Zhao Youqin’s mouth curled downward, her hands resting on the table, fingers crossed.

“Now, with the reform, things are different. Setting up a stall and doing small business is no longer considered capitalist.”

“And now our Jing City government encourages unemployed youth and laid-off workers to solve their employment issues themselves by starting small businesses, setting up stalls, or learning a trade.”

Their street office has also been working with the youth who returned to the city, encouraging them to learn a skill, open a shop, or set up a stall to do some small business.

But most of them are too ashamed to do it and are waiting for the street office to find a job for them.

Li Shuping’s dumpling stall was something Zhao Youqin knew about.

Her husband had even taken some dumplings home twice for her to try, and they were delicious—probably the best dumplings she had ever eaten.

She supported the idea of Li Shuping running the dumpling stall and hoped it could set an example in their peaceful street, inspiring unemployed youth to open shops and stalls and engage in small businesses.

Liu Mingxiang said, “Well, then I’ll report that she hired poor kids to go pick vegetables for her in the countryside. She’s exploiting poor children.”

Zhao Youqin frowned.

If that were true, she would need to verify it.

Although street vending and running businesses were now allowed, there was no clear policy on whether one could hire workers, and it was still controversial.

Before the reform, any private employment relations were considered exploitation remnants. Until there was a clear policy, they still followed the old regulations.

“Is it true?” Zhao Youqin asked.

Liu Mingxiang smiled smugly, “It’s true. She hired Qin Ye, who lives in our courtyard.”

Zhao Youqin stood up. “Then let’s go to Li Shuping’s stall and verify this with her.”

“I want to go too,” Liu Mingxiang took a step back.

Zhao Youqin said, “You’re the one who reported it, so you must come along and confront Li Shuping.”

Liu Mingxiang didn’t want to go. If she went, everyone would know she had reported Li Shuping.

Even though she felt she was right in reporting Li Shuping, Liu Mingxiang knew that being a whistleblower wasn’t exactly honorable.

“Do I have to go?”

“Well, then do you still want to report her?”

Liu Mingxiang hesitated, then thought that if reporting would stop Li Shuping from running the stall and help her family move into Courtyard 23, she nodded and agreed.

It was around 3 p.m. when they arrived at the stall. There were no customers, and Li Shuping was making dumplings while chatting with Zhou Cuilan.

Zhou Cuilan was the first to spot Zhao Youqin and her group. “Director Zhao, Xiao Huang, where are you going? Come have a tea egg, it’s free.”

Besides Liu Mingxiang, Zhao Youqin also brought a man from the street office, surnamed Huang. Everyone called him Xiao Huang.

Zhao Youqin waved her hand to refuse and walked directly to Li Shuping’s stall.

“Ah, Director Zhao!” Li Shuping quickly set down the dumplings and stood up. She hesitated for a moment when she saw Liu Mingxiang behind Zhao Youqin.

She knew they weren’t here for good reasons.

“How’s business today?” Zhao Youqin asked in a gentle tone.

“Pretty good,” Li Shuping smiled. “I sold more than thirty bowls of dumplings at lunch.”

Zhao Youqin nodded. That was quite good.

“We’re here today because there’s something we need to verify with you.”

Li Shuping said, “What is it, Director Zhao?”

“Comrade Liu Mingxiang has reported that you hired Qin Ye to go to the countryside to pick vegetables for you, and that you’ve exploited him. Is that true?”

Zhou Cuilan shot a vicious glare at Liu Mingxiang and then looked worriedly at Li Shuping.

Li Shuping glanced at Liu Mingxiang disdainfully, while the latter looked back defiantly.

“No,” Li Shuping shook her head.

Liu Mingxiang immediately shouted, “You still dare to deny it? Everyone in Courtyard 23 saw it! Qin Ye carries a big basket of vegetables every day from the countryside and delivers them to your house!”

“He did help me pick vegetables from the countryside, but I didn’t hire him. I just paid him some money to ask him to pick vegetables for me. I gave him 80 cents per trip as a token of thanks. We don’t have an employment relationship,” Li Shuping explained.

80 cents?

Liu Mingxiang’s eyes widened. She could barely make a penny a day gluing matchboxes at home because so many people did the same job. She couldn’t even make two dimes a day.

But Qin Ye went to the countryside to help Li Shuping pick vegetables, and he could earn 80 cents a day!

Liu Mingxiang was jealous. She never imagined that she would feel envious of Qin Ye.

