With Jiang Qiao's assurance, Ning Hao happily went out to prepare dinner.

Seeing Ning Hao's happy expression, Jiang Qiao realized that she had neglected her family a lot before.

Although she had no choice in the matter, she would have to manage her family well from now on. The man in her family was in a special situation; he lacked a sense of security, and she and her child would have to fill that void.

However, to Jiang Qiao's utter surprise, her father-in-law, who hadn't even shown up at her wedding, returned because of the old man and woman's affair.

Upon hearing Jian Ling's news, even she had to shake her head. "Sigh, times have changed. Perhaps he didn't care before, but things are different now. There are so many children in the family, one after another, and every single one of them needs money." (78 Chinese original)

Jiang Qiao asked curiously, "And then what happened?"

Jian Ling shrugged helplessly. "There's no 'later'. We both came back, and I didn't want to get involved in their family's affairs. When Haozi comes back, you'll naturally know what happened."

Since she didn't know what would happen next, Jiang Qiao didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she asked Jian Ling and the other two what they had been busy with lately.

"We've been telling everyone about this, mostly to educate the students. This time, we've accomplished our mission. Those brats, I wanted to punch them every time I saw them. This time, Lao Zhou and I took this opportunity to teach them a lesson about what it means to be human and what it means to be responsible."

As they were talking, Qiao Jie noticed someone standing at the gate, someone the old man didn't recognize.

"Girl, look, how come a beggar has come to our house?"

Jian Ling slapped her thigh. "Oh my god, isn't this Old Wang? What happened to him?" She jumped down and rushed out to greet him. Jiang Qiao explained to the old man, "Grandpa Qiao, this is Wang Benshan I was talking about. I'm going out to see him."

Wang Benshan walked in carrying his luggage. Seeing the other person's appearance, it seemed like they were fleeing a famine, a completely different situation from when they left.

Jian Ling asked in a clamor, "Oh my god, what happened to you? Were you robbed or what?"

Upon seeing Jiang Qiao and the others, Wang Benshan's face broke into a rare,憨厚 (honest and simple) smile. "I'm back."

Jiang Qiao and Jian Ling quickly came over to lend a hand and took the luggage.

"Old Wang, I'll go and reduce the amount of water you use for your bath right away. It's getting really messy."

"Uncle Wang, let's go inside and talk. My grandfather Qiao is inside; everyone else in the family is busy with other things."

Upon entering the house, Wang Benshan greeted Qiao Jie, "Uncle, I'm Wang Benshan. Did Qiao'er tell you?"

Qiao Jie smiled and nodded, "Hurry up and sit on the kang. You must be tired from the journey. Girl, get some food and drink for Xiao Wang."

Jiang Qiao quickly went to the kitchen to make noodles for Wang Benshan; this was fast. (78Chinese fastest mobile version)

To be honest, Wang Benshan was really hungry. When the noodles came, he ate three big bowls before he was finally full.

"Come on, tell me properly, what happened? Did you lose all your money?"

Wang Benshan smiled and nodded, "I went back to my hometown and helped a lot of people. On the way back, I ran out of money and had no choice but to go hungry. I even had to hitch a ride back with other people."

Jian Ling sighed repeatedly, "You really are something. How old are you? You don't even have this much. It's not that I don't want you to help others, but you can't skimp on yourself. Luckily we live nearby. If we were in the far north, you probably would have starved to death. Alright, go take a shower. We can talk after you're done."

After Wang Benshan left, Jian Ling sighed, "I really didn't expect Wang Benshan to become like this. The change was too fast."

Qiao Jie sighed, "People change. They're all made of flesh and blood. When they realize the mistakes they made in the past, they'll feel regret and try to make amends as much as possible, just to accumulate good karma for the future."

Previously, due to his different status, even if he had compassion, he sometimes dared not take any unnecessary actions.

When Wang Benshan came out, the things he took out of his luggage surprised Jiang Qiao. "This!"

Jian Ling glanced at it, but didn't think much of it; it was a dark, dirty thing.

"What is this? Some scrap metal you picked up? This pot doesn't look like a pot, and it doesn't look like a plate either?"

Although Jiang Qiao couldn't figure out what it was, she felt that it must be something special.

Wang Benshan glanced at Jiang Qiao and asked, "Jiang Qiao, what do you think this thing is?"

Jiang Qiao took it and examined it closely. "It's definitely an antique, and a bronze one at that. Old Wang, where did this come from?"

Wang Benshan sighed, "Can I say that I picked them up from the junkyard? This painting and this snuff bottle were also dug out of the junkyard."

These are all for you; you like them.

Jiang Qiao shook his head. "Old Wang, you can't keep this. Right now it might just be a piece of junk and worthless, but it could be valuable in the future. You should keep it."

Wang Benshan gave a bitter laugh. "Who do you want me to leave this to? I don't even have any descendants, and there's nowhere to pass it down to. You should keep it. This thing would be a waste if it were in my hands. I don't know how to handle this kind of thing."

Besides, you'll have to take care of me in my old age, so I might as well give this to you now.

Jian Ling nodded, "I think it's a good idea, Lao Wang. It's just in time that you're back. Lao Zhou was thinking of consulting with you. Now that we're all here, how about we plan what to do next? You know, it's so boring to just eat and do nothing all day."

Wang Benshan didn't care about this. "I'm good at farming. Even if I don't farm, I can do electrical work or other things. As long as it's a job in the countryside, I can handle it. I'm used to doing it."

Jiang Qiao felt it was a waste of talent to have Wang Benshan continue working in the fields. "Uncle Wang, may I ask if you know anything about fruit trees?"

Wang Benshan nodded. "Yes, there's an orchard over there at the farm. I know how to prune and graft. I'm usually busy working there. What's up? You have an orchard here?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and nodded, "Perfect timing. We've planted some cherry trees here, but they're not bearing fruit. So, this is something you'll have to handle. I'll talk to the team leader later and say that the orchards in this valley will be under your management from now on."

Wang Benshan smiled happily, "That's great! This is easier than working in the fields. I can also lend a hand if the village needs electricians or anything like that. It's not fun to just stay at home anyway."

Jian Ling asked with a pained expression, "Then what should I do?"

Wang Benshan looked at Jian Ling with surprise. "What else do you want to do? Just stay home and help Jiang Qiao take care of the family. There are so many people here, and Jiang Qiao is about to give birth. You'll have to help take care of the baby. Cooking for so many people isn't easy. You'll have to put in the extra work."

Jian Ling nodded helplessly. "It seems this is the only way."