Starting a new chapter in life

Local delicacies and scenic spots? The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who had just returned from their trip, had plenty to say about it. So, after a short stay, the two of them, along with Zhizhi and the filming team prepared by the company, embarked on their second round of independent travel to various places.

This trip wasn't as fast as my previous solo trips. In order to capture more beautiful scenery, I visited many remote places that I hadn't been to before. Sometimes I also wanted to capture the changing seasons, which took even longer.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law only stayed until the end of the year before returning to Haishi. Holidays during the Spring Festival are normal, but Zhizhi is currently staying in an area inhabited by ethnic minorities, where the New Year celebrations are very different from those of the Han Chinese. Therefore, Zhizhi has no time to go home.

The happiest person when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law returned to Changxing Island was He Zhijun. His wife was finally home! He was very serious about preparing for the New Year every year. He Zhicheng's family also came here for the New Year, but there were indeed fewer people at home. Shen Runze did not come back this year either, as he stayed in Beijing to run business and was very busy. Only An'an came back.

After everyone finished celebrating the New Year, He Zhicheng's family left first. Cui Hongru sat in the living room, her tone revealing her loneliness: "There are fewer and fewer people in this family."

Jingyan smiled and comforted her, "The children will eventually leave home when they grow up. Although there will be fewer people in the house, it will be quieter. The four of us can make a mahjong table. Let's play cards."

With something to do, the quiet of the holiday wasn't so bad. Jingyan suddenly remembered that she wanted to show An'an her treasures, so she took out two boxes hidden in the basement, wiped off the thick layer of dust, and opened the combination lock box to reveal a row of neatly stacked boxes.

This was the first time An An had ever seen women's jewelry. There were jade bracelets, jade pendants, gemstone headdresses... and several scrolls. He didn't understand these things, but he could tell they must be very precious.

"Mom, our family is quite well-off. I had no idea that before." He was genuinely shocked. He had always thought his family was just an ordinary one. Who would have thought they had such a solid foundation?

Jingyan gently stroked the items, her eyes filled with nostalgia: "Besides this jade bracelet and this jade pendant, the rest were left to me by your great-grandmother. When she first gave them to me, things weren't very good, so I didn't dare take them out."

Later, when the policies improved, there was no need to take it out. Before, it was kept in a bank safe deposit box. After we moved to the island, I went to the bank, withdrew it, and put it in the basement. It's been there for over twenty years.

These are just keepsakes for me. You can come back and get them anytime you need, but remember, don't let me destroy them all. It would be best to keep a few as family heirlooms. It would be such a pity if, after several generations, nothing was left of what the elders left behind.

An'an nodded solemnly in agreement, took pictures of everything with her newly bought phone and saved them in the phone's photo album, helped Jingyan pack her things away, locked the combination lock box, and put it back in the most hidden corner of the basement.

After the Lantern Festival, An'an returned to Beijing, leaving only the three of them to look after the huge house. Jingyan sighed, "Back then, we thought this house, though not small, was never enough. But now, it's empty."

Perhaps it's because she's getting older, but Cui Hongru is increasingly fond of reminiscing about the past. Jingyan stays by her side, listening to her. At first, she didn't think anything of it, but later she discovered that the timeline of Cui Hongru's memories was starting to get messed up, and she became very worried.

Accompanying Cui Hongru to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor sighed helplessly: "The old lady is getting old, and her various bodily functions are starting to decline. Let her eat whatever she wants, so that she doesn't have any regrets. That's all we can do."

Jingyan's heart skipped a beat. The doctor had said the same thing when her father-in-law was passing away. Her mother-in-law was...

With tears in her eyes, she helped Cui Hongru, who was sitting absentmindedly to the side after the examination, and asked, "Mom, shall we go home?"

Cui Hongru turned to her and gave her a gentle smile: "Okay~, come back to Yangzhou with me in a couple of days. I still have some things to find, and it's time to share them with you."

Jingyan's tears flowed uncontrollably. Cui Hongru reached out and wiped them away. "Don't cry. Everyone has to go through this. Your father has been gone for more than three years. I've been dreaming about him a lot lately. I dream that he comes to pick me up. So, Jingyan, your father is waiting for me."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law slowly walked home. Cui Hongru said she wanted to rest for a while, so she went into the room where her grandmother used to sleep. Jing Yan took a breather. Recently, she had been experiencing more and more shortness of breath, probably because her emotions were fluctuating too much.

