Aunt Li slapped her thigh and mumbled, "Yuan Chun, it’s so tough for a woman to lead a household alone with a child. There needs to be a man to support the family, so others won’t dare to bully you."

"Even though my family doesn’t have a man, no one dares to bully me. I’m a martyr’s widow. Who would be so blind as to bully a martyr’s widow?" Yuan Chun placed the fragrant dried small fish into a porcelain basin and continued, "Aunt Li, although there’s no man in my house, I can do everything myself; I don’t need a man to do the work."

"Ah Yuan Chun, you think this way while you’re young, but wait until your son grows up and gets married. You’ll be left alone and lonely; you’ll change your mind."

Aunt Li advised, "I know you’re afraid that if you remarry, the partner will treat your son poorly. Rest assured, my nephew is well-known for being honest and kind. He’ll absolutely treat your son as his own."

"No need, Aunt Li. I don’t want to remarry, nor do I want to break the vow I made to my husband." Yuan Chun rejected expressionlessly.

Aunt Li spoke earnestly, "Yuan Chun, why won’t you listen to advice? I’m advising you for your own good. You’re still young and don’t think much now. When you’re my age, you’ll regret it."

"Yuan Chun, take Auntie’s advice. No matter what, a woman needs to find a man to spend life with. Without a man, can this really be called a home? Your son, seeing others have dads, would also want a father,"

"Auntie, I asked my son. He said he doesn’t need a dad. Having me as his mom is enough. Auntie, I’m going to start braising pig ears now, so I won’t chat with you."

If it weren’t for the business, Yuan Chun would have long wanted to curse Aunt Li out of the house.

However, she needed to maintain a pleasant atmosphere for her business, so even if she was impatient, she had to handle it with good temper.

The next day, after sending her son to school, Yuan Chun rode her tricycle, full of goods, back home only to see a man in his thirties standing at her shop entrance.

At first, she thought he was a customer and smiled slightly, saying, "Wait a moment, I’ll open the shop soon."

The man said, "You must be Yuan Chun, right? You’ve returned and brought so many goods; isn’t it tiring? Go open the shop door, and I’ll help you push the tricycle into the yard."

Yuan Chun was dazed and said, "I don’t need your help; I can handle it myself. You’re here to buy something, right? Please wait at the door; I’ll soon open the shop."

"Yuan Chun, my name is Li Dazhi. You might have heard of me. I’m here to help you run the shop. It’s not easy for a woman to manage everything alone, but with me around, you can just take care of three kids and my parents. Leave all the shop work to me. Oh, by the way, I heard from my aunt your shop sells braised and fried foods. Later, you can teach me. I used to be a junior chef until the State-owned Restaurant was contracted out, and I started on my own. With this shop to maintain, I won’t have to work for others, and making braised and fried foods is basically my expertise."

The man spoke as he tried to grab Yuan Chun’s tricycle.

Yuan Chun kicked out at him, pointed at his nose, and cursed, "Who are you? What relation do you have with me? You’re trying to take over my shop!"

The man got up, pointed at her, his face livid, "Shrew, you are exactly a shrew. It seems I have to properly teach you how to be a virtuous wife and good mother, you... ah..."