One sentence left Fang Meili in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat. She wasn't stupid. Last time, she stayed at her parents' house for two days because she was angry, and her two sisters-in-law gave her the cold shoulder. If she went back this time, she was afraid that they would say some unpleasant things to her face.

The farce in the Jiang family only came to an end when Jiang Jianguo finally found his eldest daughter-in-law a job washing vegetables in the factory kitchen.

However, the recent commotion has left both Jiang Kai and Jiang Jun feeling uneasy.

Jiang Kai felt that his second son's return not only embarrassed him and his wife but also affected the atmosphere at home. Jiang Jun felt that his eldest brother was becoming less and less like an elder brother, making the house a mess and causing him a lot of trouble.

Kong Xuefang gradually adapted to the dry air in Yanjing, but was also annoyed by the power struggle between her sister-in-law and mother-in-law during this period.

They had been staying in Jiang Lin and Jiang Hui's room for a while, as there was really no place for her to sleep at home. Fortunately, her job had become stable during this period, and Jiang Jianguo had also explained his family situation to his superiors.

The steel plant leaders, seeing that he was a key technical worker and a long-time employee who had worked diligently for many years without making any mistakes, and also considering that he was indeed in financial difficulty, approved a house for him. It wasn't big, but it was about 20 square meters, enough for his family of three to live in.

All this commotion has turned Jiang Jianguo's hair quite white. Old Mrs. Jiang knew about it from beginning to end, but she didn't say a word. The eldest son should also suffer the pain of not raising his children well, so that he would know how much of a failure he was in raising his children. Of the four children, two have gone astray.

On the eighth day of the ninth lunar month, everyone went to work as usual. Grandma Jiang came out of her house and saw that her old friend, Old Li, across the street was still at home with the door closed. She felt a little strange and went over to knock on the door to see what was going on.

"Old Li, it's already eight o'clock, why aren't you up yet? Open the door quickly." Grandma Jiang knocked on the door for a long time without any response. The old lady's heart skipped a beat. What had happened?

"Xiuying, Datou, come quick! Why isn't your Aunt Li making a sound? I've been knocking on the door for ages!" Old Mrs. Jiang ran to the Sun family's house with trembling little feet to call for help.

Sun Datou had already called his second son back to take over the job. He was at home cleaning up the house with his wife when they heard Jiang Laotai's shout, so the two of them ran out.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Li Xiuying quickly helped the old lady up. She had already suffered a stroke once, and she didn't want anything to happen to her again.

“Your Aunt Li hasn’t opened the door yet, and no one answers when I knock. Something must have happened. You should go and check on her.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Datou quickly ran over. Liu Xiuying thought for a moment and said, "Aunt Jiang, you sit here. I'll go and call the people from the neighborhood committee."

"Alright, go ahead."

Sun Datou called for a long time but heard no response. In desperation, he kicked open Li Laotai's door. Jiang Laotai saw that the door was open and followed him inside.

The room was quiet. Sun Datou had a bad feeling. Jiang Laotai's heart was pounding like a drum, and she felt dizzy.

Sun Datou pushed open the door and went in. He saw the old lady lying motionless on the kang. He took a deep breath and went over. He first checked her breathing. She wasn't breathing. Then he touched the old lady's hand and sighed.

"Aunt Jiang, Aunt Li has already passed away; her body has stiffened."

Grandma Jiang's legs went weak and she was about to fall down when Sun Datou quickly grabbed her, worried that something might happen to her.

With the help of Sun Datou, Grandma Jiang, leaning on her cane, walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed): "Old Li, why did you leave so suddenly? We old sisters have been together for so long, and I didn't even get to see you one last time."

Looking at her old sister's remains, Grandma Jiang could no longer hold back her grief and sorrow, and she cried uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.

At this moment, Li Xiuying arrived with the people from the street and the neighbors who lived behind her.

"This old lady was sitting in the doorway sunbathing yesterday, what happened to her today..."

"Sigh, I can think of all these things now that I'm getting old, but I never expected it to be so sudden."

People on the street came forward to check, and soon after, officials came to handle the old lady's funeral arrangements.

Grandma Li was a recipient of the "Five Guarantees" (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly, disabled, and orphans). She had no children or relatives and relied on government subsidies to make a living. Now that she has passed away, the government is handling her funeral arrangements.

The old lady got along well with her, and it seemed as if her spirit and energy were taken away with her after this person left.

Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang only found out that Grandma Li had passed away when they got home from get off work. Jiang Ruyu rushed home to see her grandmother, and sure enough, the old lady was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, her face, which looked like withered tree bark, was covered in tear stains, and her pillowcase was soaked.

"Grandma, everyone has to go through this. Try to think positively. You still have us as your family. Don't let yourself be too sad, or we'll all worry about you."

When Jiang Jianguo heard the news after get off work, he rushed over to see his mother: "Mom, you can be sad for a while, but don't hold it in and hurt yourself."

Grandma Jiang opened her red, swollen, and bloodshot eyes: "I know, we'll all go to see her off after Old Li's burial."

"Okay, everyone go."

An elderly woman passed away quietly. According to the relevant departments, she died of a natural cause, specifically heart failure. Everyone was saddened for two days. The neighborhood committee informed them that she had been buried in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city. Those who cared spontaneously went to pay their respects, so that she wouldn't have to leave in such a desolate state.

After Old Lady Li passed away, the neighborhood committee was going to take back the house she lived in and redistribute it to people in need. Zheng Yang had an idea after learning about this.

"Ruyu, how about we rent the house where Grandma Li lives? I've been looking for a house in our alley for a long time. The ones that are too big won't be rented by the street authorities, and the ones that are too small are only a few square meters, which isn't enough for us. I think Grandma Li's house is just right. What do you think?" He was mainly worried that Ruyu would think the house was unlucky, since Grandma Li had died there.

Jiang Ruyu frowned and thought for a moment before nodding: "Okay, I know what you're worried about. I don't mind. We know Grandma Li so well, and she's so kind. I'm not afraid. We'll rent that house and renovate it. The windows are too small and the light is bad. We'll replace them with bigger windows."

"Okay, I'll go ask the neighborhood committee first."

After negotiating with the neighborhood committee for a few days, Zheng Yang rented the room for two yuan a month.

The neighborhood had already cleaned up the house. Zheng Yang took the key and went inside to check it out. He then decided to replace all the furniture inside, otherwise it wouldn't be comfortable to live there. It was better to replace everything in the new house with new furniture. Fortunately, his father had made a lot of new furniture for his wedding.

After Jiang Ruyu learned that he had rented a house, she went to take a look and offered her suggestions: "Make the small south-facing window a big window, and make the north-facing window bigger since it's near the alley entrance and the light is poor. You can put the desk here then."

“Okay, we’ll do it your way. I’m also planning to redo the floor here, lay patterned tiles, and find someone to dismantle this kang (heated brick bed) and reconnect the fire wall. That way, even without a kang, we can put up a stove and a chimney, so it won’t be cold inside in winter.”