"If you're not doing this, what are you going to do?" Master Wang sensed something was wrong and became nervous.

"Master, don't worry, even if I quit, I'll make sure you're taken care of." Qin Xiaoyu quickly reassured him.

Then the door opened again, and a man walked in, wearing a woolen overcoat and a woolen top hat, looking very elegant.

In a world where everyone is wearing thick cotton-padded coats and baggy pants, this outfit is quite unusual. Qin Xiaoyu felt that it looked strangely familiar, and she stared blankly for a moment.

"Little Fish, I heard you opened a shop, but I haven't had time to come over until today. I've come to see you."

The man took off his top hat, his hair parted to the side and styled with wax. Although he didn't look young, he had handsome features and was the type of dashing older man.

"Dad?" Qin Xiaoyu blurted out, startling herself. What? This is the host's father? Qin Xiaoyu searched her memories, and it really was.

The memories she found weren't pleasant. Some were of her being kicked out of the house while carrying Hanhan in the rain, while others were of her being turned away when trying to borrow money while holding her feverish younger sister. And yet, he still had the nerve to come knocking? Had he caught a whiff of money?

"This house is nice, and business must be good too. You really have a knack for business. I've always said that my eldest daughter is the smartest." Little Fish's father looked around casually.

"Business isn't great either." Qin Xiaoyu's face was indifferent. There was no point in talking to someone like that, and luckily, it had nothing to do with her.

"I heard it's quite popular," Little Fish's dad blurted out in his haste.

"Is this Xiaoyu's father? I'm her mentor." Master Wang had been observing the father and daughter's expressions since he entered the room. She was a shrewd woman who had worked in the service industry for over thirty years and had already figured it out. She stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Hello, thank you for your trouble, sir. As your father, I really want to thank you!" Little Fish's father was a very polite and eloquent man.

“Oh no, it’s all thanks to her. Xiaoyu is very capable…” Before Master Wang could finish speaking, he felt Qin Xiaoyu pinch him from behind and immediately understood.

"How much money do you make in a day? It's much better than going to work, right?" Little Fish's dad continued to dig out his secrets.

"That's right, it's much better than going to work." When Master Wang saw Xiaoyu frantically trying to wink at him, he pretended not to see it and changed the subject, saying, "It's just that the cost is too high."

"What are the costs? Just rent a place and you can open it."

"You wouldn't believe it, the water, electricity, business administration, sanitation, and recently they said they'd start charging a garbage fee because we take out the trash. It's really putting us in a difficult position; all the money we earn goes to the government." Mr. Wang started complaining about being poor, and Little Fish's father's face darkened.

"Still making more money, haha."

“Little Fish’s father, you’ve come at the right time. I was just having a headache. There are some things I haven’t dared to say to Little Fish. My shop is going out of business. I originally wanted Little Fish to invest in it, but she’s a widow and unemployed, and she has two children to raise. She doesn’t have any money. Since you’re here today, let’s discuss this. Why don’t you help her out with some money? It’s not much, just five hundred. You’re her own father, you can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

Master Wang's words were sharper than knives. Each one stabbed into Little Fish's father's heart. He had originally intended to take advantage of the situation, but now that he was about to be fleeced, what was he waiting for but to do? He held his top hat in his hand.

"This little fish is really pitiful. Her husband's family doesn't care about her at all. You, as her father, have to take care of her. It's true that your daughter is married, but she's a widow now. Her family should at least lend a hand, right?"

Master Wang pretended not to notice anything amiss and continued talking to Little Fish's father.

"Okay, that's all easy to do. It's my daughter, of course I'll help. Well, I have to go take care of something first, I'll be right back. We'll talk in detail when I get back, I have an appointment, it'll be late." Little Fish's father fled in a panic.

Qin Xiaoyu silently gave her master a thumbs up, and Master Wang smiled smugly. But Qin Xiaoyu couldn't smile. For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness and wanted to cry. This must be the host's emotion, right? She had already been hurt badly by her parents, and now she was going to be hurt again.

Sunday was fast approaching, and the old lady's face grew more and more gloomy each day, while the aunt was beaming with joy, sometimes even humming a few lines of a model opera in the yard. Qin Xiaoyu instructed Grandma Hanhan to stay calm, and this time she was very obedient, having already prepared all the necessary dishes in advance, just waiting to cook them.

On Sunday, Qin Xiaoyu went out as usual. She didn't go to the shop; she told the chef she was taking the day off. Instead, she went to the city's largest food store to buy her wife a birthday cake.

The food store was as big as a football field, and it was circular, like a maze, with each room selling a type of ingredient.

The cake shop was unusually deserted. Qin Xiaoyu went in for a quick look and stuck out her tongue. There were several kinds of Chinese pastries that looked hard and had shockingly high prices, two or three yuan per pound.

She turned to the corner and saw several Western-style birthday cakes displayed in the glass counter, but they still retained a Chinese style, with large pink peaches placed on top of rose decorations, a combination of Chinese and Western elements.

She checked the price; an eight-inch piece cost five yuan and one cent. That's several kilograms of meat! It's really not cheap.

Qin Xiaoyu took out her money without hesitation. The sales clerk stood far away and had always thought she couldn't afford it. Only after she took out her money did she quickly walk over.

"I also need half a jin of grain coupons." The clerk took the ten yuan and added.

"I don't have any food coupons. Can I exchange them for money?" Qin Xiaoyu slapped her forehead. She wasn't used to carrying food coupons and had made a few blunders.

"What are you talking about? Selling grain coupons is illegal!" The clerk glared at her and threw the ten yuan back onto the counter.

"What's going on?" A middle-aged woman walked over.

"Team leader, she wants to buy a cake, but she didn't bring any food coupons," the sales clerk said matter-of-factly.

"Comrade, why don't you go back and get it?" The team leader's attitude was much better.

“My home is far away, and I’m in a hurry to prepare a family feast for my grandmother. Do you have any ideas…”

Qin Xiaoyu was getting anxious. The snow on the road had melted and then frozen again, making it slippery. Riding her bike on it was like drifting, and she wasn't confident she could do it again.

"Celebrating Grandma's birthday? What a filial child. Here, I'll cover the cost of this half-pound of grain coupons, you can buy it yourself."

"Thank you so much, I will definitely bring it to you!" Qin Xiaoyu thanked her profusely, and carried the cake out of the store. She dared not ride her bicycle, because if she fell, the cake would be ruined, so she could only walk home.

As expected, the lady was coaxed away by Hanhan's grandfather. Hanhan's grandmother directed her cousin and sister-in-law to work in the kitchen. When Qin Xiaoyu returned with the cake, everyone gathered around to see the novelty.

"It's so beautiful, how much does it cost?" Grandma Hanhan asked anxiously.

"It's not expensive." Qin Xiaoyu didn't dare to tell the truth, afraid of scaring them away.

My cousin-in-law said that my aunt left early this morning, probably to avoid trouble, just waiting for the mistress to make a scene. This was exactly what Qin Xiaoyu wanted, which meant that the birthday banquet had nothing to do with my aunt.

Meanwhile, the wife was seething with anger, seeing everyone else so happy and gloomy, and thinking about how no one knew about her 80th birthday. Grandpa Hanhan was an honest man, afraid of accidentally telling the truth, so he just kept taking his wine glass and asking people to drink with him, not daring to sit next to the wife.

"Go home!" The lady finally caught him. Her words, though not angry, carried an air of authority. Grandpa Hanhan obediently helped his mother out the door.