The curly-haired woman was so angry that her face turned red. She pointed at Li Shuping and cursed, “Stop talking nonsense! Just because you say I hit him doesn’t mean I did. I think you’re just siding with that little thug because you’re in the same group.”

Li Shuping turned her head and glanced at Qin Ye before returning her attention to the woman. “I don’t even know this kid. How could I be in the same group as him? I just can’t stand injustice, so I said what I saw and gave the kid a fair chance.”

Qin Ye: “…”

She didn’t know him, but he did know her.

She was the new neighbor who moved into Room 5.

“You’re the one who’s just been talking nonsense all day. Thick-skinned, black-hearted, and rotten to the core, slandering and bullying a kid.”

Li Shuping had no shortage of insults.

She put her hands on her hips and stared at the curly-haired woman, whose face was now turning an ugly shade of blue and white, with a look that seemed to say, “You think you’re the only one who can curse?”

“You…” The curly-haired woman pointed at Li Shuping, so angry she couldn’t speak.

After a long pause, she gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and muttered, “I’ll just consider it as stepping on dog poop and count myself unlucky.”

She turned to leave, but Li Shuping swiftly stepped forward and grabbed her sleeve.

“What are you doing?”

Li Shuping replied, “Didn’t you see the kid fall and scrape his hand? You need to pay for his medical bills before you go.”

Curly-haired woman: “…”

She was being asked to pay for medical expenses.

“If you don’t want to pay, we can go to the police station and settle this.”

The woman was so angry she nearly smoked, and from her elegant handbag, she pulled out fifty cents and threw it on the ground.

Li Shuping: “The kid’s blood is already on the ground.”

The woman, fuming, took out two one-yuan bills from her bag and threw them on the ground. “Is this enough?”

Li Shuping felt that it was almost enough, but…

“Pick it up. Throwing money on the ground—who do you think you’re insulting? This isn’t the old society where the bourgeoisie throws money on the ground to feed beggars.”

“…”

The curly-haired woman was stunned, bent down, picked up the money, and slapped it into Li Shuping’s hand before tossing her head and walking away.

Li Shuping sneered, holding the two yuan fifty cents, and walked to Qin Ye, who had already stood up. She handed him the money. “Kid, take this money and go to the hospital to get some medicine and bandages.”

“Th-thank you, Auntie,” Qin Ye said with a choked voice, looking down.

Li Shuping gently patted his arm and turned to leave.

Qin Ye looked at her departing figure, clenching the two yuan fifty cents in his hand.

Li Shuping rode her bike to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought twenty kilograms of flour.

She and Xiao Yu had already bought their allotted amount of grain, and this was expensive grain, costing 0.22 yuan per kilogram.

She rode the tricycle to the big yard entrance, got off the bike, and started moving the items inside.

The neighbors watched as she moved pots, bowls, and even tables, all wondering what she was planning to do with all this stuff.

After everything was moved in, it was time to get the bike into the yard.

The yard door had a threshold.

Li Shuping first lifted the front of the tricycle and got it inside. Just as she was about to turn and lift the back part, she saw Chunbao’s mom, who had cursed at her on the first day, using both hands to lift the back of the tricycle.

She quickly pushed the handlebars forward, and the entire tricycle entered the yard.

“Thanks!” she smiled and said.

She hadn’t expected this fierce-looking neighbor to be so kind-hearted.

“No need to thank me,” Chunbao’s mom waved her hand, grabbed the basket she had left on the ground, and walked into the yard.

She wasn’t fond of the people in the 23rd courtyard and didn’t want to interact with them, but she liked Li Shuping.

She was someone she could get along with.

Li Shuping noticed the eggs in the basket and quietly asked, “Did you collect these eggs from the countryside?”

Chunbao’s mom paused for a moment before nodding. “Yes, my daughter’s health isn’t good, so we need to supplement her nutrition. I went to Sandao village to collect some.”

Li Shuping nodded.

She planned to go to Sandao village in the afternoon to collect some eggs as well.

After chatting for a while, they parted ways, and Li Shuping locked the tricycle in front of her door with a chain.

When the neighbors in the 23rd courtyard saw her bringing in a tricycle, they were even more curious.

After lunch, Li Shuping rode her tricycle out again.

Sandao Village

Sun Chaoying was weeding her family’s plot of land when she saw an unfamiliar person riding a tricycle into the village.

She straightened up and asked, “Hey, who are you? Which family are you visiting?”

Li Shuping squeezed the brake and, seeing the lush green leeks in the field, her eyes lit up.

She got off the bike and walked over. “Hello, I’m from the city. I’m not anyone’s relative, just here to buy some eggs.”

Sandao village was near the city, and in recent years, with more relaxed policies, city people often came to buy vegetables and grains.

The villagers had grown used to it, and even the village officials turned a blind eye.

“How many eggs do you need? We’ve saved up about ten dozen,” Sun Chaoying said.

Originally, she planned to take them to the supply and marketing cooperative to trade for salt and soy sauce, but since someone came to buy them, it would be more worthwhile than taking them to the cooperative.

Li Shuping thought for a moment and decided to buy enough for a day’s worth, just to test things out. “I’ll take all ten dozen eggs. Do you have leeks for sale? I’ll take ten pounds of those too.”

“Sure, you can take them for one cent per pound. The eggs are five cents each.”

“Alright.”

Sun Chaoying went home, and Li Shuping waited by the vegetable patch. It didn’t take long before she returned with a basket, scales, and a sickle.

Li Shuping counted the eggs, while Sun Chaoying bent over and harvested leeks from the field.

Exactly ten dozen eggs, and after weighing the leeks, Sun Chaoying gave her eleven pounds but only asked for one cent per pound, though Li Shuping gave her one cent and one cent.

Sun Chaoying found Li Shuping to be straightforward and said that if she ever wanted more eggs or leeks, she could come again.

“Dad, why are you always like this? That’s our rent for next month. If we can’t pay it, where are we going to live?”

Li Shuping had just reached the gate of the big yard when she heard the angry shout of a young man.

She tilted her head, thinking the voice sounded familiar.

She placed the eggs and leeks down inside, then moved the tricycle into the yard.

Afterward, she carried the eggs and leeks inside and pushed the tricycle into the yard.

She saw Chunbao’s mom standing outside her door, looking at Room 1.

Their eyes met, and Chunbao’s mom asked with a glance, “What’s going on?”

Chunbao’s mom then walked over to Li Shuping and explained, “The man in Room 1, Old Qin, is a drunk. When he’s drunk, he beats people. He beat his wife away and lost his job because of drinking. His son, Qin Ye, was also beaten up by him and grew up taking care of the family since he was ten. It’s a pity. This kid, Qin Ye, doesn’t have a good reputation in the 23rd courtyard and even in Pear Blossom Alley. People call him a thug, but I know he’s not a bad kid. He just had to toughen up to survive.”

Li Shuping’s face tightened with anger.

What kind of man is this?

As a man, he should be supporting his family and raising his children, not letting his underage son support him and even hold him back.

When Qin Ye saw his father, who didn’t care about him and was just drinking, he couldn’t take it anymore. He ran out the door.

When he saw Li Shuping, he froze for a moment before lowering his head and running out.

Li Shuping was also stunned.

She hadn’t expected him to be her neighbor.

She glanced at Qin Ye’s back and noticed a gray, torn cloth wrapped around his right hand.

She furrowed her brow.

This child clearly hadn’t gone to the hospital.