“Aunt, are you looking for someone to build the kitchen? I can also build the stove. Do you want to give me a try? I only charge 1.5 yuan per day,” Cheng Hongliang volunteered.

“Can you do it?” Li Shuping was slightly doubtful because he was too young.

Cheng Hongliang patted his chest and said, “I’m sure I can. When I went to the countryside, I learned from the master craftsmen in the village. Don’t even mention just building a kitchen—if you asked me to build a two-story house, I could do that easily.”

“How much do you charge per day?” Li Shuping asked.

Cheng Hongliang replied, “I only charge 1.5 yuan.”

“Alright, I’ll let you try, but if you don’t do well, I’ll have to find someone else.”

For someone like him—young, returning from the countryside, choosing to work as a bricklayer doing odd jobs—she thought he should be trustworthy.

“If it’s not done well, I won’t take any money from you.”

Cheng Hongliang followed Li Shuping, and Zhang Qiangdong frowned as he looked at his wife. “Why are you increasing the price? Since when did I charge two yuan? You’ve messed up the good work.”

“If it’s lost, then it’s lost. If we don’t take work from her family, we can take work from someone else. I don’t feel comfortable letting you work for a divorced woman who dresses in such an alluring manner.”

After all, when he was young, he had a history. Once, he went to a widow’s house to repair a roof, and it nearly ended up with him fathering a child with her.

Besides, their family, Zhang Qiangdong, was skilled. If anyone needed a roof repaired or a partition built, they would always come to him, so there was no shortage of work.

Zhang Qiangdong: “…”

That woman was hardly dressed alluringly—just a floral shirt and black pants. She had a fair face, and her hair was curled, making her look somewhat attractive.

Cheng Hongliang followed Li Shuping to the store, where Li Shuping explained her plans and asked him to calculate how many bricks and materials would be needed.

“Aunt, I’ll go back and calculate everything, and then get back to you. Is that alright?”

“That’s fine,” Li Shuping nodded.

After leaving the store, Cheng Hongliang brought the list back to Li Shuping in the afternoon, estimating it would cost around seventy yuan.

Since Li Shuping wanted to install glass, and the cupboard, countertop, and stove all needed to be tiled, the total cost was slightly higher.

Qin Ye had been waiting all day but had not heard from Aunt Li.

He thought she had forgotten about him, but the next morning, she called on him to go out with her.

Li Shuping first took Qin Ye to the second-hand market to buy an old tricycle, then had him pull it to the cement factory to buy cement and sand.

The amount of cement and sand wasn’t much—only five or six bags, so it only took one trip to finish.

At noon, they had a bowl of noodles at the state-owned restaurant, and then went to the brick factory to pick up bricks.

Since the number of bricks wasn’t large, and the brick factory didn’t offer home delivery, Qin Ye had to make three trips to carry everything.

After the last load of bricks was unloaded, Li Shuping helped, saying while unloading, “Starting tomorrow, you’ll work with Cheng Hongliang from No. 24 yard to build the kitchen. You’ll be his assistant.”

“Alright.”

“Once the renovation is done and the dumpling shop opens, you can work at my store as an apprentice. I’ll pay you twenty-five yuan for the first month. If you do well, I’ll raise it later. Tomorrow is May 1st, so your salary starts from tomorrow.”

“Thud.” The brick Qin Ye was holding dropped to the ground, but fortunately, it didn’t break, nor did it dent the floor.

“Is… is that really okay?” He wondered if it might cause trouble or get her reported.

Li Shuping nodded, “Yes, it’s fine. The policy has changed, and Director Zhao told me personally.”

“Thank you, Aunt Li! I’ll work hard for you!” Qin Ye bowed in excitement, almost wanting to bow to her.

Aunt Li was like a second mother to him.

After a long day of running errands with her—carting goods, moving bricks—Li Shuping gave him one yuan.

Qin Ye didn’t want to take it, but Li Shuping insisted, pushing the money into his hand.

Thinking about how he would soon have a job, Qin Ye was so happy he bought two sesame meat pies on the way home.

“Here.” As soon as he entered the house, Qin Ye threw one of the oil-paper-wrapped meat pies onto his father’s bed.

