“Take it.” Lin Yongnian handed three large bills to Li Shuping.

Li Shuping took the money, frowned, and asked, “Why is it only thirty yuan?”

Lin Yongnian explained, “This month, money’s a bit tight. Starting next month, I’ll give you fifty yuan every month.”

This month’s salary had already been advanced by half a month last month, giving fifteen yuan for the two daughters-in-law’s living expenses, five yuan to Zhang Jiao for laundry money, and spent over thirty yuan on the family’s allocated rations for the month.

If he gave Li Shuping thirty more yuan, he’d have only around twenty left, so he had to leave some for himself.

Actually, both Lin Guodong and Lin Jianshe were salaried workers and could afford to buy their own food.

But Lin Yongnian felt that before Li Shuping left the family, she had never asked them to pay for their own grain.

Now, if he made them pay, wouldn’t it be like the family was getting worse off without her?

So, Lin Yongnian decided that he wouldn’t let his sons pay.

He’d cover everything by himself.

After all, his money would eventually go to his children.

Li Shuping pursed her lips, stuffed the money into her bag, and turned to leave.

Aunt Zhao called out, “Shuping, you’re leaving already?”

“Mm-hmm, I’ll see you later, Zhao Jie.”

Lin Yongnian, feeling upset, pointed at Li Shuping’s retreating back and said to Lin Jianshe and the others, “Look, look! Now, she only cares about money. She can’t bear to part with a single cent and still has to come asking for more.”

Lin Jianshe pouted, “She’s always like that.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking when I married her!” Lin Yongnian sighed as he sat on the lounge chair.

If he had married someone else, he wouldn’t have gotten divorced at his age and become the subject of gossip.

Lin Yongnian completely forgot that it was he who first pursued Li Shuping, drawn to her honest and hardworking nature, her decent looks, and the fact that she had no relatives.

After marriage, there would be fewer complications.

She was the kind of woman who would care for the family, respect the elders, and look after him after marriage.

So after the matchmaking event, he took the initiative to have the women’s director at a garment factory act as an intermediary, with the intention of getting married.

He courted her with this goal in mind.

In order to marry Li Shuping, he also used some tricks to please her during their courtship, ultimately getting her to agree to marry him.

Li Shuping was about to collect the money and planned to visit the shop to check the progress of the construction. She also wanted to buy a couple of bottles of soda for Cheng Hongliang and Qin Ye.

When she passed the No. 24 courtyard, she ran into Gu Zhenyuan walking toward her.

“Captain Gu…” Before she could finish saying his name, Li Shuping quickly covered her mouth and glanced around, ensuring there was no one else before she sighed in relief.

Captain Gu was in plain clothes today, likely undercover investigating a case. If she had called him by his title, it would have revealed his identity.

Gu Zhenyuan was slightly confused, looked around but didn’t see anything unusual.

“What’s the matter, Li Shuping?”

Li Shuping took a few steps forward, lowered her voice, and asked, “You’re undercover investigating, right? If I call you Captain Gu, won’t that expose you?”

Gu Zhenyuan smiled and shook his head. “I’m not here to investigate a case; I came specifically to find you.”

Li Shuping was surprised. “Find me? What for?”

Gu Zhenyuan explained, “I have a neighbor, an aunt, who’s ill. She doesn’t want to eat anything, just your dumplings.”

“Your dumpling stall isn’t up anymore, but her son wants to invite you to their house to make dumplings for her. You can set your price.”

Li Shuping raised an eyebrow. “Set my price? That generous?”

Gu Zhenyuan nodded. “You can ask for whatever amount you want.”

“Can they pay two hundred yuan?”

“…Yes,” Gu Zhenyuan hesitated before replying, but he didn’t think she was the kind of person who would ask for two hundred.

Li Shuping smiled. It seemed like that elderly woman’s family was quite well off if they could afford two hundred yuan.

“Since she’s a fan of my dumplings and is sick, just wanting to eat some of my dumplings, and I have nothing else to do, I’ll go make her some for free.”

Gu Zhenyuan smiled. “I knew I was right about you.”

“You wait here. I’ll tell the kids a few things, then I’ll go with you.”

“Okay.”

Li Shuping went home, told Lin Xiaoyu she wouldn’t be home for lunch, and asked her to cook more food for Cheng Hongliang and Qin Ye at the shop. After making the arrangements, Li Shuping left and walked to the alley entrance with Gu Zhenyuan. They got into his car.

The car drove for about twenty minutes and entered a tree-lined, quiet road. There were no buildings in sight, no factories—just beautiful surroundings and fresh air.

After a few more minutes, they reached a large iron gate with a guard in military uniform. When the guard saw the car, he stepped out from the guardhouse and opened the gate, saluting the car.

Gu Zhenyuan casually nodded in return and pressed the gas pedal, driving inside.

Once inside, the road was lined with two-story villas every few meters, with well-maintained yards, pathways for walks, and a beautiful environment.

Li Shuping, who lived until 2010 in her past life, was impressed. This was quite the upscale area. She could tell it was a place for retired higher-ranking officials.

“Do you live here, Captain Gu?” Li Shuping asked.

Gu Zhenyuan nodded. “After my parents retired, they moved here. It’s close to the Second Bureau, so I moved in with them to help take care of them.”

“That’s true,” Li Shuping agreed.

“This is where my parents live.” As they passed his family’s small building, Gu Zhenyuan slowed down.

Li Shuping tilted her head to admire the house. The white walls and red-tiled roof were covered with pink climbing roses, making it look very beautiful.

“Such pretty flowers.”

“My mom planted them. When she’s not playing mahjong with the other ladies in the compound, she’s taking care of her flowers.”

“How wonderful,” Li Shuping said, looking enviously. “That’s the kind of retirement life I want.”

She was determined to work hard so that when she was in her sixties or seventies, she could live such a lovely retirement life too.

The car stopped in front of the Li family’s small building. Gu Zhenyuan and Li Shuping got out of the car.

Though there weren’t roses climbing the walls of the Li house, the yard was filled with various flowers. It was clear that the lady of the house loved life.

“Ding ding, ding ding.” Gu Zhenyuan led Li Shuping to the front door and rang the doorbell.

The maid, Sister Wang, opened the door and stepped aside, giving Li Shuping a curious look.

“Do we need to take off our shoes?” Li Shuping asked, glancing at the clean floor with pig-liver-colored tiles.

Gu Zhenyuan replied, “No, just come in.”

Li Shuping nodded and followed him inside. The house had traditional Chinese decor with a set of huanghuali wood furniture, combining elegance and luxury.

“Are the guests here?” Hearing the doorbell, Li Yunshu came downstairs from the second floor.