Lin Yu had returned, and Shi Xiaoliu was very happy. In the afternoon, when there was nothing much to do, he lay beside the cradle and played with Tuan-ger.

With more people playing with him, Tuan-ger was also happy. He was often held by this person and that person, and the little fellow was not shy with strangers at all. No matter who he saw, he always had a cheerful smile on his face.

Lin Shuyuan had not given up. Somehow, he found out that Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan had actually opened a shop in town. He had not expected Lin Yu’s life to be going as well as it was, not as miserable as he had imagined. So, he came looking for them again. When Shi Xiaoliu heard the knock on the door, she went to open it.

As soon as Lin Yu saw Lin Shuyuan, his expression turned cold. “What are you doing here? Get out.”

“Yu-ger, listen to your father. What good life can you have following a butcher? Come with me, your father can take good care of you. If you can’t bear to part with the child, then bring him along too. I’ll raise him for you.”

Hearing Lin Shuyuan still wanting him to abandon Tuan-ger, Lin Yu was so furious that he grabbed the bowl beside him and threw it at him. “Get out!”

Wei Qingshan was in front of the shop selling meat when he heard the angry voice of his little husband. He immediately came rushing back. When he saw that it was Lin Shuyuan who had somehow found his way there, he stormed up furiously, frightening Lin Shuyuan so much that he hurriedly backed out of the doorway.

“Unreasonable. As expected of a poor butcher,” Lin Shuyuan snorted coldly. “Yu-ger, your father is doing this for your own good. Come with me, your father will let you live a good life.”

With a loud bang, Wei Qingshan shut the door. “If you dare come again, I won’t be polite next time.”

Lin Yu was livid with anger at Lin Shuyuan. Just seeing him made him feel disgusted, like seeing a fly. Wei Qingshan poured him a cup of tea. “Don’t worry. If he comes again, I’ll throw him out directly.”

Lin Yu nodded. “Sometimes I think, why did he even come back alive? Should I have…”

“No.” Wei Qingshan sat down beside his little husband.

“I just can’t figure out why he wants to take me away. Back then, he was the one who didn’t want me or my mother.”

Wei Qingshan’s expression also turned cold. Lin Shuyuan had repeatedly tried to take Lin Yu away and did not even want Tuan-ger. Even if Lin Shuyuan disliked him, Tuan-ger was still Lin Yu’s child.

Suddenly, Wei Qingshan thought of something. “He must want to take you away because you gave birth to a ger with the surname Lin. Lin Shuyuan is a live-in son-in-law; the child would definitely take the other family’s surname.”

Lin Yu was stunned. “I—I thought he felt our family was poor and wanted to make it up to us…”

Lin Yu felt even more disgusted with Lin Shuyuan. He had thought it was because his father felt guilty, but it turned out he had that kind of scheme in mind. The gentle father he remembered had long ceased to exist; he had long since rotted in greed and money.

Lin Shuyuan came looking for them two more times afterward. When he knocked on the back door, they did not open it, and Wei Qingshan splashed water on him to drive him away. Because of all this trouble, Lin Yu had been feeling rather irritable lately.

Zhang Laotai was quite smug after learning that Lin Yu had given birth to a ger. Ever since the two families had fought once, they had completely fallen out.

Lin Yu’s bun shop no longer bought sesame oil from her family. Instead, they had Shunzi go farther away to buy it from another household. Zhang Laotai held a grudge over it and often gossiped about Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu.

“What’s so good about having a ger? All dressed up in gold and silver, but he’s just a worthless ger.”

Zhang Laotai deliberately spoke loudly enough for Lin Yu to hear from inside the courtyard. Even Lin Shuyuan, who had come by twice to look for Lin Yu, heard her. Even if it was a ger, that was still his own grandson—how could he tolerate some old woman making such comments?

Wei Qingshan heard it too and didn’t put up with it. He went straight out from the front of the shop and, in front of everyone on the street, swung his cleaver down onto the doorframe of Zhang Laotai’s house. “Try spouting nonsense again if you dare!”

