Shen Jingyan went into the dormitory and looked around, and was very satisfied.

This is a square room. The main room has a pot and stove for cooking, and the inner room has a small kang (heated brick bed). In the middle of the room is a stove, which is perfectly adequate for heating.

The house faces south, so it gets plenty of sunshine during the day.

It was so much better than the drafty, leaky thatched hut she lived in.

"Grandma Xu, I'll be staying here," Shen Jingyan said. "How much is the rent?"

Grandma Xu waved her hand, her tone carrying the characteristic boldness of a Northeastern woman:

"Hey! What's your relationship with Gangzi and Lao Xu? It's like a son to us! You're like our granddaughter! Why would we charge a granddaughter for living in a dormitory?"

Shen Jingyan smiled gratefully: "Then I'll call you Grandma. Grandma, you should still accept the money, otherwise the other people living here will have objections."

As she spoke, she reached into her pocket to take out some money.

"No, no!" Grandma Xu grabbed her hand and left five white handprints on her clothes. She squeezed so hard that it hurt her wrist.

"I said no, and that's final. My granddaughter will stay in the dormitory. Who dares to object?"

Grandma Xu insisted on not accepting the money, so Shen Jingyan had no choice but to give up.

She can refuse payment; she can find other ways, such as delivering meat, vegetables, or snacks to replace the rent.

After finding a suitable house, Shen Jingyan and Shen Honggang went back to the Shen family home to move their luggage.

Chen Feng kept saying she wanted to go back to her parents' home, but she always talked a lot but did little.

When Chen Feng went back to her parents' home at the end of the year, everyone knew it was because of a family conflict. She didn't want to be pointed at and gossiped about; it was too embarrassing.

She was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) discussing with Shen Yuqin what reason to use to get the thirty yuan back.

Hearing a noise in the backyard, the mother and daughter came out to see what was going on.