At 5:30 PM, Lin Yongnian and Lin Guodong returned home with Junjun.

Both of them looked tired and had a grim expression.

Today, the entire factory had been discussing Lin Yongnian’s divorce, and some people even teased him about it, making them feel humiliated.

They had never felt so embarrassed in their lives.

“Aunt Wang, Shuping moved out and asked me to give you the key,” Aunt Wang said as she walked over after they arrived, handing the key that Old Madam Li had asked her to pass on to Lin Yongnian.

Lin Yongnian stared at the key tied with a red string, feeling somewhat dazed.

“Why are you standing there? Take it quickly,” Aunt Wang urged.

Only then did Lin Yongnian extend his hand to take the key.

Lin Guodong sneered, “Mom’s really putting on an act, even leaving the key behind.”

Lin Guodong was filled with resentment towards Old Madam Li after the humiliating scene in the factory.

“Putting on an act? Your mom really doesn’t want to live with you all anymore, doesn’t want to serve you all. She’s already bought a whole set of new furniture today,” Aunt Wang said, with a sharp tone.

If she was pretending, why would she spend so much money on new furniture?

Lin Guodong retorted, “Aunt Wang, how did my mom serve us? That’s a harsh thing to say.”

“Who cooks the meals in your house? Who washes the clothes? Who buys the groceries? Who does the cleaning?” Aunt Wang shot back with a series of questions.

“…” Lin Guodong choked, then quickly explained, “That’s because my mom isn’t working anymore. She has nothing to do at home, so she does all these things. We all have jobs.”

Aunt Wang laughed. “When your mom was working, who did these things then?”

Lin Guodong was silent.

“Exactly how did my mom serve you all?” Aunt Wang mimicked Lin Guodong’s tone.

Lin Guodong’s face instantly turned bright red.

“You all won’t last without Shuping. I’m curious how you’ll manage without her,” Aunt Wang said, turning to leave.

Lin Yongnian’s face darkened, “It must be your mom who told Aunt Wang that our family can’t function without her. She made it sound like our family depended entirely on her, that she was the one who worked the hardest, as if without her, our family would fall apart.”

“I’ll show her! We’ll be just fine without her!” Lin Yongnian raised his voice, speaking to Aunt Wang’s retreating figure.

At 6:30 PM, Lin Xiaoyu stood at the gate of No. 23 yard, holding the strap of her backpack.

After taking two deep breaths, she was about to enter when a tall figure suddenly came rushing out from inside and collided with her, causing her to fall down hard.

“Ouch…” Lin Xiaoyu cried out in pain.

The person who bumped into her turned back for a moment, glanced at her, and then kept running.

It was just that quick glance that allowed Lin Xiaoyu to see who it was.

It was Qin Ye, a notorious troublemaker in the area, known as “Wild Dog” by everyone.

It was said his father had named him Qin Ye Gou (Qin Ye Dog), but the person who registered his name thought “Wild Dog” sounded too crude, so they removed the word “Dog.”

(Qin Ye: Thanks to the local registration authorities.)

“Damn brat, don’t run…” A middle-aged man, reeking of alcohol, chased out.

When he reached the door, he couldn’t run any further and leaned on the doorframe, panting.

Seeing Lin Xiaoyu on the ground, he asked, “Where’s Wild Dog?”

Lin Xiaoyu, still scared, gulped nervously and stammered, “He… he ran… ran that way…”

“Damn dog bastard, if he comes back, I’ll break his legs,” the man cursed through clenched teeth.

In the afternoon, Old Madam Li bought some vegetables, rice, and flour from the supply and marketing cooperative, as well as a kerosene stove and a coal stove—one for boiling water and cooking rice, the other for frying vegetables.

The rice was almost steamed, and the vegetables were ready.

She just needed to wait for the children to come home to cook.

Standing at the kitchen door, she looked outside, “At this time, they should be home already.”

