At the military's group wedding, my best friend and I swapped husbands.

Chapter 29 The Man Who Does Things Behind the Scenes

When Lin Weiwei and Su Wan returned from the restroom that evening, their pent-up frustration dissipated, and their stomachs began to rumble.

I glanced around the house; no one was home.

Bai Si'an and Bai Rongbei should have already gone to work.

The two men squatted in the yard, clutching their stomachs. They looked at each other, their earlier ambition seemingly swept away by the winds of the Gobi Desert.

"Digging a hole... that's easy to say," Lin Weiwei said, scratching at the ground with a twig.

"How deep should we dig? How will we build the shed? Where will we get the wood? Most importantly, won't it still be a dry pit after we finish digging? In time, won't it still stink and attract flies?"

Su Wanwan rested her chin on her hand, her brows furrowed tightly: "Besides, isn't this considered renovating barracks? All the materials need to be applied for, and there are quotas. Cement, bricks... We just arrived, we haven't contributed anything, why should we apply for these? Bai Rongbei and the others... I guess it'll be difficult for them to ask."

"Are we really going to beg them?" Lin Weiwei pouted. "Last night you said you wouldn't live with them, and today you're going to beg them to fix the toilet... What a slap in the face."

The more they thought about it, the more they realized that this method wouldn't work.

Su Wanwan sighed and said softly, "How about... we eat and drink less in the future? Let's control it from the source..."

Lin Weiwei laughed at her whimsical idea: "Forget it, people need to eat, they won't really suffocate. Forget it, let's take it one step at a time. At worst... we can continue what Aunt Wang said, find a place far away, dig a deep pit, and bury it after each use..."

She herself didn't sound confident when she said it.

The two men were squatting there dejectedly, poking at the dry soil with twigs.

Suddenly, the roar of a car engine came from afar.

The sound grew closer and closer, eventually stopping on the dirt road in front of the row of houses in the family compound.

The two looked up in surprise.

A large, military-green truck came to a steady stop outside their gate.

Two young soldiers in military uniforms jumped out of the cab, and there were two more in the back of the truck.

One of the soldiers, holding a folder, looked around and, seeing Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan squatting in the yard, called out, "Comrade, is this the yard of Regiment Commander Bai Rongbei and Technician Bai Si'an?"

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan quickly stood up and patted the dirt off their hands.

Su Wanwan nodded and replied, "Yes, this is the place. May I ask... is there anything I can help you with?"

The soldier glanced at the folder, checked the address, and grinned: "That's it! We're from the logistics transport team, ordered to deliver building materials to Commander Bai's house."

He turned back and waved to his companions in the truck bed, "Unload!"

The other three soldiers immediately sprang into action, nimbly climbing onto the truck bed and untying the ropes securing the cargo.

Bags of heavy cement, tar paper, stone powder, red bricks, and wooden rafters were unloaded and piled up in the open space at the entrance of the yard, quickly forming a small mountain.

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan were completely dumbfounded.

Lin Weiwei nudged Su Wanwan's arm and couldn't help but ask, "Wanwan... am I seeing things? Is that cement? Bricks?"

Su Wanwan nodded blankly, "And wood... tar paper..."

The two looked at each other, their eyes suddenly lighting up.

Lin Weiwei suddenly grabbed Su Wanwan's hand, her voice trembling with excitement: "The toilet! It's the material for repairing the toilet!"

Su Wanwan finally realized what was happening: "We've got it sorted out... our toilet... we've got it sorted out!"

They didn't care about anything else and rushed over to circle around the pile of materials, wanting to touch them but not daring to. Their faces were a mix of smiles and tears, like two children who had finally gotten their beloved toys.

The commotion was so loud that it alerted all the neighbors.

Sister Zhang came out of the house with a bowl of rice in her hand. Wang Xiuying, Li Jianguo, and several other family members who had heard the noise gathered around curiously.

"Hey, what's going on here? Why did you bring so much stuff?" Aunt Zhang stood on tiptoe to look at the pile of cement bricks and tiles.

"Is this Commander Bai's house? They just moved in and they're making such a big fuss?" someone muttered.

Wang Xiuying looked at the exceptionally precious building materials with a complex expression.

These days, cement and bricks are scarce resources. Even repairing a stove in a household requires careful consideration. The Bai family has brought in so much at once...

She couldn't help but ask, "Is Commander Bai's family going to undertake a major construction project? How many quotas would that require...?"

These words caused several family members nearby to whisper among themselves.

"Exactly, what's the point of all this cement?"

"Could it be... they're going to build a small kitchen?"

"No way, this is too..."

As they were discussing this, a calm voice came from outside the crowd: "Make way."

Everyone turned around, and Bai Rongbei had returned at some point. He walked through the crowd with a blank expression.

He first nodded to the soldiers unloading the truck: "Thank you for your hard work, comrades."

"Commander, all the materials are here. Please check the list." The soldier holding the folder handed over a piece of paper.

Bai Rongbei took the documents, glanced at the pile of materials, looked at the list, and nodded: "Yes, the numbers are correct. Thank you."

The soldiers saluted, nimbly climbed onto the truck, and the engine roared away.

At this moment, Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan couldn't wait to squeeze in front of Bai Rongbei.

Lin Weiwei's eyes shone like stars. Pointing to the pile of materials, she asked eagerly, "Commander Bai, these... these are for repairing the toilets, right?"

Su Wanwan looked up at him, her eyes filled with anticipation and disbelief.

Bai Rongbei nodded: "Yes."

That one word almost made Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan jump up again.

The surrounding family members were in an uproar.

"What? Repair the toilet? Repair the toilet with cement?"

"My God... this... this is way too precious! Aren't latrines just a simple pit?"

"That's right, Commander Bai, what a waste of materials! Public resources should be used wisely..." an older family member couldn't help but say.

Upon hearing this, Lin Weiwei's protective instincts kicked in.

"Auntie, you can't say that. How is fixing a cleaner toilet a waste? Personal hygiene is also important. A dirty and messy environment can easily lead to illness, and if you get sick, you have to take medicine and see a doctor, right?"

Wouldn't that be an even greater waste of resources? If we fix the toilets and make them clean and tidy, it will make us more comfortable and contribute to the camp environment, won't it?

Su Wanwan chimed in softly, "Yes, protecting the environment and maintaining hygiene is also a way of actively responding to the call. The materials were applied for according to regulations, and they're being used to improve our living conditions, so how can that be considered a waste?"

The two women worked together, slapping on the big labels of personal hygiene and responding to the call to action. The family member who had just spoken opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know how to refute them.

At this moment, Bai Rongbei stepped forward and said, "The application was submitted and approved according to the prescribed procedures. Repairing toilets and improving basic living conditions is in accordance with regulations."

He paused, then added, "It's a project in my own yard, it won't affect anyone else."