“Hehe…” Li Shuping laughed, brushing the bangs from her forehead. “He’s thinking for the greater good. So, for the greater good, he chose to sacrifice me, his wife. It’s clear that in that family, I’m just someone who can be sacrificed for any reason, and I’m at the very bottom of that household.”

“Lin Guodong and Lin Jianjia, those two ingrate wolves, are the same. When they saw me being insulted by outsiders and beaten by their father, they didn’t say a word. But when I fought back and hit their father, they suddenly got anxious.”

“In their eyes, only their father is human. I, as their mother, am nothing.”

“I’m not some shameless person, so why should I stay with a man who would sacrifice me for anything, and two sons who don’t see me as a person and have no respect for me as their mother?”

“Should I wait until I’m too old to serve them, and then get kicked out by them?”

“Sister-in-law, my elder brother and Guodong aren’t as bad as you say, are they?” Lin Qiufang couldn’t help but speak up for her elder brother and nephew.

Lin Qiufang felt that her sister-in-law was being too harsh. How could she say such things about her own son?

Guodong and Jianjia were both good, tall and strong, and they both had formal jobs.

Now, they were both married, and Guodong even gave her a grandson.

Her sister-in-law didn’t even work anymore, just waiting to enjoy her life with her grandson. But she still divorced her husband!

She really couldn’t appreciate the good life she had.

Li Shuping: “…”

As expected, she’s biased toward her own family.

The bus arrived, and Li Shuping looked at Lin Qiufang and said, “Qiufang, seeing that I’ve been married to your brother for so many years, and you still respect me as your elder sister-in-law, I’ll still give you one piece of advice.”

“You should either divorce Wang Zhengde, or if he hits you again, you must fight back, or tell your elder brother what happened.”

“Your elder brother cares deeply for you. If he knows Wang Zhengde hit you, he will definitely bring your two nephews and go deal with him. When the knife falls on him, he’ll feel the pain. Maybe in the future, he won’t dare to hit you again.”

She thought that divorce was the best solution, allowing Lin Qiufang to completely escape the fate of dying from domestic violence.

But from what Lin Qiufang had just said, she could tell that even if Lin Qiufang was beaten to death, she wouldn’t divorce.

The reason she mentioned telling Lin Yongnian last was because Li Shuping knew that when a woman encounters domestic violence, she has to be strong herself.

Relying on others might work for a while, but it can’t last forever.

The bus stopped, and Li Shuping got on.

Lin Qiufang came back to her senses after the bus had already driven away. “My sister-in-law really is crazy. Not only did she divorce my brother, but now she wants me to divorce Zhengde!”

“What about my three kids? They’re still so young. What will happen to them if I get divorced?”

“When Wang Zhengde hits me, she tells me to fight back. How could a woman possibly fight against a man?”

“What if I fight back and make him even angrier? What if he beats me even worse?”

“Maybe I could tell my brother and let him help me. But would my brother really help me? After all, he’s also a man who beats his wife.”

Li Shuping, having gotten her perm, returned to the No. 23 courtyard, and the people there almost didn’t recognize her.

When she entered the house, they began gossiping again.

Cui Juanzi: “Did you see? She got a perm.”

Liu Mingxiang curled her lips. “At her age, getting a perm is really shameless.”

She wanted to get a perm too, but perms were expensive.

Wang Guixiang: “She even bought a lot of things. Could it be that she got a perm to look better, hoping to use those things to ask her husband and kids for forgiveness?”

Cui Juanzi: “That’s most likely it. Liu Mingxiang, you should tell your sister-in-law as soon as possible. When Li Shuping leaves, you should quickly inform your sister to rent the house.”

Liu Mingxiang nodded.

At that moment, Qin Ye entered the courtyard, carrying a heavy basket.

Seeing how heavy the basket was, the people asked curiously, “Qin Ye, didn’t Li Shuping stop selling dumplings? Why did you still go to the countryside to collect so many vegetables? Are you planning to sell them on the black market?”

Qin Ye ignored them and walked toward Room 5, carrying his basket.

Li Shuping heard the noise and came out from the house, opening the kitchen door.

Qin Ye was taken aback when he saw her. “Aunt Li, you got a perm?”

“Yeah, how is it? Does it look strange?” Li Shuping asked, touching her hair.

Qin Ye shook his head. “It doesn’t look strange. It looks good, and makes you look younger.”

Hearing this, Li Shuping felt pleased.

Qin Ye gave her the price for the vegetables and returned the extra money.

Li Shuping counted out another 80 cents for him, and Qin Ye thanked her before heading home.

When the people saw Qin Ye leaving Li Shuping’s kitchen, they exchanged looks.

She hadn’t stopped selling dumplings; she was just taking a break for the day?

She even gave herself a day off from her street vendor job?

Qin Ye had just entered his home when someone suddenly pounced on him.

He wasn’t prepared and was knocked to the ground, and the person immediately reached into his pocket.

But Qin Ye wasn’t going to let him get away with it. He grabbed the hand that was trying to steal the money from his pocket and pushed the person away with all his strength.

“Qin Dashan, are you crazy?!” Qin Ye shouted.

Qin Dashan pulled his hand out of Qin Ye’s pocket, holding a few crumpled bills—80 cents, the money Qin Ye had just earned.

After his rent money had been stolen last time, Qin Ye started hiding his money outside and no longer kept it on him.

The 80 cents in his pocket was what he planned to use to buy some noodles before putting the rest of the money away.

Qin Dashan lowered his head and stuffed the money into his mouth, then smiled smugly at his son.

Qin Ye shook him off, gritting his teeth. “Qin Dashan, one day you’ll drink yourself to death!”

After saying that, Qin Ye turned and left the house.

“Hehehe…”

Qin Dashan took the money out of his mouth, counted it, and realized 80 cents was just enough to buy a bottle of liquor.

He went out to buy wine.

Lin Xiaoyu came home from school in the afternoon, and Li Shuping immediately took out the new clothes she had bought for her.

Lin Xiaoyu was overjoyed when she saw the skirt.

She spun around, hugging Li Shuping, making her dizzy.

She tried on both sets of new clothes.

They fit perfectly and looked great, especially the skirt.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Lin Xiaoyu could hardly believe it was her reflection.

She felt so happy.

The steel factory had a meeting that day, and Lin Yongnian and Lin Guodong worked overtime.

“Dad, it seems like Mom isn’t selling dumplings anymore.”

The spot where the dumpling stall used to be was now empty, and there was no sign of the usual busyness when she came home from work.

Lin Yongnian snorted, “Your mom is just stubborn. She saw that our family is about to cut ties with her, and you all no longer acknowledge her, so she stopped selling dumplings.”

“Just wait. In a couple of days, she’ll be begging to come back,” Lin Yongnian said as he walked away.

Lin Guodong, holding his son’s hand, watched his father’s back and thought to himself: Dad is really confident.

When will I be as confident as him?

When they returned home, Zhang Jiao was cooking in the kitchen, while Liu Qin and Lin Jianjia were flirting in the living room.

Seeing Lin Yongnian and Lin Guodong come in, they both called out, “Dad.”

Lin Yongnian took off his work clothes, intending to let his eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Jiao, wash them. But since she was still cooking, he decided to wait until she finished eating and washing the dishes before giving them to her.

He took the work clothes and dirty clothes from the laundry basket and said, “Liu Qin, please wash these dirty clothes for me.”

Liu Qin: “!”

Why should she wash his dirty clothes?

Was she his servant?

Liu Qin turned her head. “I won’t wash them.”