Ling Yuanhua’s demeanor was completely different from Yu He’s wife’s.

Even though the Yu family had some background, it was nothing compared to the Ling family’s.

This was likely the difference between a household and a family.

“I’m here.” Lin Guodong emerged from behind the stove.

Ning Shu suddenly had an idea: Are Lin Guodong’s friends all proactive?

Lin Guodong was somewhat reserved, and Yu He and Ling Yuanhua were both proactive.

Therefore, his friends must also be the ones who took the initiative to befriend Lin Guodong.

Otherwise, given Lin Guodong’s reserved nature, he would not have been active in making friends during his university years.

When Lin Guodong came out from tending the fire, he still had a few leaves on his hair, looking a bit like a fireman, contrasting sharply with the well-dressed Ling Yuanhua and Yu He.

For instance, Yu He was dressed in a suit and coat, looking polished.

Ling Yuanhua was in a shirt, sweater, and coat, looking sharp and refined.

In contrast, Lin Guodong wore a corduroy tracksuit made by his wife, matching with his three sons in a sort of family outfit.

He wore warm cotton shoes.

Yet, despite their different attire, the three stood together harmoniously.

Oddly, Lin Guodong seemed to be the leader among them.

“These three together outshine most people in the capital,” Li Yue whispered to Ning Shu.

Ning Shu smiled, “Isn’t that so?”

Li Yue’s eyes brightened upon hearing this, “I chose Yu He because of his looks. Although he came from a military academy, the heir to the Yu family is his older brother. My parents found it strange that I married him.”

It is often said that daughters marry up, while sons marry down.

Li Yue’s family was well-matched with the Yu family, but according to her conditions, she could have married someone better. Yet, she chose Yu He.

Ning Shu was surprised, “Really? I was also attracted to Lin Guodong because of his looks.”

When she went to the countryside, although she sought a partner who could provide support, she had a goal in mind, and Lin Guodong was that goal.

Unexpectedly, the plot constrained her once she had the idea.

Fortunately, the plot didn’t pair her with someone else.

Otherwise, even if she had become free, she would have sought a divorce.

She wasn’t the type to sacrifice herself for her children. Of course, if divorced, she would consider the situation.

If her children would be better off with her ex-husband, she would leave them with him.

But even if she left the children with the ex-husband, they would still be her children.

“Really? What a coincidence!” Li Yue found it incredible. “Actually, I’ve heard Yu He mention Comrade Lin before. He said that they were all quite unruly, but in front of Comrade Lin, they were very respectful.”

“Is that so?” Ning Shu was somewhat surprised.

Looking at the three in the yard—Lin Guodong in the center with Yu He and Ling Yuanhua on either side—it seemed that Li Yue’s words were accurate.

“Yu He said Comrade Lin is very intelligent, unlike them who act without thinking,” Li Yue added.

If Lin Guodong’s intelligence was higher than Yu He and Ling Yuanhua’s, Ning Shu believed it.

Lin Guodong had come from a farming family, attended a military academy, and relied on his intellect.

In contrast, Yu He and Ling Yuanhua were different.

In the 1960s, the admission system was not yet well-established.

In addition to the college entrance exams, there was also a recommendation system.

Of course, recommendations for military schools and other institutions required candidates to have strong physical qualifications.

In the Lin family’s courtyard, three groups had formed.

Ning Shu and Li Yue were chatting while cooking in the kitchen.

Yi Bao, San Bao, and Yu Chengci were guarding the pork rib and taro soup while chatting.

The last group consisted of the three men.

Before long, more voices could be heard from outside, indicating that quite a few people had arrived.

Ning Shu and Li Yue went outside and saw a large number of people.

Li Yue introduced to Ning Shu, “The woman in the red coat is Ling Yuanhua’s wife. The older girl beside her is Ling Yuanhua’s child from his previous marriage, and the younger one is from his current marriage.”

Ning Shu was surprised.

She hadn’t known Ling Yuanhua was also on his second marriage.

Perhaps Lin Guodong didn’t know either.

Seeing her astonishment, Li Yue tugged on her hand and said, “Ling Yuanhua’s previous wife was forced to divorce by this current wife. I’ll tell you more about it later. Also, the man and woman with two boys are a family too. The man is named Ren Bainian, and the woman is Zhang Siyuan. Zhang Siyuan’s mother used to work for the Ren family.”

Ning Shu was astonished.

The dynamics in wealthy families seemed just as complex as in the Han family’s maid situation.

Li Yue smiled softly, “There’s also another pair with a boy and a girl. The man is from the prosecution office, named Qu Zhongming, and the woman is from the court, named Cai Shuyuan.”

Ning Shu understood.

It was another case of powerful alliances.

“And…” Before Li Yue could introduce the last pair, she was interrupted.

“Ning Shu…” At that moment, Lin Guodong and several people walked over to introduce everyone, “This is my wife Ning Shu. This is Qu Zhongming, and his wife and child. This is Ren Bainian, his wife and child. This is Wang Qingdi and his wife.” The last pair did not bring their child.

“Hello, welcome. These are my and Guodong’s children, the oldest and the third…” Ning Shu pointed at Yi Bao and San Bao. “We also have a child, who is a twin with the second one, currently at the sports school… Yi Bao, come and greet the guests.”

“Coming.” Yi Bao said to San Bao, “Watch the fire.”

San Bao nodded, “Mm.”

Yi Bao, dressed in the same corduroy sportswear and cotton shoes as Lin Guodong, approached the guests and said, “Come to the living room to play. My mom has prepared a lot of snacks.”

The children, coming from well-off families, were not shy.

Hearing Yi Bao’s invitation, they followed him, asking curiously, “What snacks are there? Is there anything I haven’t tried?”

