Ning Hao walked into the courtyard, and Ma Liu pulled him up and down, looking him over. "You've lost weight, but it's okay. It's good that you're home. I'll cook you something nice to eat later so we can make you some nourishment. Kid, the water's all boiled. Go wash up. Were you in such a hurry to get back that you haven't had a proper shower yet?"

Ma Liu's words and actions warmed Ning Hao's heart. "Grandpa Liu, you're so thoughtful. I'll go take a shower first, and I'll help you later—"

Gu Hanting didn't bring back much. He knew his family wouldn't lack his share. He only brought back his bedding and personal belongings. He left everything else for the other people living there. They were all brothers who had gone through thick and thin together. At least his home was here, while those other people had a hard time getting out.

When Ning Hao came out after taking a shower, he saw Gu Hanting helping to start a fire in the kitchen, and he snatched the fire poker from the old man's hand.

"Grandpa, I'll do it, you go out."

"Oh, no need. You just got back. Come inside and sit for a while, keep your Grandpa Qiao company. By the way, when are you planning to bring your grandpa back?"

Speaking of this, Ning Hao sighed, sat down next to the old man, and added firewood to the stove as he said, "I called my grandma and asked them to wait two days. I also notified my aunt and uncle. However, my grandma said that she needs to pack for two days and take everything back with her."

Besides, my aunt's children are also staying at my grandmother's house. I'll have to listen to the elders' opinions on how to handle things here, since the city isn't such a big place.”

While picking vegetables, Ma Liu asked, "Have all the kids moved in?"

Ning Hao nodded. "During the day, everyone does their own thing, but they all come over at night. You're saying the old couple should go back, not to mention where they'll stay, there's also the problem of my uncle's place."

My uncle said that we should reconsider this matter when my grandma and the others go back. What's the point of having the Wang family move in?

Sigh, what can I, as the grandson, say? This is my aunt, that's my grandma, and my uncle is after this house too—who knows?"

Ma Liu snorted twice. "I think your aunt has her own ideas about this house. She just couldn't win against your uncle before. Now that their family is in this situation, your grandma can't just kick her own daughter out, can she?"

But Ning Ailin is still the mother of those children. Even if they aren't her children, they're still hers, and she has to consider her own children's future. This is difficult—”

What could Gu Hanting say? He sighed deeply; he couldn't get involved in this matter.

"What did Qiao'er say?"

While pulling the sealing box, Ning Hao said, "For now, we won't get involved. Let's see what the old man's attitude and thoughts are. We'll respect whatever he does."

However, there is one thing: the elderly must go back to their own home, so that it will be more convenient for my husband and me to take care of them.

Qiao'er also said that if their children really don't want to take care of the elderly, they should sign a document stating that the elderly will be cared for by us in the future, and how we take care of them is our business. Those people have no right to interfere.

We've both agreed that Qiao'er will stay in the countryside, and I'll come back every few days. My grandparents live in the same courtyard, so I won't have to go through the hassle of moving around. It's really inconvenient to move her to live elsewhere.

We do have a new house, but it's a long building, and the elderly folks have a hard time climbing the stairs.

Gu Hanting could understand his granddaughter's thoughts; the child was afraid of trouble and probably didn't want to deal with those people.

Actually, their granddaughter is quite wealthy and capable. She's also very generous; if she thinks someone is a good person, Jiang Qiao can help without you even asking.

However, there's a prerequisite: Jiang Qiao has to be able to take a liking to this person. If she doesn't like him, no matter how much he has, she won't give it to him. I'm afraid the girl from the Ning family won't even look at him.

Ma Liu did say something fair: "That makes sense. First, raise the son. If the son won't support you, then your grandson will take over. Qiao'er is saying this because that girl is afraid of trouble. Qiao'er is a good girl; she'd rather fight than waste words. Don't misunderstand our Jiang Qiao because of this person."

Ning Hao smiled and said, "How could that be? I know Jiang Qiao's personality. She said back then that she would support my grandparents and not ask for anything else. However, my grandfather wanted to live with his son, so this matter has been dragging on."

Ma Liu shook his head. "You'll have to get your father involved in this. He's the eldest son, and he has to speak up about elder care. Otherwise, it's not appropriate for you younger generation to discuss this."

When asked about his father, Ning Boyuan, Ning Hao could only chuckle. "My grandfather has written him several letters, saying he's busy and doesn't have time to come back. To be honest, that's all there is to it."

Ma Liu didn't stop working. "You still hate him?"

Ning Hao shook his head. "Hate is something I can't get along with myself, but I can't bring myself to like it either."

Gu Hanting patted his grandson-in-law on the shoulder and said, "Grandpa understands. Every family has its own problems."

Ning Hao suddenly realized that his wife hadn't shown up all day. Just as he was about to ask, he heard a car horn outside.

"Oh, Qiao'er is back. Haozi, hurry up and help her. Qiao'er went into the mountains to get some herbs and will also get you some fresh meat."

Ning Hao darted out and saw Jiang Qiao standing by the car, waiting for someone to come and help.

"My God, you scared me to death! You still went hunting in this state?"

Jiang Qiao said with a smile, "My man is back, I have to make you something nice to treat you. Quickly call someone to bring it home, I'll get the medicine."

Seeing the pile of meat in the car, Gu Hanting didn't ask any questions and started working with his grandson-in-law to move the meat home.

"What kind of meat is this?"

"Wild boar and venison, being hunted in the valley, taste much better, but they're pretty much the same as domestic pigs."

Jiang Qiao couldn't possibly say that this was something she kept in her space, could she? She couldn't let anyone know, so she could only make up an excuse that it came from the mountains.

Ma Liu's eyes lit up when he saw the meat. "Big brother, come out and see! How do you want to eat it?"

Qiao Jie was inside helping Qiao'er with her pills when he heard the noise and quickly came out.

"Good stuff, girl. Where are the deer antlers, deer tendons, and deer blood? Hurry up and get them ready to make medicine. How to take it is up to you, Liu Zi."

The grandfather and granddaughter went inside and busied themselves. Gu Hanting was even helping his granddaughter with the preparations, saying, "Oh my, it really is a spiritual thing. Look at the quality of this meat, it's so good."

Ma Liu didn't care about any of that. "That's right, that place is so nice. Besides, what they eat is better than what we eat. It's all good medicinal herbs. It wouldn't make sense if the meat wasn't delicious."

Ning Hao lamented, "I guess Qiao'er shared some of the meat with the other side, otherwise, we could have made blood sausage."

Gu Hanting chimed in from the side, "It's alright, if we want to eat, we'll just kill our own pigs."

Ning Hao shook his head. "No way, this pig isn't grown up yet. Let's keep it until Qiao'er gives birth, then we can kill it."

Jiang Qiao has plenty of pig's blood in her space, but the problem is she can't take it out. No matter how good the wild boar is, it's still different from a domestic pig. She's already decided that at the end of the year, she'll say she bought it from outside, and then everyone can eat their fill.