When He Zhijun returned in the evening, Jingyan showed him the hospital's diagnosis from that day. He Zhijun remained silent for a long time, then hugged Jingyan's waist and buried his face in her lower abdomen. Jingyan felt his trembling shoulders and knew he was crying, but she dared not openly express her sadness and could only suppress her tears.

“Jingyan, the special project I’m in charge of is almost finished. I’d like to apply for early retirement after I’m done. Mom doesn’t have much time left, so let’s spend more time with her, okay?” He Zhijun asked her after venting his emotions.

Jing Yan nodded and gave a smile: "Okay, you've always been quite busy with work, so it's good that you're coming down early to rest for a few more years."

After learning that He Zhijun wanted to take early retirement, Cui Hongru was no longer in a hurry to return to Yangzhou. She planned to wait until he retired so that the whole family could go back together. He Zhijun was quite efficient and completed the handover procedures in a month. The couple packed their belongings and boarded the bus back to Yangzhou with Cui Hongru.

He Zhicheng will be retiring in a month. His work isn't too busy lately, and he doesn't have to go to the office every day. He was quite surprised to see Cui Hongru and He Zhijun return.

“I was thinking that I would retire soon and bring my mother back after I finished the formalities. I didn’t expect her to come back early. The old house hasn’t been cleaned yet. She’s staying at my house today and will come back to live there after I do a thorough cleaning of the house tomorrow.”

Cui Hongru entered the house and looked at the furnishings. There was indeed a lot of dust, so she nodded and agreed: "Okay, you can come and clean together tomorrow."

After Cui Hongru went to bed that night, the two brothers each took a can of beer and sat on the balcony to enjoy the breeze. He Zhicheng asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong with Mom's health?"

He Zhijun sighed and took a sip of beer: "The doctor said it was due to aging of bodily functions, which is quite similar to Dad's last moments. Although they didn't give an approximate date, I always felt uneasy. Mom also kept wanting to come back, so we came here."

"How many days off did you take from work? I'm retiring soon, so I'll have time to spend with Mom," He Zhicheng asked.

He Zhijun smiled and said, "I have already taken early retirement. I don't plan to leave anytime soon. Didn't you see we all brought our luggage with us?"

He Zhicheng...

“Compared to you, I feel like I haven’t done a good job as an older brother and a son. You are the younger brother, but you have given much more than me, both to Grandma and to Mom.” He Zhicheng said it was impossible not to feel guilty.

“I haven’t done my duty as a son and grandson either. Jingyan has taken on too much of my burden and fulfilled her filial duty the most. So this time I chose to take early retirement because I wanted to spend more time with her in the future. Taking care of Mom is not just her responsibility, and I should also contribute.” He Zhijun’s mood was also heavy.

"Sigh~" the two brothers sighed together.

Zhou Jie pulled Jing Yan into the bedroom to ask about Cui Hongru's current health condition. She was also very upset after learning about it. She was gentle and didn't have much of a say in things. Although Cui Hongru didn't necessarily like her that much, she had never made things difficult for her. The relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had always been polite and courteous.

She was fortunate to have a good mother-in-law; otherwise, she would have been bullied and treated like a slave. Therefore, she felt affection and gratitude towards Cui Hongru. After decades of being mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the time for them to part was approaching, and anyone with a kind heart would feel reluctant to say goodbye.

After that, Cui Hongru finally stopped feeling lonely. Her two sons and daughters-in-law all stayed by her side, watching TV series with her, playing cards with her, and taking walks with her...

Even the best life cannot withstand the passage of time. In the autumn of 2005, Cui Hongru passed away in her sleep. When Jingyan went to wake her up the next day, she was already gone.

Perhaps because they were mentally prepared, this time no one was immersed in grief. They were busy handling the funeral arrangements, and after informing the relatives of her passing, that was about it. Zhizhi, An'an, Xiaoli, and Ci'en also came back for the funeral.

The children left one after another after the seventh day after their death. He Zhicheng opened the box left by Cui Hongru and said, "When Mom and Dad were still alive, they had already made arrangements for the distribution of their property. This house in Yangzhou will be left to me. You are not here anyway, so you wouldn't be able to take care of it."

"The money in Mom and Dad's savings account will be split equally between my brother and me. The jewelry, gold, silver, and jade that Mom left behind will all be yours; they're all heirlooms. Take them with you when you pass away. After that, it will just be the two of us brothers in this world."