Xiao Huang chimed in, “80 cents per trip is hardly a full day’s work. How can that be considered exploitation? I don’t even earn 80 cents a day.”

The work at the street office looked decent, but the pay was low.

They dealt with trivial matters, and even after work, they had to handle emergencies. It was tiring and tough.

He only earned twenty yuan a month, and if Qin Ye was being exploited, then what did that make him?

Zhao Youqin knew about Qin Ye.

The poor kid had lost his mother when he was young, and his father was an alcoholic.

At such a young age, he had to start supporting the family.

It was a good thing that Li Shuping could offer him 80 cents a trip to help pick vegetables.

“Liu Mingxiang, according to Comrade Li Shuping, she only asked Qin Ye to help pick vegetables for her and gave him 80 cents per trip as a thank-you fee. This doesn’t count as employment, let alone exploitation.”

Liu Mingxiang objected, “But we can’t just take her word for it. She must be saying this to avoid being accused of exploiting workers.”

Li Shuping sneered, “So now you admit it’s about putting a label on someone.”

Liu Mingxiang glared at her. Then, seeing a familiar figure, she brightened up and pointed at it. “Qin Ye is back! He can tell us what really happened!”

“Don’t speak yet,” Liu Mingxiang warned, fearing that Li Shuping might influence Qin Ye.

Li Shuping fell silent.

As Qin Ye approached, Liu Mingxiang hurriedly asked, “Qin Ye, did Li Shuping hire you to go to the countryside to pick vegetables?”

“What’s going on? What happened?” Seeing Director Zhao there, Qin Ye realized something must have gone wrong. He looked at Li Shuping instead of answering Liu Mingxiang’s question.

Li Shuping shook her head, signaling him that everything was fine.

Liu Mingxiang pressed, “Don’t ask what happened. Just answer me.”

Qin Ye frowned. “Of course not. Aunt Li just asked me to help pick vegetables from the countryside for her.”

“Did she pay you?”

“Of course, I didn’t help for free,” Qin Ye rolled his eyes at Liu Mingxiang. “Aunt Li gave me 80 cents per trip. I’m just helping my neighbor, not being hired as a worker. It’s the same as when I help someone carry heavy furniture at the secondhand market—they pay me after I’m done.”

Liu Mingxiang argued, “But that’s the same as hiring someone to work! It’s hiring!”

“It’s different,” Zhao Youqin interrupted, “One is employment, and the other is asking a neighbor for a favor and paying them a token of thanks. Employment is paid monthly, while asking a neighbor for help is a one-time payment per trip. How can they be the same?”

“Besides, Qin Ye is just a kid, and his family depends on him. He can only earn money by doing hard labor, helping people move things. Li Shuping asking him to help out and pay him is solving his difficulties. It’s a good thing.”

“So…” Qin Ye’s eyes narrowed like a wolf’s, locking onto Liu Mingxiang. “You reported that Aunt Li hired me to work for her?”

Liu Mingxiang took a step back. Qin Ye’s wolfish glare was truly terrifying.

“You can’t stand to see me doing well, right? When you see Aunt Li asking me for help, you get jealous and want to ruin it for me!”

“I’ll tell you, if Aunt Li’s stall shuts down because of your report, and she doesn’t ask me to help pick vegetables, you just wait! I’ll make sure you and your family don’t get away with it!” Qin Ye said fiercely.

Zhao Youqin frowned. “Are you threatening people in front of me?”

Qin Ye turned his head away defiantly. “She’s the one who doesn’t want me to do well.”

Going to the countryside and helping Aunt Li pick vegetables and eggs for 80 cents a trip was easier and paid better than carrying heavy furniture at the secondhand market.

Li Shuping was his benefactor. If Liu Mingxiang’s report caused her stall to shut down, he wouldn’t let her off the hook.

Zhao Youqin sighed helplessly. “Her report isn’t valid. It won’t affect Li Shuping’s stall. I believe Li Shuping won’t stop asking you for help because of this.”

Li Shuping added, “I’m not afraid of some ignorant, envious person’s false report. Xiao Ye, I’ll still ask you to help me pick vegetables, and I’ll keep running my stall to make money. Let those envious people get mad.”

Some people are just disgusting.

They don’t want to work hard or lower their pride to make money by setting up a stall.

When they see others earning money, they make trouble and report them.

Those kinds of people will never get ahead in life.