“Hello, I’m Li Yue, Yu He’s partner. I saw you on the day of your move from the neighboring courtyard, but since you were busy, I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Ning Shu remembered that day, which was two months ago.

She was surprised that Li Yue had such a good memory.

She quickly responded, “Hello, I’m Ning Shu, Lin Guodong’s partner. At that time, the house was in chaos, and I was rushing back to our previous compound. I planned to visit you when we settled in, but it seems we’ve met earlier than expected. It really is fate.”

Li Yue noticed Ning Shu’s outfit—though it was without patches, the cotton jacket and pants made her look somewhat out of place.

However, Ning Shu’s words didn’t seem down-to-earth.

The word “fate” didn’t fit with someone who appeared outdated.

Li Yue also observed that Ning Shu’s fair skin and slender hands indicated she wasn’t used to hard labor.

Li Yue smiled slightly, “Indeed, it’s fate. So, have you all moved in now?”

As the two of them talked while walking, people around them began to view Ning Shu with more respect since they knew Li Yue was the daughter-in-law of the deputy bureau chief.

Anyone who could attract her attention was likely to have some status or qualities.

Many people present became curious about Ning Shu.

“We arrived yesterday, but the luggage only arrived around noon. It took us all afternoon to unpack. Are you just coming back from work?” Knowing that Li Yue was Yu He’s wife gave Ning Shu a good impression, especially since she had a positive impression of Yu He.

Li Yue’s proactive approach and her refined manner only enhanced this impression.

“Yes, I just got off work. I work at the newspaper, so my hours are quite flexible.” Li Yue briefly introduced her job.

Given Li Yue’s attire, Ning Shu understood that she was not an ordinary office worker.

Ning Shu introduced herself briefly, “I’m a fashion designer. I design clothes for a clothing factory. Since I need to follow the military, and the factory is back in my hometown, the factory manager has been considerate and allowed me to work from home. The downside is that the benefits are somewhat reduced.”

Li Yue’s eyes lit up when she heard about Ning Shu’s job, “Wow, your job sounds amazing. If I could work from home every day, I wouldn’t mind the reduced benefits. It’s freezing to commute in this winter, and the wind and sand make the air so dry. You might find the winter here quite harsh, especially if your skin is prone to drying out.”

Ning Shu, though it was her first time in the capital, was aware of the weather differences, having learned about them from her previous life.

The capital was dry, whereas the south was humid.

“Your job is also impressive. Working at a newspaper is where the latest news flows,” Ning Shu genuinely complimented.

Li Yue suddenly had an idea, “By the way, as a fashion designer, you must have insights into domestic fashion trends, right?”

Ning Shu was surprised, “What do you mean?”

Li Yue explained, “The domestic situation is starting to change. With economic and cultural shifts, our newspaper is planning to launch a new section. I’ve been interested in fashion trends, but as you know, some people are stuck in their ways and resist such ideas.”

“As for me, although I’m optimistic about this area, I don’t have any clear ideas at the moment. But after hearing what you said, I think fashion trends could start with clothing. What do you think?”

Ning Shu thought for a moment and said, “That’s certainly possible.” With the upcoming reforms, the clothing industry was about to take off, especially in places like Guangzhou.

Clothing trends from Hong Kong would flood into the mainland, bringing about a radical change in the way people dressed.

At that time, the first wave of entrepreneurs would start making money, and it would be the perfect time for those who were starting from scratch.

Even though Ning Shu knew some of the origins, she wasn’t interested in doing that kind of business.

It was too exhausting and tough for her.

“That’s great! Once your house is all settled, I’ll come by and we can talk more. I’d love to hear your thoughts,” Li Yue said, feeling that she and Ning Shu would get along well.

She believed they could have a lot in common and become friends.

“Sure, I’m new to the capital, so I don’t know many places yet. I’ll have to trouble you to be my guide then,” Ning Shu said without hesitation.

