She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Grandma Xia knocked on the door with her frozen hands, her voice hoarse and unpleasant.

"Xiangbei, let Mom come in. Mom's cold. This wasn't made by Mom."

“Xiangbei’s wife, you saw it right there. It wasn’t Mom who knocked over the hot water; it was the child who knocked it over.”

"North, north..."

There was no sound coming from inside the door. Old Mrs. Xia knew they wouldn't open it. This wasn't the first time; they would find any excuse to kick her out. It was simply because they didn't want to take care of her anymore. She wrapped her old cotton coat tighter around herself and walked out step by step.

It was drizzling outside. With the Lunar New Year approaching, the weather was getting colder and colder. A thin layer of ice had formed on the ground, and one could easily slip and fall.

She's old; if she falls, it could be terrible. Although she has children and grandchildren, no one seems to care about this old woman. Thinking back on her life, she's clearly not wronged anyone, so why is her old age so miserable?

She shivered as she held up a tattered umbrella and arrived at her eldest son's door. She coughed a few times and said, "Xiangdong, it's Mom. Open the door."

A quarrel broke out inside, followed by the eldest daughter-in-law's impatient shout, "Mom, we're not supporting you this month. Go back home. This is the umpteenth time. I'm not opening the door this time."

Grandma Xia wiped the snot from her face, which had come out from the cold, and pleaded, "Wenying, Mom just wants to have a sip of hot water. I'll leave right away after I finish and won't bother you."

"Go to Chen Xiangbei's house for hot water. He's supporting you this month. I'll say it again, he won't open the door."

Grandma Xia: "Eastward, Wenying..."

Seeing that there was no more sound from inside, Grandma Xia had no choice but to lift her somewhat stiff legs and slowly leave.

As she got older, her children were unwilling to support her. After much back and forth, they finally agreed that each child would take care of her for a month. In the first few years, when she could still work, her children were relatively kind and would at least give her a smile. But as she grew older and developed more and more illnesses, they became increasingly impatient.

The old man was lucky; he was well taken care of and passed away comfortably, leaving her to be disliked and treated like a football by her children.

Grandma Xia came to her second son, "Xiang Nan, Mom is here. Let Mom come in and have some hot water, Mom is cold."

The lights in her second son's house suddenly went out, and no matter how much she called out, no one answered her.

Grandma Xia sighed. If all else failed, she would make do with her dilapidated house for the night and return to her own place the next day when Xiang Bei's anger subsided.

She has no money; she gave it all to her children a few years ago. She has no pension, and her children won't give her any money. She's lucky if she can even get food to eat.

She didn't know where to go. It was late at night, and many of her neighbors and old friends had been picked up by their children to prepare for the New Year. Only a few others were left, and they were also preparing to leave. She was all alone, and she didn't want to bother them.

Her dilapidated house was in a secluded alley. Old Mrs. Xia squinted as she walked carefully. But being old, she was not agile. She didn't know what she stepped on, but she suddenly slipped and fell, her head hitting the wet wall hard. She immediately lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she was soaking wet, her forehead was burning hot, but she couldn't make a sound. She had a terrible headache, and her vision was blurry.

It was still dark, and there was no one on the road. She was in pain and scared. She groped her way out, trying to stand up, but she had no strength at all. She touched her umbrella; the ribs seemed to be broken, and the canopy folded up and rolled far away, completely ruined.

The alley was dark, and the streetlights were all broken. Who would have thought that a seriously injured old woman was lying there?

"Help..." Old Mrs. Xia managed to utter only these two words with all her might, but unfortunately her voice was too soft. Everyone in the house inside the wall was asleep, and no one heard her.

She vaguely recalled her younger days, when she was completely devoted to her husband, doted on her son, and raised her children's children. She managed the household for her eldest son her whole life, gave her job to her second son, and gave most of her money to her third son.

Finally, after his house was demolished, he divided the compensation and the house equally among them, and all he got was a dilapidated house that was worse than a pigsty.

That dilapidated house was drafty on all sides, with a leaky roof, and didn't even have a bed; it was too small to store anything else. She had wanted to keep a nice house for herself, but they had tricked her into selling it.

Her good sons, back then, were all sweet-talking, saying they would take care of her in her old age, and that she had no use for the house. She was happy then, feeling that she had finally gotten over her hardships and it was time to enjoy life.

After selling the house, they often sighed and complained in front of her that they had no money.

She was deceived by her sons at the time, thinking that since they would support her anyway, there was no point in keeping the money. She gave them her money after they repeatedly complained of being poor.

But to her surprise, this dilapidated house became a place she frequented. Inside, there was a pot she had scavenged. Sometimes, when she was kicked out, she would gather some wood to make a fire and cook something simple to eat. Sometimes it was wild vegetables, sometimes it was rotten vegetable leaves she had picked up.

The city isn't like the countryside, where firewood and wild vegetables are readily available. On rainy days, when it's pouring outside, it drizzles inside the house, and you can't light a fire. She's old and doesn't know how to repair houses. Her older sister, Ms. Yin, had said she'd have her grandson fix the house for her after the New Year, but unfortunately, she probably won't live to see that day.

Old Mrs. Xia thought about her unfilial sons:

The eldest son curses at her every day and sometimes pushes her.

Her second son's family ignored her, and sometimes they didn't even prepare meals for her.

The third son's family used her to make a show of things, but when they came home they were sarcastic and often locked her out of the house.

She had dedicated her entire life to them, so why did they still complain that she was biased and even call her an old hag?

Nobody respects her, and raising children won't guarantee a comfortable old age.

She thought of her daughter who had died young; the only person she had ever wronged in her life was her Xiang Hong.

Even when Xiang Hong was forced to go to the countryside, she still thought of her and would bring her wild vegetables. She was the most filial child since childhood, the child who would give her eggs and feel sorry for her when she was tired.

This must be karma. She refused to give up her job to Xiang Hong, forcing Xiang Hong to go to the countryside. In the countryside, Xiang Hong was tricked into a hasty marriage. Because the dowry was given to her eldest daughter-in-law to make things quieter at home, she was looked down upon and bullied by her in-laws, and ultimately died in the winter along with her unborn child.

She was going to die now, and in winter too. In her next life, let her be Xiang Hong's slave. She vaguely saw the faint light in the distance, her body growing colder.

Grandma Xia died leaning against the wall ten days before New Year's Eve.