At this point, He Zhicheng finally shed tears, his voice trembling with sobs, tears and snot streaming down his face. Seeing the sixty-year-old man crying so unceremoniously, Jing Yan's originally overwhelming sadness suddenly subsided.

Zhou Jie held back for a while, but finally couldn't help herself. She grabbed a tissue and stuffed it into his hand: "Hurry up and wipe your snotty nose. You're such a grown man, don't you care about being dirty?"

He Zhicheng took the tissue and wiped his nose and tears clean, but his eyes started flowing again in an instant. As he wiped, he explained, "I'm not a crybaby, it's probably because I'm getting old, and I can't control my tear ducts."

He Zhijun nodded in understanding, then had to look up to suppress his tears. Jing Yan sat beside him, wiping away her tears with a tissue. She had spent the most time with her mother-in-law during her last two years, and their relationship was quite deep, so it was only natural that she was sad.

Humans are made of flesh and blood; how could they not have feelings?

After parting ways, He Zhijun took Jingyan back to Haishi. They spent some time at home adjusting, and didn't really feel like celebrating the New Year. None of their children came back this year, only Ci'en came with his wife and children to stay for a few days. After that, Jingyan didn't keep them any longer and told them to go home and live their own lives as soon as possible.

The couple were both lazy and had nothing to do. It was He Zhijun who suggested that they go to Beijing to visit their children for a while.

Otherwise, if the two of them stay cooped up at home, they'll get sick even if they're not already.

Jingyan had no objections. She went to the store to explain things briefly, and after saying that she would be going to Beijing for a while, the two bought plane tickets and flew directly to Beijing.

This time, Jingyan didn't bother her son to book tickets again; she had experience from going through it once before.

It was He Zhijun's first time on a plane, and everything was new and exciting. The takeoff and landing were very fast. The train journey took more than 30 hours, but the plane took only two and a half hours, which was much faster. He was quite uncomfortable during takeoff and landing, but otherwise it was fine.

After landing, the couple exited the airport. The early spring temperature was still quite low, and their down jackets were rather thin, making them feel a bit chilly.

Jingyan led the way, following the signs to the taxi stand to wait in line. At this time of day, the New Year was over, it wasn't a holiday, and it wasn't rush hour, so there weren't many passengers.

The two didn't wait long before getting into a taxi. Jingyan directly gave the name of He Jin'an's company, and to her surprise, the driver actually knew it and immediately drove off.

He Zhijun has had few opportunities to leave Shanghai in recent years, let alone come to Beijing. This is his first time here, and everything is quite novel to him.

The drivers in Beijing were still very friendly, chatting as they drove. "Are you here to visit relatives or for tourism? If you're for tourism, this time of year isn't a good time. It's not like the south; it's still cold here. In two months, it will be warmer, and it will be convenient to go anywhere. You should wear thicker clothes now, as it's too bulky to move around."

He Zhijun echoed, "Our child works here, so we came to see him. They were all busy last year and didn't have time to go home for the Spring Festival. We had nothing to do, so we came."

The driver immediately started talking about children, "Yes, yes, when children are little, we all look forward to growing up quickly, but once they grow up, the time we can spend with them is pitifully short. If we want the children to stay, they have their own jobs to do; if we let them go, we parents worry. Sigh..."

Jingyan listened quietly to the two grown men chatting enthusiastically. In recent years, she had been traveling around too much. She was bored at home and tired when she went out. It seemed like nothing was right.

I wonder how far along Zhizhi's filming is, and how long it will take before she comes back.

Lost in thought, they arrived at their destination. The two dragged their suitcases to the front desk. The receptionist recognized Jing Yan—the big boss's mother—and dared not delay. She immediately dialed He Jin'an's internal number. A moment later, his male assistant rushed over.

“Auntie, why didn’t you tell Mr. He before you came? I could have driven to pick you up. It would have been more convenient if we had our own car.”

Jing Yan smiled and said, "It's easy to get a taxi at the airport, there's no need to bother you. I'm not going to get lost."

Seeing the way her assistant was looking at He Zhijun, she realized what was happening and introduced him: "This is my husband, Jin'an's father."

He then said to He Zhijun, "This is Assistant Liu, your son's special assistant."

He Zhijun posed a probing question: "Why is it a male assistant? Aren't assistant and secretary positions usually filled by women?"

Jing Yan narrowed her eyes slightly: "If you had an assistant or secretary, would you choose a woman?"

He Zhijun quickly waved his hand: "No, no, I don't even need an assistant. Besides, I'm retired now. Don't you trust me?"