Chapter 274: Mother's Little Pride

The oil pan sizzles and bubbles.

When the ingredients hit the hot oil, a Maillard reaction occurs, giving off a tempting aroma.

Yuan AiQin focuses, head down, busy, silently timing things, first pulling out the sausage and pork tenderloin to drain oil.

Then she adds the quick-cooking vegetables—enoki mushrooms, green peppers, cauliflower—to the oil pan.

She changes this canola oil every day; although it's a small business, quality and safety have always been her principle.

Especially since most of her customers are middle and primary school students, food safety must be strictly guarded.

It's precisely this integrity that has earned her many repeat customers over the years.

"Auntie, could you be a bit faster?"

"Okay, okay, it'll be ready soon."

"Auntie, please fry what I ordered first; I'll come pick it up later—I've already paid."

"Sure, sure, I'll set it aside for you."

"......"

"Two skewers of rice cake, two sausages, one pork tenderloin, one fried banana, and these... total twelve yuan fifty."

"I'll take fifty, give you thirty-seven yuan fifty cents in change—please take it."

Yuan AiQin quickly fetched change from the cash box, but the other party hesitated to take it.

She lifted her head in confusion and saw a masked officer.

After her son joined the army, she gained a slight understanding of the military system.

Although she doesn't know much, she still knows that two bars and two stars indicate a lieutenant, a cadre in the unit.

But for some reason, she felt the officer before her was somewhat familiar, yet because she was busy and dizzy, plus the noisy environment, she couldn't recall him at once.

"Mom, I'm back!"

Lu Yang couldn't hold back his smile, took off his mask, and called out to her.

Yuan AiQin didn't react at first, but once she saw Lu Yang's face clearly, she covered her mouth in surprise.

She ran over, grabbed Lu Yang's arm, and happily jumped about, so excited she could barely speak.

"Son! Oh my, you, you're not supposed to be in the unit—how did you suddenly come back?"

Yuan AiQin laughed and laughed until she cried, several times unable to stop wiping her tears.

Lu Yang hugged her and explained that the unit had approved his family visit leave.

"You could at least have called; I wasn't prepared at all—really......"

"Wasn't this meant to be a surprise for you?"

Yuan AiQin couldn't control her emotions; after her son left, she day and night hoped for his return, fearing he would suffer hardship in the unit.

But she had also heard that conscripts rarely get family visit leave, so she had never even asked over the phone whether he would come back.

Yet she never expected that the son she had day and night missed would suddenly appear before her, making her overjoyed.

But seeing more customers waiting in line beside her, she could only quickly wipe her face and return to the back of her stall to get busy.

"Stand over there; the fumes are strong here, don't let them get on you."

"It's fine, Mom; I usually do chores in the unit, I'll help you out."

Running a small business, things get busy in bursts.

Right now students are getting out of school, which is when it's busiest.

With Lu Yang helping, Yuan AiQin feels much more relaxed overall.

To the left and right, vendors selling oden and fried stinky tofu cast surprised glances.

"AiQin, this is your son, right?"

"Yeah, just got back from the unit, and as soon as I returned I came to see you!"

"Oh my, what good fortune; my own kid graduated from university years ago and still won't look for a job—if I asked him to help me, he'd refuse, saying it's embarrassing—but your son is really capable."

"Looks like he's still a cadre in the unit, very promising! Young man, how old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"In the unit, have you started dating?"

"......"

"Hahaha, don't be embarrassed; if you haven't, I'll play matchmaker and set you up."

Lu Yang's appearance not only aroused curiosity among nearby snack stall owners.

It also made the already bustling fried-skewer stall see even longer lines.

Even many people took out their phones and secretly captured this warm scene.

This is not only due to the mother's years of reputation, but also stems from trust in military mothers.

Even parents who normally don't let their kids eat snacks outside are willing to pull over and buy a skewer or two of pork tenderloin to try.

As a serviceman, Lu Yang actually knows that helping his mother in uniform while she works is somewhat improper, a slight breach of protocol.

But as a son, he also has his own motives; he hopes to bolster his mother's reputation and to see her proud smile because of him.

The number of people in line kept growing, with some even queuing on the road, causing a traffic jam.

The traffic police maintaining order arrived on a motorcycle and located the source of the congestion.

"Sister Yuan, you can't set up the stall like this—look, the road is blocked."

"Sorry, sorry, I'll pull the cart away right now."

Because she often sets up her stall here, the traffic police naturally know the nearby vendors.

Yuan AiQin also knew she was causing trouble, so she hurriedly greeted everyone and pushed her cart away from the area.

Leaving along with her were many customers still in line; some of them had come just for Lu Yang's looks.

