Erbao is easygoing and carefree, while Sanbao was too young to remember when Ning Shu “awakened” and faced no hardships.

Yibao, as the eldest, has experienced their mother being controlled and dealing with gossip in their hometown, which has made him particularly sensitive to other people’s emotions.

As soon as he spoke, he could sense the old lady’s nervousness and unease.

Yibao offered a rare friendly explanation: “Grandma, I just wanted to ask where we can buy meat buns without tickets. We like meat buns, but we don’t have any meat tickets at home.”

Erbao immediately agreed, “Yes, we spent tickets on meat buns this morning. If we knew you had meat buns without tickets, we wouldn’t have gone to the state-run restaurant.”

Sanbao also looked at the old lady with wide, sparkling eyes.

The old lady sighed in relief.

She had mustered the courage to approach them because she had overheard their conversation about meat buns.

Hearing them talk about it again seemed reasonable.

However, she warned, “Kids, don’t think about it. It’s illegal speculation, and if someone reports it, you’ll get in trouble. If the Red Arm Banders find out, they’ll arrest you. They’re very cruel and can injure people badly. My son was falsely accused and hurt badly by them. So don’t pursue this idea.”

Having had unpleasant experiences with the police, she no longer dared to engage in such activities and preferred to collect scraps or leftover vegetables at the market instead.

That’s how she had been living for years and felt she had no choice but to continue this way.

Yibao wasn’t interested in illegal speculation to buy buns.

He just wanted to understand the situation and had no intention of secretly buying buns.

Hearing the old lady’s words, he didn’t press further. “Thank you for the warning, Grandma. We’ll leave now.” He then took his two younger brothers and left.

“You haven’t had any water yet,” the old lady called out to them.

“We’ll drink at home,” Yibao replied.

He wasn’t going to drink water from strangers.

When Liu Qingdi came out with water and saw that the three kids were gone, she asked the old lady, “Mom, where did they go?”

“They’ve left,” the old lady replied and repeated the story about the meat buns. “What do you think about this?”

Liu Qingdi thought for a moment and said, “It’s likely the kids didn’t have meat tickets and wanted to buy meat buns. Mom, you did the right thing. We should stay away from such matters.

We’re just ordinary people and can’t afford to engage in illegal activities. We’ve managed to avoid trouble this time, but who knows about next time…

We should stick to living honestly. What if something happens to us?”

For years, they had lived on resident benefits, leftover money, and what her son earned after leaving his job.

Thinking of this, the old lady said, “Qingdi, we still have some savings at home. Why not check if we can use them to get you a job?”

This topic had been discussed before, “Mom, we need to keep the money in case of an emergency. What if we suddenly need money and don’t have any? Or if something happens to my husband? What then?”

“But…” The old lady wanted to express her concern about how to manage once their money ran out and how they would cope with daily expenses.

Liu Qingdi replied, “Mom, I want to check if there are any nanny positions available at the big courtyard nearby. It’s close to home, less than a half-hour walk. If I can work there as a nanny, it would be convenient to come and go, and I wouldn’t need to spend money on commuting. What do you think?”

The old lady responded, “That’s a good idea, but finding a nanny job there is not easy. Everyone wants to work in the big courtyard because it’s prestigious and close to home, which is very convenient.”

Liu Qingdi said, “I’ll check it out. If I can get the job, that’s great. If not, we can take our time. With the college entrance exams resuming and the Red Guards becoming less active, many people who were sent away are coming back, including educated youth. This means more opportunities for common people, and things might get better in the future.”

The old lady shared this optimism and hoped for a better future.

When the three brothers left the old lady’s house, they once again attracted attention, but this time, the curiosity was mixed with admiration for their willingness to apologize.

After leaving White Sheep Alley, the three brothers did not delay.

They carried their small basket back home and went to find the gatekeeper at the big courtyard.

“Uncle…” They told the gatekeeper about their encounter with the old lady, explaining that she wasn’t a child trafficker.

The gatekeeper, who had seen much more in his time, quickly understood from the boys’ story and the context of the meat buns that the old lady was involved in some kind of speculative trading.

It was just unfortunate that the boys had mistaken her intentions.

