Later, a thug came to the shop. That day it was just me and Grandma there. That thug started touching me, and we only managed to drive him out with great difficulty. Who knew that when he saw there were no tenants in the courtyard, just the two of us, one old, one young, he got evil ideas and even wanted to rob us.

But luckily we ran into him. That day he just happened not to go out to work, saw someone bullying us, and kindly stepped in to help us flatten that guy.

Grandma saw he seemed decent and didn’t have a fixed place to live, so she hired him to help watch the shop. Having a man at home can deter people.

And he’s all burly and big-boned; just standing there on an ordinary day is enough to make anyone with bad intentions think twice and not dare to mess around. These past few years we’ve really had him to thank."

Seeing that Shen Rong had already made up her mind, Lin Wan didn’t ask much more.

After the two of them viewed the place, Shen Rong took her back to the inn. It was the first time Lin Wan saw the man Shen Rong had mentioned. Just like Shen Rong said, his height and build were indeed quite sturdy, and he seemed pretty good at talking.

As soon as Lin Wan came in, she hurried to help serve tea and pour water.

Lin Wan also noticed something: when the two of them were together, why did it look a bit ambiguous?

But Lin Wan didn’t ask Shen Rong; it wasn’t her place to pry into personal matters. If this man really was reliable and could help Shen Rong, that was pretty good. The only thing was, no one knew about his past. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Shen Rong said he’d done time, but she hadn’t made it clear exactly what he’d done.

Lin Wan mentioned this to Mom; if Shen Rong really did have feelings for that man, it’d be good for Mom to keep an eye on this.

As for S City, she would be coming back often. In H City, Second Uncle and Second Aunt’s family were living comfortably. Lele was now working at the Institute of Technology. Bo Jun was in a government department, which was a bit different from the last life—back then, Bo Jun had developed his career in Z City. Maybe because of her, some things had changed.

Either way, wherever Bo Jun ended up, he would ultimately go smoothly. Now Second Aunt stayed home helping them take care of the kids. With their family together, Second Aunt could finally feel at ease. The only thing was that Lele was far from home, with no relatives around here, which made one feel a bit sorry for her. But this time when she saw her, seeing how Bo Jun deferred to her in everything, and how Second Aunt was especially attentive to her, Lele secretly told her that she was doing quite well now, that her in-laws treated her very well, she just occasionally felt a bit homesick. Anyway, transportation was convenient now; if she missed Z City, she could go back for a few days over a short holiday. This time Lele specially got some local specialties for her, asking her to take some back for Little Uncle when she returned.

Lin Wan nodded in agreement. Seeing that she was doing well here, she could go back and report to Little Aunt so the family wouldn’t worry.

Seeing there was nothing much left to handle here, Lin Wan took the kids back.

"Mom, when Grandpa and Grandma took us to the zoo that day, it was so much fun. When we get back, can you and Dad take us to our zoo too?" Dingding said to Lin Wan on the way.

"Sure, we’ll pick a Sunday and take you all to have some fun."

"Mom, Dingding was really naughty that day, he almost fell into the pool," Little Star rolled her eyes at Dingding and complained.

"I didn’t mean to. It’s because my little feet are too small, I didn’t stand steady. Mom, I didn’t fall in—at the time, a little big brother pulled me back. I even thanked that little big brother."

"Mm-hmm, you have to be more careful in the future, you know?" Listening to the two kids’ conversation, Lin Wan just took it as a bit of fun.

She had no idea that the kid who pulled Dingding back was Hua Hua.

That day, Qiu Hualan and Du Guangjun took Hua Hua to the amusement park. Not long after Hua Hua went in, he saw Little Star’s figure.

He had been following behind them the whole time. He actually wanted to go up and say hello, but he was afraid Little Star had forgotten him.

All these years, he’d never forgotten those days back in Capital City when he was with Little Star. Those were the happiest days of his life. Though he was still young, he remembered them clearly.

Just when he was trailing after Little Star’s shadow, the little brother beside her suddenly started running around mischievously. They didn’t really pay attention at first. He knew that was Little Star’s younger brother, so he helped Little Star keep an eye on him. As it turned out, this little guy really did almost fall.

He had originally wanted to keep following them, but then there were too many people in between, and they got squeezed apart. He was down about it for quite a while because of that. Who knew when he’d see Hua Hua again next time.

.....

Most of the negotiations for the demolished house in Z City had been settled: two apartments and fifty thousand yuan per household.

By the time Lin Wan finished with the paperwork, the kids had all started school. On Xingxing’s first day of registration, Lin Wan and Han Yi both accompanied him.

The middle school inside the compound was close to home and didn’t allow boarders, so all three meals were eaten at home.

This arrangement wasn’t very ideal, because during the day, Han Yi and Lin Wan were hardly ever home, and they were afraid they wouldn’t be able to look after the child properly.

Coincidentally, there was a Saozi in the compound who was usually idle at home. She spotted a way to make some money: when acquaintances were too busy, they could send their kids over to eat at her place and just pay her a monthly living fee. It wasn’t quite the same as a noon-care center.

Lin Wan took Little Star over to have a look; the meals she cooked were pretty good. Saozi had taken on five students herself—three boys and two girls—not too many. Just as it happened, Gu Lin also couldn’t manage and sent Yaoyao over. This worked out well; with someone to keep her company, the two girls were quite willing.

But Yaoyao was already in her third year of junior high, the most intense time. Anyway, the sisters could still spend one more year together.

With both daughter and son settled, Lin Wan tidied up all the summer sale clothes in the shop, getting ready for a big promotion. Once the kids started school, it wouldn’t be long before the weather changed.

After she finished organizing her own shop, she helped Mom and Saozi manage theirs. Saozi’s hotel had hired a manager now; she didn’t have to worry about things like the rooms and guests anymore. Now she and Mom shared an office on the first floor.