Chapter 549: Chi Gua Bao Ming System (This Volume Concluded)

By the time Xie Yang arrived, the old lady was already sitting under the eaves plucking chicken feathers.

"Grandma, didn't we agree that I would kill it when I got back? You're stealing my work again!"

"Haha!" Grandma Xie laughed happily and said, "Isn't it the same whoever kills it? I'm just idle anyway."

"She's just feeling sorry for you!" Kang Dama said with envy.

If one were to talk about the several Dazayuan in the neighborhood, there were many elderly people, but one really couldn't find many who lived as comfortably as Old Lady Xie.

People used to say that since the Xie Family was left with only the old and the young, life would surely be very difficult, but look at them now—no family lived as prosperously and comfortably as the Xie Family!

Their house grew larger the longer they lived in it, their wages grew higher the more they earned, and the key was that the granddaughter had married and didn't live far away, bringing her husband and children back to see Old Lady Xie every few days; it was truly something to be envied!

After chatting with Kang Dama for a bit, Xie Yang went to the kitchen.

She first put the millet porridge on to simmer, intending to take a thermos of it to Zheng Miaomiao in a while.

Even if she had already eaten, she could drink it like water.

When Grandma Xie heard her say that Zheng Miaomiao had given birth, she hurriedly said, "Then we must send her something to eat. Last time you gave birth, your Miao Yi didn't skimp on getting you Crucian Carp and pig trotters."

"I remember, but she can't eat those in the first two days after giving birth," Xie Yang said. "I'll go to the Vegetable Station to check after work tomorrow, buy a pair of pig trotters, and stew them to send to her the day after."

The old lady nodded: "I'll go to the alley entrance early tomorrow to see if that chicken vendor's stall is still there. If it is, I'll buy two more. This time I won't let them out; I'll keep them in the chicken coop and stew one every few days to help Miao Miao with her milk supply."

Xie Yang then stuffed fifty yuan into the old lady's hand.

"Why give me money! All these years, you and Gu are always stuffing money at me; I can't even spend it all, and I haven't even had a chance to use my pension."

Her granddaughter and grandson-in-law were so filial, stuffing money at her every few days. As an old woman, how could she need so much money just to buy some vegetables on a daily basis?

Xie Yang smiled and said, "Then just spend it freely; don't try to save for us. Both of our wages are high, more than enough to support our whole family."

Grandma Xie laughed: "You child! Who brags about their own high wages? Just say that in front of Grandma, but make sure you never say it outside, you hear?"

Ever since a thief visited a few years ago, the old lady had kept the principle of "don't flaunt your wealth" in mind at all times.

Buying the neighboring Main Rooms and Ear Rooms was fine, but to the outside world, she would say all the money was spent on buying the house and renovations, and that she only had her monthly pension left, so as to avoid being targeted by others.

In the end, she couldn't win against her granddaughter and accepted the money, putting it into a cookie tin specifically for savings: "Then I'll save it, and later when Xi Xi gets married, I'll give him a big red envelope."

"..."

The old lady really thought far ahead!

In fact, time truly passes like a white horse galloping past a crevice; a dozen years or so is nothing more than a snap of the fingers.

The image of the old lady smiling and saying she wanted to save a wedding red envelope for her great-grandson was as clear as if it had happened yesterday, yet now it was time to bid her farewell.

In the year Xie Lei had just graduated from university and Gu Xi was still a sophomore, the old lady passed away suddenly at the age of 85.

By that time, Xie Yang was already the Factory Director of the restructured Mechanical Factory, holding 70% of the shares, with export output value accounting for more than half of the factory's total production value. The factory area expanded again and again, finally moving to the Jingjiao First Industrial Park, becoming the industry leader.

After Gu Yu'an was transferred to the Ministry of Public Security, he actually didn't need to work night shifts or go on field assignments as much. Even though they had hired a helper at home, he still liked to go to the market himself, buy the river fish and seafood that Xie Yang liked to eat, and go home to explore the most delicious ways to cook them according to recipes.