Zhang Laotai had never expected Wei Qingshan to actually slash her door with his cleaver. She was so terrified that she collapsed to the ground. “Ah! Murder! Murder!”

The people on the street quickly came to intervene. Boss Jin tried to smooth things over. “Boss Wei, don’t take her seriously. She’s just a sharp-tongued old woman.”

Zhang Dahe also rushed out to plead, “Boss Wei, please don’t stoop to my mother’s level.”

Only then did Wei Qingshan carry his knife back. He had never really intended to do anything. People like Zhang Laotai bullied the weak and feared the strong. The more you ignored her, the more arrogant she became. Now that she had been frightened, things would finally be peaceful again.

Shi Xiaoliu spat toward the neighboring shop. “Old hag, she thinks everyone’s like Zhou Da, letting her bully and insult them.”

This time, Zhang Laotai was so frightened that she didn’t dare speak ill of Lin Yu again.

Later, Lin Shuyuan came over two more times, and every time, his words implied that he wanted to take Lin Yu and Tuan-ger away, saying he would buy them a house in the county and that they could all live together.

At first, Wei Qingshan only suspected Lin Shuyuan’s motives, but later, one of his servants accidentally let it slip—Lin Shuyuan indeed wanted to take Lin Yu away, then find him another live-in son-in-law. When that couple had children, the children would bear the Lin surname and continue the Lin family line.

Suppressing his anger, Wei Qingshan asked Lou Qingfeng to write a letter for him, then paid a merchant to travel to Jiangnan and deliver it.

Lin Yu and Tuan-ger were his bottom line. Yet Lin Shuyuan kept pestering them, trying again and again to take the two away. Wei Qingshan had originally not wanted to bother with Lin Shuyuan, but every time Lin Shuyuan came and couldn’t see Lin Yu, he would linger on the street for a while before leaving, until everyone on the street knew that Lin Yu’s father wanted to take him away for a better life.

It wasn’t until Lin Shuyuan had no choice but to leave that he finally went away, entrusting the inn’s waiter to deliver silver and a message, saying he would come again later.

Lin Yu looked at the hundred taels of silver and felt annoyed. His family didn’t need that money. “Qingshan, give all this silver to the town’s orphanage.”

Lin Yu would never accept Lin Shuyuan’s silver. When Madam Wu heard about it, she said, “Lin Fulang, why not use the cloth to buy some cotton and make winter clothes for the children instead? The children in the orphanage are pitiful—winter’s coming, and they don’t even have padded clothes. If this silver is handed over directly, who knows how much of it will actually be used for the children?”

Lin Yu thought that made sense and immediately handed the silver to Madam Wu. “Madam Wu, you take care of it. I can’t get away now that I’m looking after Tuan-ger.”

“Alright, Lin Fulang, don’t worry about it.”

The children at the town’s orphanage were all very young, the oldest no more than ten. They were all orphans who had lost their parents during the years of disaster, and life in the orphanage was far from easy—being able to fill their bellies was already a blessing.

Madam Wu went to the orphanage first to take a look. She counted the number of children and kept it in mind. There were quite a few of them—twenty or thirty, both older and younger ones. The local yamen would allocate a little silver now and then, and sometimes wealthy merchants would make donations, but even so, the children all wore tattered clothes, and their faces looked pale and sickly.

If she gave the silver directly to the orphanage, someone might pocket some of it, so it was better to use it all to make each child a thick cotton coat instead. Even if it was too warm to wear right away, they could still use it as a quilt at night.

News spread that Lin Yu wanted to make cotton-padded coats for the orphanage children, and Madam Jin came over to ask about it. She wanted to help make the coats, and naturally, Lin Yu agreed.

Madam Wu went to Zhou Da’s cloth shop to buy sturdy and durable fabric, then bought cotton and brought it back. In the afternoon, the women and fulangs on the street who were free all came to help.

