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

Before long, Chen Xiangbei got Xia a bicycle ticket. Xia took the ticket, and with a huff, pulled out the money she had saved from under the bed and counted it with her sister.

"Sister, that third son of mine is quite useful; he got it so quickly. He said he'd give me some compensation, and he even paid half the ticket price himself." Old Mrs. Xia was very happy.

Seeing Xia Yu'e's delighted expression, Old Mrs. Xia couldn't wait until the next day and brought her sister back with the bicycle that very day.

Before the divorce, Old Chen had a bicycle, and Zhu Wenying also had one as part of her dowry, but it didn't belong to Xia Yue'e.

Thinking back to when Old Chen first bought it, the whole family was so happy, everyone was eager to try it out.

In the end, even the youngest of the three children had learned how to ride, but she was still not allowed to ride it.

Old Chen always says that bicycles are precious, and what good is it for an old lady like her to ride? If she falls and breaks it, wouldn't he feel heartbroken?

In the end, she was the one who washed and cleaned the bicycle, but she was actually the only one in the family who had never ridden it.

Oh, and her Xiang Hong, she's never ridden one either.

Grandma Xia touched the bicycle with a sense of preciousness, but she was a little worried. Although she had brought it back, she didn't know how to ride it.

Right now, the third son is nowhere to be found. Grandma Xia looked around and saw that none of the young men in the yard were there. Sure enough, they were all young men of marriageable age.

Director Yuan had just finished eating alone after work and was thinking about what to do by himself during the Spring Festival.

This year is her first New Year since her divorce, which is of great significance. In the past, she was always busiest during this time leading up to the New Year.

She had to manage everything at home and outside, not to mention dealing with social obligations among relatives.

But this year, it's not necessary.

Since she got divorced and no longer had her in-laws, all those messy things about them were no longer her concern. Her sister-in-law wanted to eat this, her nephew wanted to eat that, her father-in-law wanted to buy this, and her mother-in-law wanted to buy that.

Her family, ever since they heard that she was divorced at this age, went from trying to persuade her to verbally abusing her, and finally even threatened to sever ties with her, saying that she was a disgrace to the family and that they should never have let her go to school, and so on.

After thinking for a long time, Director Yuan finally decided to remove visiting her family from her New Year's plans. She figured she probably wouldn't get a friendly reception anyway, so she might as well just eat, drink, and sleep more by herself.

After so many years of hard work, she didn't want to serve anyone or have to put up with anyone's attitude this New Year.

She will never have to live that life again, the days when she was bossed around like a machine.

Although he felt a little lost, Director Yuan sat alone at home and inexplicably burst out laughing.

Until there was a knock on the door, Old Xia's old face was right in front of her with a smile, begging her to teach her how to ride a bicycle.

Grandma Xia invited the grumbling Director Yuan over. Upon seeing Xia Yu'e, who seemed a little flustered, Director Yuan still maintained a proper demeanor and greeted her in a friendly manner.

"Old Xia, how come your sense of balance is so bad?"

"Huh? Huh? That's not how it is, you..."

"Hold the handle firmly and don't let your hand shake."

"It's going to fall, it's going to fall."

"..."

Grandma Xia finally fell down. Seeing that the paint on her new bicycle was chipped, she was heartbroken and said dejectedly, "Does this mean I can't ride it anymore?"

Xia Yu'e ran over and helped her up. "Why can't you ride? As long as you're okay, what's a scratch on the bike? It's not like it's broken. Yue'e, I'm still waiting for you to take me for a ride!"

Grandma Xia got up again, full of energy. "If that idiot Chen Weiguo can ride, I don't believe I can't."

Director Yuan nodded, "In that case, you can slide and walk with both feet, and once you feel comfortable, then put your feet on the ground."

Grandma Xia glided along, finally getting a feel for it. When she successfully put her feet on the pedals, she was able to ride around the yard.

"Do I know how to do this?" Grandma Xia felt very novel. When she got on the bike, the wind blew in her face, and the houses on both sides rushed past her. It was a different feeling from walking and running.

Director Yuan clapped from behind; she was the most exhausted person that night.

In the blink of an eye, Old Mrs. Xia shouted, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

"Ahhh, Mom, don't come any closer, stop!"

Chen Xianghong dodged left and right, but was eventually bumped head-on by Grandma Xia.

The mother and daughter both fell to the ground.

Since she had the day off, Chen Xianghong wanted to visit her mother and tell her some good news.

But as soon as she entered the compound, her mother bumped into her.

"Mom, are you alright?" Chen Xianghong was young and fine, so she quickly got up to help her.

Grandma Xia cried out in pain, her palms were all worn raw.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury, it's nothing serious." Xia Yu'e applied the medicine to her, blowing on it to make sure she wasn't in pain.

Director Yuan muttered curses under his breath.

Chen Xianghong looked at the bicycle outside and asked curiously, "Mom, when did you buy a bicycle? I heard Xiangbei complain that you would kill him if he didn't get you a ticket. How come you got one so quickly?"

Grandma Xia, while wincing in pain, proudly replied, "Your mother has money, what can't I buy? From now on, I'll be someone who rides a bike to work too."

Chen Xianghong: "That's great! I brought some food that Brother Yu bought from out of town. I'll heat it up and we can eat it together as a celebration for Mom getting a car."

Grandma Xia: "Xiao Yu went out of town again?"

Chen Xianghong hummed in agreement and began to talk about her family.

"Mom, you don't know, but Qingqing is much better now."

“She always insists on doing the housework. I’ve told her she doesn’t need to, but she seems uncomfortable living at her brother’s house and insists on doing chores.”

"Two months ago, she hit it off with a guy, but she was too scared to accept him, saying she had a mental illness. She practically crawled back home."

Upon hearing this story, the three elderly women and Chen Lingling, along with the child, all perked up their ears and squeezed into the kitchen, trying to hear what happened next.

Chen Xianghong heated up the meat, and when she turned her head, she saw four pairs of eyes staring straight at her. She had never been so popular before, and she felt a little uncomfortable.

"Later, even though the other party kept saying that they didn't care, Qingqing kept avoiding them, and there's still no result."

The old ladies felt a bit down when the story abruptly ended halfway through. They thought that they shouldn't tell stories like this anymore, since there was no happy ending. But then they remembered that Yu Qingqing was a pitiful child, and it was inappropriate to say such things as a joke.

"It's a great thing that Qingqing has recovered from her illness," Xia Yu'e exclaimed.

Director Yuan nodded: "Yes, it's often said that mental illness is the hardest to cure."

Grandma Xia sighed, "Let her go out and see more of the world when she has time. You can bring her along next time you come."

By the way, how are you and Xiao Yu spending the New Year?

Chen Xianghong smiled and said, "Of course we'll come to Mom's place to spend the holiday together. We don't have any other relatives left."