Xia Lan looked at the old lady, stepped forward, and patted her hand.

"There's not much I can do, but I think I can bring you food."

Xia Lan smiled at the old lady and opened the lunchbox in her hand for her.

"You're so thoughtful."

The old lady smiled at Xia Lan, her eyes full of warmth.

"It smells so good."

The old lady was delighted to smell the aroma of the food in Xia Lan's lunchbox. To make it easier for her to eat, the food was cut into small pieces so she could use a spoon.

The old lady scooped up a piece of potato and put it in her mouth.

"Just as I saw, it tastes excellent. This dish isn't from a restaurant, is it?"

The old lady was a picky eater; she could tell the difference in just one bite.

"Wow, that old lady has a good palate! She could tell the difference after just one bite?"

Xia Lan asked with a curious smile.

“What good food haven’t I eaten? This tastes just like home cooking. Restaurants can’t make this kind of care and flavor.”

The old lady chuckled softly.

They were so careful to chop all the vegetables she was eating into small cubes, knowing that she had bad teeth, and cooked them until they were soft and tender, so that she wouldn't have to exert any effort to break them into pieces with just one bite.

With her mouth full of meat broth and its soft, glutinous texture, she didn't feel greasy at all, even though she hadn't eaten meat for years.

It's clear that this person's culinary skills are no less than those of master chefs.

"This was made for you by my mother-in-law."

Xia Lan explained to the old lady.

"Your mother-in-law?"

The old lady was taken aback.

“I told my mother-in-law about your situation, and she said…we are all outsiders and can’t explain things between you two.”

Xia Lan's words made the old lady smile.

"Your mother-in-law is a reasonable and good mother-in-law."

The old lady nodded.

"It doesn't matter what it is anymore. After all these years, it's all over."

The old lady happily ate her lunchbox, having already let go of her resentment.

Whether it's love or not, none of that matters anymore.

At this age, what can't we overcome?

Xia Lan chuckled as she listened to the old lady's words.

"Well, from now on, if you need anything, just come find me. We're less than fifty meters apart, that's so close, you won't refuse, will you?"

Xia Lan looked at the old lady. She admired her, so it wasn't too much to lend a hand, was it?

"Why are you making trouble for me, a lonely old woman?"

The old lady gave Xia Lan a disapproving look.

Why did you have to take her on your shoulders?

"What are you saying? Neighbors help each other out, can't we just ignore that small favor?"

Xia Lan said to the old lady.

"Do you really think I'm really going to leave you, an old lady, all alone at home?"

"You shouldn't have bothered with me."

The old lady looked at Xia Lan and shook her head.

"Please accept other people's kindness! If you have nothing to repay them with, then come to my shop often and give me some advice."

"If you're bored at home, you can come and sit in my shop."

Xia Lan looked at the old woman with a serious expression in her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'll take your advice."

Looking into Xia Lan's sincere eyes, the old lady realized that Xia Lan was the first person to care about her in all these years.

People say that this old lady might die at any time, and she doesn't like to associate with those people.

Everyone was eyeing her little possessions.

Xia Lan was different. In the past, when those people opened shops, they were always noisy and disturbed her rest, so she would complain and drive them away.

After Xia Lan opened her shop, the quiet Xia Lan thought she hadn't opened a shop at all!

While others would set off firecrackers when opening a shop, Xia Lan actually listened to her advice and opened her shop quietly.

She remembers everything!

Xia Lan stayed with the old lady for a while, watching the nurse give her an IV drip. After Xia Lan finished the IV drip, the old lady had already fallen asleep.

Xia Lan tucked the blanket around her before leaving the ward.

During the few days the old lady was hospitalized, Xia Lan brought her meals every day and ran errands for her.

On the day she was discharged from the hospital, Xia Lan and Qin Yu took the old lady home.

Are you sure you can manage alone?

Xia Lan was a little skeptical. After all, looking at the state of the kitchen, she knew that the old lady, like her, wasn't a good cook.

Every day, I eat only vegetables and white porridge.

"I've made it through all these years, and now you're saying I can't?"

The old lady glanced at Xia Lan with amusement, then pushed her and Qin Yu out the door.

"Alright, alright, you young people all have your own things to do. Aren't you going to look after your shop? You're coming to this old woman's place every day..."

"Go on with your business, I'm just an old woman, I won't die."

The old lady looked quite energetic, so she didn't seem to be in any trouble.

Xia Lan and Qin Yu exchanged a glance before turning and leaving her house.

After Xia Lan and Qin Yu left, the old lady, who had just been all smiles, lost her smile.

Arriving at the old man's room, seeing its emptiness, the old lady turned back to her own room, sat on the bed, and took out the photo album from under her pillow.

I opened the photo album and gently stroked the face of the man in the picture.

After a long while, a sigh escaped from the empty room.

The old lady would often appear at Xia Lan's clothing store. She would sit in the backyard, watching Sister Caihua and Sister Cuihua busy at work, and occasionally mention something to them. Xia Lan was relieved to see that she was in good spirits.

Xia Lan's clothing production grew larger and larger, but she felt she was reaching a bottleneck.

"Xiao Lan, you've been sighing a lot these past few days, what's wrong?"

Xiao Yuqin noticed that Xia Lan had sighed more than once, so she came over to ask her what was wrong.

"Mom, look at these clothes. Did I design them?"

Xia Lan took out a stack of design drafts and showed them to Xiao Yuqin.

"Aren't these good enough?"

Xiao Yuqin looked at Xia Lan. These clothes were indeed somewhat similar, but they were also very beautiful.

"Anything else?"

"It does look a bit like your previous designs."

Xiao Yuqin didn't hide anything and spoke frankly.

"Right! I feel like I've hit a plateau."

Xia Lan looked at her design drafts and sighed.

"Then stop drawing for now and relax."

Xiao Yuqin smiled at Xia Lan.

"Even if you don't work now, you won't lack money..."

"You can never earn enough money, so why don't you take a break for a while!"

Xia Lan looked up at Xiao Yuqin.

Xia Lan took over the children's clothing factory, and she continued to use the same few old employees, which made the factory run very smoothly.

I opened a children's clothing store in Beijing, and every day parents bring their children there; business is booming.

Cute children's clothes are not only a favorite of children, but also a favorite of adults.

The clothes produced in the factory were even sent to various places, so it's fair to say that Xia Lan is not short of money now.

Xia Lan listened to Xiao Yuqin's words and decided to give herself two days off.

Wandering aimlessly down the street, I watched as it grew increasingly bustling, yet the passersby all wore expressions of sorrow.

Xia Lan bought a newspaper. Looking at the big words "laid off" on the paper and imagining the sorrowful faces of those people, she finally understood what was going on.

With more and more factories undergoing restructuring, layoffs have become a hot topic recently.