“Mm.” Gu Zhenyuan nodded. “This is Comrade Li Shuping.”

“She is Li Yunshu, Madam Yu’s daughter.”

Gu Zhenyuan introduced Li Shuping and Li Yunshu to each other.

“Hello.” Li Shuping nodded politely and glanced at Li Yunshu.

Li Yunshu was dressed in a white dress made of suit fabric with a large lapel, cinched at the waist with a white leather belt.

Her hair was pinned up, she wore pearl earrings, had slanted eyes and a rectangular face.

She looked very imposing—clearly someone used to living off official privileges.

Li Yunshu glanced up and down at Li Shuping, a hint of contempt flashing in her eyes.

Li Shuping wore a dated floral shirt and black pants, with cloth shoes on her feet—a typical outfit of someone from the lower class.

Li Yunshu didn’t respond to Li Shuping’s greeting.

Instead, she walked down the stairs and said to the housekeeper, Aunt Wang, “Wang Jie, take her to the kitchen.”

Li Shuping frowned slightly, sensing that she was being looked down upon.

Although she knew it was normal for people from such families to disdain her, she still felt uncomfortable inside.

Gu Zhenyuan frowned too.

Since he was the one who invited Li Shuping, Li Yunshu’s blatant disregard for her was like a slap in his face, and he felt sorry for Li Shuping.

“Follow me.” Aunt Wang glanced at Li Shuping and arrogantly headed toward the kitchen.

Li Shuping frowned but followed.

The Li family kitchen was large, with cabinets running along both upper and lower walls. There was both a gas stove and a coal stove.

Li Yunshu folded her arms and entered the kitchen, raising her chin. “Li Shuping, right? Show me your hands.”

Li Shuping felt puzzled but still extended her hands.

Her fingernails were cleanly clipped short, with no dirt in the creases. Although her hands were somewhat rough, they were quite fair, and her fingers were slender.

Li Yunshu curled her lips, “The nails are fairly clean.”

Li Shuping was speechless.

“My mother loves dumplings stuffed with pig’s head and cabbage. Aunt Wang has prepared the cabbage and pork in advance, so you just knead the dough and chop the filling.”

“Oh, and before you start, wash your hands thoroughly with soap.” Li Yunshu pointed at Li Shuping’s hands disdainfully.

“Aunt Wang, give her some soap.”

Li Shuping was silent.

Well, she thought, big wealthy families were particular.

She endured it.

She rolled up her sleeves, wetted her hands under the running water, took the soap from the housekeeper, rubbed both palms and backs of her hands carefully, then rinsed them clean under the water and shook off the excess.

Li Yunshu said, “Wash again.”

Li Shuping looked at her clean hands, then turned to Li Yunshu and asked, “Do you normally wash your hands twice before cooking?”

Li Yunshu frowned and blurted, “Of course not.”

Her family also had housekeepers; she rarely cooked herself.

“If you don’t normally wash twice, why do you want me to?”

Li Shuping could understand being asked to wash with soap, but having washed already and being told to do it again—she just couldn’t understand.

She quite reasonably suspected it was because they thought she was dirty.

Li Yunshu was momentarily speechless, then put on a stern face and said haughtily, “You’re here to make dumplings for us. You do it as you’re told. There’s no need for so much talking.”

“You said it yourself, you’re the one who invited me to make dumplings.” Li Shuping emphasized the word “invited.” “I only came because Captain Gu personally asked. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Heh…” Li Yunshu sneered. Saying she came for Captain Gu’s sake—what a self-flattering excuse.

What was her status?

And what was Gu Zhenyuan’s?

Was she really in a position to care about Gu’s face?

No way.

In her view, she was clearly here for the money.

Gu Zhenyuan’s second brother said when he left, the price was up to her to name.

“I understand that big families care about hygiene, but I’ve already washed my hands clean. Asking me to wash again is obviously because you think I’m dirty.”

“If you think I’m dirty, then I won’t do it. I’m leaving.” With that, Li Shuping started to head out of the kitchen.

She endured being looked down upon, but that didn’t mean she would put up with it forever—after all, she wasn’t a ninja turtle.

(Though she didn’t really know what a ninja turtle was—she only heard her grandchildren talk about it in her past life. It must be some kind of very patient turtle.)

“You…” Li Yunshu’s delicate face twisted in anger.

She didn’t expect a poor, low-status working woman to dare talk back to her like this.

Refusing to work and leaving just like that—where did she get the nerve?

As the director of the Beijing City Drama Troupe, it was the first time anyone had spoken to her that way.

Aunt Wang also looked at Li Shuping in surprise.

She had worried the woman might be trying to steal her job but found out she had no such intention. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spoken to Li Yunshu so bluntly.

“Who’s leaving?”

Hearing the commotion, Gu’s mother came to the kitchen doorway to see who had come to make dumplings.

She wanted to see what kind of person could make such delicious dumplings.

Li Shuping was momentarily stunned when she saw the white-haired elderly lady.

This lady was obviously Captain Gu’s own mother—Gu Zhenyuan’s features were exactly like hers.

Gu’s mother also examined Li Shuping.

She looked to be in her thirties, with an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and a fair forehead.

Her appearance was gentle and delicate but also carried a sharpness.

“You must be the dumpling maker Captain Zhenyuan invited?” Gu’s mother smiled and asked.

Li Shuping nodded, “You are Captain Gu’s mother?”

Gu’s mother nodded.

“You two look quite alike.”

Gu’s mother smiled as her gaze shifted between Li Yunshu and Li Shuping. “What’s going on here…”

Li Shuping spoke frankly, “She thinks I’m dirty, so I can’t make the dumplings. I’m leaving.”

Hearing this, Gu’s mother frowned, “Xiaoyan, how is she dirty? She’s clean and tidy, isn’t she?”

Li Yunshu said, “I just asked her to wash her hands.”

Li Shuping showed her hands, “I washed carefully with soap, but she still wanted me to wash again. Isn’t that just because she thinks I’m dirty?”

“I only came to help out because of Captain Gu, not to be humiliated. If you look down on people like me, commoners, and think we’re dirty, then you shouldn’t have asked me in the first place.”

Li Yunshu’s face turned blue with anger.

She did look down on this woman and thought her dirty, but being called out so openly was awkward and embarrassing for her.

Gu’s mother looked at Li Shuping’s clean hands, then glanced at Li Yunshu, silently rolling her eyes.

Taking Li Shuping’s hand, she said, “Girl, don’t argue with her. She’s just overly fussy. Maybe when she was little, she liked picking up things off the ground to eat. Now she’s grown, she’s developed an obsession with cleanliness.”

When Li Yunshu was first adopted by the Li family, she was quite greedy.

The conditions in the safe zone were poor, and she would guard her mouth whenever anyone ate, and if food fell on the ground, she’d pick it up and eat it.

Yu Qiuya taught her for a long time before she broke that bad habit.

Li Yunshu’s pupils constricted sharply, her fists clenched so hard her nails dug into her palms.

These were embarrassing things from her childhood, and decades had passed.

Yet this old woman still brought them up, clearly wanting to embarrass her in front of others.

Aunt Wang stared wide-eyed at the back of Li Yunshu’s head.

She looked so high and mighty now, yet as a child, she used to pick up food from the ground to eat.

Li Shuping didn’t mock Li Yunshu.

She just glanced at her because she had done similar things herself as a child.

Not just picking up food off the ground—when there was nothing to eat and she was starving, she had even fought with dogs for food.