Yi Bao said, “I don’t know what you haven’t had. My mom prepared White Rabbit candy, dried lychee, pears, sugar cane… and we also have popsicles. Do you want some?”

“Wow, popsicles in winter? I want to eat some.”

“I want some too.”

“Oh my gosh, popsicles in winter. Your family is amazing!”

The children were captivated by the popsicles.

Yu Chengci heard their conversation and shouted from the courtyard, “Lin Haizhi, I want a popsicle too, watermelon flavor!”

“There are popsicles?” Yu He, being Yu Chengci’s father, was also tempted, “Nephew, give me a popsicle too.”

“So do I,” Ling Yuanhua said.

“I’ve never had popsicles in winter; give me one too.”

“And me, my nephew.”

“Can my nephew handle this?”

It turns out that in this era, not only children but adults also enjoyed popsicles in winter.

So, with just one popsicle, the Lin family won over everyone.

Lin Guodong’s friends’ wives all had excellent backgrounds.

Among them, matching social statuses were evident.

For instance, Yu He, the son of the deputy director, married Li Yue from a scholarly family.

Li Yue’s family was engaged in diplomatic work and was better off than the Yu family.

As for the others, their statuses were relatively similar.

By the time dinner was served, the table was full of delicious dishes, and everyone was satisfied.

After the meal, everyone stayed a little while before leaving.

As is customary in the city, guests didn’t help with cleaning up.

However, Ning Shu did not clean up either.

After the guests left, Lin Guodong and their two sons did the cleaning.

In fact, not all the guests had left yet.

Yu He’s family was still there, and they were amazed to see Lin Guodong, Yi Bao, San Bao, and their son all involved in cleaning.

The couple was surprised.

Why was their son so eager to help too?

Unbeknownst to them, Yi Bao had traded two popsicles for Yu Chengci’s labor.

Watching their son help with the cleaning, Yu He and Li Yue were both amused and puzzled.

Meanwhile, Ning Shu had already moved a small chair to the courtyard to enjoy the sunshine.

Li Yue followed suit and moved a chair beside Ning Shu, realizing that Ning Shu’s life was truly comfortable.

Yu He, not wanting to just stand around, decided to help Lin Guodong.

He even took off his coat and suit jacket.

“Ning Shu, I think your way of living is quite good. Living on your own is really comfortable,” Li Yue said with some envy, though they could not live that way while her parents-in-law were still around.

Otherwise, all of the Yu family’s assets would be given to the first branch.

Ning Shu smiled and said, “Every family has its own way of living. By the way, what’s the story with Ling Yuanhua’s wife that you mentioned earlier?” She had been curious about it.

When it came to gossip, Li Yue became interested.

She actually enjoyed hearing gossip, but usually suppressed it for the sake of her image.

Now that she was talking to Ning Shu, she opened up. “Ling Yuanhua used to have a wife before, but this current wife was interested in him. Her father was a deputy head of the Red Armlet Committee. To marry Ling Yuanhua, she did some things to Ling Yuanhua’s former father-in-law’s family, forcing Ling Yuanhua to divorce and marry her. Many people know about this, but because of her father’s position, no one dares to speak openly about it.”

Ning Shu was surprised by such scandalous gossip.

However, she said, “I noticed she seemed to be taking good care of Ling Yuanhua’s previous daughter at the meal today.”

Li Yue sighed, “Yes, besides forcing Ling Yuanhua to divorce, she hasn’t done anything bad. She’s actually good to that child. So it’s the most difficult part: if you’re going to be bad, be thoroughly bad. It’s hard to deal with someone who is partly good and partly bad; it just leaves people feeling unsettled.”

Ning Shu chuckled at the comment.

It was indeed an interesting perspective.

It was easier to take revenge on someone who was thoroughly bad; it was more troublesome when someone was only partially bad.

“By the way, Ning Shu,” Li Yue suddenly shifted the topic to work, “I mentioned before that our newspaper is looking to set up a fashion section. Would you be interested in being a consultant for this section?”

“Ah?” Ning Shu quickly shook her head, “No, I’m not planning to take on any outside work for now. I can’t sit still in a nine-to-five job.”

She was only waiting for the private sector to rise so she could start a group-buying business; right now, she wasn’t interested in sitting in an office.

Given Ning Shu’s response, Li Yue couldn’t insist on her taking on something she wasn’t interested in.

During their conversation, the after-meal chores were already finished.

Yibao came up to Ning Shu, “Mom, Sanbao and I are going to the sports school to find Erbao. It’s their nap time now, so we won’t disturb him.”

Yu Chengci also took the opportunity to say, “Mom, I’ll go with them too.”

Ning Shu had no objections, “Go ahead. Bring the food with you so Erbao can share it with his friends.” The cold dishes would still be edible. “If some dishes taste bad when cold, just heat them up in a lunchbox.”

Yibao replied, “Got it.”

Li Yue said, “Then you all go together. Take good care of your two younger brothers while you’re out.”

Yu Chengci responded, “I know.”

The three children set off with a basket full of food, packed tightly.

After changing buses twice, they arrived at the sports school around two in the afternoon.

The same gatekeeper from last time recognized Yibao, Sanbao, and Yu Chengci and led them to the boys’ dormitory, calling Aunt Wang, the dorm supervisor: “Aunt Wang, these are here to find Lin Hairui. They are Lin Hairui’s older brothers.”

Since the children at the sports school were future athletes, they would not be easily allowed in without verification.

But with Yibao present, there was no need for further identity checks—Yibao’s presence alone was sufficient.

“Alright, I’ll take them up,” Aunt Wang initially thought it was Erbao but realized it was the twins when the gatekeeper mentioned it.

“Oh, their mother must be very lucky to have given birth to a pair of twin sons!”