Chapter 274: Shameless, so realistic!

With the person she usually shared a bed with gone, Shen Man tossed and turned all night, suffering a rare bout of insomnia.

The little ones didn't feel a thing and slept until dawn.

Once their biological clocks woke them, they would just wail a few times to signal to the adults that they were hungry, wet, or had soiled themselves.

In the past, their father would get up early, so she hadn't had to worry much.

Starting today, it was her turn, and Shen Man finally felt the chaos.

No wonder so many military wives said raising children was hard; she had barely even started!

Having many children had its troubles, and having few children had its own.

People were just never satisfied with the present.

Shen Man and Pei Yan Ting still had to go to work, so after a simple breakfast and feeding the children, the house was left to their respective grandfathers.

Elder Lu and Elder Pei were in no rush; before long, a group of old friends came to support them.

A dozen old men taking care of three nursing babies—no panic here.

Additionally, there were a few new familiar faces in the crowd.

They had only recently moved to the Sea Island's Cadre Rest Home; those in the know understood that when they first arrived on the island, they would be dazzled by the island's unique recreational activities like beachcombing, picking up seafood, fishing, and picking fruit.

Once they had finished eating, drinking, and playing, they finally remembered to visit their old brother, Lu Changjun.

Seeing the "left and right embrace" good life their old brother was living, their eyes turned green with envy.

These three nursing babies, a pair of dragon-phoenix twins, were majestic and graceful.

The other little girl was tiger-headed and tiger-brained, smiling in a way that made people love her.

Upon asking, they were all the children of their old brother's grandson and granddaughter; this meant three great-grandchildren at once—great-grandchildren were grandchildren too!

It was enough to make anyone envious!

Then look at this courtyard: it had a well, an independent bathroom, and a television in the living room!

Tsk, no wonder Old Brother Lu wouldn't return to the rest home; so that was why!

"Old Brother Lu, your life is going so well, why didn't you call me over?"

Look, someone was unhappy, pulling a long face and starting to settle scores.

"Old Brother Xu, your family is harmonious and your descendants are filial; why would I call you? Isn't it good to enjoy your blessings at home?"

Elder Lu was unconcerned, shaking a rattle to tease his great-granddaughter.

"You say that, as if your family..."

Elder Xu wanted to retort but found himself stuck.

Come to think of it, the other party had a point.

"Since you're here, as an elder, come, come, let me see what gifts you brought for my great-grandchildren."

Elder Lu's main strategy was to pluck feathers from every passing goose; if an old friend showed up at his door, he wouldn't be surnamed Lu if he didn't peel a layer of skin off them!

"Hmph, do you think I don't know your character?"

Elder Xu sneered, but his hand went into his pocket and pulled out a stack of coupons.

"Here, knowing you have nursing babies at home, I exchanged for a stack of coupons before coming. That's decent enough, right?"

Following Elder Xu's lead, the other three also took out their gifts.

They were all coupons, mostly for milk powder, with a few scattered cloth coupons.

"Enough, enough, enough. Stay for lunch. My granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law both work at the Military Region Hospital and won't be back until dinner."

"You don't need to be reserved. It's just us old men in the courtyard; do as you please."

Elder Lu was grinning from ear to ear; with so many coupons, it was enough for his three babies to drink milk powder for several months!

Of course, while his words were pretty, the subtext was actually: when it's time to cook, everyone pitch in; don't eat for free.

Those who could play together were all sharp as tacks.

They weren't surprised by Elder Lu's words.

Those who hadn't held the three babies consciously washed their hands before coming over to hold the milky little ones.

They were truly tiny bundles, but their features were exquisite, showing the excellent genes of their parents.

"Old Lu, where are your grandson and granddaughter-in-law? We haven't met your granddaughter-in-law yet."

"That's right. It doesn't matter if we don't see that rascal Xiu Bai, but we've heard about your granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law, but haven't seen them."

"Sigh, my granddaughter-in-law and grandson both went on missions. There's no set return date, and I don't know what the mission is, but they won't be back for a while."

"As for my granddaughter, she has to work during the day. When the weekend comes, you all come over, have a meal together, and get to know each other."

Elder Lu tucked the coupons into his pocket, his tone and attitude much warmer than at the beginning.

Yes, he was just that realistic!

The old foxes and honest men present all complained in their hearts:

Shameless, so realistic!

Elder Pei held his great-granddaughter and hid away, so he couldn't be seen...

Reuniting with old friends naturally meant laughing and joking, but they didn't joke about serious matters.

The two sides closed the doors and began to talk about the situation.

Elder Pei and the others weren't interested in politics, but that didn't stop them from listening in.

The task of childcare was mainly left to them.

The others spoke about political matters, and the atmosphere grew heavier as they talked.

This year, one after another, old leaders had been feeling unwell and passing away one by one.

Now, that person was also...

Actually, they had heard that Old Lu's health was getting better and better on the Sea Island, and they had thoughts of sending the old leader here too, but for various reasons, it had been shelved, and now the old leader's health was getting worse and worse...

Elder Xu and the others retired this year and applied to be transferred to the Sea Island to recuperate, as did the others.

Humans, after all, were social animals.

The situation in the Capital was far from as calm as it looked on the surface.

They couldn't stay there; they couldn't continue to stay.

Retiring now was a strategic retreat, the optimal solution to save their lives and their families.

Politics was very sensitive; they couldn't afford to gamble!

"Iyayaya."

The rattle Xiao Nuomi was chewing on fell to the ground, breaking the deadlock.

The old men, who had been heavy-hearted, all came back to their senses.

"Never mind. We are all old men in the twilight of our years, with one foot in the grave. We don't have the ability or the qualifications to participate in these matters."

"In a word: obey the Party's arrangements."

Elder Lu bent down, squatted, picked up the rattle, wiped it clean with a towel, and then, with a smile, handed it back to his great-granddaughter.

In their youth, they were full of blood and heroic fearlessness.

In middle age, they were arrogant, but after a bucket of cold water was poured on them, they wouldn't turn back until they hit the south wall.

Now that they were old, they suddenly understood.

Everything in this world was not necessarily black and white, and there wasn't as much justice in people's hearts as they thought.

Those in power needed to weigh the pros and cons; every decision affected the nation's destiny for a hundred years.

In the face of national interests, national development, and the country itself, personal love, emotion, and gains or losses were not important.

The reason a sage was a sage was simply that their heart was pure to the laws of heaven, without the clutter of human desire.

For the sake of the nation's destiny for a hundred years, for the peace of China, sacrifice was necessary; it was what pushed history forward...

The old men present all fell silent.

Those who understood and those who didn't all fell silent.

They thought of themselves, of their struggle for most of their lives; their so-called strategic planning was nothing more than a snap of the fingers, and when they opened their eyes again, they were already so old.

People must accept that they are old.

The future belonged to the young... ===== CHAPTER 275 =====