"Just then, I quickly found out that you didn't have a property deed at all. The property deed for this house is in my hands. Yesterday afternoon, I went to the housing management office and changed the house, which used to be under my child's father's name, to my own name."

"You, you, you're my sister-in-law?" Uncle Shanshan looked at the woman in front of him and said in disbelief.

"I wouldn't dare call you my brother or sister-in-law. We don't have relatives like yours. You came to our door to forcibly seize our house while our own brother's body was still warm, taking advantage of us, a widow and orphan, who have no one to back us up."

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, it's a misunderstanding," said Uncle Shanshan.

"I don't know if it's a misunderstanding or not. I only know that we are now in a people's government under the leadership of the Communist Party, and that the government is in charge of us poor people."

"You, you..." Uncle Shanshan hadn't expected the woman in front of him to say such a thing; she was putting his whole family on the hot seat.

"What, what are you talking about? Let me tell you, my family is not afraid of you now. My son is a soldier in the People's Liberation Army, and I am a military dependent. Do you think I'm afraid of you bullying me?"

Even if he sacrifices himself someday, I will still be a martyr's family member, and I won't let you come to our house like you used to.

"Wow, Sister Wu is amazing!"

"Actually, I was just saying it casually. I saw there were many people around, and I said that to scare them. Their family still needs to run a business, and if they get a reputation for extortion, their business might not be able to do well in the future."

After listening to them, I thought to myself, "I'm afraid it won't even be long before their business starts today. People these days are very stubborn. If you steal someone's house and cheat them out of rent, their business is definitely either shortchanging them or selling inferior goods as superior ones. Who would dare to buy anything from them?"

"And then what happened?" Mom asked, sitting there.

"Later, that family kept demanding money from them, saying that since the house wasn't theirs, they couldn't collect rent. They also said the rent was for our family, not theirs. The people around agreed, so Shanshan's uncle had no choice but to pay back the rent from all those years. Now it's ours."

"You just took it back like that?"

Yes, is there a problem?

"It's nothing, but Sister Wu, please don't take offense at my bluntness, you should still keep your money in the bank; it's not safe to keep it at home."

"Yes, I completely forgot about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Leaving it at home makes it a target for thieves."

Yes, eldest sister.

"However, I'll need to trouble Comrade Xiao Fang to go to the bank for me."

"Okay, bring your household registration booklet."

"Okay, we'll do as Xiao Liu says. Xiao Fang, hurry up and come with me to the bank. I can't sleep at night with this money at home."

Looking at the cloth bag in Aunt Wu's hand, it must have been worth at least two thousand yuan. That house has been rented out for more than ten years.

That evening, Aunt Wu said to her daughter in the room, "Shanshan, don't go out to mend clothes these next few days. Take some time to tidy up your things here, and we'll move back to the other house once it's available."

"Mom? We're not living very well here, and Aunt Liu didn't say we didn't need to stay," Shanshan asked, puzzled.

"What do you know, little girl? Your Aunt Liu and the others helped us get the house back because they were worried we wouldn't have anywhere to live. Mianmian is almost two years old now, and Comrade Li is back. He's still recovering from his injuries. I heard from your brother Fang that it will take at least two years for Comrade Li to return to his previous health and be able to lead troops in battle."

"Mother, Comrade Li's injuries are so serious!"

"Yes, I heard he almost didn't make it, but your Aunt Liu saved him."

"That's true, my Aunt Liu is very capable,"

"Then let me ask you, Comrade Li has been recuperating at home for the past two years, and your little Mianmian can walk now. Besides, Mianmian is usually very well-behaved and doesn't need anyone to look after her. Comrade Li can take care of her at home, don't you think?"

Shan Shan thought about it and realized that in the past few days, Comrade Li had indeed been looking after Mianmian. When Mianmian wanted to play in the yard, Comrade Li would read a newspaper to her, and sometimes Mianmian could even repeat a few words.

"It really doesn't need a lot of viewers."

"Look, Comrade Xiao Fang, ever since he came to stay here, he's been washing his own clothes. He says that in the army, regardless of rank, everyone washes their own clothes. Yesterday I even saw Comrade Li washing his own clothes there too, and he wouldn't let me tell your Aunt Liu."

"Really, Mother? Comrade Li washes his own clothes. He's a high-ranking official!"

"Would I lie to you? Besides, the meals Comrade Li ate were specially prepared for him as medicinal cuisine; they smelled strongly of medicine. Haven't you noticed that Mianmian hasn't been sitting by the kitchen door lately?"

"Yes, you could smell medicine from a long way off."

"Your Aunt Liu can work in the cafeteria. Mianmian is still young and doesn't eat much. Usually, two fried eggs for lunch are enough for her. So, we don't need so many people at home."

"Mom... I can't bear to part with Aunt Liu and the others. Over the years, only Aunt Liu and Aunt Zhou have been kind to our family."

“Child, that’s why we can’t wait for them to say that your Aunt Liu and the others have helped us so much, we can’t forget their kindness. Do you know what Comrade Fang said when he introduced himself at the housing management office yesterday?”

What did you say?

"Comrade, hello, I am the bodyguard of Minister Chen of the ??? unit, my surname is Fang."

"this"

"She's talking about Minister Chen, the Minister Chen from when Mianmian was just a month old. He's such a high-ranking official! We can't repay this favor; it's your Aunt Liu and Comrade Li who are repaying it."

"Mother, I understand."

"So, we have to suggest moving. We can't let them kick us out, you know? Let's leave a good impression on each other. Besides, even if we move out, neither of our families wants to be apart. We'll still be neighbors, won't we? Your mother doesn't have any special skills to repay their kindness, but we can still lend a hand whenever we have free time."

"I understand, Mom. When I've saved up enough cloth, I'll make Mianmian a pair of shoes. Mianmian can walk and jump now, so she must wear out shoes quickly."

"OK"

Inside the main room, apart from the main body sleeping soundly, neither of the other two spoke. Li Zilong whispered in his wife's ear, "This mother and son are of good character."

"She's really good. Didn't I tell you that Aunt Fang introduced her to Sister Wu?"

"When they move out, give them an extra month's salary."

"Okay, I understand. It's getting late, go to sleep."

Within two days, Aunt Wu moved back home with her older sister Shanshan, and even Uncle Fang returned to his unit. The house was still quite lively because Dad had recently handed Mom over to...