After her grandson returned, Ding Yun's life didn't change much. It was mostly just the added task of picking him up and dropping him off at school, and making slightly larger meals for three people daily, along with helping with homework.
She still had plenty of time for her square dancing.
And she could still practice her magic spells.
At most, she would do it in her own bedroom, locking the door, when her grandson wasn't around, so he wouldn't see.
However, Liu Lan's situation was quite different.
Initially, she wanted to be a filial daughter to her father and did so for a while. But with her son gone, her mother refusing to offer any help or support, and her already limited savings dwindling to almost nothing, she began to waver.
Most importantly, their spending had to be drastically reduced.
With little money and no job or income, and with welfare applications unlikely to be approved quickly, she had no choice but to economize, cutting back on expenses. This meant, for example, eating less meat.
It also meant substituting eggs for all nutritional supplements.
Vegetables were chosen based on what was cheapest.
Bean sprouts, radishes, cabbage, tofu – whatever was on sale or cheap at the supermarket. Sometimes, she even had to go to the supermarket late at night to specifically pick out vegetables that weren't in the best condition, discounted by half.
This kind of life was clearly difficult, both for Liu Lan and for Liu Guoding.
For Liu Lan, the meals were significantly worse than what she was used to at home. For Liu Guoding, this meager food was even worse than what he had in prison.
Furthermore, the two didn't share any deep affection.
With the food quality declining, resentment naturally began to surface.
Liu Guoding privately grumbled, thinking his daughter was too lazy, not working to earn money. He even harbored vague suspicions. Given her own poverty, why was she so enthusiastic about him, helping him apply for aid, assisting with his welfare application?
Could it be that she wanted to pocket his welfare money?
The aid application from last time hadn't gone to him either.
Although Liu Guoding didn't voice these thoughts directly, the subtle hints he let slip deeply saddened Liu Lan. She felt as if all her efforts had been in vain, leaving her feeling caught between a rock and a hard place.
Internally, she had offended her mother, nearly to the point of a complete falling out.
Externally, her father didn't seem particularly grateful, even suspecting her of ulterior motives.
When people aren't in sync, resentment is bound to arise.
Moreover, neither of them were actors, making it difficult to completely conceal their inner emotions. Sometimes, a casual remark, or a sudden outburst in anger, could reveal their true feelings.
As a result, after less than three months together, their relationship had shifted. It began with a daughter wanting to be filial and a father feeling guilty, but devolved into mutual dissatisfaction, with only a superficial harmony maintained.
The final breaking point came when:
The welfare application was approved.
It wasn't much, eight hundred yuan a month, but it was enough to live on.
Since Liu Lan had handled all the paperwork for her father, she naturally collected the first month's welfare payment.
And she kept it, quite reasonably in her opinion. She was paying the rent, covering the household expenses for food and drink, and had worked tirelessly to manage it all. Therefore, she felt it was entirely her right to use this money for expenses.
Her father didn't buy groceries or cook.
She couldn't possibly give the money to her father and then ask him for money every time she bought groceries or cooked.
However, while her reasoning was sound to her, her father saw things differently. He felt that this welfare money was government funds for him, and he shouldn't be deprived of it.
His own daughter had taken it.
This immediately confirmed Liu Guoding's earlier suspicions. His daughter indeed had ill intentions.
She wanted to embezzle his welfare money.
Everything she had done before was just an act.
Consequently, the two quickly got into an argument during lunch in the basement. Initially, it was relatively civil, with Liu Guoding subtly mentioning that he hadn't seen any welfare money yet.
This money was meant for him.
Could he manage it himself?
He also stated that he wasn't so old that he couldn't walk and would handle his own withdrawals from now on; Liu Lan wouldn't need to help him. He wanted to keep the card for the welfare payments.
Liu Lan, however, spoke earnestly, assuring him that she wouldn't embezzle his money and that it would be safe with her. She explained that she spent money daily on groceries and cooking, and it would be too inconvenient to ask him for money every day.
Then, Liu Guoding exploded. He stood up abruptly, pointed at Liu Lan's nose, and cursed:
"Good, good! You were pretending all along.
I felt guilty for suspecting you of having ulterior motives, but it turns out you really do!
This welfare money is clearly government money for me, so why are you holding onto it? What right do you have to keep it? You're not even human, you're a beast!
You even take my welfare money, and you only feed me rotten radishes and wilted leaves every day."
"This meager welfare money each month, not only are you keeping it all, but you expect me to live off it with you? I'm almost seventy this year, and you're still leeching off my welfare money? Are you even human!"
"Give me the card quickly!"
Liu Guoding's words deeply wounded Liu Lan. She felt she had done nothing wrong, and in fact, felt proud of her earlier actions, believing that without her, her father might not have survived.
She even thought he might have frozen or starved to death on the streets.
Yet, to her surprise, her efforts were met not with affirmation and gratitude from her father, but with such curses and accusations.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she naturally retorted angrily: "How can you say that!
To take care of you, I've almost completely fallen out with my mother. When I was hospitalized recently, who was taking care of you every day? Who paid for the medical expenses? When the welfare application wasn't approved a while ago, who paid for all the household expenses?
If you don't acknowledge my filial piety, at least don't accuse me of having ulterior motives. Do you have any conscience at all?"
"How dare you talk about conscience! You use my welfare money to be filial to me, and you call yourself filial? Have you no shame?
What kind of parents could tolerate such filial piety?
And how much money did you actually pay? A few yuan for medical expenses, and my illness is still not cured? I'm still sick and just waiting to die at home!"
"If you were truly filial, you would borrow money, you would take out high-interest loans, you would sell your kidney to pay for my treatment! What kind of filial piety is this? Can you do any of the twenty-four acts of filial piety? You're just a parasite, a useless piece of trash.
I don't know how your mother raised you.
To turn you into such a failure!
You're an old woman, not working, just leeching off your parents.
You might as well just die.
I found out a few days ago that if I didn't have a daughter like you, I could apply for special hardship welfare, not just the basic eight hundred yuan a month, but one thousand six hundred. You've been dragging me down. Having a daughter like you is more troublesome than not having one at all!
You're unlucky, utterly useless, a failure!"
With the argument reaching this point, Liu Guoding said whatever came to his mind, without restraint, not fearing that his words would hurt.
At this moment, he not only voiced his true feelings but also revealed information about welfare he had learned recently, venting his dissatisfaction and inner resentment.
Generally, if the legal guardian of a special hardship individual has passed away or is incapable of providing support,
they can apply for special hardship welfare.
This amount is nearly double the ordinary welfare.
Although Liu Lan wasn't working, she was clearly not incapable of working. Therefore, Liu Guoding was technically correct in saying that he couldn't apply for special hardship welfare because of Liu Lan.
However, saying this was undoubtedly deeply hurtful.