Their home had also changed from a three-bedroom Unit Building to a spacious four-bedroom high-rise apartment, until the children had all been admitted to university and there was no longer a need to consider school district housing; the couple took back the rented Side Rooms and back rooms and moved back into the renovated Gu Family Old Residence.

The house in the Dazayuan was used to earn rent, and when it was eventually demolished, it would count as an inheritance left to the children.

Zheng Miaomiao worked at the Women's Federation until she retired, rising from Propaganda Officer all the way to Chairwoman of the Women's Federation. The gossip she consumed was enough to extend her lifespan to the maximum her body could withstand—76 years old.

On her deathbed, she held the hand of Xie Yang, whose temples were now gray, and said some things others couldn't understand:

"Sister, I am very content..."

"Really! This life was like a windfall to me, and I even got to keep it for so many years..."

"You tell me, who could be as happy as I am..."

She had lived the life of two lifetimes!

And this lifetime was more than twice as long as the last one!

It was worth it!

Xie Yang's eyes were bloodshot.

Holding the hand of her old sister of over sixty years, she trembled slightly.

"Miao Miao..."

"Sister, I know my own body... to be able to live to this age, I am truly very content..."

"Look at my old Tang, a police officer by trade; how strong he was when he was young, yet he still left before me..."

"Now that the children have all established their own families and careers, I have no regrets. I'm going to find my old Tang. It's been five years, and I don't know if he'll still be able to recognize me..."

"Beep—"

The electrocardiogram on the monitor became a straight line.

The corners of Zheng Miaomiao's mouth lifted slightly, carrying contentment and happiness as she bid farewell to this world.

【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully retrieving the bug Sub-system of this plane.】

Following Zheng Miaomiao's passing, the Chi Gua Bao Ming System automatically unbound from her.

Xie Yang swallowed the sourness and lump in her throat, grabbed and retrieved it, and sent it directly back to the factory for repairs.

With this, the Task for this plane was considered complete.

She didn't know how many years of life she had left.

Perhaps she would be as long-lived as in the last plane, or perhaps she would leave anytime in the next year or two.

Fortunately, the children had all formed their own little families, living happy and fulfilling lives.

Just as Miao Miao said: there were no regrets in this life.

If there was truly anything she couldn't let go of, it was Gu Yu'an.

From the time she married him at eighteen to now at seventy-eight, they had been together through thick and thin for sixty years. It was a seemingly long life, yet one couldn't scrape together a second sixty years.

Therefore, in the days counting down, she hoped to accompany him for as many years as possible.

Her and Gu Yu'an's combined retirement wages reached as high as twenty thousand, not to mention the dividends from the Mechanical Factory and the rent from the commercial properties they invested in, which they could never spend, so the two of them signed up for a luxury tour group for the elderly.

For half of every year, she lived in different cities at home and abroad, flying to warm islands in the winter, running to cool Northern Europe in the summer, and going to various parts of the world in the autumn to see different scenery... life was indeed very fulfilling.

Whenever the most beautiful spring arrived in Beijing, the old couple would return to their old residence, which was filled with blooming flowers.

They would tidy up the small vegetable garden together and go to the farmers' market to buy groceries together.

She would clutch her wallet while he carried the vegetable basket, just like the old lady had done in the past, strolling from one end of the alley to the other, stopping to chat for a few moments whenever they encountered familiar old neighbors.

When things quieted down, she would brew a pot of tea, put on her reading glasses, and sit in the bright study with a wall full of windows, slowly organizing the research insights she had gained in mechanics throughout this lifetime.

Whenever this happened, Gu Yu'an would quietly read books or newspapers at the other end of the desk, and when it was almost time for a meal, he would get up to go to the kitchen to simmer soup and cook.

Time was peaceful, and the years were quiet and good.

【Ding! A new Task world has been opened. Please prepare yourself, Host!】