Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing walked a long way and found a public toilet. They changed their clothes inside and got on a tricycle.

Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of the alley.

Looking at the street in front of them, the couple hesitated for a moment, and after confirming with each other that the address was correct, they slowly walked inside step by step.

Shikumen in the French Concession.

Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing imagined it to be a chaotic alley. But before them were rows of houses, clean floors, the sound of neighbors greeting and laughing, and children selling books at a small bookstall at the entrance of the alley.

All this made Zhou Jiao feel extremely complicated at this moment.

Wherever she went, at any time and in any place, she could see Zhou Xiaozheng's good intentions.

The house is small, the neighbors are harmonious, and the environment is quiet - this is the escape route he prepared for her, who might become an orphan and helpless at any time, as he was worried that he would disappear from the world.

What was his mood when he prepared all this?

Zhou Jiao wiped away her tears and looked around carefully, hoping to find the home her father had painstakingly built for her as soon as possible.

Soon, a middle-aged woman spotted Zhou Jiao, her face filled with sadness and red eyes. She paused, glanced at the tall Zhang Guoqing several times, and then immediately called out, "Zhou Jiao? Are you Jiao Jiao? The Zhou Jiao who returned from Northeast China? Jiang Amma's granddaughter!"

Seeing Zhou Jiao nodding continuously, the aunt burst into laughter with joy. She put her hands together to her mouth and shouted, "The Jiang family's daughter is back from the Northeast."

As soon as she finished speaking, several elderly people and children rushed out of the alley.

They have different accents, but the questions they ask are the same.

They greeted the two of them warmly, pointed to the road ahead, and walked forward with Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing, not forgetting to happily call Grandma Jiang and her husband to come out to see their granddaughter.

Some children in front had already jogged in and started shouting.

Standing in front of the dark gate were two elderly men with gray hair, who appeared to be around seventy years old. They stumbled forward, supporting each other.

"It's Jiaojiao, our Jiaojiao..."

Grandma Jiang touched Zhou Jiao's hands, her lips trembling, and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her expectantly. As Zhou Jiao and her husband called her "Grandpa and Grandma," tears kept flowing down her face.

Grandpa Jiang stepped forward, pulled Zhang Guoqing up, and pushed his wife and Zhou Jiao inside, shouting excitedly, "Go home, let's go home, let's go home quickly."

Seeing that the old man was so excited that he didn't even bother to greet his neighbors, Zhang Guoqing quickly invited everyone to come in and sit down.

These elderly neighbors were very understanding. They pulled their curious grandchildren to their side and smiled in refusal, repeatedly saying that they should get together as a family and have a good chat first, and that Zhang Guoqing and his family must remember to bring Zhou Jiao to visit them.

After watching the hospitable neighbor leave, Grandpa Jiang leaned against the gate. He looked at Zhou Jiao with joy, nodding and smiling, saying, "Like, exactly like your dad, just like your dad!"

Grandma Jiang pulled Zhou Jiao inside and said, "He's much better looking than his father. When did you get here? Can I make you some noodles? We'll talk after we eat."

Zhou Jiao said with a smile, "Grandma, we came here after dinner. Don't be busy yet, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend Zhang Guoqing, nicknamed Xiaowu. We can't stay here for long, and there are many people at the guesthouse on the way here. This time I came here just to see you and grandpa. My dad can't take leave, so he told me to tell you to hurry up and go to the capital."

Grandma Jiang said disappointedly, "You're not staying at home tonight? The rooms on the second floor are all clean, go check them out."

"Son, go back and tell your dad to focus on his work and stop thinking about us coming over. Now that you and your daughter are finally reunited, we old couple don't even need to leave our jobs for you. We're planning to go back to our hometown and spend the next couple of days. Has your dad discussed with you what to do with this house?"

"My dad just wants you to be with him. Why are you going back to your hometown? Going back to Beijing or going to the Northeast with us is better than staying in your hometown. My dad said he can't agree to let you go back to your hometown."

Zhang Guoqing followed closely and said, "Grandpa and grandma, please come back to Northeast China with us."

Grandpa Jiang laughed heartily. "Grandpa would like to thank our grandson-in-law first. He wants to return to his hometown when he gets old. Let's talk about what to do with this house first. You two won't live here in the future. Someone in the alley came to inquire about it a while ago and said it was worth two thousand. Grandpa wants you to sell it so that you can keep the money and live a more comfortable life. After we're gone, this house will be empty and deteriorate quickly. It would be a pity to keep it. What are your plans?"

Zhang Guoqing secretly admired his father-in-law's vision. Especially after looking at the house and the surrounding neighbors, he made a decision in his heart and nodded to Zhou Jiaowei.

Zhou Jiao smiled knowingly. She knew that in the past two years, citizens of S City who owned houses and farmland in their rural hometowns had been sent back home, with many driven away. How could two elderly people with no relatives in the countryside even have a house?

