At the military's group wedding, my best friend and I swapped husbands.

Chapter 49 Critique Conference

"We can finish it!" Lin Weiwei said. "There are plenty of people to help with the housework."

"Alright!" The plump woman calculated the bill. "Four servings of braised pork noodles, 1.2 yuan each, 4.8 yuan; braised chicken, 3.5 yuan; braised pork, 2.8 yuan; scrambled eggs, 1.2 yuan; cabbage and tofu soup, 6 mao; steamed buns, 1 mao each, 10 for 1 yuan. Total... 13.9 yuan, food coupons and meat coupons are separate."

Lin Weiwei handed over the money and tickets.

The plump woman counted and nodded: "Wait, it has to be made fresh, it will take about half an hour."

"Okay, we'll wait."

The two found a table against the wall and sat down.

The restaurant was bustling with people playing drinking games, chatting, and rushing to order their food; it was noisy.

When Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan came out of the state-run restaurant carrying bags of food, there was still a touch of orange-red sunset on the horizon.

The oil paper package was tightly bound with rope, weighing heavily on my hand, and the rich aroma of meat mixed with the fragrance of flour kept wafting out.

"It smells so good," Lin Weiwei sniffed. "I feel like I could eat a whole cow right now."

Su Wanwan carefully carried the enamel mug containing the soup. The lid was tied tightly with a rope, but it still wobbled a little. "Walk slowly, don't spill it."

The two quickened their pace and hurried back.

When they saw their own yard from afar, they could see the last piece of tarpaulin being laid on the roof, and Zhao Dayong was hammering nails to secure it.

"You're back?" Chen Jianjun, with his sharp eyes, jumped down from the wall, dusted off his hands, and exclaimed, "Wow, you bought so much!"

Lin Weiwei placed the food on the broken wooden table in the yard. "Thank you all for your hard work. Quickly wash your hands and eat while it's hot!"

Bai Rongbei and Bai Si'an also walked over from the toilet area.

Bai Si'an still dared not move his right arm much, so he used his left hand to carry a basin of water for everyone to wash their hands.

Bai Rongbei's face was covered in a mixture of sweat, cement, and dust. He hastily wiped his face with the water from the basin.

Su Wanwan opened the oil paper packages one by one. The aroma of the braised pork noodles, the spiciness of the braised chicken, the richness of the braised pork, and the freshness of the scrambled eggs were mixed together, making one's stomach rumble.

Ten large, soft, and warm white steamed buns, wrapped in a cloth, were still steaming.

"This...this is too much of a waste." Liu Aiguo rubbed his hands, a little embarrassed.

"It's no trouble at all," Lin Weiwei said deftly, distributing chopsticks. "Thanks to everyone's help today, we deserve to eat something nice! Please sit down!"

The men stopped being polite, sat down around the table, and started eating.

Zhao Dayong ate with loud slurping, while Chen Jianjun picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth, squinting his eyes in satisfaction.

Liu Aiguo was rather refined, but he still ate until his forehead was sweating.

Bai Rongbei placed a large piece of chicken into Su Wanwan's bowl before lowering his head to eat his noodles.

Bai Si'an's right hand was not very convenient, and he was a little awkward holding chopsticks with his left hand. Lin Weiwei noticed this and handed him a spoon: "Use this."

Bai Si'an took the spoon without saying a word, but the tips of his ears turned a little red.

Su Wanwan ate her noodles in small bites, glancing occasionally at the toilet in the yard that was already taking shape.

The red brick walls were built straight, and the roof felt was laid flat. Although the doors hadn't been installed or the interior walls plastered yet, the shape was already visible.

Her heart was brimming with a sense of peace and contentment.

By the time we finished eating, it was already getting dark.

Chen Jianjun and the others helped tidy up the tools, chatted and laughed for a few more minutes, and then said goodbye and left.

The courtyard fell silent, leaving only the four of them.

Lin Weiwei pulled Su Wanwan to the toilet and, using the last bit of daylight, circled the small building.

"Wanwan, look how spacious it is here!" Lin Weiwei gestured. "We can partition it up a bit, have a squat toilet here, and over there... we'll put a curtain and a big basin, then we can take a bath!"

Su Wanwan's eyes sparkled: "We can nail a few wooden pegs to the wall to hang towels and clothes. And here by the door, we can put a small stool for a toothbrush and a tooth mug..."

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's add a small window for ventilation!" Lin Weiwei became more and more excited as she spoke. "Once it's completely finished in a couple of days, we'll be the first to use it!"

The two sisters chattered excitedly, their faces full of anticipation and joy, as if this was no longer a simple place to satisfy their physiological needs, but part of the first "little home" they had helped build with their own hands on this Gobi Desert.

Bai Rongbei and Bai Si'an stood not far away watching.

In the dim light, the figures of two girls skipped and hopped about, their clear laughter drifting over.

Bai Rongbei's lips twitched almost imperceptibly upwards, while Bai Si'an pushed up his glasses, revealing a soft light in his eyes behind the lenses.

After a long day, my shoulders are still aching and my arms are so sore I can barely lift them.

Seeing how happy they were, Bai Si'an felt that all the hard work of building each brick and tile was worth it.

Bai Rongbei didn't speak, but he felt a slight relaxation in a part of his heart that had been tense all along.

Just then, hurried footsteps and shouts came from outside the compound: "Commander Bai! Technician Bai! The regimental headquarters has issued an emergency meeting. All officers and their families must assemble immediately in the auditorium!"

All four of them were taken aback.

Are family members also going?

"Do you know what happened?" Bai Rongbei asked the young soldier who had run over to deliver the message in a deep voice.

The young soldier, panting, said, "I don't know. The division commander ordered an emergency assembly, saying... saying there was an important announcement, and family members had to be present."

He paused, then lowered his voice and added, "I think I heard... it has something to do with your two families, and the atmosphere isn't quite right."

The young soldier finished speaking and ran off to notify the next family.

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan exchanged a glance, their hearts skipping a beat.

They tried desperately to recall the plot of the book, but they couldn't remember this part at all.

Will the Bai brothers be publicly criticized recently?

Could it be because of those rumors?

But logically speaking, Bai Rongbei and the other person shouldn't know this yet.

"Let's go." Bai Rongbei's expression remained unchanged as he lifted his foot and walked out, as if he knew there would be a meeting tonight.

Bai Si'an followed immediately.

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan quickly gathered up the dishes, locked the door, and jogged after them.

The auditorium was brightly lit and already packed with people.

The officials sat in the front row, while their family members sat in the back, whispering and discussing amongst themselves.

The air was thick with a tense, almost spectator-like atmosphere.

Wang Xiuying and Li Jianguo sat near the front of the family quarters. Wang Xiuying sat up straight, but her eyes kept glancing towards the door.

As soon as Bai Rongbei and his group of four entered, almost all eyes turned to them, and Lin Weiwei felt those gazes pricking her like needles.

She straightened her back and gripped Su Wanwan's hand tightly.

They sat down in the empty seats reserved in the front row.

Soon, the division commander and several leaders walked onto the stage.