“What’s going on with Li Xiangqin in bed forty-five? She’s been overdue for a month. Notify the family immediately. Our Nursing Home isn't a charity. If they don't pay, send her back right away.”
“We’ve been urging them, but Li Xiangqin’s sons either don't answer their phones or pass the buck to each other. Nobody is willing to pay.”
“If they won't pay, she doesn't need to stay. Just pack her things and leave her at the gate. Notify the family to pick her up.”
The director glanced at the old woman lying on the bed and issued the final ultimatum.
Li Xiangqin clutched the quilt with both hands, her heart in turmoil and her eyes filled with terror. If she were thrown out at the door in the middle of winter, she would surely freeze to death.
Under the stress, her body lost control, and she had an accident!
“Ugh… you wretched old woman, causing trouble for us at the very end. You’ve already been abandoned by your children; it would be easier if you just died sooner.”
The nurse grumbled while cleaning her up, pinching and twisting her. Only when the old woman was crying from the pain did the nurse feel she had vented enough. Then, she pushed her to the main entrance, made one final call to the family, and left her there.
Li Xiangqin lay on the stretcher, wearing only the thin summer clothes she had arrived in. The cold wind made her shiver uncontrollably. Her eyes stared blankly at the gloomy sky.
“Jianguo, Jianshe, Jianmin, Jiankang… my sons… hurry and take your mother home…”
By nightfall, none of her four sons had appeared. Seeing the situation, the Nursing Home feared a death on their premises and pushed her back inside.
Unfortunately, after being exposed to the cold all day, returning to the ward resulted in a rapid temperature change, and she died in the middle of the night.
...
“Did you hear? Things are already kicking off at Zhang’s house right after Old Zhang was buried?”
“What’s going on?”
“What else? Old Zhang was a Level Five Fitter at the Machinery Factory; his benefits were excellent. Zhang Family’s Second Brother, Third Brother, and Fourth Child must all be vying to take over their father’s job.
I heard the Brick Kiln Factory alone paid two thousand yuan in solatium. That’s real cash. Aren't the sons and their wives jealous? They might even come to blows.”
“That’s true. All the sons have their own families and their own agendas now. It must be difficult for Aunt Xiangqin.”
“Tell me about it?”
Li Xiangqin was woken up by the noise. She groggily opened her eyes and heard her sons arguing without restraint. Staring at the familiar ceiling, she was momentarily confused. Hadn't she died?
“Third Brother, what are you causing trouble for? I am the second son in the family; by order, I should be the one to take over Dad’s job. Besides, Mom and Dad already arranged for you to go to the Soap Factory, and you’ll become a regular employee in a year. You shouldn't be coveting Dad’s job anymore?”
“Nonsense! Do you think I’m an idiot? The Soap Factory benefits can’t compare to the Machinery Factory. Dad was a Level Five Fitter; if I take over, my status will jump right up.”
“Second Brother, Third Brother, stop arguing. Don't you see where you are? Mom is feeling terrible right now.”
The one speaking was Eldest Brother Zhang Jianguo. He raised his hand to adjust the glasses on his nose bridge, peeked through the curtain at his mother lying inside, and waved his hand to stop his two red-faced brothers.
“Second Brother, Third Brother, Eldest Brother is right. Dad just passed away, and Mom must be heartbroken. We need to be considerate of our elder’s mood.”
“Hmph~ Eldest sister-in-law truly lives up to her reputation as an educated person; she always speaks so beautifully. But Eldest Brother has taken all the family benefits, and only you two live comfortably. What right do you have to speak so detachedly?”
“This is called getting the advantage and still acting virtuous. If you truly cared about this family, you wouldn't covet the family’s possessions.”
Second Brother and Third Brother scoffed mockingly, showing no regard for Eldest Brother’s Face, which made Zhang Yanli blush deeply.
Zhang Jianguo, as the Eldest Brother and one of the first university students after the Gaokao resumed, always carried a sense of superiority. Seeing his two brothers publicly humiliating his wife instantly angered him.
“Is there any sense of propriety left? She is your Eldest sister-in-law.”
The two snorted dismissively. They hated the Eldest Brother’s authoritative manner the most.
“If you want to be the respected Eldest Brother and Eldest sister-in-law, then don't covet Dad’s solatium, and we promise to be respectful.”
They are all family; who doesn't know who? Stop pretending!
“... You people are simply unreasonable.”
Zhang Jianguo’s eyes narrowed behind his lenses, and he reprimanded them angrily. Unfortunately, the two turned their heads away, not caring in the slightest.
Lying in the inner room, Li Xiangqin turned over and looked at the tear-off calendar on the wall.
June 28th, 1983.
She couldn't help but pinch her thigh again, finally confirming that she had been reborn, and it was the afternoon of the day her old man was buried.
She had exhausted herself handling the funeral for her old man, collapsed onto the bed, and passed out...
Now, listening to her sons arguing recklessly in the living room, and recalling being thrown out of the Nursing Home entrance in thin clothes during the dead of winter, she felt nothing but coldness and rage.
Her old man had barely been buried, and these ungrateful wretches were already eyeing his money and job, showing not an ounce of grief.
She remembered how her old man worked at the Suburbs Brick Kiln Factory in addition to his Machinery Factory Job just to support their children and cover Household expenses.
Out of twenty-four hours, besides the eight hours for sleeping and eating, he spent the rest of the time working diligently.
Unexpectedly, the unfired bricks drying at the Brick Kiln Factory collapsed and buried him. By the time they dug him out, he had already passed away before reaching the hospital.
This was considered a production accident at the Brick Kiln Factory. Her old man had good relations with people and often helped repair Tractors and such, saving the Factory Director a lot of trouble. After the accident, the Factory Director did not shirk responsibility, directly compensating them with two thousand yuan in solatium.
Logically speaking, the old man taking on private part-time work violated the Machinery Factory's employment regulations.
However, the Factory Director, mindful of their Friendship, gave him private consideration, approved it as death due to illness, provided a lump sum equivalent to ten months' Salary as condolence money, six months' funeral expenses, and allowed one child to take over his position.
It was fortunate that the Machinery Factory offered good benefits; if it had been an ordinary small factory, even the best Friendship wouldn't have helped.
As the events of her previous life replayed, Li Xiangqin couldn't help but feel heartbroken.
“Mom, you’re awake?” Eldest Brother Zhang Jianguo lifted the door curtain and saw his mother’s eyes open. He raised his hand to adjust his glasses and spoke with surprise.
Li Xiangqin turned her head, Looking at her Eldest Son at the door. This was once her pride, the Eldest Son she valued most, a university student who could make people stand tall. He was assigned a Job at the Newspaper Office, holding a pen to write articles—a very respectable position.
But when her health declined, he was the first to suggest she move to the Nursing Home, and it was he and his wife who were the first to default on payments.
The moment she thought of the abuse she suffered at the Nursing Home, a surge of anger rose in her heart.
“A bunch of ungrateful wretches! All of you were wailing like ghosts, almost whispering right into my ear. This Old Mother isn't deaf; how could I possibly sleep?”
Everyone: “…”
Li Xiangqin flipped over and sat up, storming out. She directly shoved Eldest Brother, who was blocking the door, causing him to stumble.
“Clueless thing, standing there like a door god!”
Eldest Daughter-in-law instinctively reached out to steady him and looked at her Mother-in-law with dissatisfaction.
“Mom, why are you pushing people?”
“What’s wrong with pushing him? I fed him from infancy, wiping his dirt and pee. Forget touching him with a finger; even if I beat him, he has to endure it for me.”