Li Yue replied, “No trouble at all. I’m particularly fond of qipaos. I’ll take you to my favorite tailor shop someday… Oh, we’ve arrived at your place. We can talk more later.”

The two of them chatted as they reached their homes, which were next to each other.

“Goodbye.” Ning Shu walked into the courtyard, where the three children were still washing bed sheets and covers.

With two sets of bed sheets and covers, it was no wonder they had been at it for quite some time.

As soon as Erbao saw her return, he excitedly asked, “Mom, did you get the roast duck?”

Ning Shu replied, “Yes, and I also got some salt-baked chicken, so you can eat to your heart’s content.”

Erbao grinned widely, overjoyed, but then asked, “Mom, do we have any soda?”

Ning Shu responded, “…Why are you always dreaming so big?”

“Hehe… Roast duck with soda is the best combination,” Erbao said, clearly having strong opinions about food.

Ning Shu said, “There are some fruit juice popsicles in the fridge. I don’t know if they’ve melted, but you can have those instead of soda.” Since getting a fridge, it had been running year-round, so popsicles were never in short supply.

There were all kinds of popsicles, made from sour and sweet yangmei juice, watermelon juice from summer, peach juice, sugarcane juice, orange juice, and more.

Logically speaking, it was winter now, so even if the fridge hadn’t been plugged in, the popsicles shouldn’t have melted in just three or four days.

Oh, right, the fridge had been moved into the corner of the living room from the tractor at noon today, and she hadn’t checked it yet.

She needed to go take a look.

“They’re fine,” Yibao said.

When they had started cleaning the first floor, they plugged in the fridge.

Having done chores since they were young, the children knew all too well that if the fridge wasn’t plugged in, the contents would spoil. “Even if they did melt, we plugged it in when we cleaned, so the popsicles would have refrozen.”

“Ah…” Erbao exclaimed, “Then let’s hurry and take them out so they can melt a bit and we can drink them like soda.” With that, he quickly washed his hands, stood up, and said, “I want orange flavor. What about you, big brother, Sanbao, Mom? What flavors do you want?”

Ning Shu said, “None for me.” She was on her period, so even though she wanted one, she restrained herself.

Yibao said, “I want watermelon flavor.”

Sanbao said, “I want yangmei flavor.”

Erbao then asked, “What about Dad? What flavor does he want?”

Ning Shu thought, at least Erbao still remembered his father in crucial moments—Lin Erbao did have some sense.

Yibao replied, “Dad likes sweet things, so watermelon flavor would be the best.”

Erbao agreed, “Alright then.”

With that, Lin Erbao dashed into the house.

Ning Shu followed him inside and saw him first go to the kitchen to grab four bowls. He put two popsicles in each bowl.

Just one popsicle wouldn’t be enough to make a full bowl of popsicle water.

Ning Shu smiled and shook her head.

She then took out the roast duck and salt-baked chicken, placed them on plates, and saw that the radishes and cabbages had already been washed, so she started cooking.

However, what she didn’t see was that even though Erbao had put two popsicles in each bowl, he also turned around, grabbed another popsicle, and ran out while eating it.

Eating popsicles in winter—that’s the true essence of life.

After an afternoon of work, everyone was feeling quite warm, so eating a popsicle would cool them down.

Nightfall came especially early in winter.

By the time Lin Guodong returned to the courtyard from the army, it was already completely dark.

Seeing that his wife and children were still waiting for him to eat together, Lin Guodong said, “You don’t have to wait for me in the future. Sometimes I’ll be delayed with work at the army.”

Yibao replied, “It’s more fun to eat together as a family.”

Erbao added “Yes, if we get hungry, we can have some snacks and wait for Dad.”

Ning Shu pressed her lips together, trying not to smile.

Lin Guodong: “…Thank you for your hard work, Lin Hairui.”

Sanbao: Raises bowl: “Cheers!”

