Fortunately, Wang Yun was still rational. Although she loved spicy food, she knew that if she ate to her heart's content, her daughter would definitely get a sore throat after drinking her milk when she got home.

So, to spare her daughter from suffering, she had to suppress her cravings, take a few bites of the spicy dish, and then put down her chopsticks to focus on drinking the mutton soup.

The mutton soup at the state-run restaurant was quite good; the soup was fresh and delicious with a very mild muttony smell. However, the chili oil that came with it wasn't spicy at all. She added a large spoonful to the soup, but it only had a slight spiciness, which was better than nothing.

After lunch, Fang Qiao and Wang Yun went to a nearby department store together.

Both of them came with various tickets and permits. After all, it was not easy to come to the city, and it would be a pity to go back empty-handed without bringing something.

Fang Qiao bought rare items that couldn't be found at Heshan Food Store, such as dried goods and seafood, which are lightweight and easy to carry.

The main reason is that I'm with Wang Yun, so there's not enough space. It's inconvenient to carry around lots of bags, and it's more convenient to buy the things I usually need directly from Heshan Food Store.

Even though Fang Qiao had already bought them, she still had a lot of things hanging from her arms when she left the department store.

Carrying the things was too heavy to walk, so Fang Qiao and Wang Yun hit it off and boarded the bus at the bus stop outside the department store.

The bus was quite crowded, but luckily there were two rows of empty seats at the end. After buying their tickets and finding seats, the two put their things down at their feet to save their hands from getting tired.

The bus swayed and rattled along, while Fang Qiao and Wang Yun chatted idly about everyday things.

At the next stop, some people get off, and some people get on.

Fang Qiao glanced up casually and unexpectedly spotted a familiar face among the people getting on the bus.

She was startled and instinctively stood up.

Wang Yun looked at her, puzzled: "Xiao Qiao, what's wrong?"

"I saw my sister-in-law," Fang Qiao explained. "Wait a minute, I'll go say hello to her."

After saying that, Fang Qiao walked quickly to the car door and called out, "Sister-in-law."

Dong Ping was buying a ticket from the ticket seller on the bus. She handed the money to the ticket seller and turned around when she heard the sound.

When she saw Fang Qiao, a smile appeared on her face: "Little sister, it's you. What a coincidence! When did you come to the city?"

"I came this morning to accompany a friend to the city to take care of some business."

The car started and the floor swayed. Fang Qiao calmly took Dong Ping's arm and helped her find an empty seat before asking, "Sister-in-law, where are you going? Why are you out alone? Didn't my brother come with you?"

"Xiaolong had a slight fever when he woke up from his nap today, so I came out to buy him some fever reducer," Dong Ping explained. "Your older brother is at work, I'm fine on my own, little sister, don't worry."

“You don’t need to come out to buy medicine yourself. Grandpa and Grandma Xiaolong are at home.” Fang Qiao said with concern, “Sister-in-law, you just gave birth to your second child and you’re still in your postpartum period, right? Try not to go out and get chilled.”

"No, it's nothing. When I gave birth to Xiaolong, I went back to work in the fields as usual just three days after giving birth. It's been almost a month now, and I've only come out once. It's fine." Dong Ping pursed her dry lips, paused, and said, "Little sister, um... your older brother and I have separated from Xiaolong's grandparents."

Fang Qiao was taken aback: "Sister-in-law, you just gave birth, and you have both a big baby and a small baby. This is the time when you need help. If you separate the family now, who will help you take care of the children?"

"I can manage on my own."

Dong Ping said with a bitter expression, "The main thing is... this family really has to be separated."

"What happened?" Fang Qiao asked.

"It's all because of my younger brother." Mentioning this, Dong Ping was filled with grievances: "My younger brother got into trouble and urgently needs money to cover his losses, but your older brother and I don't have any. Little sister, you know, your older brother already paid more than half a year's salary to keep this baby in my belly. How can we ask our superiors for more money? But just because my husband and I can't come up with the money to get my younger brother out of the house, Xiaolong's grandparents pointed their fingers at my brother and me and berated us, making us feel ashamed. And that's not all; as elders..." We, the younger generation, should tolerate a few scoldings, but this constant noise day and night, disrupting the peace of the house, is unbearable for the adults. My second child had complications during her abortion; she came out prematurely, a tiny little bundle, like a kitten, and her cries were weak. The house is always noisy; even a slightly loud noise scares her so much she trembles, and she can't sleep peacefully. I'm terrified. I finally managed to bring her into this world safely; if she doesn't survive, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Qiao felt somewhat conflicted.

"You're right. It's better that we've broken up; it'll be peaceful now."

Dong Ping nodded and said, "It's peaceful now. After the family splits up, your older brother and I will take care of our parents without hesitation, but from now on, the younger brother is the younger brother, and we are us. No matter how much trouble he causes outside, it has nothing to do with us."

“I see it now, my little brother is a menace.” Dong Ping warned Fang Qiao, “Little sister, don’t get involved in his affairs. He’s been spoiled by our parents. He gambles and steals, and he’s not on the right path. There will definitely be more of this kind of thing in the future. If you discipline him once, he’ll stick to you for life. Whoever gets involved with him will be unlucky.”

Fang Qiao hummed in agreement and said, "I know, I don't care about him."

Then he asked, "Sister-in-law, where do you and my brother live now?"

"I live not far away, in a large courtyard behind Labor Park. I rented a room there, and the rent was only two yuan a month."

"Two yuan for rent is not expensive."

"More than that, that room is huge! Even if you partition it into two rooms, it's not cramped. We got a great deal for only two yuan a month." Dong Ping smiled as she said this. "We were also lucky. The landlady wasn't short of money and hadn't originally planned to rent it out. It was only when your older brother came home from get off work that he ran into her, who had fallen and hit her head. He kindly took her to the hospital, and that's how we got the chance to rent that empty room from her."

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