Qin Dashan, smelling the meat, sat up and quickly grabbed the pie to eat.

“Why is it such a good day? Getting to eat meat today?”

Qin Ye: “…”

It was a good day because he had found a job, but he didn’t plan on telling his dad.

Qin Dashan devoured the meat pie in a few bites, then sighed, “What’s so special about this meat pie? It’d be better if you gave me a couple of shots of liquor.”

Qin Ye stared at his father, who was skin and bones. “All you care about is liquor. Don’t you want to take a look in the mirror and see what you’ve become? Qin Dashan, I’m serious, if you keep this up, you’ll drink yourself to death.”

Qin Dashan: “Better to die drinking than not have any alcohol at all. Xiao Ye…”

“I don’t have money.”

…

Soon it was Saturday, and Gu Zhenyuan, for once, didn’t have to work overtime. He got up early and ran a few laps around the courtyard.

On his way back home, he saw a familiar military jeep. He looked inside and, seeing a familiar face, waved at the people inside.

The people inside also saw him and had the driver stop the car. The rear window rolled down.

“Xiao Yuan.”

Gu Zhenyuan walked up to the car, “Li Erge, I’m almost old now, and you’re still calling me Xiao Yuan.”

The person in the car was none other than Li Boyan, the second son of the Li family.

Li Boyan, wearing a green military uniform, smiled and said, “To me, no matter if you’re seventy years old, you’ll still be the Xiao Yuan following me around, calling me Erge.”

Gu Zhenyuan smiled helplessly, “Li Erge, why are you back today?”

Li Boyan frowned, “The old lady is sick. I was supposed to go to the city for a meeting on Monday, but I came back early to check on her and stay for two days.”

“Aunt Yu is sick? Is it serious?”

“It’s the same old problems, just recurring.”

“Then after breakfast, I’ll go and see Aunt Yu.”

“Alright, see you later.”

Gu Zhenyuan watched the car leave, then turned and went back home.

“Mom, Li Erge’s back. He said Aunt Yu is sick?” After washing his hands in the kitchen, Gu Zhenyuan sat down at the dining table.

His mother, Gu Mu, said, “Is that so? Then I’ll go see her later.”

After breakfast, the mother and son brought some supplements to the Li family.

The nanny told them the old lady was upstairs in her room, so Gu Zhenyuan handed the supplements to the nanny and followed his mother upstairs.

“Mom, you should eat something. How can you recover if you don’t eat?” As they approached the door, they heard Li Yunshu persuading the old lady to eat.

“Knock knock.” Gu Zhenyuan knocked on the door.

Li Bo Yan turned around and said, “Aunt Mu, please persuade my mom. She hasn’t eaten since last night and still refuses now.”

Li Boyan’s father also had a helpless look on his face.

When this old lady was stubborn, no one could convince her.

They just hoped that Aunt Mu, an old friend of the family, could get her to listen.

Grandma Yu was lying on the redwood bed with her pillow propped up.

She looked pale and weak, without much energy.

Gu Mu walked to the bed and sat on the edge, persuading, “Sister Yu, food is important. If you don’t eat, how can you recover from your illness?”

“Yes, Mom, you should at least eat a little,” Li Yunshu added. “I made yam porridge this morning. It’s soft and fragrant.”

The old lady shook her head with her eyes closed, not even wanting to smell the porridge.

“Ah, I don’t want to eat. I can’t eat.”

“Even if you can’t eat much, you still need to eat a little,” Gu Mu continued persuading. “If you don’t eat, how can your illness get better? Don’t you want to see Shushu again?”

At the mention of her daughter, Grandma Yu opened her eyes. Yes, she still had to wait to find Shushu.

“Come on, Mom, drink some porridge. I’ll feed you.” Li Yunshu suppressed her frustration, scooping a spoonful of porridge and bringing it to the old lady’s mouth.

Grandma Yu turned her head away and said, “I don’t want to eat porridge.”

Li Yunshu asked, “What would you like to eat? I’ll cook it.”

Grandma Yu looked at Gu Zhenyuan and said, “I want to eat dumplings.”