One of the gatekeepers said, “The fact that you came to apologize shows you’re good kids. But you don’t need to worry about this. Even though speculative trading isn’t exactly allowed, you did the right thing by informing us. It’s good that you’re honest.”

Yi Bao said, “Thank you, Uncle. We understand.”

Er Bao added, “We also wanted to ask about the meat buns, but she wouldn’t tell us.” San Bao thought that with his allowance, he might be able to buy some of those buns without tickets.

Of course, he kept this thought to himself.

The gatekeeper smiled and said, “It’s best not to investigate such matters. If people knew you were involved with speculative trading, it wouldn’t be good for you or your family. Especially with someone like Captain Lin, who is a soldier. You wouldn’t want any negative rumors.”

Hearing this, the three brothers were a bit surprised.

They initially followed the old lady out of curiosity and then to apologize for their mistake.

Their interest in the meat buns was just curiosity.

But Uncle Guard was right; illegal speculation is wrong.

Even if they’re not speculating themselves, being seen with people who do could cause trouble and reflect badly on their parents.

“Thank you, Uncle. We won’t engage in illegal speculation,” Sanbao said.

“Yes, we definitely won’t,” Erbao added, reaffirming their promise.

After saying goodbye to the guard, the three siblings went home.

As they approached their house, they were greeted by the smell of delicious food.

“Mom, we’re back!”

“Mom…”

“Mom, what are you cooking?”

The three rushed inside and stood by the kitchen door.

The kitchen in the city was smaller than their old home’s, so they had to stand outside to avoid crowding.

“Maw hua (fried dough twists) are ready. Do you want to try some?” Ning Shu handed them a basket with the dough twists, which were sitting on paper to soak up the oil.

“Wow, grapes…” Erbao’s voice came out excitedly, “Mom, did you buy grapes?” His eyes sparkled as he stared at the grapes on the table.

Ning Shu replied, “Well, while you were out, I went shopping and saw some grapes and pears, so I bought a few.” She handed them the washed grapes.

“Mom, you’re the best! I like you the most!” Erbao was thrilled, his eyes squinting from his big smile.

“If I hadn’t bought the grapes, would you not like me?” Ning Shu teased.

“Well, even if you hadn’t bought them, I’d still like you the most!” Erbao quickly corrected himself.

“Alright, go eat now. Enjoy it. I’ll be making dumpling soup later.” Ning Shu ended the teasing.

“Got it.”

The three siblings went outside with their bowls of grapes, sitting on the steps between the yard and the house, enjoying the sun and the grapes.

After eating a few, Yibao remembered the old lady and went back to the kitchen with a few grapes: “Mom, when we were looking for fish bait at the market, we ran into that old lady who was taken to the police station. Here’s what happened…”

Ning Shu was surprised: “What a coincidence… Even though you misunderstood her, you weren’t wrong to be cautious.

She approached you secretly, and since you didn’t know her, staying alert was the right thing to do. But following her was indeed a mistake. What if she really was a trafficker? Even picking up leftovers at the market could be a way to attract attention.

In my opinion, the right approach would have been to go to the police station to check the situation. If the police said she wasn’t a trafficker, then you could apologize later. Don’t you think?”

Yibao thought Ning Shu’s advice made sense.

They shouldn’t have followed her impulsively.

Erbao, who had been listening outside, asked, “But Mom, if she’s already out of the police station, doesn’t that mean she’s not a trafficker?”

“No,” Ning Shu answered.

“Why not? If she were a trafficker, the police wouldn’t let her go,” Erbao didn’t understand.

Ning Shu explained carefully, “The police work with evidence. Maybe they didn’t have proof that she was a trafficker, so they released her.

Or maybe they’re letting her contact her accomplices, planning to catch the real criminals. If you followed her, you could have ruined their plan.

It’s fortunate nothing happened, but if you want to learn from this experience, don’t you agree with me?” Ning Shu hoped they would grow from their experiences, understanding that the world was more complex than they thought.

The three siblings realized they hadn’t considered these details.

They understood they needed to be more thoughtful in the future.

“Mom, we understand now. We’ll be more careful next time.”

They reminded themselves to think things through before acting.