The children are on holiday, and they're busy learning at the Children's Palace – some are studying painting, some are practicing calligraphy.

Uncle Hu was responsible for taking Kuai Kuai and Man Man to Professor An's house for painting and calligraphy lessons, while Ping Ping and An An could go to the Children's Palace to learn on their own. Ping Ping learned piano, and An An wanted to learn drums. Yu Yin respected their choices and enrolled them in classes.

Yu Yin and her classmates also didn't get a winter break. They had to get up early every day to go to work, and only got one day off a week.

It's gratifying to see that Green Sprouts Dried Goods Store is selling its New Year's goods very well, especially its gift boxes.

To prevent theft, Yu Yin and Liang Chao rearranged the shifts. Several veterans stayed at the shop, and other men took turns on duty. They also reported to the local police station and asked them to keep an eye on the shop.

Liang Chao, on behalf of Green Sprouts, also presented a gift to the Public Security Bureau, giving each employee a New Year's gift box, with special emphasis on other leaders. This is fairly standard practice, but nowadays there are too few private businesses, and other public officials, considering their status, disdain to do such things.

Yu Yin felt that the police officers had it tough. Unlike later generations, where every police station was equipped with a car and a police escort was available for every call, making things convenient and safe, nowadays, it was considered good if each officer had a bicycle. Many officers still had to walk.

Putting themselves in others' shoes, they offered warmth, which brought comfort to the police officers, making them more aware of the coldness and warmth of human relationships in this cold season.

Having taken care of everything, Yu Yin even ordered Chinese food for them, so they could have a hot meal when things got busy. Not for any other reason than that she had once been a working person herself and understood their struggles.

After the year-end settlement, Yu Yin distributed salaries and bonuses, which were quite substantial. For the few employees who didn't go home, Yu Yin let them stay in their old house, which was fully equipped with daily necessities and allowed them to cook for themselves.

Yu Yin never rented out the house. Aunt Hu and Uncle Hu came over every day to feed the chickens and tidy up the vegetables and fruit trees in the yard. The two of them enjoyed doing it. Chinese people have a natural love for growing vegetables; having a vegetable garden can help them while away a lot of time.

This year's New Year was also spent at home. Before the New Year, Aunt Hu and her husband went back to tidy up their house, visit their ancestors' graves, and talk to their two sons to put their minds at ease. They also visited some familiar neighbors and asked them to help look after the house.

After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, everything returned to normal. People went about their business as usual, and the days moved forward little by little.

Before the Lunar New Year, Lu Shurui took the children to visit his father's family and brought New Year's gifts. The children were quite close to their grandfather, receiving lucky money and exchanging blessings. The grandmother, however, didn't know what to say, and neither side seemed inclined to speak.

Mother Lu has been doing well these past few months; she's gained weight, her complexion is better, and a hospital checkup showed she's no longer anemic, with all her health indicators within the normal range. Occasionally, when Lu Shukang's children fuss for food, she can't ignore them, after all, she's spoiled them for so many years.

As for Lu Shurui's four children, she just couldn't bring herself to like them. It was a bit like she hated the house because of the house itself; all the unpleasantness she had with Yu Yin had extended to the children. And An'an and the others didn't crave their grandmother's love; they had their great-grandmother and Grandma Hu.

Lu Shurui's return now feels more like a mission, a reluctant act; he breathed a sigh of relief after leaving. Going home is a happy thing. However, ever since Lu Shurui went to the countryside, he has felt depressed every time he returns home.

Now that she's back at work, Lu Shurui has resumed her frequency of going home once a week.

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the New Year celebrations are officially over.

Lu Shurui returned home on the evening of the eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

"Oh, you're back!"

Yu Yin was quite puzzled when she heard about it suddenly, having only appeared two days ago.

"I only found out when Shuqi called me after Grandma fell and got hurt."

"Grandma fell. When did that happen? She was perfectly fine on the 15th!"

Yu Yin didn't hear the news. They spent the fifteenth day with their grandparents, and the two old people were doing well.

“I fell yesterday. I slipped and broke my leg while going to the public restroom. I’m in the hospital now. Shuqi called me to ask if I could take over and look after her. My aunt twisted her back a while ago, so she can’t go to the hospital to take care of her.”

Yu Yin knew about this; she had even gone to see it.

"So you came back from the hospital?"

"Yes, I went to the hospital to see a doctor. Grandpa was there. The doctor said that he's old and recovers slowly. Luckily, it was my lower leg. If it were my pelvis or something, I would suffer even more."

That's because they're over seventy years old; their bodily functions decline, and recovery isn't easy.

"So what's the current procedure? How are we going to take care of them? Your uncle and the others haven't shown up?"

Uncle Lu has completely lost all sense of shame in recent years, and has almost completely cut off contact with his grandparents.

"No, my dad went to see her after get off work, but it's inconvenient for him to take care of her."

"Let's hire a caregiver. There are caregivers available now. Grandpa is getting old, and we don't want him to overwork himself."

Yu Yin thought hiring a caregiver was the most convenient option. Everyone had jobs now and couldn't take long leave. Of her daughters-in-law, only her third aunt was somewhat reliable, and even she was injured. As for Lu's mother… Yu Yin didn't want to mention her. And her eldest aunt was even worse; she only cared about her son and grandson, and no one else mattered to her.

"I'll go over tonight and talk to Grandpa."

Lu Shurui came back to change his clothes; he'd been busy at the factory these past few days and needed to change.

"Okay, I'll go with you."

Yu Yin packed some food and supplies suitable for the elderly, and went out with Lu Shurui.

The hospital was quite quiet at night. People at this time tend to endure minor illnesses and won't come to the hospital for minor ailments.

"Grandpa, is Grandma asleep?"

In the ward, Grandpa Lu sat on a stool by the bed, while Grandma Lu lay on the bed, seemingly asleep or dozing off.

There were other patients in the next bed, but none of them had anyone with them, and I didn't know what their illnesses were.

"Yinyin is here. Your grandma isn't asleep yet."

Grandpa Lu was in a good mood when he saw Shu Rui and Yu Yin.

Lu Shurui and Yu Yin helped their grandmother up and put a pillow behind her.

"Grandma, how are you? Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt much anymore, why did Shurui bother you to come here? I'm fine, I can be discharged in a few days."

The old lady never wanted to trouble others her whole life, and even when she fractured her bone, she was very cooperative and restrained.

"Grandma, you're so kind. I wouldn't feel at ease if I didn't come and see you! What do you want to eat? I'll have Aunt Hu make it for you. She's a great cook. An'an and the others have all gained weight."

"The hospital cafeteria is fine. I'll be going home in a few days, so don't bother."

Lu Shurui talked to her grandfather about hiring a caregiver, saying, "Grandpa, I'll find a caregiver for Grandma. Although you're in good health, you still need to rest."

"Okay, hire a caregiver. It would be troublesome if your grandfather fell ill again."

Grandma agreed first, because she was afraid her husband would also collapse.

Yu Yin admired the elderly couple's relationship; they always thought of each other and supported each other throughout their lives.

The caregiver arrangement has been finalized; other arrangements will be decided after discharge.

We'll make arrangements with the hospital tomorrow; finding a caregiver shouldn't be too difficult. Lu Shurui stayed tonight to help Grandpa take care of Grandma, while Yu Yin had already gone home.

There are some things I need to discuss with Grandpa.