the canteen? My man eats it every day! You're saying it's animal feed?"

"Exactly! What nonsense are you spouting!"

"Hey Nurse Bai, you can even pick up the wrong IV bag yourself, and you have the nerve to accuse others of using animal feed for cooking?"

Bai Wei never expected that her casual remark about "feed" would cause such a huge uproar. Her face turned pale and then red, and she jumped up and down in a panic: "I...I didn't mean that! I meant the things she added herself—"

"The turmeric and cardamom I added are more expensive than the star anise and cinnamon in the cafeteria," Shen Tang added casually. "If Nurse Bai doesn't believe me, she can ask Squad Leader Wang. He was watching the whole time I was making the curry sauce at noon today."

Just then, Squad Leader Wang, carrying a net bag of radishes, walked over from the direction of the canteen. Hearing the commotion, he came over and asked a question.

Upon hearing Bai Wei say that Shen Tang's sauce was "like animal feed," Squad Leader Wang immediately became agitated, slapping his thigh and widening his eyes: "What are you talking about?! The curry sauce that Sister Shen makes uses all the spices from my canteen's cabinet! I watched her stir-fry them one by one with my own eyes! Star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds—aren't those the soldiers eat every day? You're saying this is animal feed? Then have I, Old Wang, been feeding pigs to the People's Liberation Army for the past twenty years?!"

Bai Wei was caught in a three-way attack by a canteen supervisor, a group of military wives, and Shen Tang, leaving her completely drained of color. Her lips trembled as she tried to say something, but in the end, she couldn't utter a single word. She covered her face and ran away.

Behind them, the military wives chattered amongst themselves, the topic quickly shifting from "Is there something wrong with Shen Tang's sauce?" to "Is Bai Wei trustworthy?"

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"I told you long ago, that Nurse Bai never tells the truth! First she said Shen Tang seduced Commander Mu, now she's saying they use animal feed in their cooking—which of that is true?"

"Exactly! Even Dr. Chen has approved it, but she just had to interfere!"

Shen Tang ignored these things and focused her attention back on Lin Qiaozhen's problem.

"As for what you said about the child not eating vegetables—" Shen Tang looked at Lin Qiaozhen, her tone confident, "Problems are solved one by one. Getting him to eat solid food is the first step; as for getting him to eat vegetables, I have ways to do that too."

"Really?" Lin Qiaozhen's eyes lit up. "What method?"

Shen Tang didn't answer immediately. She hadn't actually figured out the specifics of how to do it yet—she knew she wanted to make the vegetables "fun," but she only had a vague idea of ​​how to do it.

"Give me some time to think about it. Don't worry, sister-in-law, I've got it covered."

That evening, Shen Tang went to Wang Xiulian's house to give her her third acupuncture treatment.

Wang Xiulian's house wasn't big, but it was clean and tidy. On the kang table were several military training manuals by Zhao Dahai, and next to them were a few pencils and a child's exercise book—those were left there by Hu Zi from next door.

While giving Wang Xiulian acupuncture, Shen Tang waited for the moxibustion to be applied. Her gaze inadvertently swept over the open homework book, and she suddenly stopped.

The notebook contained a few crooked, simple drawings—a five-pointed star, a small flower, and a rabbit. Next to it, written crookedly in pencil, were the words "My Favorite Thing."

Shen Tang stared at the few naive patterns, and a flash of inspiration struck her as her mind went blank.

Stars. Little flowers. Little rabbit.

Suddenly, images of Japanese bento boxes she'd seen on short videos in her past life flashed through her mind—delicate lunchboxes with carrots cut into flower shapes, cucumbers pressed into stars, and even broccoli trimmed into the shape of small trees. The comments section was filled with "Who could bear to eat this?" and "I'd eat vegetables every day if you gave it to me."

If you slice carrots, white radishes, and potatoes into thin slices and then use molds to press out shapes like stars, flowers, and bunnies—then for children, they are no longer "disliked vegetables," but "edible toys"!

Children are naturally drawn to cute shapes. When vegetables are transformed into five-pointed stars, little flowers, and tiny rabbits, and then drizzled with golden curry sauce—how could they possibly resist?

"Sister-in-law! Do you have any tin cans at home?" Shen Tang stood up, her eyes shining.