The state-run restaurant was at the crossroad, bustling with people.

Bicycle bells tinkled in a continuous line, and a queue for buying soy sauce formed at the entrance of the grocery store.

At noon mealtime, the hall was packed with people.

Blue cloth work clothes brushed against military satchels, and enamel mugs clanked loudly against each other.

Inside the room, a thick iron wire stretched across the roof beams, tied with two ceiling fans rotating leisurely, the breeze they spun carrying the aroma of food.

When Yu Wantang opened her eyes, what she saw was a pair of knobby, well-defined hands.

Moving further up was a meticulously tailored military uniform, the collar buttoned impeccably, the shoulder lines as straight as if measured with a ruler. He had regular features, sword-like eyebrows, a high-bridged nose, a sharp jawline, and a neat, clean-cut short haircut.

On the table sat a dish of stir-fried melon seeds and two mugs of tea, with "Glory to Labor" printed on the mugs.

The man opposite her spoke in a low voice.

"Comrade Yu, I just want to find a wife who can take care of the family."

He sat straight, hands resting on his knees, looking like he was giving a report at a meeting. "My allowance is not high; I have to support my mother and three children. They are the orphans of my fallen comrades. They are still young and at an age where they need someone to educate and take care of them."

【Ding, Task World No. 027 has finished loading.】

The system's voice rang out in Yu Wantang's mind.

【Plot Synopsis: The Original Host, Yu Wantang, was introduced to the male protagonist, Fu Zheng, for a blind date. In the original plot, seeing that Fu Zheng was handsome, the Original Host muddle-headedly married him, entered the household to take care of three fallen comrades' orphans for him, and waited on his mother-in-law. During this time, the Original Host inadvertently made contributions twice: smashing an enemy spy liaison group and rescuing Commander Xu's abducted grandson. From then on, Fu Zheng rose rapidly to power, advancing step by step. Meanwhile, the Original Host managed the entire household, and coupled with injuries sustained while saving people, she fell chronically ill and died young of overwork.】

【Just as the Original Host breathed her last, Fu Zheng married someone else and lived happily to old age.】

【Task: Change the Original Host's ending of dying young.】

Yu Wantang picked up her teacup and blew away the floating foam.

"So this time, I've come to be a free blood bag again."

She usually found these kinds of short-drama plots extremely annoying.

The female lead time-travels, sees that the male lead is handsome, turns weak in the knees, loses her brains, and her eyes light up as she fights to raise other people's children, acting like she has never seen a man before.

To put it bluntly, being a stepmother is nothing glorious.

Seeing her remain silent, Fu Zheng opposite her assumed she was frightened by this candid confession, and his tone softened a bit.

"Don't be afraid of hardship. Once the children are older, life will get better."

Yu Wantang put down her teacup.

"Comrade Fu, I'm sorry." She smiled politely yet distantly, "I'm still young and have no interest in instant motherhood."

Fu Zheng's hand holding the teacup paused.

With this face of his, no matter where he went, people praised him for looking upright, and what was rare was that this time he had taken a fancy to someone.

"Think my allowance is too low?"

"It's not that it's too low." Yu Wantang interrupted him, her tone sincere, "It's just that the position in your family is one I cannot take on."

Just as Fu Zheng was about to speak, a girl rushed in with two large braids tied with red ribbons at the ends, her chest heaving from running.

"Comrade Fu!"

"I heard everything outside... Cousin, how can you talk like that!"

【Ding! Warning!】

The system's voice suddenly pitched higher.

【Detected that the Original Host's cousin, Lin Chuntao, has been reborn and carries memories of her past life!】

Yu Wantang raised an eyebrow.

So, she ran over right on time to snatch the opportunity.

Lin Chuntao said in a low voice, "Comrade Fu, don't take it to heart. My cousin didn't mean it like that. She just, she just hasn't thought it through yet..."

She sniffed, lifted those watery eyes of hers, and looked utterly sincere.

