When Yin Sheng got off work, he found his mother and Aunt Xia waiting for him. Aunt Xia's things had been packed in bags, only four bags in total.
"I'm going to borrow a tricycle." Yin Sheng went out without saying a word.
The two brothers Chen Xiangnan and Chen Xiangbei stood guard at the door, staring at Old Lady Xia's actions. After their mother said those words, she never paid any attention to them again. Chen Xianghong had been crying for a long time, and when she went to Old Lady Yin's house to help, she was driven out.
Seeing Yin Sheng borrow a tricycle and start moving things upstairs, several people could no longer sit still and wanted to come over and talk to Old Lady Xia, but she remained silent.
In the end, the factory did not arrange a house for her, but just asked her to live in the dormitory for a few months, and then give her one when it became available. Old Mrs. Xia agreed immediately. Anyway, she was alone now, so it didn't matter where she lived.
Soon, with the help of Yin Sheng and Old Lady Yin, she had cleaned up the dormitory. Originally, Old Lady Xia hadn't wanted to bother them. As she'd said before, she was worried about the two being gossiped about behind their backs. But Old Lady Yin wasn't afraid. When she first moved to the city, there were a lot of gossips. Gossip would only last ten days or half a month at most, and by then, no one would remember what they had done.
Old Lady Xia's new residence was the factory's female workers' dormitory, housing four people. Back then, there were no beds with upper beds and lower desks; instead, they were single beds against the wall, with a large desk in the middle. Old Lady Xia's new roommates were three young women, all of whom had a grim expression.
One of them was a young girl from the factory office. It was she who took Old Mrs. Xia to get the key. Compared with the others, she was the most friendly person to her.
They didn't say anything to her face, but they looked at her with unfriendly eyes. Old Mrs. Xia also noticed that they exchanged glances, and then the three of them went out one after another.
Old Lady Yin also noticed it. "Sister Yue'e, you won't be ostracized, will you? These girls are really something. Why don't we just not interfere with each other? Why are we still gossiping behind each other's backs? There's no conflict of interest."
Old Lady Xia looked at the unhappy faces of the girls as they took things from her bed and table and said, "Now that I'm moving in, they can't use this bed and table. How can that not be called a conflict of interest? If I don't move in, the three of them will have even more space to use. Plus, I'm divorced and have a bad reputation, and these girls are still unmarried, so they're afraid I'll bring bad reputation to the whole dormitory."
Old Mrs. Yin looked worried, and Yin Sheng, who was helping to wipe the table, widened his eyes. Could this be such a complicated matter?
Old Lady Xia: "Alright, I even dared to divorce you, so what does the crickets behind those girls mean to me? Not only will they talk about me, but people in the factory will talk about me too, and anyone who has heard of me will talk about me. If I can't let it go, how am I going to live my life in the future?"
Old Lady Yin understood immediately, "That's right. When I severed ties with my sons in the village, everyone was talking about me. But so what? I'm not living the most comfortable life right now. Their few innocuous words won't affect me."
After they helped Old Mrs. Xia clean up, they left. From then on, Old Mrs. Xia became a member of the women's dormitory.
In the water room in the dormitory area, three people gathered together and talked in whispers.
"It's already crowded, and now someone else has to move in, a divorced old lady at that. People will definitely laugh at our dormitory in the future."
"She's already so old, I really don't know why she wants to get a divorce. Can't she just stay at home? Why does she have to squeeze in with us? I don't know what she's thinking."
"What if people find out that she and I live in the same dormitory and think I'm not a good girl? I won't be able to get married."
Xiang Qiaoqian listened to what her two roommates said, agreeing with them at first, but then falling silent. She felt that Xia Yue'e's presence in the dormitory wouldn't have the significant impact on them that they claimed.
"Alright, this is the arrangement from above. No matter how angry we are, there's nothing we can do." Xiang Qiaoqian patted them on the back. "You can go back soon. Qiao Yi, aren't you on the night shift today? Just pack up and go."
Hearing that they had to work the night shift, Qiao Yi became even more dissatisfied. "Why are we the only ones working the night shift? Why don't they have any arrangements?"
Xiang Qiaoqian: "Comrade Qiao Yi, it's unreasonable for you to blame Comrade Dao Xia for this. She has worked in the factory for many years and her level is higher than ours. She also worked three shifts when she was young. You can't let her work three shifts at her age. Her body can't handle it. When you reach her level and age, will you still be willing to work the night shift?"
Qiao Yi pursed her lips and said, "Why do you always help her? We should have a better relationship."
Xiang Qiaoqian: "I'm not helping her. I'm just being reasonable. Besides, what you said about her is too much. She didn't provoke us."
Qiao Yi: "Then haven't you heard the gossip about her? That person, she would hit people if she said she would. How scary."
Another roommate, Fang Yingdi, was also worried: "With someone like her, it would be easy for her to beat up the three of us. I'm afraid too."
Xiang Qiaoqian: "If she hits you, I will definitely help you. Now she hasn't done anything, so let's not keep criticizing her. Let's just get along well. Our director specifically told me to help her integrate into our dormitory as soon as possible, so don't hold me back."
Qiao Yi said shyly, "I know. I'm doing this for your sake."
Fang Yingdi also laughed, "Okay, I definitely won't hold you back."
The three of them walked arm in arm back to the dormitory. Old Lady Xia was already sitting on the newly made bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what she was thinking.
Seeing them come in, Old Lady Xia glanced at them and suddenly asked, "Which of you is Fang Yingdi?"
Fang Yingdi's face turned pale. "I...I am, what's wrong?"
Old Lady Xia: "Someone said your parents are waiting at the factory gate, looking for you."
Fang Yingdi: "Oh, thank you. I'll be right there."
She took a small package from her locked cabinet and ran out in a hurry. When Xiang Qiaoqian and Qiao Yi saw her like this, their faces looked even worse than when they were arguing with Old Lady Xia behind her back just now.
Originally, the two of them should have started to complain fiercely after Fang Yingdi left, but with Old Lady Xia here today, and a stranger in the dormitory, they felt it was difficult to speak out. They had lived with Fang Yingdi for several years, and they could talk about their relationship in front of her, but Old Lady Xia was currently an outsider to them, and they couldn't bring themselves to talk about their friend's private affairs in front of an outsider.
After the two looked at each other, Qiao Yi changed into work clothes and walked out.
Only Xiang Qiaoqian and Old Lady Xia were left in the room. With fewer people around, Xiang Qiaoqian felt even more embarrassed.
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