She cried out and quickly got off the ground, grabbed her shoes, and ran outside.

"Why didn't you call me? The dumplings are all wrapped up!" Qin Xiaoyu said apologetically.

“There are so many people here, we won’t miss you. Go inside and wait. You’ve been working so hard these past few days.” Her sister-in-law pushed her out of the kitchen.

A little while later, the first batch of dumplings was brought out, and seating arrangements began in the main room. The custom back then was that children didn't sit at the table during meals, and if a guest was of high status, even women weren't allowed to sit at the table. Today, because there were too many people and the tables were too small, the men sat at one table, and the women with children sat at another.

My wife, uncle, Hanhan's grandfather, cousin, and eldest brother sat at the large table. Hanhan's grandmother brought in a plate of dumplings and was seated at the large table. Several low stools were placed around the other small tables, where the children were already seated. Tang Long, being tall and big, felt quite cramped in his seat.

"Come on, second daughter-in-law, sit here. There's no room over there," Grandpa Hanhan said, probably because Qin Xiaoyu had done a good job today and everyone could have meat dumplings.

"Longlong, go ahead. This kid is too tall and is taking up space here." Without saying a word, Qin Xiaoyu picked up Tang Long and pushed him over.

"Longlong, please sit down, the eldest grandson of the Tang family." Grandpa Hanhan said with a smile. It seems that Qin Xiaoyu is right about everything she says today.

Qin Xiaoyu felt bad when she saw that her sister-in-law had also slipped back, while only her cousin's wife was still in the kitchen cooking dumplings. So she went over to check on her.

"Um, say you have a stomachache." When no one was around, her cousin-in-law whispered in Qin Xiaoyu's ear, and then pointed to a west-facing room.

It turned out that the old lady had claimed to be sick and hadn't come. She was always a loner, and they had almost forgotten about her.

"It's a pity Xiaoqin didn't come back today." Qin Xiaoyu realized that someone was missing.

“She’s not short of food.” The cousin-in-law, who was her own mother, didn’t care.

"Sister-in-law, I have a few words to say, but please don't be angry."

"You can say whatever you want, I won't get angry. I know you're doing this for my own good." My cousin's attitude is really good.

"You can see from the other families in this courtyard that Madam is no ordinary person. She's been suppressed by the old lady for so many years and can't get out of trouble. If she had a reliable daughter, could she do that?" Qin Xiaoyu's words made her cousin-in-law slow down the speed of turning her spoon.

"So, you should put more effort into getting along with Xiuqin. You'll be a mother-in-law someday. No matter what, a daughter-in-law is still an outsider. How can she be as caring as your own daughter? Set aside twenty dumplings and ride your bike to deliver them to Xiuqin's school tomorrow. Whether the child is hungry or not is her business. Whether you deliver them or not is your business as her mother."

"I understand, sister-in-law, I'll do whatever you say." My cousin's wife nodded emphatically.

"Isn't it ready yet? Sister-in-law, come to the table. Dad keeps asking you about it."

The eldest sister-in-law poked her head in and dragged Qin Xiaoyu upstairs.

The house was bustling with activity. People were clinking glasses and exchanging toasts at the large table. Without his aunt around, his uncle was much more lively, and the men were chatting happily. His wife had almost finished eating, but she didn't rush to leave the table. She watched them talk with a smile.

The situation at the small table was far from peaceful. Hanhan fed her little sister first, and seeing her round little belly, she ran off to play. Only then did Hanhan pick up her bowl and eat dumplings. Tang Long, with his large mouth, had already wolfed down his food. Seeing Hanhan reach for his chopsticks, he started teasing him, swatting away each dumpling he picked up. Hanhan, feeling wronged, dared not utter a sound, pouting and sulking. Seeing her brother being bullied, the little sister, though unable to speak, had quite a temper. She came over, bent down, and bit Tang Hu's arm hard.

Tang Hu cried out in pain, swung his arm, and sent his little sister tumbling over, almost hitting the table. Hanhan rushed over to hug her sister.

Qin Xiaoyu saw this scene as soon as she entered the room. She wanted to lash out, but then she thought that today's harmony was hard-won, so she decided to hold back.

But someone couldn't stand it. Tang Long had been watching the situation at the table, and when he saw Tang Hu shake off the girl, he jumped up and rushed over to slap Tang Hu across the face twice.

The people at the large table were all stunned, not knowing what was going on. The cousin's wife and the eldest sister-in-law each brought in two plates of dumplings and stood at the door, at a loss for what to do.

"Mom! He hit me!" Tang Hu rushed to complain as soon as his sister-in-law came in.

"Oh dear, you child, why are you hitting people?" At this point, the cousin-in-law could only restrain her child. Tang Long had a fiery temper, and without explaining, he turned and walked out, refusing to finish his meal.

"Stop!" the lady suddenly called out. Tang Long dared not disobey and stood at the door.

"Come here," the wife said sternly.

Qin Xiaoyu wanted to step forward to explain, but his wife immediately said, "Sit next to your wife and eat properly. You won't even eat the meat dumplings. You're so arrogant."

Tang Long was taken aback. His cousin-in-law quickly pushed him to sit next to his wife. His wife personally placed a plate of hot dumplings in front of him, then looked up at Qin Xiaoyu and said, "You all eat too. Hanhan hasn't eaten enough yet."

The storm subsided, and the eldest sister-in-law knew that while the madam was ostensibly protecting Tang Long, she was actually protecting Qin Xiaoyu and her son. It was obvious who held the real power in the family.

The next day, Qin Xiaoyu went to the barbershop early and could see people inside from afar. When she went in, she saw that it was indeed because Master Wang was too busy to handle everything by himself yesterday and had sent some regular customers to today.

Several elderly women were sitting on a bench, chatting happily.

"Your Aunt Wang can tell fortunes, why don't you go and have your fortune told too?" Master Wang pointed to the white-haired woman in the middle of the chair. Qin Xiaoyu shook her head like a rattle drum; she didn't believe in such things at all.

"Just go when we tell you to." Master Wang was getting impatient. He dropped the customer he was holding, grabbed Qin Xiaoyu's hand, and pulled her forward, laughing, "Let us see your marriage prospects."

It turns out that Master Wang was worried about Qin Xiaoyu.

"No need to look, I'm not getting married either." Qin Xiaoyu forcefully pulled her hand away.

“Then let’s look at something else, like how many children you have.” Mr. Wang was quite strong, and he pulled her hand out to Mrs. Wang.

"I have four children, two boys and two girls, and my eldest son is the most filial," said Aunt Wang with certainty after just one glance.

"Four? That's great!" Master Wang's eyes lit up. Qin Xiaoyu then realized that she had been waiting for this. She already had two children, and if she counted four, it meant she was going to remarry. Otherwise, how could she have more children?

"Let's get to work, so many people are waiting." Qin Xiaoyu smiled and pulled her hand away.

"Huh? How come the first two children aren't your biological children?" Aunt Wang frowned and muttered to herself.

"You're talking nonsense! These days, even fathers can be fake, let alone mothers!" The old lady next to her nudged Wang Dama and mocked, causing everyone to laugh. Qin Xiaoyu, however, couldn't laugh anymore. This Wang Dama was a shrewd one; Hanhan and Xiaomei weren't her biological children!

"Aunt Wang, can you help me see if I can make money?" Qin Xiaoyu offered her hand.

"You can make money, you can make a lot of money, my goodness!" Aunt Wang suddenly exclaimed, looking up and staring straight at Qin Xiaoyu.