Li Shuping had no idea that the Lin family was plotting to persuade her to go back home, as her hands moved quickly to wrap dumplings.

The dumplings she had already wrapped were all sold out, and now she was wrapping and boiling them fresh.

Looking at the line of people in front of the stall, Li Shuping could only regret not having two more hands.

Lin Xiaoyu and Qin Ye reached the end of the alley and saw the crowd around the stall.

The two small tables were fully occupied by people eating dumplings, with a few more standing nearby, eating.

“This business is doing way too well!” Lin Xiaoyu said in surprise.

Seeing her mother was overwhelmed, she quickly ran over to help.

“Mom.”

Li Shuping, seeing her daughter had returned, felt like she had found a savior. “Xiaoyu, quickly wash your hands and help me wrap the dumplings. I can’t keep up.”

“Okay.” Lin Xiaoyu rolled up her sleeves, washed her hands, and started wrapping dumplings.

She had learned to wrap dumplings from Li Shuping, and she did it both quickly and skillfully.

With Lin Xiaoyu helping, Li Shuping felt much lighter.

Soon, they were able to serve a few bowls of dumplings.

Qin Ye stood there for a while, then turned and headed home.

When Gu Zhenyuan arrived, there were still a few people in line.

He was surprised by the thriving business.

He stepped forward and stood at the back of the line.

Wearing an olive green police uniform and with a tall, imposing figure, he immediately stood out.

Many people glanced at him secretly, and some whispered to each other.

“Is this police officer here to eat dumplings?”

“Probably, they’re all lining up. He’s not here to chase people away.”

“It seems like the rumors about street vendors not getting chased or arrested are true.”

“It’s different now, the policies have loosened…”

“Your dumplings.” Li Shuping handed a bowl and chopsticks with dumplings to the person at the front of the line. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Gu Zhenyuan at the back.

“Captain Gu!” He really came—did my dumplings have this much charm?

He came back for a second serving.

Gu Zhenyuan nodded slightly. “You’re busy, I’ll just wait in line.”

Li Shuping: “Then please wait a moment.”

The people at the front of the line, hearing Li Shuping call him “Captain,” tried to let him go first, but Gu Zhenyuan declined.

When it was finally his turn, Gu Zhenyuan handed over a net bag with three lunchboxes. “Please pack three servings of dumplings.”

Li Shuping took the net bag and asked, “Is your home far?”

“About half an hour by car.”

Li Shuping said, “If you take them home, they’ll be cold after half an hour. Dumplings don’t taste right when reheated. I’ll pack them raw for you. I’ll give you a few extra, you can cook them at home. It’ll taste the same as eating here.”

Gu Zhenyuan thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay, I’ll take them raw.”

Li Shuping packed twenty dumplings per serving, filling all three lunchboxes.

After packing them, she placed the net bag into Gu Zhenyuan’s hands. “Here you go.”

Gu Zhenyuan took them, then tossed a coin into the money box. “Keep the change.”

With that, he turned and left without looking back, leaving Li Shuping no time to call after him.

Li Shuping hadn’t expected the business to be this good.

About twenty pounds of filling and twenty pounds of dough made seven or eight hundred dumplings, and by 6:30, they were all sold out.

Mother and daughter looked at the two empty large bowls and smiled at each other.

It was a success!

…

“My poor Shushu, she went missing at just three years old. In that chaotic environment, I don’t know if any kind-hearted person adopted her, or if she’s still alive,” Aunt Yu’s voice came from inside as Gu Zhenyuan walked through the door.

Aunt Yu was telling his mother about her daughter who went missing during the chaos before the Liberation, while escaping from enemy pursuit.

After Liberation, Aunt Yu and her family had been searching for her, but there had been no news, and the likelihood of her survival was very slim.

“The fortune teller said that Shushu is a lucky child. She’s certainly still alive somewhere in this world,” Gu Zhenyuan’s mother comforted her friend patiently.

She had said this countless times over the years.

“Mom, Aunt Yu.”

“Zhenyuan’s back.” The elderly Aunt Yu quickly wiped her tears, trying to hide her sorrow from the younger generation.

“Mm.” Gu Zhenyuan nodded.

Gu Zhenyuan’s mother turned to look at him. “We’ve been waiting for you to come home for dinner. What did you bring back to eat?”

She noticed the lunchboxes in his hand.

“Chive and egg dumplings. I had some for lunch and they were really good, so I bought some raw ones to bring back. Just let Chen Jie cook them, and we can eat them right away.”

Gu Zhenyuan’s mother stood up and took the lunchboxes, calling for the maid, Chen, to cook them.

“Where’s Dad?” Gu Zhenyuan asked.

“He’s upstairs in the study playing chess with Uncle Li.” The two old men were both chess enthusiasts and would always play when they were together.

Gu Zhenyuan said, “Then I’ll go say hello to him.”

Aunt Yu replied, “You don’t need to go out of your way. They’ll be coming down soon.”

Okay. Gu Zhenyuan decided not to go upstairs. Instead, he sat down on a single armchair and waited for dinner.

Gu Zhenyuan’s mother suddenly said, “By the way, I ran into Aunt Feng today. She said her niece, who’s thirty-five and still unmarried because of work, would like to meet you. When would you have time to meet her?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Zhenyuan frowned. “I don’t want to meet her.”

His mother’s face darkened. “What, are you planning to stay single forever?”

It had been three years since his divorce, and as a mother, she still hoped her son would find someone new and have a child of his own.

His ex-wife had been diagnosed with fertility problems shortly after they got married, and after years without children, Gu Zhenyuan had eventually divorced her, no matter how she begged to save the marriage.

Gu Zhenyuan’s mother knew something serious must have happened between them for him to have been so resolute, but despite all her questions, neither of them would talk about it.

Gu Zhenyuan said, “There’s nothing wrong with being single.”

Aunt Yu spoke earnestly, “It’s important to have someone by your side, someone who understands you and supports you, someone to grow old with. Otherwise, when you retire and have no one to talk to, it’ll be so lonely.”

Gu Zhenyuan’s mother nodded in agreement and shot him a reproachful glance.

“I’m busy right now. I don’t have time to think about this. I’ve got a lot of cases to handle,” Gu Zhenyuan offered an excuse.

“Just let your subordinates handle it. You’re not the only one in the criminal investigation team,” his mother replied, clearly understanding that he was avoiding the topic.

Before the divorce, he wasn’t this busy, but since the divorce, he seemed to throw himself into work, staying at the office from dawn till night. It wasn’t unusual for him to stay away for a whole week.

“Zhenyuan’s back,” Elder Li and Gu’s father came downstairs, rescuing Gu Zhenyuan from his mother’s pressure to get married.

“Uncle Li…”