Grandpa Ning sighed, "What skills could a poor schoolteacher like me have? Don't underestimate Wang Dahua, back in the day, quite a few people sought her out to deliver babies."

Think about it, she's someone who fled famine from another place. If she didn't have some skills, do you think she would have the ability to buy a house?

"Sigh, it's only because conditions are better now, and there are hospitals available, that fewer people are looking for help. Plus, there's the dowry for her daughter-in-law, so life is a bit tough."

Ning Hao snorted, "That old lady is a fool. She couldn't even keep her daughter-in-law, so what dowry could she possibly give? There are old people and young children in the family. If she doesn't leave some money in her hands, she'll be in big trouble now, won't she?"

Grandma Ning patted her grandson and said, "You brat, what do you know? Wang Dahua didn't want her daughter-in-law to remarry either, but it's not realistic to keep her here. Besides, there's a grandson. The woman insisted on taking him with her. What can she, as the grandmother, do?"

Give them more, so that they'll treat her grandson better because of these things.

Sigh, we can understand how she feels, being an elderly person. Most people really couldn't do what she did.

Since there's nowhere to put the firewood, let's just leave it at that and wait until we've burned all the firewood at home.

If we put it in someone else's yard, that would set a precedent, and the grandfather and grandson would have a lot of trouble later.

"Hurry up and go eat, it's all keeping warm in the pot. Your grandpa and I need to go out for a bit."

As Jiang Qiao picked up coal nuggets, she listened to the chatter of the women around her. Despite their patched-up clothes, their poverty hadn't robbed them of their happiness. On the contrary, they were satisfied with their lives and full of hope and enthusiasm.

She just didn't understand. They were so poor, what was there to be happy about? They could brag for ages about eating dumplings.

I walked back listlessly, but there seemed to be a lot more pedestrians on the road, and everyone was stopping to look ahead.

A military truck slowly drove by in the distance, its loudspeaker blaring, especially noticeable on the three men in the truck wearing large signs.

Jiang Qiao immediately understood, especially since she had seen one of the men in her previous life, as they had been trained together. The loudspeaker was announcing the crimes of these three men, and today was the day they would be executed by firing squad.

Seeing the three of them looking dejected, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but lower her head. Well, they were all about to die, so who could be excited?

Hearing the passionate fervor of the people around him, Jiang Qiao silently left, feeling a mix of emotions.

Seeing her granddaughter's expression, the old lady thought something had happened. "What's wrong? Did someone bully you?"

Jiang Qiao silently shook her head. "No, I saw the vehicle transporting the spies. They said they were going to execute them."

Wang Dahua snorted, "Serves them right. Who told them to do such a terrible thing? They had a perfectly good life but chose to be bad people. Luckily, they were discovered, otherwise, if they had blown up the reservoir dam, how many people downstream would have died, not to mention the city's water supply..."

Jiang Qiao sat quietly to the side, pasting paper boxes while listening to the old lady ramble on, which was basically a rant about the crimes of these people.

Jiang Qiao opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but in the end she didn't say anything.

She was one of them once, but she really didn't do anything bad.

After training, they were constantly dealing with the Japanese and gathering intelligence. The old lady's words were too hurtful; it would be a lie to say they weren't aggrieved.

Jiang Qiao didn't want to listen anymore, otherwise, the old lady's reminiscing about the past and appreciating the present might go on for who knows how long.

"Grandma, you're all better now, how do you know so much? Did you exchange the money?"

Speaking of this, Wang Dahua became very excited, "That's right, I've been sick for so long, if I don't get better, it'll be a waste of money on medicine."

Girl, let me tell you, Grandma went out this morning. Do you know what kind of money that was?

Wow, those few pieces of paper got me over two hundred dollars! They even gave me some kind of remittance certificate. I heard it can't be used here; you have to go to the Friendship Store in the city, and there are expiration dates too.

Qiao'er, Grandma's been thinking, it's almost Chinese New Year, and I want to go see your brother. I wonder how he's doing over there.

The letter said it was fine, but I'm still not entirely at ease. I won't be able to put my mind at ease until I see it for myself.

Jiang Qiao hesitated for a moment. She had originally planned to ask the old lady to leave some money to buy firewood. Since they were going out, how could they go without money, especially to see her uncle's child? No matter what, it was normal for the grandmother to miss her grandson. She couldn't be stingy; it would be better not to go at all.

“Grandma, if you’re alright, then you can go. I’ll stay home. Oh, by the way, I saw Brother Ning Hao today. Everyone says he knows a lot of people. I asked him to help me find some firewood, and he agreed. As for the money for the firewood, don’t worry, I’ll think of something.”

The old lady dismissed it, saying, "What can a young girl like you do? Finding money is a matter of luck. You can't find money every day. Here, take this twenty yuan and see how much the other party wants. I reckon this should be enough."

Jiang Qiao paused for a moment, then took only five yuan. "Grandma, this is enough. We can't let them work for nothing. If you want to visit your brother, buy him some more things. We can manage on our own, just don't mistreat him. He's the only son in our Jiang family."

Also, don't worry, I remember everything you told me before, and I will behave myself.

Wang Dahua felt quite gratified that her child could say such things. Compared to the quiet child she used to have, she still preferred her granddaughter who chatted with her every day, so that neither of them would feel lonely.

Patting Jiang Qiao's hair, Grandma said, "Qiao'er, Grandma is just worried that you'll suffer because you're a girl. Girls are different from boys. If you suffer, it'll be too late to regret it, and it will also affect your future. You must remember what Grandma said."

Jiang Qiao nodded seriously, "Grandma, I've always remembered. And Grandma, you have to believe me, I'll definitely be able to support this family in the future. You can eat and spend whatever you want."

The old lady nervously sized up her granddaughter. "Girl, don't tell Grandma what you're going to do. Let me tell you, we won't do anything illegal or against our conscience."

Seeing the old lady's nervous look, Jiang Qiao smiled for once. "Grandma, look at what you're saying. I'm your granddaughter, don't you know me? I've been thinking that when I have time, I'll discuss with Brother Ning Hao about how to make some money."

Then she cautiously looked at Wang Dahua and asked, "Grandma, do you also think that Brother Ning Hao isn't a good person?"

Wang Dahua sighed and patted her granddaughter's head. "We've lived in the same courtyard for so many years. How could I not know what kind of person Ning Hao is?"

That kid is suffering inside. Everyone says he's a good-for-nothing, but I don't think that's entirely true. Ning Hao is a good friend and helpful friend, though his friends come from all walks of life.

However, this child has a bottom line. Look at who he has harmed in our neighborhood, he has never even bullied children. Moreover, he is filial. A filial child can't be too bad, no matter how bad he is. So, you can't judge a person just by what you've heard.

Based on Grandma's years of experience in judging people, Ning Hao is a kid worth befriending. You can be friends with Ning Hao in the future.

Grandma will grow old someday. Having a friend to help out means I can at least have peace of mind when she's gone.