Zhao Qinglan and Xiao Duo spent several days tidying up the courtyard they bought.

She didn't hire anyone; she bought the materials herself and repainted it.

The eldest and second oldest kids came over to help.

When Zhao Qinglan saw the two of them, he thought of Li Huai and quickly shook his head to get rid of the thought.

With someone to help, it was quick to do some simple cleaning in the new house.

After cleaning and painting, and letting it air out for a few days, they started moving in.

When we moved, the landlord and a few familiar neighbors pulled carts to help.

Zhao Qinglan personally cooked a meal for everyone at her new home.

In such a good mood, Zhao Qinglan even had a few drinks.

When everyone had left that evening, Zhao Qinglan said happily to her daughter, "Xiaoduo, our lives will only get better and better from now on."

Seeing her mother talk a lot after drinking, Xiaoduo couldn't help asking, "Mom, don't you like Uncle Li?"

Zhao Qinglan paused for a moment, then lowered her head and said, "We're not a good match."

So it's just that it's not suitable, not that you don't like it?

Xiaoduo's eyes lit up.

She also told the answer to the eldest and second children.

Li Huai soon found out about the existence of such a little traitor.

Just then, his depression subsided, and he was planning to get back on his feet.

With her new home furnished, Zhao Qinglan began preparing for opening her shop.

She still followed the advice of Li Huai and others and decided to cook.

She decided to sell breakfast in the shop in the morning, and noodles and simple home-style dishes at other times.

She doesn't ask for more money, just enough to support herself and her child.

The shop wasn't big, and it was quick to set up. On her first day of business, the landlord and several old neighbors came to support her.

She was also very good at interpersonal relationships, giving discounts to acquaintances and even giving them gifts.

We originally just wanted to show our support, but after trying the food in her shop and finding it delicious and reasonably priced, we decided to come often.

On the first day of business, Zhao Qinglan did not prepare too many ingredients, fearing that they would not sell out and would become stale if left out for too long.

Unexpectedly, with the help of acquaintances, or perhaps everyone was curious about the newly opened store, the ingredients she prepared were sold out one after another.

This was a tremendous affirmation and encouragement for her.

The shop didn't hire anyone; it was just her and her daughter, Xiaoduo, who were busy. When Zhao Qinglan counted the sales figures that evening, she was overjoyed.

It feels so good to earn money yourself. After living in the Wang family for so many years and only being able to ask for money, she experienced the sense of accomplishment of earning money through her own abilities for the first time, and her confidence was greatly boosted.

The next day, around mealtime, she was busy cooking when she heard her daughter's delighted voice from the front.

"Uncle Li!"

When she looked out, she saw Li Huai, whom she had not seen for many days, walking into the store with several uniformed police officers.

For a moment, she panicked, but when she heard Li Huai and his companions seriously counting things, she regained her composure and continued working.

These people were brought by Li Huai to show his support, and he was the one who offered to treat everyone today.

He approached a deputy director and made the invitation; those invited felt awkward refusing.

Originally, everyone just followed along for the sake of appearance. They didn't think much of the small shop, but they didn't expect the food to be so clean and delicious.

When settling the bill, Zhao Qinglan simply rounded down the amount.

Li Huai didn't stand on ceremony and said directly to his colleagues and subordinates, "This is my friend. You are all welcome to come and support me more often in the future."

"Director Li, no problem."

"Absolutely."

Seeing Li Huai's graceful introduction, Zhao Qinglan felt embarrassed and could only say that everyone was welcome to come often.

In the next half month, Li Huai came seven or eight times, and his colleagues from the Public Security Bureau also came one after another.

With these regular customers, and Zhao Qinglan's ability to retain and attract customers by relying on the clean taste of her food, her store gradually became prosperous.

Every day at mealtimes, the restaurant is almost always full.

Although she was busy, Zhao Qinglan was very happy, and even Xiao Duo felt full of energy.

Li Huai's quiet help without mentioning anything made Zhao Qinglan feel uneasy.

Da Wa received the college admission letter. When Xiao Duo announced the good news, Zhao Qinglan was happy too.

Because the eldest child moved away with his father after the college entrance examination, he received the admission letter much later, and there was not much time left before school started.

Before leaving, the eldest and second sons came to the store specially.

Zhao Qinglan had just congratulated Da Wa when Da Wa expressed his desire to have a chat with her.

There was only one customer eating in the restaurant, so Zhao Qinglan sat down with them in a corner.

"Aunt Zhao, are you worried about rejecting my dad? Don't worry, Erwa and I have no objection to you being together."

Erwa, who was standing to the side, quickly nodded.

Although this is one of the reasons, it is not the only reason. "No, Big Baby, it's just me. I don't want to get married again."

"Mom, is it because of me? I support you and Uncle Li too. I really like Uncle Li. It would be so great if he could be my dad." Xiao Duo, who was originally just in the background, also chimed in.

Zhao Qinglan was surprised that her daughter thought the same way. Looking at her three children with expectant faces, she was about to explain that it wasn't that Li Huai was bad, but that she was not good enough for him, when Xiao Duo and Da Wa started saying nice things about Li Huai again.

"Mom, do you know that our house and this store were actually found by Uncle Li privately?"

It turns out that it was all thanks to that guy's gang?

“Aunt Zhao, my mother abandoned us when Erwa and I were very young. We have been alone for so many years. His sudden idea to get married shows that he really cares about you. After he stopped looking for you, he seemed to be in poor spirits.”

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!