Xu Keke ignored the two and stepped out of the room. She saw Zhao Di with Fu Bao, each with a lollipop in their mouth. It was clear they had bought food in addition to drinks.

"Come on, Zhaodi, take your little brother. Mom will take you to eat wontons first today. Their fried dough sticks are so fragrant and crispy."

Seeing the little one looking inside with worry, Xu Keke picked up Fu Bao from the ground.

"Zhaodi, are you worried about Grandma? Don't worry, Grandma said she's just not feeling well and will be fine after lying down. Go get the lunchbox, we'll go out to eat and then bring it back to your grandma."

Zhao Di smiled and agreed, stuffing the lollipop in her hand into Xu Keke's hand, and squinting her eyes as she smiled at her.

Only then did he step onto a stool to reach the metal lunchbox on the cabinet and follow Xu Keke out the door.

Lin Juan was furious inside. She pointed at the door and said to Aunt Chen,

"Look at this! This spendthrift! She'd rather take the kids out to eat than cook. How much do you think those wontons cost? The adults and kids ate so much, what a waste! You tell me, she's not even as good as a child. A child knows to worry about me."

After being teased by Xu Keke for a while, Aunt Chen lost her temper. She impatiently shoved her.

"Alright, Zhao Di was raised by you with hot soup and warm meals. This daughter-in-law, you used to feed her leftovers every day. After she came up for a while, she would come home late and you wouldn't even leave her any food. Everyone in this yard knows that she stood in that small kitchen in the middle of summer, drinking cold water and eating dry steamed buns. You've never done her any favors, so why would she treat you well?"

Aunt Chen had figured out the key reason why her approach hadn't worked: "With my daughter-in-law, it's always the same: whatever my son eats, she eats too. Sometimes, even if my husband and I are reluctant to eat something, we'll let my daughter-in-law eat it with my son first. I've never let my son eat alone."

"You never bring spring breezes, where are you going to find autumn rain?"

"What should I do then?" Lin Juan panicked. She hadn't managed to calm the man down, and now she was in an awkward situation. "Should I continue pretending to be sick?"

"Stop pretending," Old Zhao said, lifting the curtain and entering the room.

“I told you not to do that. If Song Lin is called back from the capital, the child will definitely think you're faking illness to trick him into coming back.”

You don't need this son anymore, he'll hate you to death.

Right now, if someone really took your grandchildren away, would you be willing to do that?

I told you, "Your son's not home, and your daughter-in-law is clearly different from before. You won't gain anything by making a scene. You'd be better off settling down and living a peaceful life. Making a scene like this won't calm her down; it'll only give her leverage over you."

It was clearly her fault for not knowing how to handle it, yet she made it sound like her own idea was bad. Aunt Chen wasn't happy to hear that, and gave the two of them a mocking look, her face falling.

"Alright, Old Zhao lives closer to your house and knows more. I'm not getting involved with you anymore. If I cause any more trouble, I'm going home now."

After saying that, he got up, lifted the curtain, and went out.

On the other side, Xu Keke, carrying Fu Bao and Zhao Di, went to an old restaurant called Chunyulou that was close to them.

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard someone call out, "Song Qian!"

Xu Keke's eyebrows twitched slightly. Following the sound, she saw Wang Lin with a boy who looked about the same age as Zhao Di.

In those days, few people ate at restaurants because restaurants required not only food coupons but also money. Families with limited means couldn't afford to spend that much.

Wang Lin sat at the innermost square table with the boy.

"Is he a classmate of yours?" Xu Keke smiled and nodded at Wang Lin while asking Zhao Di in a low voice.

Zhao Di looked at Xu Keke with some surprise. "He is Wang Lei from the Foreign Languages ​​Department. He is Uncle Wang's son. He is my deskmate now. We have been going to and from school together these days."

"Really?" Xu Keke couldn't find the little boy in the original owner's memories. It wasn't that she automatically ignored him; it was just that the original owner had never paid much attention to the other people in the yard.

Based on the way Wang Lin spoke to her that day, Xu Keke leaned towards the former.

After leaving the Song family, Zhao Di met familiar people her own age, and she became more lively. She took the initiative to go to the table next to Wang Lin and his son, waiting for Xu Keke.

Xu Keke went over and said something pointless to Wang Lin, "You guys eat here too!"

Then I put Fu Bao next to Zhao Di and told her to look after her little brother. I then took the lunchbox and went to the counter to buy food.

A transparent glass counter separates the inside from the outside. Several employees, wearing white hats and white uniforms, are already tidying up inside.

"Comrade, I'd like to buy four servings of wontons, do you have any left?"

One of the older women gave Xu Keke a disgusted look.

She glanced at Zhao Di and Fu Bao sitting in the dining hall, and reluctantly uttered a single word, "Yes!"

He tossed the broom he was holding against the wall. He walked over and asked, "Is there anything else you need?"

Xu Keke realized that she had kept them from getting off work. She quickly ordered sesame flatbread and pickled vegetables.

The shop assistant took Xu Keke's money, tossed her a metal plaque, and gave her a disdainful look.

"Go wait over there! I'll call you in a bit."

We live in an era of egalitarianism, where everyone gets paid the same amount regardless of their workload. Many service-oriented industries lack a service-oriented mindset; they rely solely on individual moral character and awareness.

The fact that this person didn't directly say there was no food already shows that they are a person of high moral character who doesn't shirk their responsibilities.

Xu Keke didn't have anything to argue with them about. Besides, arguing wouldn't have made a difference.

Wang Lin looked at her and asked, "Why are you eating out today too?"

"Grandma Zhaodi is sick. I was too tired after a day of work, so I took them out to eat something simple."

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