The days passed quickly. By the time the village nursing home was ready, it was already mid-October.

It had actually been completed last month, but Gu’er let it air out for a while. Moving in immediately wouldn’t have been good for their health.

Since it was ready, people could move in. Of course, they held a small ceremony before anyone did.

To show their support, not only did many township leaders attend, but several city leaders came as well. After all, this was the village’s first nursing home, which was a very significant event.

Vice Secretary Yuan didn’t make it. He was inspecting work elsewhere and couldn’t get away, but he called to show his support and thank Gu’er and the others for their contribution.

The ceremony was lively. Besides the leaders’ speeches, a lot of firecrackers were set off. Many of the children were shouting, jumping, and playing as if it were the New Year.

A large crowd of onlookers had gathered. People from all the surrounding villages who had nothing else to do came to watch the excitement.

All the necessary staff had been hired. The manager of the nursing home, the main person in charge, was recommended by someone from the shopping mall. Gu’er and her friends had checked him out and felt he was a decent person with some capability. However, they gave him a two-month probationary period before he would be offered a formal contract and a higher salary.

Cleaners, cooks, and caretakers for the elderly had all been hired. Some were from the city and some from the village, but most were locals. The village folk were hardworking and didn’t shy away from dirty or tiring jobs. As long as they were paid, they would do their work well.

Although Wang Shun wasn’t the manager, he was the first to arrive at the nursing home. Everyone knew he had been specially sent by Gu’er to oversee the place and was considered one of her people, so they treated him well. He had also grown quite comfortable there.

Besides Wang Shun, two local men were hired for security and manual labor. There was also a doctor from the village. He couldn’t treat serious illnesses, but he could handle common ailments. When people get old, their health isn’t great, so it was necessary to have a doctor on-site to look after them.

After the ribbon-cutting, and with all the staff present, the next step was resident move-in.

Several of the leaders were watching to see how many people would sign up, but the onlookers just looked at each other. No one stepped forward.

"How strange. Didn’t everyone think this was a good thing before? Those people even knelt to you. Now that they can move in, why is no one coming to register?" Li Zhi whispered to Gu’er.

"Could it be that no one is taking the lead, so everyone’s just watching and waiting?"

Gu’er was also a little unsure. ’Sometimes, even when something is clearly for everyone’s benefit, many people are afraid to step forward without a leader.’

"I... I’ll sign up! This old man is signing up."

Just as the two were speaking, Grandpa Wang—the one who had been a soldier and fought the devils—came to the front and shouted at the person handling registration behind the table.

"Alright, Sir. Please tell me your name and age. Is there anyone else in your family? How is your health usually? Please let me know if there’s anything we need to be aware of." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Seeing that someone had finally come, the registration staffer immediately perked up, had Grandpa Wang sit down on a stool, and began to register him.

"I’ll sign up too."

The old woman with the walking stick from last time also came forward, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"Me! Me too!"

Several others followed behind her, all of whom Gu’er had met before. While others might still have their doubts, these were the ones who had experienced the previous incident. They trusted Gu’er, and they trusted Lin Shan even more, so they all came as soon as they heard registration was open today.

Watching them, the several leaders present finally relaxed. If not a single person had signed up today, it would have been quite embarrassing for them.

The dense crowd of onlookers began to murmur amongst themselves.

With someone taking the lead, many people from other villages started asking who these elderly folks were. After hearing the explanation from those in the know, everyone began to mull it over.

Realizing it wasn’t just for show, many people from other villages also came forward. Some signed up, while others asked for more information so they could go back and tell the elderly in their own villages who had no one to care for them.

When the registration finally died down and no one else was signing up, Gu’er took a look. A total of fifteen seniors had registered today, which wasn’t a small number. ’More will probably trickle in later. Although it’s impossible for everyone to come, it’ll be good if we can take proper care of these ones. If everyone did come, we definitely wouldn’t have enough space.’

"Sigh... seeing the situation today, I have some mixed feelings."

On the way back, Li Zhi sighed softly.

"Yeah, who could feel good seeing those old folks? I hope they’ll be well there, can live out their twilight years, and have a decent old age."

Gu’er was also quite moved.

Dingzi didn’t say anything. ’He was thinking about his grandmother. She spent all day with Grandma Sun now, and the two of them got along wonderfully. When people get old, they should have a companion, someone to talk to. Otherwise, it’s a really tough feeling. A nursing home like this, where everyone can live together, eat together, and talk together, is truly a great thing.’

"When I was leaving, my grandma was just telling me that when the weather gets warmer, she might come and stay for a few days when she has time," Sun Jiaming said.

"Huh? You’d let your grandma come stay here? Aren’t you afraid people will curse you behind your back for being an unfilial grandson?"

Li Zhi was a little surprised.

"What’s there to be afraid of? Grandma can’t really go anywhere normally. She wants to chat with people her own age, and there are plenty of them here who she can talk to. If she wants to stay for a few days, she can stay for a few days. As long as she’s happy, I don’t care what anyone else says."

Sun Jiaming didn’t care.

Gu’er didn’t object either. ’When it comes to the elderly, you shouldn’t just be good to them in your own way. You should let them live however they want to live.’

"Mm, my grandma said so too."

Dingzi nodded, speaking a few more words than usual.

"You guys are right. As long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters."

Li Zhi nodded.

"Speaking of which, I saw those leaders’ faces were all lit up with smiles. That means they’re quite satisfied. With this as a start, when the city’s nursing home is ready in the future, there definitely won’t be a lack of people."

Li Zhi thought about the leaders shaking their hands and the things they’d said earlier.

The others nodded. It was true; with this precedent set, everyone was probably feeling more at ease.

"Say, we built one for the city and one for the village... do you think the township will come looking for us too? If the township builds one, that would count as an achievement for Uncle Lin, right?"

Li Zhi asked Gu’er. It was a good deed, but he was genuinely afraid that this place and that place would all come asking for money. They didn’t have an endless supply. However, if it would benefit Lin Shan, he wouldn’t object.

"They won’t. My dad already talked to me about it. He said he never expected the city to approach us. He said it’s not easy for us to make money, and our willingness to do something good is a testament to our character. They can’t just keep asking us for things. He told us not to worry, so the township won’t be coming to us."

’Gu’er was confident about this. After the last incident with the government, she was much more careful in her actions and words. Otherwise, if things always went like this, no amount of money would ever be enough.’

’It was a good thing the city hadn’t approached them again after they gave the money for the nursing home. Otherwise, they really wouldn’t have been able to handle it.’

’But now things were fine. The nursing home here was completed, and they could just come visit whenever they had time. As for the one in the city, besides giving another round of funding next spring, they wouldn’t have to manage it. She could finally relax a little.’