Li Zhaodi naturally treasured Mu Jingzhe. When she saw her, she asked like she usually did, “What do you want to eat this morning?”

  “Anything is fine. Everything Mommy makes is delicious.” Although Mu Jingzhe answered this way, she still ordered a few dishes in a row. Li Zhaodi didn’t scold her and dragged her to buy some groceries before preparing the food for her.

  After the meal, Mu Jingzhe stroked her stomach and slumped down. When her stomach no longer felt so full, she washed the dishes before following Li Zhaodi to the bun shop.

  “Mom, has business been good recently?”

  “It’s alright. After hiring someone to help, your father and I can take turns working.”

  “How’s the new worker? Does he also secretly eat the food?” Mu Jingzhe asked with concern. Previously, Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng had listened to Mu Jingzhe and hired a helper. She had been quite hardworking, but there had been one bad thing about her… She would secretly eat the food.

  The bun shop provided meals, so it wasn’t like the worker had been forced to go hungry. Although she didn’t mind the food provided, they hadn’t expected this person to be so insatiable. She’d even secretly eaten the food sold in the bun shop. One time, she had almost been caught and had even sold to a customer a bun she had taken a bite from.

  When the matter had blown up, she had defended herself by saying she had done that out of instinctive fear because she had gone hungry often in the past. Whenever she saw food, she wanted to stuff it in her mouth. She promised to correct this bad habit in the future, but they had still dismissed her and hired someone else.

  “This one is quite hardworking and doesn’t steal food. She only brings her daughter here often, but her daughter doesn’t make a fuss. I thought that a child wouldn’t eat much, so I didn’t say anything.”

  In the past, Li Zhaodi would never have said something like this. However, when she had seen that the woman’s daughter was thin and small, she had felt compassion for her. Therefore, she turned a blind eye despite knowing that the woman’s daughter would secretly eat the buns. There were days where the buns didn’t sell out completely anyway. She would just consider it accumulating merit.

  Mu Jingzhe praised Li Zhaodi when she heard that. “Mom, you’re so kind. You did well.”

  Li Zhaodi felt a little smug and embarrassed after being praised. “What’s there to praise me for? I was not born evil. Since I have money, I’m willing to help others.”

  “I know. I’ve always known that you were a good person, Mommy. I want to learn from you.” Mu Jingzhe coaxed Li Zhaodi until she beamed with happiness.

  \r \r \r

  Everyone liked to listen to nice words, and Li Zhaodi was no exception. Mu Jingzhe wanted her to be happy every day. The children were also very good on that front. Every time they came, they kept greeting their ‘Grandmother’ and praising her non-stop. Each of the five children could praise her from head to toe, making Li Zhaodi experience double the joy.

  As Li Zhaodi laughed, the two of them arrived at the bun shop. Mu Jingzhe saw the newly-hired Sister Ping. She was still young and she indeed had a five- or six-year-old child with her who was very skinny.

  Mu Jingzhe greeted Sister Ping and helped her chop up meat. However, just as she picked up the knife, Sister Ping snatched it away. “I’ll do it. How can I let you do it? Little Boss, please sit aside and rest.”

  After saying that, she started chopping the meat. Mu Jingzhe didn’t argue with her, but she realized that her elbow seemed to be bruised. “What happened to your arm? And the corners of your eyes…”

  “I didn’t watch where I was going last night and I fell.”

  Mu Jingzhe found it a little strange but she didn’t ask anything else since Sister Ping didn’t seem to want to say anything. After a while, she went back.

  “When the kids come back from school later, bring them to the house to eat,” Li Zhaodi reminded her. A person’s heart was made of flesh. The children treated her as their biological grandmother, so she also treated the children as her own. She was thinking of making delicious food for them.

  “Alright, I understand.”

  Mu Jingzhe took the five kids to Li Zhaodi’s place and happily ate another meal. After eating too much, she sauntered back. When she was near the bun shop, she heard the cries of a child and some screams for help. Mu Jingzhe quickly went over and asked the five kids to be careful and not come near.

  When they got closer, they realized that Sister Ping was being beaten up by a man. Sister Ping was even hugging her daughter and crying for help. There were many people around who wanted to persuade the man, but whoever tried to do so would suffer. The man seemed to be drunk and was hitting whoever went up to him.

  “Get out of the way. This is a family matter. It’s none of your business if I hit my wife.”

  Now that he was hitting someone else, Sister Ping no longer had to be beaten up. However, after everyone ran away, she continued to get beaten up.

  “Don’t hit the child!” Sister Ping cried pitifully, shouting for help.

  Mu Jingzhe stepped forward and shouted, “Stop!”

  When the drunkard heard Mu Jingzhe’s voice, he raised his hand, ready to hit her. When Sister Ping saw that it was Mu Jingzhe, she got very nervous and immediately shouted, “Father of my child, don’t hit her! This is my boss’ daughter!”

  The man slowed down and stopped. He glanced at Mu Jingzhe and muttered something, then picked up the beer bottle beside him and staggered away. It seemed like he had drunk some alcohol.

  Mu Jingzhe frowned. “This is your husband?”

  “Mm.” Sister Ping was filled with trepidation. “Little Boss, don’t tell the lady boss. Don’t fire me. I won’t let him come again. I won’t let it affect my work either. If I get fired, I won’t have a chance to live if I stay at home every day.”

  Mu Jingzhe frowned. “You can’t constantly endure these beatings. This is a problem that needs to be solved.”

  Mu Jingzhe had zero tolerance when it came to domestic violence. In the modern era, many people would advise the abused wife to get a divorce. After all, domestic violence wouldn’t stop once it started and would only become increasingly worse. However, divorce wasn’t a solution people sought in this era. Mu Jingzhe didn’t tell her to get a divorce, but she still said that this problem had to be solved.

  No wonder she’d had bruises previously. It turned out that she had been beaten up.

  “I know. It’s all my fault for failing to give birth to a son. If my stomach worked harder, I wouldn’t get beaten up. I just have to give birth to a son and things will be fine.”

  Mu Jingzhe’s frown deepened. Little Bei couldn’t help but say, “The gender of the baby is not determined by the mother. If you really want to pursue the matter, it’s the father’s responsibility. You don’t have to blame yourself.”

  Little Bei, who had learned the science behind this, didn’t like this misconception.

  Sister Ping looked at Little Bei. “How impressive. You know everything.”

  Although she praised her, her expression was disapproving. When she smiled, the corners of her mouth twitched and she let out a tear.

  Mu Jingzhe frowned. “Let’s pack up and go back first. There are no more customers. We can close for the day.”

  “Aye.” Actually, Sister Ping had specifically waited until now because she didn’t want to go home. She was afraid that she would be criticized by her in-laws if she went home, so she’d wanted to eat a few of the unsold tea eggs and buns before leaving.

  Mu Jingzhe was about to leave when the drunkard who had just left suddenly sauntered back. “Give me two yuan.”

  “I don’t have money. I haven’t received my wages yet. Don’t drink any more. Let’s go home quickly.” Sister Ping was afraid that Mu Jingzhe would be disgusted, so she carefully shoved her husband.

  “Why are you here if they’re not paying you!” Unexpectedly, the words ‘I don’t have money’ angered the drunkard husband. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and grabbed her hair, slapping her without a care.

  “Stop!” Mu Jingzhe exclaimed in shock.

  “Even if you’re the boss, you can’t stop me from hitting my wife. Give me money!” The drunkard, who was impatient, actually picked up his beer bottle and smashed it.

  Amid Sister Ping’s shrieks and Little Bei’s frightened screams, the beer bottle shattered and Sister Ping’s head bloomed open.