Lin Yu hadn’t expected so many people to come lend a hand. Even the wife of Zhang Dahe from the sesame oil shop came, leaving her eldest daughter to watch the children playing in the courtyard.

There was still some silver left over. Lin Yu told them to send along some pure meat buns when delivering the coats, so the children could all have a bit of meat. He didn’t want Lin Shuyuan’s silver—he’d just treat it as helping Lin Shuyuan accumulate some virtue.

Lin Yu’s courtyard was lively, and after more than half a month of work, the job was finally done. That day, Lin Yu’s bun shop closed for a day, and they specially made over a hundred meat buns to deliver to the orphanage children.

Lin Yu didn’t go himself that day. He simply asked Shunzi and Madam Wu to take the mule cart and deliver the things. After all, it wasn’t his own silver that had paid for it, and he didn’t want to bear the empty reputation that came with it.

At that time, Lin Shuyuan was still away traveling for business, but Wei Qingshan’s letter had already arrived at the Qin residence. Qin Liangyu was so enraged that she fell ill and took to bed. She had never imagined that after more than ten years of a loving marriage, everything had been nothing but deceit.

As a young lady raised deep in the boudoir, she had no idea what to do. Whenever she thought about the contents of that letter, she could not stop weeping. She had a son and a daughter—her eldest daughter was nearly ten this year, and her younger son was only eight.

She hadn’t expected that barely half a year after her father’s death, Lin Shuyuan would already dare to run off and acknowledge his child elsewhere.

That day, her eldest daughter Qin Fang’er also read the letter. Since childhood, she had been personally educated by her grandfather, Master Qin, who often took her along to inspect the shops and review the account books. Before he died, Master Qin often said that this eldest granddaughter had the same bearing he once did—it was only a pity that she was a girl.

Seeing her mother weeping day and night without a solution, Qin Fang’er grew increasingly disgusted with her father. “Mother, stop crying. Do you still want to live with him?”

The Qin household was thrown into chaos because of Wei Qingshan’s letter, but Wei Qingshan himself knew nothing of it. Lin Shuyuan’s repeated attempts to take Lin Yu away had touched his bottom line.

Wei Qingshan was holding three-month-old Tuan-ger and playing with him in the courtyard. He lifted Tuan-ger up high to tease him, and the little one kicked his legs and giggled with delight.

Now that the weather was warm, the little fellow was dressed lightly, his chubby body looking especially adorable. Lin Yu saw his little cub laughing so hard that drool was running down his chin. “Alright, alright, stop teasing him.”

Wei Qingshan held Tuan-ger in his arms while Lin Yu took a handkerchief to wipe the baby’s drool. “What’s got him so happy?”

Tuan-ger lay against Wei Qingshan’s shoulder, happily waving his tiny fists. Wei Qingshan held one of his small hands and kissed it. “Our Tuan-ger is such a good boy.”

There were many people in the shop, and everyone liked to gather around and play with Tuan-ger. As his father, Wei Qingshan had to act fast if he wanted to hold his own little son, otherwise, he’d already be snatched up by Zhao Yueniang or Shi Xiaoliu.

After playing with the little one for a while, Wei Qingshan put him back into the cradle. “When our Tuan-ger grows up, Daddy will send him to study and learn to read.”

Hearing that, Lin Yu smiled. “He’s still so little.”

Few gers and women could read or write—only the wealthier families would spend silver to let them study. Tuan-ger was still so small, and already Wei Qingshan was thinking of sending him to school.

Their family had been running the shop and had managed to save some silver—around seven to eight hundred taels now. But their home in the countryside hadn’t been rebuilt, and in town, they were still renting a courtyard to live in. Wei Qingshan had been thinking that they might as well buy one of their own.

He hadn’t mentioned this thought to Lin Yu yet. He was only considering it for now, since Tuan-ger was still little and he hadn’t decided where to buy the house.

Several people were sitting in the courtyard, some working and some playing with the child, when suddenly there was a knock at the back gate. Shi Xiaoliu ran over to open it, and at the door stood a richly dressed noblewoman, accompanied by two half-grown children and four or five maids and old women. Shi Xiaoliu had never seen such an imposing sight before.

