After Qin Ye finished eating the dumplings, Li Shuping handed him the kitchen key, asking him to help carry the things in the basket back to the kitchen.

As soon as he left, Zhou Cuilan looked at Li Shuping and asked,
“Li-jie, why did you let him help you collect things from the countryside and even trust him with your house key? He’s the notorious little hooligan from Lihua Alley, known for fighting like his life doesn’t matter.”

Li Shuping smiled and said,
“You said it yourself — he fights like his life doesn’t matter, but he’s not into swindling, cheating, or stealing. There are many reasons someone might fight, but just because someone fights doesn’t mean they’re bad at heart. But swindlers and thieves, now that’s a different story.”

Zhou Cuilan paused, thinking it over — that made sense.

Everyone said Qin Ye from Courtyard No. 23 had dropped out of school early, hung around outside all day, was fierce and reckless in fights, but no one ever said he’d stolen from anyone or robbed any kids.

Li Shuping added,
“I only gave him the kitchen key — there’s nothing valuable in the kitchen anyway. Nothing to worry about.”

Qin Ye, carrying the basket, went to the kitchen of Unit 5.

When Aunt Yuan saw him, she called out, “Wild Dog, what are you doing at the Unit 5 kitchen door? Don’t tell me you’re trying to steal something.”

Qin Ye opened the door, held up the key in his hand, went in, put down the basket, and then came back out, locking the door behind him.

“How do you have the key?” Aunt Yuan asked, puzzled.

Qin Ye replied, “Of course, my Auntie Li gave it to me.”

Without paying attention to the curious looks around, he left again — he still had to return the key.

Liu Mingxiang muttered, “Huh, strange. Why did Li Shuping give her kitchen key to that Wild Dog Qin Ye?”

Cui Juanzi, who was mending clothes by her own door, said, “Didn’t you see Qin Ye carrying that big heavy basket into the kitchen? Looked like it was packed with vegetables. Maybe it’s Unit 5’s, and he was helping bring stuff back from the countryside.”

Wang Guixiang’s eyes widened, “She’s just running a little street stall, and she’s already hiring people to help? Isn’t that capitalism? Exploiting labor?”

Liu Mingxiang shot her a look.

Aunt Yuan snorted, “She’s just running a shabby little stall, what capitalism? Still, Li Shuping is bold, daring to hire Wild Dog Qin Ye to help with her goods from the countryside. Aren’t you afraid this wild dog will run off with your money and things?”

Cui Juanzi nodded in agreement, “Exactly, she probably doesn’t know what kind of person Qin Ye is.”

Inside the house, Qin Rong(Chunbao’s Mother) rolled her eyes — these people had no right to talk about Qin Ye.

They didn’t even realize what kind of people they themselves were.

No matter how rough Qin Ye might be, he had never bullied anyone without reason or tried to take advantage of anyone.

It was Friday, and quite a few people had finished an early shift. By 5:30, more and more customers were arriving to buy dumplings.

Some chose to eat at the stall, while others preferred to buy raw dumplings to cook at home.

Li Shuping originally thought the beef dumplings, being more expensive, might not sell as well, while the chive-and-egg dumplings would probably be more popular.

But unexpectedly, the beef dumplings were the bestsellers.

“Mom.” Lin Xiaoyu had also finished school early today — only two afternoon classes — and ran back to help right away.

Li Shuping said,
“School’s out, huh? Go wash your hands and pack eighteen raw dumplings for this big sister here.”

“Okay!” Lin Xiaoyu hung her schoolbag on the cart, washed her hands, and jumped in to help.

Zhang Jiao had also gotten off work early today and stopped by the supply cooperative on her way home to buy a pack of milk biscuits for her son.

Before she even reached the alley entrance, she saw a big crowd ahead.

“Sister Xiong, where are you going with that basin?” she asked.

“My neighbor told me the dumpling stall at Lihua Alley has beef-and-celery dumplings today. My grandson loves beef dumplings, so I’m going to buy some raw ones to cook for him at home.”

“Whoa, even a street stall has beef dumplings? Must be pricey, huh?”

“Isn’t it rare? Even the state-run restaurants don’t often have them. And yes, not cheap — cooked ones are fifty cents for fifteen, raw ones fifty cents for eighteen. But it’s still a better deal than the state-run places — thin skin, big filling, great flavor.”

