Little Baldy was even more popular with the troops than before.
He was already well-liked, but now, he was simply unbeatable; wherever he went, people touched his shiny head, listened to his complaints about how Lu Jiang forced him to shave his hair off, joined him in righteous indignation against Lu Jiang, and then stuffed him with food and drink.
Lu Jiang didn’t allow everyone to buy expensive food for Xibao, but treating Xibao to a meal was surely okay, right?
Little Stone was older and craftier, and he knew that following Xibao around would always result in some treats, so whenever it was rest time, he would seek out Xibao to play. When he saw Xibao’s figure, he immediately stopped bragging about his great achievements and vigorously waved to Xibao—he hadn’t forgotten that Feng Qingxue had mentioned Xibao having high-quality milk candy.
Xibao was like a walking, talking Treasure Box, always carrying some tasty treats in his pockets.
"Xibao, Xibao, come on, let’s play!" Little Stone’s voice boomed.
Xibao was still brooding over the issue with the bugs biting people and seemed indifferent to Little Stone’s call.
If Xibao won’t come to me, I’ll go to Xibao.
Little Stone, with a bunch of kids in tow, came running over, shouting as they went.
"Little Stone, is your stomach not hurting anymore?" Feng Qingxue asked.
Little Stone rubbed his belly, "I pooped out a lot of worms, and then my stomach stopped hurting. Auntie Snow, your candy is really magical; give me another piece to poop out all the worms."
"Auntie Snow, we want candy too!"
"My stomach hurts, do I have worms too? Can I have a piece of candy to poop them out?"
A group of children chattered all at once, startling Fubao, who looked around from one to the other, finally making a disgusted face and flopping down on Feng Qingxue’s lap, opening her arms in a gesture asking to be held.
Feng Qingxue, going with the flow, held her in her arms and said to Little Stone, "I’ve said it before, you can’t just take medicine recklessly."
Having said that, she addressed the other children, "I don’t have so many Pagoda Sugars on hand, but I’ll ask the hospital later if they have any in stock. If they do, we’ll distribute them to you all at once. However, if you foster good hygiene habits, like making sure to wash your hands before meals, then you won’t get stomach aches."
Since roundworm infestations are a common ailment, the state would arrange for the distribution of Pagoda Sugar, but treatment is not as crucial as prevention. Later, she’d suggest that the military hospital hold hygiene seminars for the families on base to spread awareness about hygiene knowledge.
A number of the military families were illiterate rural women like Mrs. Lu Zhaodi, who accepted their ignorance as normal.
Not able to bear the children’s disappointed expressions at the prospect of missing out on Pagoda Sugar, Feng Qingxue instructed Xibao to give each child a piece of candy.
After handing out the candy and watching the children depart, Xibao turned out his limp pockets and was quite upset.
"Gone!" He didn’t have any candy for himself.
Ye Zhengjun, who was out for a walk, had witnessed everything and came over with a smile, "When I get my pay next month, I’ll buy you a big pack!"
"Comrade Colonel Ye," greeted Feng Qingxue and Du Xiaotao simultaneously. He had returned at the beginning of July, but Commander Chen hadn’t come back. Rumor had it that he had been transferred to the Southeast Military Region, and currently, the position of commander was temporarily held by the deputy commander.
Ye Zhengjun patted Xibao’s sleek head, suppressing the smile at the corners of his mouth, "Xibao, did you get another haircut?"
"Daddy’s mean!" Xibao puffed his cheeks, placing his chubby hand in Ye Zhengjun’s hand, "Grandpa, help me beat up Daddy!"