Chen Jiaxin quickly received Yu Zheng’s reply:
“After hearing what happened, I’m annoyed too. Don’t worry—I’ll ask Third Brother to get us compensation for emotional distress later. Stay there for now. Don’t leave until Mrs. Xu tells you to.”
Chen Jiaxin replied, “Got it!”
As soon as she sent the message and looked up, only she and Mrs. Xu remained in the living room.
The in-laws had all retreated to their rooms.
They had shut the doors to discuss the situation.
Her daughter-in-law’s mother said, “What does she mean by bringing so much luggage back? She isn’t planning to stay here forever, is she?”
Her daughter-in-law’s father gave a cold snort. “The older people get, the more insatiable they become. Look at other families’ elderly parents—who doesn’t willingly hand their pensions over to their sons?”
“She used to give her entire pension to her son. But ever since she went back to her hometown, it’s been more than five months since she handed over a single payment, hasn’t it? And she still has the nerve to come back!”
Her daughter-in-law’s mother said, “Although, when I used to go grocery shopping with her, she did seem quite frugal. She must have been saving all that money instead of spending it. Once she dies, it’ll all belong to our family anyway.”
Five months earlier, when Mrs. Xu had stopped giving them her pension, they had been angry too.
But they were afraid that if they asked her for it, she would use the opportunity to insist on coming back to live with them, so they had let it go.
She had only one son, and she was so used to living frugally that she would never spend the money herself. Once she died, wouldn’t it all go to her son anyway? For the time being, they could tolerate her keeping it in her own hands.
Not long afterward, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
Mrs. Xu’s son had returned.
The moment he entered, he set his fishing rod aside and said with a dark expression, “Mom, when you called me last night, didn’t I tell you I was busy? Why did you come anyway? I’m really busy!”
Mrs. Xu’s lips moved faintly. “I want to come home and live here again.”
Her son frowned. “Weren’t you living perfectly well in Xuzhou?”
“I don’t know a single person in my hometown,” Mrs. Xu said. “I miss you all. I miss Yangyang too. I’m not leaving this time.”
Her son grew impatient. “If you don’t know anyone, then go make some friends. When you and Dad moved here from your hometown for work all those years ago, didn’t you know anyone then either?”
Chen Jiaxin couldn’t listen anymore. “How can you—”
Mrs. Xu hurriedly tugged at her. “Chen, forget it. Forget it.”
Then she looked at her son and said ingratiatingly, “I won’t get in your way. I only need a small room. You could even clear out the balcony and put a folding bed there. I can sleep on the balcony.”
Her daughter-in-law’s mother, who had been eavesdropping from inside the room, came out and said, “The balcony is full of things. Where would she sleep?”
Her son added, “Mom, don’t put me in such a difficult position!”
Mrs. Xu looked at him. “Do you remember when we first moved here? You couldn’t sleep because you weren’t used to the new bed. Your father and I…”
Before she could finish recalling the past, her son impatiently interrupted her.
“Mom, stop being sentimental!”
Mrs. Xu’s voice died away.
The night before, she had seen other elderly people complain about their children, only to become warm and affectionate the moment they met them. The old, happy memories had come rushing back all at once.
Family ties were the hardest bonds in the world to sever. Even when the bones were broken, the sinews remained connected.
That was why she had come back to try.
But her attempt had failed.
Her son glanced at the time. “How about this? Stay home for lunch. Afterward, I’ll take you to the high-speed rail station. Go back to Xuzhou. There really isn’t room for you here.”
Mrs. Xu slowly rose to her feet. “I won’t eat. I’ll just take your father’s photograph with me.”
“I don’t know where it is.” Her son looked a little embarrassed, then added, “Yangyang is still young. He gets scared when he sees the photograph, so I put it away.”
“It’s fine,” Mrs. Xu said. “I’ll find it myself.”
She turned and walked toward the cabinet, where her husband’s portrait had originally been kept.
But now, a brand-new family photograph stood there.
Her son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and the in-laws—five people standing in front of the night view of Pu City’s Bund, all smiling brightly.
There was no place for her or her husband in this home anymore.
She searched elsewhere.
The entire in-law family helped her look as well, eager to make her leave as soon as possible.
At last, Mrs. Xu found her husband’s portrait in a cardboard box.
She packed it away, then turned around. “Let’s go, Chen. I’m sorry to trouble you with my luggage again.”
Chen Jiaxin immediately picked up the bags.
The in-laws finally breathed a sigh of relief. The moment she left, they slammed the door shut behind her.
—
After they went downstairs, Mrs. Xu walked beneath the shade of a tree. She turned back to Chen Jiaxin and asked with a smile, “Did I make you angry?”
Chen Jiaxin was silent for a moment before asking in return, “Grandma Xu, why do you keep putting up with them? I already gave you so many ways to deal with them.”
Mrs. Xu said, “I’ve been timid and spineless all my life. I don’t dare get into conflicts with anyone. Whenever someone raises their voice, I panic inside. If someone says even one unpleasant thing about me, I can’t eat or sleep. I keep thinking about it, over and over…”
“If I followed the plan you suggested, I’d never sleep at night. I’d be terrified that the in-laws would call their son and have him come after me.”
Chen Jiaxin understood. She nodded silently.
Mrs. Xu continued, “When I was looking for my husband’s photograph just now, I took a few other things while they weren’t paying attention. Chen, could you accompany me somewhere? Afterward, I’ll go back to the senior care center and renew my contract.”
Chen Jiaxin thought about it. Although she had failed to teach the despicable in-laws a lesson, helping the eldest brother resolve his problem would still make the trip worthwhile.
“All right.”
—
Two hours later.
The National Property Notarization Center.
Chen Jiaxin waited in the lounge outside and kept an eye on the luggage while she was there.
Mrs. Xu had gone into the reception room.
In front of her lay a property deed, her identity card, her household registration booklet, her husband’s death certificate, and a stack of documents the staff had just finished checking.
They were all things she had found while searching for her husband’s photograph and secretly taken away with her.
The staff member in charge spoke with great solemnity.
“Ms. Xu, we need to confirm this one more time. Even though you have children and grandchildren, you still wish to donate the property in Pu City under your name to the state, free of charge? We should remind you that the property’s current market value is approximately twelve million yuan.”
Mrs. Xu nodded. “That’s right.”
The staff member said, “Ms. Xu, we need to record a video of you confirming that you are making this decision entirely of your own free will and that you are fully conscious and of sound mind, without being coerced. If your descendants have any questions when we come to carry out the transfer in the future, we will also show them this recording.”
