Zhang Jiao returned home at seven o’clock and quickly started a fire to cook breakfast.

The breakfast was simple: congee with pickled vegetables.

“Why is it just congee and pickles? Big sister-in-law, don’t you ever make some fried scallion pancakes or something in the morning? This bland breakfast will leave me hungry before I even get to the factory,” complained Lin Jianjie as he sat down.

Although Lin Guodong didn’t want to eat congee with pickles either, he replied, “Wasn’t it the same with Liu Qin’s breakfast yesterday? Why didn’t you complain then?”

“…” Lin Jianjie was stumped and took a sip of the congee.

Fine, he had no right to complain because his wife made the same thing.

Only Lin Yongnian, looking at the unappetizing breakfast, thought to himself: “It’s okay, I have money. I’ll pass by the state-owned breakfast shop and buy a couple of buns to eat.”

Lin Jianjie and Liu Qin’s workplace was far away, so they finished eating and left first.

After finishing his meal, Lin Yongnian went to the eaves to get his work clothes that he had washed clean, but when he looked up, there were no clothes hanging on the bamboo pole.

Not only were his work clothes missing, but so were the other clothes he had taken off and thrown into the laundry basket on Friday.

His face darkened, and he turned around and walked into the house.

When he saw the dirty laundry basket in the living room, he checked again.

His dirty clothes from Friday were still quietly sitting there.

No one had washed them!

In the past, he would just toss his dirty clothes into the laundry basket, and a couple of days later, the clean clothes would be neatly folded and placed in his wardrobe.

But now, his dirty clothes had been in the laundry basket for two days, and none of his daughters-in-law had washed them.

“Dad, what’s wrong? Hurry up and change into your work clothes; you’ll be late!” Lin Guodong walked out of his room in his clean work clothes.

Lin Yongnian looked at his son in his clean work clothes, then looked at his own dirty work clothes in the laundry basket.

He felt a complicated emotion in his heart.

His eldest son had a wife and had clean clothes to wear, while he…

Had to pick up the work clothes he’d worn for a week from the laundry basket and put them back on.

“Dad, haven’t these work clothes been washed? They’re starting to smell,” Lin Guodong said, wrinkling his nose in disdain.

Lin Yongnian replied angrily, “It’s not like anyone’s washing them! What’s the point of you all getting wives if my old man’s clothes have been sitting in the laundry basket for two days without anyone washing them?”

Zhang Jiao, who had just finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen, overheard this and rolled her eyes.

Why should the daughter-in-law be the one to wash her father-in-law’s clothes?

“Oh, Dad, if you had dirty clothes to wash, why didn’t you take them out when I was doing the laundry the day before yesterday? If you had, I would have just washed them for you.”

She changed her tone as she entered the living room. “I washed the clothes for Guodong and the kids. I didn’t look at the laundry basket.”

In the past, whoever changed their clothes would throw them directly into the laundry basket without needing to worry about it, and a few days later, someone would have washed and neatly folded them.

But now, with both people who used to do the laundry not at home, she naturally didn’t throw the dirty clothes into the laundry basket.

She had seen her father-in-law’s dirty clothes, but this family didn’t only have her as the daughter-in-law.

Why should she wash them?

“Dad, when you come back from work, take off your dirty clothes, and I’ll wash them for you.”

Lin Yongnian nodded.

At least the eldest daughter-in-law seemed decent.

Zhang Jiao didn’t actually want to wash the clothes, but since the old man was upset, she had to say something, or else he’d hold it against her.

By saying this, at least in the old man’s eyes, she was better than Liu Qin, who didn’t even bother.

Lin Yongnian’s work clothes had already become sour and smelly, and wearing them to work led to more ridicule.

They mocked him for losing his wife and not even having his clothes washed. People a couple of miles away could smell the sour odor on him.

Li Shuping didn’t set up her stall today; she had decided to take a day off, which she had set for Monday, when there would be fewer people around.

After sending her daughter Xiaoyu off to school, she packed her things and left the house with her canvas bag.

“Why is she so neatly packed and leaving at this hour? Isn’t she setting up her stall today?” Wang Guixiang cracked sunflower seeds and asked.

“Looks like she’s not setting up today,” Cui Juanzi replied. “I heard that the other day, her ex-husband and his family passed by her stall and scolded her for exposing herself, selling smiles in public, and even declared that they had no relationship with her anymore.”

“Ah, how embarrassing!” Old Lady Yuan shook her head. “If it were me, I wouldn’t even have the face to go out, let alone set up a stall.”

“Does that mean she’s not setting up because she’s afraid her son won’t recognize her?” Wang Guixiang asked.

“Of course!” Cui Juanzi said firmly. “If her son really doesn’t recognize her, who will she rely on? That’s why she’s not setting up.”

Huang Qionghua felt something was off. “But didn’t she set up yesterday?”

Cui Juanzi replied, “She did, but that’s because she had already prepared the filling for dumplings. She couldn’t eat it all herself, so she set up one more day.”

Hmm, that makes sense.

Listening to the conversation outside, Qin Rong had an idea in her mind.

If Li Jie really stopped setting up, she thought she could ask if she could buy her dumpling-making supplies at a cheaper price.

She could set up a small stall at the end of the alley and sell dumplings too.

Her dumpling-making skills weren’t bad; she didn’t expect to make a lot of money, just enough to make ends meet.

Her husband hadn’t come back after a week, and she felt uncertain.

She was afraid that next month, he wouldn’t give her and Chunbao any living expenses.

Of course, she couldn’t afford a tricycle, nor did she plan on asking to buy one.

Li Shuping, however, didn’t know that her day off had caused so much speculation.

“Li Jie, where are you going? Not setting up today?” Zhou Cuilan, who sold eggs at the end of the alley, asked curiously when she saw Li Shuping.

Li Shuping smiled and said, “I’m going to the state-run shop for a walk. I’m taking a day off today.”

“Oh, that’s a lot of money lost. How much does a dumpling stall earn in a day, you must know that,” Zhou Cuilan said.

Li Shuping didn’t mind and replied, “You can’t earn all the money in the world. People need to balance work and rest, right?”

Zhou Cuilan nodded.

That’s true.

She admired Li Jie’s attitude, but she herself couldn’t do the same.

She could never relax, even when it rained and she couldn’t set up her stall.

Li Shuping took the bus to the state-run shop.

She originally planned to buy some cold cream, but when she passed the clothing counter, she saw a white shirt and a blue knee-length skirt hanging outside.

She had almost walked past but decided to turn back.

“Comrade, how much is this set of clothes?”

The sales clerk scanned her up and down and spoke indifferently, “I guess you want to buy it for your daughter? The shirt is ten yuan, and the skirt is twelve yuan. This is a trendy style from the south.”

Li Shuping’s face fell. What does she mean for her daughter? She was buying it for herself.

Since marrying Lin Yongnian, she hadn’t worn a skirt because he didn’t allow it.

Every time she saw people of her age wearing skirts and walking on the street, she would feel envious.

Now, she didn’t want to envy others anymore, nor did she care whether others thought it was suitable.

If she liked it and thought it suited her, then she would buy it and wear it!

“I’ll take it.”