Two plates of dumplings were placed on the table, and Lin Xiaoyu turned back to the kitchen to fetch the dumpling soup.

In the courtyard, several households could be heard scolding and hitting their children.

The sounds of adult shouting and children crying echoed through the night.

“I made dumplings for you, and now you say I look like a dumpling?”

“You won’t make dumplings for me, so that means you don’t love me. You’re a bad mom!”

“You little brat…”

Lin Yongnian walked into Courtyard No. 23 with his hands behind his back.

Hearing the sounds of children being scolded and hit, he pursed his lips and shook his head.

The people living in this courtyard were really something—so many families hitting their kids all at once this late at night.

The place was smaller than Courtyard No. 18, and the houses looked more rundown.

Without him, Li Shuping had no choice but to live in such a shabby place.

Standing in the middle of the yard, Lin Yongnian tried to figure out which unit Li Shuping and Xiaoyu might be living in.

Suddenly, the aroma of shepherd’s purse and pork dumplings hit his nose.

He turned his head to the right and saw a familiar figure holding a bowl at the door of the lit room in the farthest corner.

“Xiaoyu.”

“Dad.” Lin Xiaoyu, holding a bowl of dumpling soup, turned at the familiar voice and saw her father.

Lin Yongnian stepped forward and saw the steaming dumplings on the small table inside the cramped room.

His stomach, already not full from earlier, started growling again.

“So your mom made dumplings, huh? Perfect timing—I’ll have a few. It’s been a long time since I had your mom’s shepherd’s purse dumplings.” Lin Yongnian squeezed into the room as if it were his own home.

Holding the bowl of soup, Lin Xiaoyu entered the room, feeling a mix of emotions.

Dad and Mom were divorced now.

This was her and her mom’s home.

Was it really appropriate for him to barge in and eat dumplings like it was still his house?

Not to mention—on the day of the divorce, he wouldn’t even let Mom eat any rice from the Lin family.

Lin Yongnian picked up a pair of chopsticks and had just grabbed a plump white dumpling when a loud voice snapped: “Put that down!”

Startled, Lin Yongnian’s hand shook, and the dumpling dropped back onto the plate.

He turned his head and saw Li Shuping standing at the doorway holding two dishes of vinegar.

Her face was dark with anger, but he ignored it entirely.

Instead, he scolded her like he was still at home: “Why are you shouting like that? You’re a woman—can’t you be a little gentler? Hurry up and bring the vinegar over. You can’t eat dumplings without dipping them in vinegar.”

His usual scolding tone and commanding attitude immediately set Li Shuping off.

They were divorced.

Why did he still think he could talk to her like that?

Li Shuping took a deep breath, walked in, placed the vinegar on the table, then grabbed Lin Yongnian by the back of the neck and yanked him off the chair.

“You crazy old woman, what are you doing?” Lin Yongnian shouted, thinking she had lost her mind again.

“Get out! We’re already divorced. This is my house, not yours!” Li Shuping shouted as she pushed him toward the door.

“You—”

Before he could finish, Lin Yongnian found himself shoved outside.

He looked at Li Shuping, who was blocking the door with her hand.

He raised his hand in protest but then dropped it. “Li Shuping, are you insane?”

Li Shuping dug her pinky into her ear. She couldn’t even remember how many times he’d asked that question.

“Are you senile? You keep saying the same thing over and over. You’re not tired of asking it, but I’m tired of hearing it.”

That damn old man.

In his previous life, he really did go senile before he died, driving her half-crazy.

He even smeared feces on the walls.

Luckily, he had other illnesses and died quickly—at least he didn’t torment her for too long.

“This is my house. You’re not welcome here. The farther you are from me, the better. I’ve already seen enough of your face in my past life. I don’t want to see it again in this one.”

Lin Yongnian’s face flushed with anger. “You think I want to come to this dump?”

Li Shuping sneered. “Oh? If you didn’t want to, then why are you here?”

“I—I came for Junjun! He’s your biological grandson. We both have to work, and the eldest daughter-in-law asked you to help watch Junjun. You won’t even do that. Are you even worthy of being his grandma?” he accused.

Li Shuping responded, “I’m not worthy of being Junjun’s grandma? Fine, you are. You’re top-tier. A match made in heaven. Go quit your job and take care of Junjun yourself. Don’t come to my house and act crazy. You have nothing to do with me anymore!”

And with that, she slammed the door shut.

The door nearly hit Lin Yongnian in the nose.

He stepped back, fuming. “Li Shuping, you’ll regret this! Don’t expect Junjun to ever acknowledge you as his grandma again!”

Li Shuping ignored him and called her daughter over to eat dumplings.

As long as she had enough money, she’d have more grandkids than she could count.

In their old age, her grandsons had loved Lin Yongnian not because he was a great grandfather, but because he had a pension and pocket money for them.

When she stopped working, it didn’t take long before Lin Yongnian started thinking the household savings were too low.

He accused her of spending too much, said she couldn’t manage money, and never let her handle his salary again.

He only gave her grocery money once a week—and only if she asked.

Every time she asked, he would say, “Didn’t I just give you some? How’d you use it up so fast? Where did it all go?”

Every time she had to hold out her hand for money, she felt like she had no dignity.

After yelling one last threat, Lin Yongnian stood by the window for a while.

Seeing that Li Shuping was happily eating dumplings and completely unaffected, he felt like he had punched a pillow—frustrated and helpless—so he turned and stormed off.

Back at home, Lin Yongnian was fuming.

Zhang Jiao was helping Junjun wash his feet.

When she saw him come in, she asked, “Dad, what did Mom say?”

“From now on, Junjun doesn’t have that grandma!” Lin Yongnian said angrily.

Zhang Jiao was startled.

Looked like he hadn’t gotten the outcome he wanted—he’d gone to convince his ex-wife and ended up even more upset.

“What did Mom do to you?” Lin Jianshe asked.

“What could she do to me?” Lin Yongnian snapped. “I scolded her good. Told her that if she won’t watch Junjun, then Junjun won’t have her as a grandma anymore.”

“She was so ashamed she couldn’t even lift her head.” Lin Yongnian needed to save face, of course—he didn’t want to admit that he’d been thrown out and wasn’t even allowed to eat a single dumpling.

The two brothers exchanged a glance, unconvinced.

If that were really the case, he wouldn’t be this mad.

After calming down a bit, Lin Yongnian looked at his beloved grandson Junjun. “We’ll send Junjun to the daycare at the steel factory. It’s fine there. I’m afraid if we leave him with Li Shuping, she might go crazy and hit him.” He still had to badmouth her on his way out.

Zhang Jiao frowned at her son.

She didn’t want to send Junjun to daycare either.

With one caregiver watching so many kids, it was easy for accidents to happen.

But if her mother-in-law wouldn’t help, and her own mother lived too far away, there wasn’t much choice.

That night, after washing up and lying in bed, Li Shuping closed her eyes to rest.

When she heard her daughter turn over on the upper bunk, she asked, “Xiaoyu, are you asleep?”

“Not yet, Mom. What is it?”

“What do you think of the dumplings I made?” Li Shuping asked.

“They’re the best in the world.” Xiaoyu answered with confidence—no one made dumplings as delicious as her mom.

“So, what do you think… should I set up a little stand to sell dumplings?” Li Shuping asked.

She figured her dumpling-making skills weren’t bad. Everyone who had tried them had praised them.

Now that food stalls were making good money, maybe she could try her luck selling dumplings.