The old lady was discharged from the hospital on the 28th, just two days before the Chinese New Year.
Everyone in the alley knew that the old lady was hospitalized, but no one knew why. They just thought she was too happy and suddenly fell ill. Everyone was happy to see that the old lady had returned in good spirits.
"Oh my, Aunt Jiang is back! The New Year is almost here."
"How are you feeling? Is everything alright?"
"Judging from the old lady's spirits, she must be fine."
Grandma Jiang said with a smile, "It's nothing, just old ailments from getting old."
"That's good. Your granddaughter just got engaged. There are many good days ahead of her, so please take good care of yourself."
"Oh, thank you for your kind words."
Back home, the old lady sighed, "Ah, home is so much more comfortable."
"Grandma, you must take good care of yourself from now on." Jiang Ruyu took a day off today to pick up her grandmother from the hospital.
"Okay, Grandma understands. I promise I won't do it again. I still want to see you get married."
Since being hospitalized, the old lady has not asked about Jiang Hongying. Firstly, she has truly let go of the matter; her daughter is grown up and will be a mother-in-law in a couple of years. Now that such a thing has happened, she really has no face to say anything.
Secondly, after this hospitalization, she knew that her body couldn't take any more strain. If Jiang Hongying upset her a few more times, she really wouldn't be able to see her children get married and have children. That wouldn't do.
So, the next day, when Jiang Hongying came to see the old lady, the old lady didn't say anything. Jiang Hongying knew that her mother had completely abandoned her, and she didn't know how she felt.
In the past, no matter how much she acted up, her mother would always be furious, but she would always forgive her. But this time, her mother was so calm. She felt a little panicked, as if she had really lost something very precious.
"Mom, are you really going to abandon me?" Jiang Hongying stared blankly at the old lady.
The old lady glanced at her and said, "Hongying, you used to get impatient when I tried to manage you. Now I'm letting go. Do whatever you want. You're living your own life. You're over forty now. How long can I keep up with you? You chose this path, so walk it yourself. Whether it's bitter or sweet, you have to bear it."
The old lady paused for a moment, then said, "But you've gone too far. I think you and Yuanchao can't stay together anymore. The truth will come out eventually. Hongying, consider this my last piece of advice as your mother: give the job to Xuewen and go. Go wherever you want. You like freedom, right? Go pursue your freedom. Leave some face for your children. They're still young, and they have a long life ahead of them."
Jiang Hongying looked up at her mother in shock, her lips trembling: "You, Mom, you want me to leave? Where am I supposed to go?"
"The world is so big, you can go anywhere. You have money, leave some for Yuanchao and the others. As for how much, you can decide for yourself. Go and get the divorce papers done another day." The old lady felt bad after saying this. She said all this because she wanted to leave a way out for her daughter, even if it was just so that someone could collect her body after her daughter passed away and someone could sweep her grave during Qingming Festival.
Jiang Hongying left dejectedly without saying a word. No one knew whether she would follow the old lady's advice. The old lady stared blankly as her daughter left, tears welling in her cloudy eyes.
On New Year's Eve, Liu Yuanchao came with his two children. As soon as he entered the house, he knelt down with a thud: "Mom, Hongying is gone. Yesterday she insisted on going with me to get the divorce certificate. I didn't want to go, so she made a scene. Later we went. Last night, our family had a meal, and Xuewen and I both drank quite a bit. This morning when I woke up, I found that she had left a letter, packed her clothes, and left."
The old lady paused for a moment, then pretended to be nonchalant and said, "You're gone. It's nothing. I know about this. Have you arranged your work?"
Liu Yuanchao looked up at his mother-in-law in surprise, and Liu Xuewen and Liu Xiangqiao also stared at her in shock.
The old lady gave a rather unpleasant smile: "Don't look at me like that. If she continues to live like this, it will only have a greater impact on you. Let's leave it at that."
Liu Yuanchao lowered his head, his heart filled with complex emotions. He was indeed furious at what his wife had done, but he was still somewhat unsettled by her sudden departure.
Liu Xuewen pursed his lips, his voice stiff: "It's good that she's gone. She's taken sick leave from her job, and I'll take over after the New Year. Grandma, you should take care of yourself."
Liu Xiangqiao is now in the first year of junior high school. Even though she resents her mother, her love for her still outweighs her hatred. She asks, "Grandma, will my mother come back?"
Grandma Jiang hugged her two grandsons and comforted them, saying, "Don't worry about her. The most important thing is for you to live your own lives well."
This incident made the New Year's Eve dinner tasteless this year. Jiang Ruyu didn't like the atmosphere and didn't want to ruin the once-a-year New Year's Eve dinner for someone like her aunt, so she opened the two gift packs that she had signed in earlier.
The seafood gift pack contained a wide variety of items, including two pounds of huge tiger prawns and two pounds of large conch. If it weren't for the system notification, she wouldn't have recognized these things.
There were also ten large, plump swimming crabs, a five-pound yellow croaker, and a five-pound bag of various small sea snails, including whelks, fragrant snails, and spicy snails, according to the system. Looking at all these things, Jiang Ruyu was already thinking about how to cook them to make them taste better.
The mountain delicacies and dried fruit gift pack contains various mountain products, including fresh mushrooms, processed dried mushrooms, roasted pine nuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts, which will make for several more dishes.
Grandma had just been discharged from the hospital and hadn't fully recovered yet. Jiang Ruyu came home from get off work and started busying herself. This year had been so chaotic that she hadn't had time to fry dough sticks, steam buns, or make dumplings. Grandma Jiang directed her two grandsons to do all that yesterday.
Jiang Ruyu returned carrying a large bag of things. After greeting her grandmother and cousins, she went into the kitchen to work. Jiang Hui and Jiang Lin both came to help. Liu Xuewen, feeling embarrassed to idly sit around, came in to see if there was anything he could do.
Jiang Ruyu could tell from her cousin's expression that he was a little uncomfortable, so she didn't stand on ceremony: "Xuewen, wash that chicken and we'll make a stew with potatoes for dinner tonight."
Liu Xuewen walked over with a smile: "Hey, sis, I'll definitely wash it clean."
Jiang Ruyu poured out the seafood, and her younger brothers stared at her with their mouths agape: "Sis, where did you get all this seafood? How much does this cost?"
Jiang Ruyu proudly raised her chin: "Your sister was lucky. She stumbled upon some smuggled goods. These only cost a dozen or so yuan in total."
"Sis, you're really brave! You spent half of your monthly salary in one go. If Grandma knew, she'd beat you with a broom." Jiang Hui couldn't help but complain.
Jiang Lin was as happy as a mouse that had fallen into a rice granary: "Hehehe, sis, are we having dinner tonight? Have you made it all?"
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