After all, what had drawn her to him in the first place was not just that he was a city worker and a university graduate, but also that he seemed like someone with a good temperament—steady, honest, not the kind to fool around.

When she began speaking, Jiang Ling thought she was referring to her and Song Guanshu secretly registering their marriage. But by the time she heard the second half, she realized something was off—this woman was accusing them of engaging in an improper relationship.

Jiang Ling couldn’t stand being wronged like this. She shot back, “Are you saying that we are having an affair?”

Li Jun didn’t respond, but her meaning was perfectly clear.

With a dark expression, Jiang Ling told Song Guanshu to unlock the door. She stomped into the house.

It was Li Jun’s first time seeing her and she had no idea what Jiang Ling was about to do.

Song Guanshu, on the other hand, knew Jiang Ling’s temper wasn’t great. He suspected she had gone inside to find something handy to beat someone with.

He silently wondered to himself—when Jiang Ling started hitting Li Jun, should he stop her… or… or not?

In the end, Jiang Ling came out holding that little red booklet in her hand.

She shoved the marriage certificate in front of Li Jun’s face. “Can you read? Should I read it out loud for you?”

In the photo, the man and woman were a perfect match—undeniably the two people standing before her now.

Li Jun, having been thoroughly slapped in the face by reality, quickly admitted fault. “I’m sorry. I misunderstood you both, but I didn’t mean any harm. As a mother, when I look at young people like you, I see my own children. A mother’s biggest fear is her child taking the wrong path. Now that I see it was all a misunderstanding, that’s wonderful. Congratulations on your marriage. We’re neighbors now, so we’ll need to look out for each other. Let’s not let this incident affect our relationship.”

Jiang Ling kept a smiling face. “Exactly. As long as you don’t misunderstand my relationship with Song Guanshu, everything’s fine.”

This big sister was truly something. It was their first meeting, and she had jumped to accusing Jiang Ling of having an improper relationship. And now, even more absurdly, she wanted to play the role of a caring elder. What nonsense.

Li Jun sighed. “You two are living a good life. Xiao Song earns a high salary. I’m a woman raising two kids on my own—it hasn’t been easy. Thankfully, Xiao Song’s been helping out. He’s a good man. Being able to marry him is your blessing.”

Jiang Ling thought to herself, What a joke. Song Guanshu, helpful? He’s not that kind of person. Even if someone dropped dead in front of him, he wouldn’t lift a finger.

But what she said out loud was, “That’s right. Distant relatives aren’t as good as close neighbors. As neighbors, we should help each other.”

She couldn’t tell what this woman was really up to. A single man helping a single mother raise two kids—if that got out, it wouldn’t sound good no matter how you spun it.

If someone didn’t know what kind of person Song Guanshu truly was, and they were just a newlywed couple, this kind of thing would definitely cause a fight behind closed doors.

Jiang Ling clapped her hands and said, “You know, you seem very kind and familiar. But you should be younger than my mom, so from now on I’ll call you Auntie Li.”

The smile on Li Jun’s face almost fell apart. That one “Auntie Li” instantly aged her ten years.

She was a woman too, and of course she cared about her appearance. She didn’t want to be called “auntie” and be aged for no reason.

She forced a smile and said, “Xiao Song’s wife, just follow his lead and call me Sister Li.”

Jiang Ling pretended not to understand her meaning at all and, with a complete lack of tact, said, “I feel such a close connection with Auntie Li at first sight. Calling you ‘Auntie’ feels more affectionate. He can just follow me and call you the same.”

Li Jun was fuming. Is she slow in the head or what? Can’t even tell a good hint from a bad one.

Jiang Ling turned to Song Guanshu and urged, “Hurry up, call her Auntie Li.”

Song Guanshu gave a faint smile tinged with helplessness. “Auntie Li, we’ll let you get back to what you’re doing. We still need to cook, so we’ll head inside first.”

As expected, Song Guanshu called her Auntie. Li Jun nearly lost her balance from the blow.

There were only two pieces of clothing, which had long since been hung up to dry. By all logic, with the weather still chilly, Li Jun should have gone back inside. But for some reason—perhaps driven by some unspoken urge—she didn’t return home. Instead, she stayed standing in the courtyard, quietly listening to the voices coming from the west wing.

Jiang Ling took a small stool and sat in front of the stove pit. “Song Guanshu, I want to eat stir-fried pork liver.”

She rested her chin on her hand, watching the man busy at the stove.

Song Guanshu had an apron tied around his waist, outlining his lean figure. “I don’t know how to make that.”

“It’s easy,” she said. “Just slice the pork liver and then…”

Without even looking up, he said, “We don’t have green peppers or carrots.”

“It’s fine even without the side ingredients, isn’t it?”

He rinsed the pork liver twice in clean water. “Keep nagging, and you can make it yourself.”

Jiang Ling muttered, “Actually, you’re a good person. If only your temper were a little better…”

Li Jun stood in the courtyard, only catching bits and pieces of their conversation. She thought to herself, That Xiao Song’s wife really doesn’t know how good she’s got it. Xiao Song has one of the best tempers I’ve ever seen, and yet she’s saying he’s bad-tempered.

She returned to her home, quietly grumbling in her heart about how young people nowadays had no idea how to live. Spending money like water, cooking meat at home when it wasn’t even a holiday. From what she heard, she guessed the thing hanging from their bike earlier must have been pork liver.

