A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

He walked to the table with his head down, about to ask what the leader wanted, when he looked up and saw Zhang Renfeng. He froze on the spot, his mouth agape for a long time.

"Second Uncle... Second Uncle, it's you!"

He Daqing's voice trembled, his face showed a mixture of shock and fear, and his hands unconsciously rubbed his apron.

He never expected to run into Zhang Renfeng here. This was Zhang Rende's younger brother, the commander. He had even helped out in the kitchen at Zhang Rende's wedding banquet last year.

Zhang Renfeng was also puzzled.

He remembered that He Daqing ran away in the winter in the original drama, so it turns out that he ran away last winter?

Back then, this guy was helping out with cooking in Lingjing Hutong. He was very active and helpful on the day of the wedding banquet. His older brother even praised him for his good cooking skills and honesty.

So, this person slipped away just a few days after the wedding banquet?

He abandoned his two half-grown children, Sha Zhu and He Yushui, and ran off to Baoding to raise the widow's son.

"Why did you end up in Baoding?" Zhang Renfeng put down his chopsticks and looked at him, his tone not harsh. "Don't you want your son and daughter anymore?"

Upon hearing this, He Daqing's expression froze for a moment, then he lowered his head, his voice weak:

"Second Uncle, I had no choice. That widow Bai... she's raising two children alone, her life is so hard, I..."

"What do you mean, 'you'?"

Before Zhang Renfeng could even speak, Li Yunlong, who was standing next to him, exploded.

He slammed his hand on the table, making the bowls and chopsticks jump, and pointed at He Daqing's nose, cursing:

"You son of a bitch, you're a bastard! You have your own son and daughter, and you're going to raise someone else's son? You're out of your mind!"

He Daqing was so frightened by his roar that his legs went weak and he almost knelt down, his lips trembling and unable to speak.

He knew this guy who was cursing; he was the army commander of an army stationed in Baoding!

In the past two months, this army commander has come to the machinery factory several times, and he has been extremely irritable.

Li Yunlong, enraged, slammed his hand on the table: "You probably don't know that throughout history, those who raise sons for others have all grown up to be ungrateful wretches, have you? Are you more powerful than Dorgon? Or more powerful than Zhang Juzheng? Foolish!"

He Daqing stood there, his face flushed red from the scolding. He wanted to say something in his defense but didn't dare to open his mouth. His legs were trembling like leaves.

Seeing this, Zhang Renfeng waved his hand: "Li Yunlong, what's the rush?"

"Oh! Commander, you really don't know, this kind of person is utterly despicable!"

Li Yunlong gritted his teeth, his chest heaving, unable to suppress his anger. "The people I, Li Yunlong, hate most in this life are these bastards who abandon their wives and children! They don't care about their own children and run off to be someone else's son's father. Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!"

Zhang Renfeng glanced at him but didn't reply.

He actually looked down on He Daqing's behavior, but since this was in the factory, in front of everyone, no matter how harshly he scolded him, it wouldn't solve the problem.

Zhao Gang stepped in at the right moment to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, Lao Li, say less and let the leader finish his meal first."

He stood up, took He Daqing's arm, and walked outside. "Master He, come out with me for a moment."

As they reached the canteen entrance, Zhao Gang stopped, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to He Daqing: "You prepared the commander's wedding banquet, didn't you?"

He Daqing took the cigarette, lit it with trembling hands, took a deep drag, and calmed down a bit. He looked up and sized up Zhao Gang, then suddenly recognized him: "Boss, it's you! I saw you sitting in the corner that day."

Zhao Gang's lips twitched. Damn it, sitting in the corner is enough for me to brag about for years. Who were those people who went that day?

We were already thankful that Zhao Gang didn't have to serve us tea or water.

He was a political cadre who judged people by their strengths first.

He Daqing's cooking skills are indeed excellent. Commander Zhang has praised his dishes more than once. If we could recruit him into the army as a cook, specifically responsible for the leaders' meals, that would be much better than just randomly transferring someone from the logistics department.

If the commander eats well, he can command the battle more smoothly. Besides, he's also part of the headquarters, so he might even get a few free meals.

He exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "Master He, I need to discuss something with you."

He Daqing quickly said, "Please speak freely, sir."

Zhao Gang said seriously, "Want to join the army? Come to our unit and be a cook, specifically in charge of the leaders' meals. With your skills, you can be very useful in the army."

He Daqing was taken aback for a moment, then put on a troubled expression: "Sir, I heard that the allowances for soldiers are very low, right? I heard from Master Zhang that even a high-ranking officer like my second uncle probably doesn't get 200,000 yuan a month in allowances, right? I can easily earn 40 or 50 yuan a month at the factory."

Zhao Gang was speechless upon hearing this.

This is also true.

The military now operates on a supply system, providing food, clothing, and lodging, with free medical care and preferential treatment for family members. However, in terms of cash, the amount is indeed not much.

A cadre of Zhang Renfeng's rank would only receive a little over 200,000 yuan in monthly allowances, which would only be enough to buy a few cartons of good cigarettes on the market.

He Daqing earns four to five hundred thousand yuan a month at the factory, which is much higher than the deputy commander of the production and construction corps.

Zhao Gang remained silent for a few seconds, and his desire to recruit them faded somewhat.

People are trying to earn money to support their families. Asking someone to give up a high salary to join the army and receive a low allowance is something that anyone would think twice about.

Just as he was about to say "never mind then," he suddenly caught a glimpse of two teenagers standing at the entrance of the cafeteria.

A boy of sixteen or seventeen was holding the hand of a girl of seven or eight. The girl still had tears on her face. The boy stood there motionless, his head down and his hands clenched into fists.

Zhao Gang recognized them at a glance—weren't these He Daqing's son, He Yuzhu, and his daughter, He Yushui?

I saw He Yuzhu at a wedding banquet in Lingjing Hutong last year. He Yuzhu was running around serving dishes, and He Yushui was helping to pick vegetables in the kitchen. Both of them were quite diligent.

He turned and glanced at He Daqing, who also saw the two figures at the door. His expression changed instantly, and he turned to walk into the cafeteria.

Zhao Gang grabbed his arm: "Master He, stop right there."

He Daqing was grabbed by him, struggled a couple of times but couldn't break free, his expression a mixture of embarrassment and guilt, muttering, "Boss, please don't meddle in our family matters..."

Zhao Gang ignored him, turned around and walked to the entrance of the cafeteria, looking down at Sha Zhu and He Yushui.

Sha Zhu looked up, saw Zhao Gang, paused for a moment, then lowered his head again, his voice muffled: "Hello, leader."

"What brings you here?" Zhao Gang asked.

He Yushui wiped away her tears, her voice broken, "My brother brought me to find Dad... to ask him... if he really doesn't want us anymore..."

Zhao Gang's anger suddenly surged up.

He turned to look at He Daqing, who was standing a few steps away, head down, hands behind his back, toes shuffling on the ground, looking completely indifferent.

Zhao Gang lowered his voice and said, "Come in with me."

He pulled Sha Zhu and He Yushui into the canteen and walked straight up to He Daqing.

"He Daqing, your own child has come knocking on our door, and this is the attitude you're showing? Huh?"

He Daqing looked up at Sha Zhu, then at He Yushui. His expression was complex for a moment, but he hardened his heart and said coldly:

"Go back. I have my own life to live, and I won't shortchange you a single penny. I'll send the money I owe you monthly, so stop making a scene here."

Sha Zhu stood there, looking at his father's familiar yet unfamiliar face, tears welling up in his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

He Yushui stood beside her brother, clutching the hem of his clothes, her head bowed, tears falling to the ground drop by drop.

Zhao Gang was furious at the sight.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and fixed his gaze on He Daqing's face, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable force:

"He Daqing, I don't want to interfere in your family affairs, nor do I have the right to. But your behavior is illegal. Abandoning children is a serious offense under current law. If you don't want to talk to your two children properly, then I'll have to ask the local police to intervene."

After thinking for a moment, he felt that the matter had become much easier to handle. Since you don't even care about your children, then come to the army and toughen them up.

He threw away his cigarette butt and cursed viciously, "No, I'll call the police right now, I'll throw you in jail!!!"