Yan Shun had sharp ears. Upon hearing these words, he turned to Wang Yun with a cool glance. He did not imply anything else, yet Wang Yun instantly felt a shiver down her spine and fell silent.
Jiang Tao and Zhou Liu wore equally gloomy expressions.
When Zhou Liu took the stage to perform, the applause was not as thunderous. But Lin Fan, with just a few words and a bow, managed to win the wholehearted cheers of the audience!
Why? It wasn't fair!
If it weren't for the fact that he was too close to some high-ranking individuals and worried about suspicion, Jiang Tao would not even have considered clapping. He had to force a smile.
The only thing that made him happy right now was Zhou Liu's bravery, although he did not know when General Yu would bring it up.
Lin Fan returned to the microphone, smiling, "But I'm sorry; we haven't prepared any performance."
As soon as these words were uttered, the applause in the venue seemed to be abruptly cut off, coming to a sudden stop.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yun sneered disdainfully, "If you didn't prepare a performance, why even come on stage? Are you trying to embarrass yourselves?"
The other military wives beside her echoed her sentiments.
"That's right, and she's dragging her man's reputation down with her. I don't know what she's thinking."
"I heard from my husband that they are in the assessment period recently. I guess Captain Yan really wants a promotion this time. It might be difficult now!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Liu could not help but burst into laughter, "They really dare to say that. If I were Captain Yan, I would be utterly embarrassed."
Perhaps Jiang Tao found some comfort too. He turned around and saw Yan Shun at the table behind him. He leaned in and asked, "Captain Yan, your wife isn't going up there empty-handed, is she? Volunteering for a performance and having no preparation isn't a good idea, is it?"
Yan Shun frowned. Lin Fan had her own intentions. If he guessed what she was planning, wouldn't that mean wasting her efforts from last night? He responded calmly, "Lin Fan hasn't finished speaking yet. It's not good to jump to conclusions so quickly, don't you think?"
In the military, unity was valued, but personal grudges now took precedence, and Yan Shun made sure to keep them separate.
Jiang Tao's mouth twitched, his expression frozen on his face. He felt he had hit a soft spot and turned away, muttering under his breath, "What's with the high and mighty act? You're not even as good as Zhou Liu, saving lives. Once I'm promoted to battalion commander, I'll have the power to crush you completely."
Yan Shun heard the muttered words but ignored them, his gaze fixed on the woman on the stage.
"However," Lin Fan continued, "even though we didn't prepare any performances for this celebration, we have a unique way to thank you all for your dedication! Despite the recent heatwave, none of you slacked in your training. So, Ning Yan and I prepared mung bean soup to help cool you down!"
Lin Fan knew that in this era, very few families could afford air conditioning, but most married households had one of the three big appliances, a refrigerator, which they happened to possess. It could be used to make ice cubes.
The previous night, before falling asleep, Lin Fan had thought about this. So, she quickly got up, found Ning Yan, and borrowed a few pounds of mung beans.
Initially worried if Ning Yan could provide such a large quantity at once, Lin Fan was relieved to find out that Ning Yan's maternal family specialized in large-scale mung bean cultivation for profit in the countryside. Every harvest, they sent Ning Yan a huge bag full!
Ecstatic, Lin Fan stayed up all night to make the mung bean soup. She had only managed to sleep for two hours but was fortunate to see satisfactory results when she woke up.
To ensure the chilling effect, she used every large container in her home, filled with plenty of ice cubes. Then, after everyone in the military district compound had left, she enlisted the help of some trusted comrades. After getting approval from the camp commander, they helped her transport the mung bean soup here.
Everything was done secretly, all for the sake of giving everyone a pleasant surprise.
Initially, the audience had been filled with anticipation after hearing Lin Fan's first few words. However, when they heard 'mung bean soup,' disappointment washed over their faces.
The military kitchen often made mung bean soup for them, so it was nothing special.
Wang Yun seemed to have found another opportunity to mock Lin Fan. She almost openly sneered, her disdainful eyes practically shouting to all the military wives around him that Lin Fan had come here today only to embarrass herself.