She closed the kitchen door, planning to head to the big yard gate to see.

Before she could reach it, she saw her daughter, who was walking slowly, glancing back repeatedly.

“Xiaoyu, what are you looking at?”

“Mom,” Lin Xiaoyu quickly ran up to her mother, “Nothing, just looking around.”

Old Madam Li glanced at the gate, clearly seeing a man sitting on the doorstep.

The two of them entered the house, and Lin Xiaoyu, excited, looked at the brand-new furniture, saying, “Mom, you bought all new furniture, even a desk!”

Lin Xiaoyu touched the desk.

She didn’t even have one at home; she usually did her homework at the dining table.

The desk was placed under the window, where the light was good.

Seeing how happy her daughter was, Old Madam Li felt content, “From now on, when you study and do your homework, use the desk.”

“By the way, there’s also a wardrobe.” Old Madam Li took her daughter’s hand and led her inside, pulling back the curtain to reveal a double-door wardrobe.

“Put your clothes on the right side, and mine on the left.”

Lin Xiaoyu opened the wardrobe to find her few clothes neatly arranged inside.

She no longer had to pile them on the bed.

She had her own wardrobe now, though she had to share it with her mom.

“It’s so nice,” she said.

Old Madam Li, touching the wardrobe, added, “This wardrobe is really good, only cost 25 yuan.”

Though there was a small uneven pit at the back of the wardrobe, it didn’t affect its use.

Lin Xiaoyu wasn’t talking about the wardrobe but how nice it was that they had moved out.

She now had a desk and a wardrobe to put her clothes in.

“You do your homework, I’ll go cook,” Old Madam Li patted her daughter’s shoulder and went to the kitchen.

Lin Xiaoyu, looking at the bunk bed behind her, shook it slightly.

It was a sturdy bed, not wobbling at all.

It was better than the bed she shared with her brother.

She looked at the bed for a moment and then went to the desk to do her homework.

She had already written some at school, so there wasn’t much left.

As she did her homework, she smelled the delicious food and felt a strange sense of peace.

Her mom was in the kitchen cooking, and she was doing her homework.

Before, when she got home from school, her mom always asked her to help in the kitchen, or else she had to wash the dirty clothes her dad and brother left behind.

She only got to do her homework after dinner, and her parents would often say that leaving the lights on was wasting electricity and told her to wake up early to do it.

She could only do her homework in the morning before school.

While Lin Xiaoyu was reminiscing, a wrinkled face suddenly appeared at the window.

“Ah…” she screamed in fright.

“What happened?” Old Madam Li rushed out of the kitchen with a spatula and saw Aunt Yuan standing at the window.

It was clear that Aunt Yuan had scared Lin Xiaoyu by standing there.

Aunt Yuan said, “Shuping, sorry. I saw your daughter doing her homework, so I just stood there to look. I didn’t expect to scare her.”

“Xiaoyu, don’t be afraid. This is Aunt Yuan from No. 1 house,” Old Madam Li introduced her daughter.

Lin Xiaoyu took a deep breath, stood up, and greeted, “Hello, Aunt Yuan.”

“Ah, good girl.” Aunt Yuan smiled at Lin Xiaoyu with a face full of affection, then turned to Old Madam Li, “Shuping, your daughter is really good-looking and obedient. She does her homework right after coming home, and her grades must be good, right?”

Old Madam Li beamed with pride, “Yes, she’s always in the top 20 in her grade.”

“That’s great, not like my grandson, who can’t pass anything and always fails.”

“Aunt Yuan, do you need something?” Lin Xiaoyu asked as Aunt Yuan walked over. She didn’t seem like she came just to see her.

Aunt Yuan replied, “I ran out of soy sauce, so I wanted to borrow some from you.”

Chunbao’s mother stood by the kitchen window, watching the No. 5 house across the street, and said to her daughter, who was helping her wash vegetables, “Here we go again. That shameless old lady is at it again.”