The traffic police also noticed Lu Yang riding a tricycle, so they curiously asked: "Who is this......"

Yuan AiQin said with a face full of pride: "My son is serving in the army, and he has just returned from family leave."

"I remember, your son hasn't been in the army for long, has he?"

"Yeah, all told, it's only been a year."

"Hello, comrade."

After Lu Yang moved his tricycle to another spot, the traffic police called him over to the side to inquire about the situation.

Lu Yang also cooperated fully, taking out his officer's ID to prove his rank was genuine.

"You've only been in the army a year, and you're already an officer?"

"Yeah."

"What education did you have when you joined the unit to get promoted so fast? A bachelor's or an associate degree?"

"I graduated high school."

"You graduated high school, joined the army, and became an officer in just a year??"

Lu Yang said modestly: "The military's policies are good now, promotion opportunities are plentiful, and there are people more capable than me."

The traffic police looked utterly incredulous: "My kid is still in his first year of high school; I originally planned for him to apply to a police academy later. Looking at this, it might be better to apply to a military academy—more opportunities, better prospects!"

Twenty minutes later, all of Yuan AiQin's snack stall inventory was sold out by the customers.

These supplies were originally enough to last a day, but she didn't expect that Lu Yang's arrival would let her finish work early.

Some bold girls even went straight up to Lu Yang in front of Yuan AiQin to ask for his contact information.

Although Lu Yang politely turned them down, being hit on by girls in front of his mother was really embarrassing.

On the way back, Lu Yang pedaled the tricycle while his mother walked beside him pushing, her smile so thick it couldn't melt away.

Along the way, she asked many things about the army; all of them were about whether Lu Yang ate well, slept well, and whether the training was tiring.

Lu Yang also hadn't chatted with his mother like this in a long time; he talked as if telling a story, telling her how good the current military conditions are, trying to reassure her as much as possible.

In Longguo, parents see their children as their everything, so Lu Yang has always reported good news, not the bad.

He tries to speak as nicely as possible so they won't worry.

At the same time, he briefly recounted his meritorious service in the unit and how he had been exceptionally promoted.

Looking at the two shining stars on her son's shoulders, Yuan AiQin's heart filled with proud joy.

Back when Lu Yang failed the college entrance exam, they had even planned to send him to retake it.

As it happened, conscription came up, and Lu Yang was also willing to join the army to see what he could do.

Who would have thought that in just a short year he would actually make a name for himself, transforming from an ordinary soldier into a unit leader.

"I forgot to tell your dad—I'll call him now!"

"Mom, don't call yet."

"Why?"

"I want to give you a surprise, and also give him one."

"Okay, okay, you've got so many tricky ideas, hahaha!"

"Xiao Lin, Xiao Lin Lin!"

At Second Uncle's house, Lu Yang's cousin today had the day off, and was playing DNF in the upstairs living room.

"'Poison Milk Powder' is currently the hottest online game, bar none."

"'Eight million warriors, in a fury, blew up the Arad Continent—this is no joke.'

"What are you doing?"

Lu Lin half-took off his headphones and shouted impatiently downstairs.

Second Aunt stood on the stairs and asked: "Your cousin is back—aren't you going to see him?"

Lu Lin was intensely focused on grinding the Canopy Giant Beast: "He's back, he's back—family leave is four or five days; I'll go find him tomorrow to play. Oh dear, I'm busy right now!"

Second Aunt: "But your cousin came back wearing a lieutenant's rank."

"Nonsense!"

Lu Lin's fingers kept tapping the keyboard, unable to keep from rolling his eyes: "He's only been in the army a year—how could he be a lieutenant? You must be mistaken."

Second Aunt also wasn't sure: "What rank is one bar with two stars?"

"A lieutenant."

"Then there's no mistaking it—he even greeted me."

"What kind of joke is this?"

Lu Lin's face full of disbelief: "After one year of enlistment, at best you'd be a senior private—how could you become a lieutenant? You must have stolen a platoon leader's rank to show off."

"He's got the gall to wear it on his shoulders and strut about—if he runs into military police at the station, he's definitely done for."

Second Aunt let out an 'oh': "I don't really understand either, but I heard from his mom something something...... he'd performed meritorious service and been exceptionally promoted."

Clang!

Lu Lin fell straight off his chair.

The headset cord was yanked right out of the main unit.

Before Second Aunt could even react to what was happening, Lu Lin stopped grinding, threw on his clothes, and rushed out the door.

"How could that be?"

"How could such a low‑probability exceptional promotion happen to him?"

"He's only been in the army a year—even if he'd performed meritorious service, at most he'd get early non‑commissioned officer status; how could he become an officer?"

"I don't believe it, I don't believe it—I wouldn't believe it even if you beat me to death!"