If she really agreed, she would be a beast.

Zhou Jiao smiled and said, "I'm not selling it! I'm keeping it for my grandparents to live in. If you want to go back home, just go back and stay for a few days. It's not good to have a household registration in the countryside, there's no food supply. There are many old neighbors here, so they can take care of me if I need help. It also gives me a place to stay when I come to S City in the future."

"Alas...silly child." Grandpa Jiang looked at his wife, knowing that this matter couldn't be rushed and that he needed to discuss it with the child's father. He hoped that before he died, he and his wife could return to their hometown to spend time with their deceased children.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "You need to sort out the things upstairs. Some of them are too eye-catching. Do you understand what Grandpa means?"

After he finished speaking, seeing Zhou Jiao nod, he immediately smiled with satisfaction and said, "You can go up and see what's available later. Your grandmother and I will ask the neighbors to go to the market together tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. You two can take this opportunity to move out. Is that okay?"

"Next, Grandpa will take you two to the neighborhood committee to say hello and let them take a look at you. Don't say you're not coming back, just say you're still in school and want to see if you can get into a school in Shanghai, understand?"

Grandma Jiang nodded immediately. "Yes, don't tell me you won't come back. Just say there's a lot going on in the Northeast and you can't make a decision right away. You'll come back as soon as you've sorted things out there."

Zhou Jiao nodded quickly.

Grandma Jiang stood up, took out the key from the drawer, handed it to her, and asked the young couple to go upstairs and check.

Standing on the wooden ladder, Zhou Jiao excitedly grabbed Zhang Guoqing's hand tightly, with a smile on her face, imagining the little dress, red leather shoes...

Pushing open the door to the left room, she saw the bedroom. There was a carpet on the wooden floor, and the curtains and bedding throughout the room were all pink florals, innocent and romantic, just like her father's expectations for her ten-year-old.

"Snow White's little bedroom. Haha... I didn't expect Dad to still be so childish." Zhang Guoqing laughed. No wonder Zhou Jiao asked him about it, but his father-in-law refused to tell her and told her to look at it herself.

Zhang Guoqing pulled Zhou Jiao into the room and opened the small wardrobe. "There really is a Snow White dress! Jiaojiao, look, they are all imported. The labels are even in English. Dad has combined Chinese and Western styles. This little cheongsam is so beautiful! Our daughter won't have to worry about being without clothes anymore."

After saying this, his eyes lit up - the closet was full of little girls' clothes, hats and shoes, which was comparable to his son Ping'an's wardrobe!

Zhou Jiao F touched the clothes and skirts. How could these be the number of pieces her father had mentioned? Fortunately, she came to deal with them. She imagined how he felt when he prepared these things and sighed secretly.

She pointed to the door and saw Zhang Guoqing standing there. After a moment's thought, she lifted the carpet and saw ten US dollar bills underneath. This old man and his wife were honest people!

Zhou Jiao quickly ran to the desk, crawled under the bed, and hid in the closet. After the treasure hunt, she looked at the gold bars, silver dollars, and US dollars on the bed, feeling both amused and embarrassed. Her father wasn't worried, but if something went wrong, it would be a disaster.

Zhou Jiao reluctantly glanced at the room one last time. She decided to come back tomorrow and put everything back into the space as it was. She would definitely restore it in the future as a keepsake.

The two small rooms upstairs were about the same size. The remaining small study was more like a piano room. Inside was an imported piano, a famous brand. Zhou Jiao was numb after finding gold bars and other valuables again.

She thought she should have a good talk with her father. Where did his money come from?

Zhou Jiao hurriedly placed the gold and silver valuables into the space. She once again surveyed the room. The previous room had made her Snow White, so was this one meant to make her a talented woman?

Zhang Guoqing had no time to admire. He was already mentally planning. How could he safely move the things out without being seen? He opened all the windows in the room, and suddenly his vision lit up. Sure enough, his father-in-law must have used a window to move the piano in—a piano should never be brought into the hallway.

He had a plan in mind. The next step was how to hide it from Lin Lishan? Otherwise, many things would appear in the Northeast in the future, which would be ridiculous!

Zhou Jiao leaned over to his ear and whispered something about using Huang Yaoguo's name as a truck driver from the textile factory. Seeing his eyes light up when he heard her, she stopped interfering.

The two of them packed up their things, took one last look, and went back downstairs. Looking at the two bowls of noodles on the table, they ate them with a smile without delay.

The couple chatted with the old man for a while and made an appointment to come and move things tomorrow morning.

After bidding farewell to the old man, Zhang Guoqing and his companions followed the old man's instructions and left through another route. They were even more impressed by Zhou Xiaozheng, as they still had a lot to learn.