Professor Gu came out of the house and saw the basket by the door, quite surprised. This was left by the girl earlier; did she really want to help them?

He no longer believes in people's hearts!

"Why aren't you moving? Why are you blocking the doorway?" Professor Gu's wife, Professor Wang, urged from behind. It was already noon, and they needed to hurry up and make something to eat; they still had to participate in the criticism session in the afternoon! How could their bodies withstand it if they didn't eat their fill!

Despite enduring so much suffering, Professor Wang still wanted to live, to return to his former job with dignity, and to leave this world with honor, rather than die a wretched death.

Professor Gu picked up the basket and whispered, "Look, someone left this basket of grass at our door. Does that mean they want us to go cut the grass?"

Professor Wang also frowned, unable to figure out what was going on.

"Haha!" Old Man Qi laughed loudly after finishing his meal. "That's not grass, that's wild vegetables! It was Tianya, a former educated youth, who went up the mountain to cut grass and brought it back for you. After all, so many of you have come at once. Although we were given some grain, it's not enough to eat. We have to dig wild vegetables to supplement our diet. I have a vegetable garden over there. If you need anything, just go and pick it yourself."

Professor Gu recalled the fair-skinned, big-eyed little girl from that morning.

Sweetie, it's He Tiantian. It really is that girl; he wasn't wrong.

Sigh, he hurriedly hid this morning, and he still feels embarrassed thinking about it. Sigh, you can't really blame him; he was just really scared of those people.

"That girl is very kind," Professor Gu remarked. Since being criticized and denounced, he hadn't expected to receive any help from others here.

Professor Wang took the basket and said with a smile, "Brother Qi, please introduce me to that sweet girl later. It's rare for her to be so kind to us. I want to thank He Tiantian in person."

"Alright! You two go ahead and cook. Feel free to use whatever you have in my kitchen," Old Man Qi said generously. "We can get more things later once you've settled in."

Professor Gu rubbed his hands together and said dryly, "Thank you so much, Brother Qi."

"No need to thank me," said Old Man Qi. "It's about two miles from here to the village. From now on, you should stay away from the village as little as possible except for work, and no one will make things difficult for you. As for the criticism meeting this afternoon, you don't need to worry about it. Our place is remote, and we just go through the motions with those messy things. Just act pitiful, and no one in the village will deliberately make things difficult for you."

"Yes!" Professor Gu nodded, slightly relieved.

Last night, Secretary Qi brought over half a bag of corn porridge. Professor Wang cooked a thick corn porridge, added wild vegetables and a little salt, and made a vegetable porridge.

Professor Gu and Professor Wang are in relatively good health and can take care of themselves. However, the others in the room can only lie down; it seems one of them has a broken leg. Secretary Qi, being a good person, went all the way and had Wang Shuilian come over to set the bone, put a splint on it, and prescribe some medicine. Secretary Qi even paid for the medicine first, and it will be deducted from their work points later.

After eating the corn porridge, everyone felt full and regained some strength.

Professor Wang found two bunches of sour dates in the basket, secretly hid them, and planned to share them with everyone later that evening.

Their bodies ached, their hearts ached, their mouths tasted bitter, and they had forgotten what sweetness tasted like!

After having lunch, He Tiantian rested at home for a while before arriving at the livestock team at the foot of the mountain.

Professor Gu saw He Tiantian and said with a slightly embarrassed tone, "I misunderstood you this morning. Thank you for bringing the wild vegetables and dates at noon."

He Tiantian smiled and said nonchalantly, "It's okay, I just did it on the spur of the moment. If you want, I'll cut some more for you."

"Is...isn't this too much trouble?" Professor Gu rubbed his hands together, looking nervous. He wanted wild vegetables; with wild vegetables and the food provided by the village, they would basically not have to go hungry.

"It's no trouble at all," He Tiantian said. She knew that Professor Gu was afraid of being criticized and struggled against, and she understood why Professor Gu was still so cautious. "Seeing you reminds me of my grandfather. He used to be a professor in Nanshi as well."

The two families were old friends, though not particularly close, and the relationship became even more distant after my grandfather passed away. However, in an unfamiliar place, the chance to meet someone you already knew again felt incredibly precious!

"Huh?" Professor Gu was taken aback and quickly asked, "Who is your grandfather?"

He Tiantian's grandfather passed away when she was eight years old, but she was old enough to remember things and that her grandfather loved her very much.

“My grandfather, He Jinming, taught astronomy at Nanjing University,” He Tiantian said with a mix of pride and sadness. “But he passed away seven years ago.”

"Professor He?" Professor Gu was taken aback, looked closely at He Tiantian, and quickly turned to call his wife inside the house, "Yunxi, come here, this is Old He's granddaughter!"

Wang Yunxi, also known as Professor Wang, is Professor Gu's wife. She teaches mathematics at Nanjing University and also teaches some elective courses.

"Which Old He is it?" Professor Wang came out of the room, frowned slightly, and looked at He Tiantian.

“That’s Old He from the Astronomy Department, your alumnus and senior from the US!” Professor Gu said. “Look at this girl, doesn’t she look like her grandmother, Feng Ruyi?”

Professor Wang was taken aback. He stared at He Tiantian carefully, looking her up and down, and nodded, saying, "She looks just like her! She really is Senior Brother He's granddaughter?"

“My grandfather is He Jinming, my grandmother is Feng Ruyi, my father is He Jingyu, and my mother is Wang Shuping,” He Tiantian said. “My family lives at No. 23 Dayushu Lane. My grandfather bought it. If you know my grandfather, you probably know my address.”

Professor Wang exclaimed with delight, "So you really are Senior Brother He's granddaughter! You...you're so young, how did you end up as an educated youth?"

“My dad heard that people with overseas connections would be isolated and investigated, and the criticism and struggle sessions would be very severe, so he sent me on the educated youth train to come here to hide,” He Tiantian said, answering truthfully. They were both in the same boat and felt a sense of sympathy for each other.

Professor Gu nodded and said, "Your father did the right thing. Those who left later suffered along with the adults. By the way, are your parents alright now?"

“I received the letter a couple of days ago,” He Tiantian replied truthfully. “They have already written self-criticisms and accepted the inspection and search. Nothing was found in the house, so they have not been criticized or denounced yet.”

"That's good, that's good." Professor Gu's expression somber. The reason he and his wife were subjected to such severe criticism was because many poems, calligraphy, paintings, antiques, and jewelry were found in their home. Fortunately, there were no letters from overseas, otherwise he and Old Xu would have been tortured to death long ago.

Professor Wang, now free of his previous guard, said, "Sweetie, your parents are smart people. They're willing to sacrifice material possessions, so they'll definitely get through this. The difficulties outside are nothing to them. They can only be at ease as long as you're alright."

“I know,” He Tiantian said crisply. “That’s why I’m here, working hard, making friends, and I’ve already adapted to life here. Once this is all over, our family can be reunited.”