“Did you buy soda?” Lin Guodong picked up his bowl and clinked it with the children’s.

Ning Shu replied, “It’s not soda. It’s just melted popsicles used as a substitute for soda.”

The Lin family enjoyed a harmonious dinner while others were discussing them.

At the Neighboring Yu Family

During dinner, Li Yue enthusiastically talked about Ning Shu: “I ran into Ning Shu from the neighboring house when I got off work today. She’s Lin Guodong’s partner. Guess what Ning Shu does for a living?”

The Yu family consists of Deputy Bureau Chief Yu and his wife, with two sons and two daughters.

Yu He is the younger son, with an older brother, Yu An.

As the eldest son, Yu An was groomed to inherit the family business, while the younger son Yu He had more freedom to pursue his interests.

Yu An, who was highly regarded by Deputy Bureau Chief Yu, worked in government, and his wife, Xu Huiya, was a good match for him.

However, Xu Huiya and Li Yue didn’t get along.

Xu Huiya, upon hearing Li Yue’s words, casually guessed, “A sales clerk at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative?” Knowing Lin Guodong’s background as a farmer, she didn’t expect Ning Shu to have a prestigious job.

Thus, she thought that a sales clerk at the cooperative was quite a good position for someone from a rural background.

“Wrong,” Li Yue said, knowing that Xu Huiya, who considered herself the lady of the house, was mistaken.

She believed that Yu An would eventually inherit the family business, and thus, she felt superior.

However, she thought that even if Yu An took over the family business and they moved out, it would be because they wanted to secure some benefits from the old couple before leaving.

Yu He, intrigued by his wife’s remark, asked, “So, what does she do?”

“Mom, some of the kids said that the three new children next door have a stepmother. Is the Ning Shu you mentioned the stepmother?” Before Li Yue could answer, Yu He’s son, Yu Chengci, spoke up.

Everyone at the table turned to look at Yu Chengci.

Zhang Cuilan, who was quietly eating in the kitchen, overheard the gossip.

She was puzzled and wondered how Yu Chengci knew about this. How could he know such details?

“Chengci, where did you hear that from?” Li Yue asked, looking at Yu He, “Do you know about this?”

“I don’t know. Even if it’s true, I wouldn’t just ask Lin Guodong about it. Besides, I haven’t seen Lin Guodong for over a decade. He wouldn’t tell me such things,” Yu He thought. The last time he saw Lin Guodong’s wife, she looked much younger than Lin Guodong, which made it highly likely she was his second wife.

“Chengci, who told you this?”

Yu Chengci, a 13-year-old boy, nodded, feeling he was not wrong.

Since he started the topic, he believed it was true.

He continued, “Mom, those kids also said the three children will end up as pitiable as Han Hongling. Is that true?”

Han Hongling’s stepmother was infamous in the compound.

Originally a nanny, Han Hongling’s father married her after his wife passed away.

While people initially believed there was nothing wrong with this, many thought that a nanny rising to become a stepmother was hard to accept.

This led to many young nannies being dismissed from the compound to avoid similar situations.

“This hasn’t been verified, so don’t spread rumors,” Li Yue said. “From my interaction with Ning Shu, she seems quite straightforward and doesn’t seem like someone who would mistreat children. Also, we don’t even know if she is a stepmother. It’s not our business, so let’s not discuss it further, especially you. Don’t listen to your friends’ gossip.”

Yu Chengci pouted, “Okay.”

It wasn’t just the Yu family discussing Ning Shu.

Anyone who saw the three children washing clothes that day went home and spread the story.

Consequently, Ning Shu was now seen as the stepmother who mistreated the children in the compound.

Ning Shu was unaware of this gossip.

Exhausted from her period, she had taken an early shower and gone to bed.

Later, someone saw Lin Guodong and the three children washing clothes and dishes in the courtyard.

By morning, the rumor that Ning Shu was a stepmother who mistreated the children seemed to have turned into a fact.