Lan Jin walked to Ling Jiang's bedside and opened the insulated container on the table. The smell of meat porridge filled the room.
The lid doubled as a bowl, so she poured some porridge into it while saying, "You just woke up and haven't eaten in days. I didn't dare make anything else, so I made porridge. Eat this first. If you want something different, tomorrow we'll try."
Ling Jiang was starving. She didn't care what it was, as long as it filled her belly. The porridge had already cooled a bit, just warm enough to go down easily. In a few quick gulps, she finished the first bowl, then immediately downed a second. Only after finishing two bowls did her stomach finally feel comfortable. She slowed down her pace.
Lan Jin asked, "Feeling better now?"
Ling Jiang blinked, nodded, and said, "Yeah, much better."
Lan Jin paused as she poured more, then smiled. "That's good. You don't know how worried we were when you didn't wake up. Especially Lao Gao. His face looked worse than when we were keeping vigil for Grandma Ling. It was like you were about to die."
She was half-joking, and Ling Jiang, feeling much lighter now, replied in kind. "He didn't have a good childhood, and I'm a lot older than him. I basically raised him, so our bond's different. With Grandma gone, it's just the two of us left. Of course he'd worry."
Then she looked at Lan Jin. "But what about you? Didn't you worry? Didn't you keep watch for me? After everything we've gone through together, you really didn't show anything?"
"That's why I said we. We all worried." Lan Jin rolled her eyes. "Come on, I even sent Qiao Qiao to kindergarten so I could come. If I had her with me, how would I find the time? Lao Gao alone, we couldn't rest easy with him keeping watch. So during the day it was me, at night it was Xiao Huang."
"Thank you all. But I'm awake now, there's no need to keep guarding me. Tell Xiao Huang not to come."
"Forget it. You hardly ever get sick, so just let us fuss over you for once. From the way you look, you'll probably be discharged tomorrow. It's just one more night, don't refuse."
Thinking it over, Ling Jiang really didn't argue.
…
The porridge was plain, and though it filled her stomach, it wasn't satisfying. She wanted something else. She asked, "Hey, how's the cafeteria food in the Capital city base? I feel like I could eat a whole basin of rice right now."
"Cafeteria my ass. I've been cooking in the space these past days. Haven't even tried the cafeteria. And your stomach's not ready to eat by the basin, so you'll have to stay a little hungry for now."
Ling Jiang groaned. "Seriously? We've been here days and you guys didn't even try it?"
"Stop dreaming. If you're discharged tomorrow, we'll go together. But don't expect too much. No way it tastes better than our own cooking."
"Ugh."
She sighed, finished the last bowl of porridge, and that was about it for the day.
Not long after, Huang Jinghe came by. They chatted for a bit before Lan Jin went to pick up her kid from kindergarten.
For Qiao Qiao, going back to kindergarten brought mixed feelings. She was happy to play with other kids again, but sad because Grandma Ling was gone and would never come back.
The other kids didn't understand her sadness. When they saw her sighing, they tried to cheer her up. They thought their kindness would make her feel better. But it backfired. Instead of cheering her up, Qiao Qiao's gloom infected all of them. Soon the whole class was downcast.
When Lan Jin arrived, she saw a roomful of children quietly crying. If not for the strict base rules—where teachers were harshly punished for hitting or bullying kids—she'd have thought the teachers had been cruel.
After asking around, she finally learned the truth. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her kid really had a knack for causing chaos.
…
She brought Qiao Qiao home and gave her a serious talk. Negative emotions couldn't be allowed to spread to an entire class.
Luckily, Qiao Qiao listened. Especially when Lan Jin threatened her by saying she'd never see Zhou Zhi again if she kept it up.
"Mama, Qiao Qiao promise. No more. Sad, keep inside. Home cry, not school cry. Not make friends sad."
She agreed easily, but how much she truly understood was anyone's guess.
…
As expected, Ling Jiang was discharged the next day. The three of them left the hospital together and went to the cafeteria. It was lunchtime, and the place was crowded. After waiting in line, they grabbed food and sat down. The prices weren't much different from H City's. As long as people worked and didn't just lie around, it wasn't expensive.
The taste couldn't compare to Lan Jin's cooking in the space, but somehow, eating cafeteria food here gave a sense of comfort.
…
A week later, while wandering the base as usual—and after bumping into Captain Zhang for the umpteenth time—he finally lost his patience. "If you've got nothing to do, just rest. Why're you wandering around?"
"We're not wandering. We're getting to know the base."
Captain Zhang groaned. "Fine. After all this time, do you actually understand the base now? Do you know what you want to do next?"
Lan Jin leaned close and whispered, "Captain Zhang, this is the Capital city base. It's someone else's turf. Can you really make decisions for us here?"
He rolled his eyes. "Even if I'm at a different base, I still have my position. You think I can just sit around doing nothing?"
"No, we're just worried you'll be sidelined. If we ask for your help and you can't, it'll just make you feel useless. We'd feel guilty."
Captain Zhang was so annoyed he wanted to curse, but since it was Lan Jin, he swallowed it down. "When did you all start caring about me? Out with it, what's on your mind?"