“I’m going home to grab a basin too, I want to buy some raw ones!”

The more Zhang Jiao listened, the more shocked she felt. Looking at the crowd ahead — could they all be here for her mother-in-law’s dumpling stall?

Fifty cents per serving — if they sold fifty servings a day, that was twenty-five yuan!

Zhang Jiao pulled up the scarf tied around her neck to cover half her face, then slipped quietly into the crowd to watch.

In less than three minutes, she saw eight more servings sold, with people still lining up.

Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were working nonstop — one boiling dumplings, the other packing them.

Zhang Jiao was deeply shaken.

Selling dumplings on the street might be embarrassing, but she hadn’t expected it to make this much money!

After secretly watching a little longer, Zhang Jiao noticed some familiar faces staring at her.

She quickly covered her face and lowered her head, walking away.

Meanwhile, Gu Zhiyuan parked his car by the road, carrying two Western-style porcelain lunchboxes he had specifically brought from home to buy dumplings.

When he reached the alley, he saw a line and quietly joined the end.

He had taken off his olive-green uniform jacket, wearing just a white shirt and sweater vest underneath, blending in better.

“Hey, did you hear? The deputy director at the quilt factory — his daughter died,” a middle-aged man in line said idly to those around him.

Gu Zhiyuan’s ears twitched.

“Who hasn’t heard? I heard they found her in the river outside town. Deputy Director Zhang hasn’t shown up at work for three days. His wife’s nearly gone blind from crying.”

“Wouldn’t you cry? She was their only daughter.”

“Ah, such tragedy.”

The middle-aged man continued,
“I heard she eloped with someone and was raped and killed, then dumped in the river.”

“Really?!”

“No way, if that’s true, then she deserved it.”

“Exactly! How shameless can a girl be to elope? Such a disgrace to her parents!”

“Wasn’t she still in high school?”

The middle-aged man, arms crossed, said,
“That’s what I heard. Anyway, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, right? If it wasn’t true, no one would be talking about it. If I had a daughter like that, I’d break her legs before she had the chance to do something so shameful.”

Honestly, it was just his own guess — he figured it was probably the case. After all, why else would a good girl run away from home?

The killer was surely a man; the victim was a young, pretty girl — obviously she was raped before being killed.

“Such shame on the ancestors,” the man sighed, shaking his head.

Gu Zhiyuan’s face darkened, just as a sharp, feisty female voice cut through,
“I think you’re the one shaming your ancestors! A grown man gossiping like an old crone, making up rumors about a poor dead girl.”

Gu Zhiyuan looked up — it was her.

Li Shuping couldn’t hold back anymore. She raised the big metal ladle and scolded the middle-aged man right there, her voice snapping the crowd to silence.

The man’s face flushed red, his neck stiff as he retorted,
“How am I spreading rumors? What gives you the right to say I am?”

Li Shuping fumed, waving the ladle,
“The police are still investigating and haven’t released any information, yet here you are claiming she eloped, was raped, and murdered. If that’s not rumor-mongering, what is?”

“That poor girl, in the flower of her youth, killed by some heartless criminal — she’s pitiful enough already! Her family is already devastated! Instead of condemning the killer, you spread filthy gossip, smearing a poor, innocent victim, making her the target of blame and insult even after death. That’s not just disrespect to the dead — it’s a second blow to her grieving family. Do you have any humanity at all?”

As someone who had personally discovered the body, Li Shuping knew full well that the girl hadn’t eloped, nor was she raped before being killed.

These baseless guesses and wild rumors were pure slander — and the worst part was, many people would believe them, turning the victim into the one people criticized, leaving her no peace even in death.

She’d seen too many stories like this on the news in her past life.

Several people who had been chatting with the man now looked embarrassed, lowering their heads, realizing they’d been scolded too.

Many others in the crowd, hearing Li Shuping’s words, felt she was right and shot disdainful looks at the middle-aged man.

Feeling humiliated, the man stubbornly gritted his teeth,
“Well, I heard it from a friend in the police! My friend said she really did elope, got raped, and killed!”

Li Shuping snorted, “Pah, stop making things up out of thin air.”

“…” The man choked.

How did she know he was making it all up?