He stuck his head out and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

The woman leading the group looked a bit uneasy. “I’m looking for Lin Yu. Is this Lin Yu’s house?”

“Who are you?”

“I… I’m Lin Shuyuan’s wife.”

When Shi Xiaoliu heard she was from Lin Shuyuan’s side, he immediately assumed she was here to bully them again. He hardened his face right away. “No. Not seeing you. Why are you people so annoying?”

Qin Zhao saw that his mother had come, but was still being kept outside the gate. The pampered young master immediately stepped forward and snapped, “Who are you? We’re not even here to see you.”

From inside the courtyard, Lin Yu heard the noise and asked, “Xiaoliu, who is it?”

Shi Xiaoliu glared unhappily at Qin Zhao. “Lin Ama, it’s someone from Lin Shuyuan’s side.”

“Let them leave. Why have they come again?” When Lin Yu heard it was someone from Lin Shuyuan’s side, he immediately assumed it was another round of pestering sent by Lin Shuyuan.

Qin Liangyu quickly said, “No, no, that’s not it. I just wanted to come and have a look. I wanted to see Yu-ger.”

Qin Fang’er stepped forward and said, “We’re from the Qin family of Jiangnan. We came specifically to apologize.”

When Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan heard that it was someone from the Qin family, they both went out to take a look.

Outside their gate stood a group of richly dressed people. The leading woman was wiping tears with a handkerchief. Lin Yu knew at once who she was—the Qin family that Lin Shuyuan had married into. He had some questions to ask, so he allowed them into the courtyard.

Qin Liangyu sized Lin Yu up and down, then covered her face and began to sob. She could not believe that Lin Shuyuan had abandoned his wife and child for money. Then what did the more than ten years of affection between them mean? Lin Shuyuan had loved her dearly, and their marriage had always been harmonious. Through the years, countless people had envied them.

When Qin Fang’er saw her mother crying again, she comforted softly, “Mother, don’t cry anymore. Now that we’ve seen him, isn’t that enough?”

Qin Zhao pouted when he saw his older brother, clearly displeased. He refused to believe that his father had already had a wife and child before.

Seeing the woman weeping endlessly, Lin Yu could not keep up a cold face even if he wanted to. Perhaps because the noise was getting loud, little Tuan-ger started fussing unhappily. Lin Yu picked him up and coaxed him, “Alright, alright, little father will hold Tuan-ger.”

After crying for a while, Qin Liangyu finally stopped. Sitting on the stool with reddened eyes, she asked, “Your… your mother has passed away?”

Lin Yu gave a small nod. Qin Liangyu’s eyes welled up again, and she began to wipe her tears. “I truly didn’t know he had a wife and child. I never meant to cause your mother’s death.”

“Mother, please stop crying. If you keep this up, you’ll make yourself sick.”

On the journey here, Qin Liangyu had still been holding onto a faint hope that perhaps the letter was fake, that maybe there wasn’t really another family. But when she saw Lin Yu herself, the last trace of that hope was gone.

Lin Yu asked, “Lin Shuyuan said he was injured in the head when he was rescued. Is that true?”

Qin Liangyu wiped her tears. “Injured in the head? I—I don’t know. That day, the waves on the river were rough, and Lin Shuyuan’s small boat capsized. It was my family’s merchant ship that rescued him. At the time, my mother and I were returning to visit my maternal grandparents, and that’s… that’s how we met.”

When Wei Qingshan heard that, he immediately knew Lin Shuyuan had been lying. He snorted coldly, “Lin Shuyuan lied to my husband, saying he’d hit his head and lost his memory, that’s why he hadn’t come back.”

Lin Yu rocked Tuan-ger gently as he played with him. “Since you already know what kind of person Lin Shuyuan is, what do you intend to do?”

Qin Liangyu was stunned for a moment, then shook her head. “I… I don’t know.”