Inside, as the delicious aroma slowly filled the room, Jiang Ling gave a heartfelt compliment. “It smells amazing.”

In northern winters, every household’s vegetables were limited to cabbage, radishes, and potatoes. Slightly better-off families would occasionally buy a piece of tofu from the supply and marketing cooperative to add some variety.

Since dinner couldn’t be just pork liver, Song Guanshu also sliced up a plate of shredded cabbage.

His knife skills were impressive, every slice neat and rhythmic. Jiang Ling asked, “Did you ever learn to cook properly? Your knife work is so good.”

Song Guanshu replied, “I’ve done it a lot. Practice makes perfect.”

Jiang Ling was curious. Wasn’t Song Guanshu supposed to be a young master? How could he be so used to cooking?

Then it occurred to her—being a young master was something from when he was very little. Things must have changed later on. After some family misfortune and the loss of his loved ones, with no stable life to speak of, he must’ve learned to take care of himself from a young age.

Meanwhile, back on Li Jun’s side, her mother-in-law returned from visiting neighbors and was quite displeased to see her still standing in the kitchen, with no dinner prepared.

“Tongtong and Xiao Lei are about to get out of school.”

Li Jun quickly pulled her mother-in-law aside. “Do you know? That Xiao Song across the courtyard—he’s gotten married.”

Her mother-in-law, Granny Liu, widened her eyes. “Weren’t you planning to introduce your little sister to him before…”

Li Jun hurriedly covered her mouth. “Please be careful what you say. Don’t let anyone overhear that.”

“What’s Xiao Song’s new wife like?” Granny Liu asked.

Li Jun shook her head. “She just has a pretty face. Other than that, she’s good for nothing.”

Granny Liu suspected that her daughter-in-law was just bitter because she hadn’t managed to marry her sister off to Song Guanshu, so she was trying to badmouth the new bride. But what she said aloud was, “Oh? What makes you say that?”

“You have no idea. That woman has a sharp tongue and speaks so harshly. She also has no idea how to manage a household. Just got married, and already it’s rich food every day.” She jerked her chin toward the other side of the courtyard. “They’re boiling pork liver over there right now.”

While pork liver wasn’t as expensive as proper cuts of meat, it was still considered a real, hearty dish.

Granny Liu’s eyes flickered. “That really isn’t how a woman should run a household. She’s nothing like you.”

Just as the two were deep in conversation, the sound of children’s voices rang out in the courtyard—it was their two kids coming home.

Li Jun had two children. The older sister, Liu Tong, was twelve and in fourth grade. The younger brother, Liu Lei, was eight and in first grade.

As soon as the two kids returned to the courtyard, they caught a whiff of meat. “Sis, I bet we’re having braised meat today. It smells amazing!”

They pushed open the door to the east wing room, only to find the fire pit under the stove completely cold—no flame at all—and not the faintest trace of meat aroma in the house.

“So good… wait, Grandma, how come it’s not our house cooking meat?” Liu Lei climbed onto Granny Liu’s lap. “Grandma, let’s have meat tomorrow, okay?”

Granny Liu wiped the snot from her eldest grandson’s face. “Alright. Grandma will do her best to make sure our little treasure gets to eat some meat.”

Sitting on his grandmother’s lap, Liu Lei overheard Li Jun saying that Song Guanshu’s family was cooking pork liver across the courtyard. He began drooling. “Grandma, can I go have dinner at their place tonight?”

Granny Liu wiped the corner of his mouth and said, “If you want to go, go. Just remember to be polite.”

Liu Tong wanted to follow her younger brother out, but Granny Liu stopped her. “Tongtong, help Grandma tend the fire.”

Just then, a chubby little boy with a patch of “plateau red” on his cheeks squeezed in through the door. “Uncle, Auntie, what are you eating? It smells so good!”

Jiang Ling smiled and asked, “Whose child are you?”

It was a meaningless question. She had already seen him through the glass window—he had gone into the house across the courtyard and then come straight over to theirs.

Liu Lei smacked his lips, practically drooling. “It smells amazing.”

Everyone knew exactly what he meant—Song Guanshu knew, and Jiang Ling knew too.

It was nothing more than a not-so-subtle way of letting them know he was expecting them to cut him a piece of pork liver.

Song Guanshu only smiled and said nothing, and Jiang Ling remained silent as well.

Don’t be fooled by Liu Lei’s young age—he was plenty sharp.

He thought to himself, This aunt may be pretty, but she’s not kind at all.

Uncle Song had a good heart. In the past, whenever someone asked for something, he always said yes. So Liu Lei took the initiative and asked, “Uncle Song, can I have a couple bites? I won’t eat much.”

Song Guanshu replied with a smile, “You’ll have to get Auntie Jiang’s permission. She’s the one in charge at our house.”

Liu Lei looked at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

Jiang Ling smiled and asked, “You want some?”

Thinking this woman had finally grown a conscience, Liu Lei nodded eagerly. “Yes, I do!”

She smiled and said, “If you want to eat, have your mom make it for you.”

Meat was a rarity in those days. No household had extra to spare, and Jiang Ling certainly wasn’t feeling charitable enough to give away theirs.

The very next second, Liu Lei let out a deafening wail.

Jiang Ling shook her head with a bit of exasperation. I didn’t even say anything harsh, and this kid’s already bawling. How tiresome.