"Actually, if my cousin is unwilling, I am willing! I love children the most! Entrust the three children to me, and I will cherish them as if they were my own. I can take good care of them!"

She spoke with genuine feeling and sincerity.

The way Fu Zheng looked at her changed.

Yu Wantang sneered inwardly.

One actively wants to be a free babysitter, and the other is just in need of a free babysitter. They truly are a match made in heaven.

She abruptly stood up.

At this, both Fu Zheng and Lin Chuntao looked at her.

Seeing her expression solemn, she grabbed both of their hands, one on each side, lifted their arms, and firmly pressed them together, pressing them so tightly that not a gap remained.

"That's wonderful!"

Yu Wantang's voice was loud and clear, every word clanging with force, and the entire hall could hear her clearly.

"My cousin has deep affection for Comrade Fu, and is willing to forgo bridal gifts and salary to wait on the entire family. What a noble sentiment! I, Yu Wantang, will never play the villain who breaks up a mandarin duck couple!"

"You two are a perfect match! I wish you an early birth of a precious child, so I won't disturb the two of you any further!"

With that, she clapped her hands, picked up her satchel, and left.

In the hall, Fu Zheng maintained the posture of having his hand held, forgetting to pull it back.

Lin Chuntao looked at him, her face displaying bashfulness.

Four or five heads stretched out from the adjacent table, looking at each other before uniformly retracting.

Moments later, discussions broke out everywhere.

"Oh my, how handsome that young man in the military uniform is! And that girl just threw him away without a second thought!"

"If you ask me, that girl is shrewd! I heard that family has three motherless children and an old mother-in-law to wait on. Entering the door means becoming a stepmother right away. It's totally normal that the girl isn't willing!"

"That girl with the braids must not be clear in the head, fighting to become a stepmother. What on earth is she plotting for?"

"She's after that military uniform, of course!" Someone lowered their voice, but it wasn't suppressed at all, "Hey, I heard officers have high salaries!"

"There are a lot of people in the family, didn't you hear about the three boys? Half-grown boys can eat their father into poverty."

One person chiming in after another, the gossip grew livelier and livelier, like an opened floodgate.

Unsurprisingly, all these words drifted into the ears of the two people.

Lin Chuntao desperately wanted to shout out loud that this was Yu Wantang lacking blessings!

Yet in front of Fu Zheng, she could only swallow those words down along with her saliva, turning her head to flash a bashful smile at Fu Zheng while twisting the end of her braid in circles over and over again.

"Comrade Fu, everything I just said was sincere. I don't want bridal gifts, nor do I want the three rounds and a sound."

Fu Zheng lowered his head to look at her, his Adam's apple moving.

"Comrade Lin," he said, "you're a good girl."

A good girl.

Lin Chuntao felt a warmth in her heart.

It's a success!

What kind of person Fu Zheng was, she knew all too well.

In her past life, she had heard this name while lying on a sickbed.

The imposing Regiment Commander Fu lived in a small Western-style house, had a car when going out, and who in the compound didn't call him Chief Fu when they saw him? Yet that idiot Yu Wantang had good luck, seizing the person a step ahead, but lacked the blessing to hold onto such overwhelming wealth, needlessly wearing herself to death.

All for nothing, benefiting someone else.

In this lifetime, Yu Wantang pushed the person out herself, and this wealth was something she, Lin Chuntao, would reach out and catch!

From now on, let's see who dares to look down on her! Let's see who dares to say behind her back that she's not good enough!

Once Fu Zheng got promoted, the house in the Military Region compound, the car, and the days where people bowed and scraped when they saw her would all be hers!

The more she thought about it, the happier she became, the corners of her eyes and brows brimming with undisguised smiles, and she tightened her grip on Fu Zheng's hand even more.

"Comrade Fu, then let's go get our marriage certificate today."

Fu Zheng neither agreed nor disagreed; he simply pulled his hand out from her palm, turned around, and walked toward the counter.

"Comrade, check out."