The old lady glared at him and said, "You're just being biased. I've never seen you treat your granddaughter like this before. You've given her so many gifts, and I've never seen a grandfather who's so biased towards his granddaughter. If the other kids knew, they'd be heartbroken."

"Hmph, my things are mine, I can give them to whomever I want. Haven't they received enough? I haven't mistreated them all these years. I can't give them the rest for now, because I'm worried they won't be able to keep them."

Our children are good children, but compared to the Gu family, they still fall a little short.

The old lady was displeased. "How can you be such a father? You actually say your own son is no good. I think my son is great."

The old man gave a wry smile and shook his head. "I didn't say they were bad, but compared to the two sons of the Gu family, they lacked a bit of ruthlessness and tenacity. Gu Zhengkai spent ten years in prison, but he refused to give in to fate and always stuck to his original intention. Now he has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel, right?"

Our son-in-law, of all the people who were with him back then, have been promoted. Only he has stayed in the same position. Most people would have given up long ago, but this kid just stubbornly sticks to it.

I heard that he'll probably get a promotion when he gets back, so you can't judge a person by appearances; you have to learn to analyze.

Take Jiang Qiao for example. She's been supporting us for so many years, and we don't have much of a relationship with her. If she were to become affectionate, you would definitely have doubts and wonder if she has something to gain from us. But this is exactly what we're going for.

That girl's future is unpredictable. Just wait and see if what I said today comes true.

Jiang Qiao had no idea that the old couple had talked so much inside the house. After returning to the house, she began preparing the things her father would take with him when he left.

It's freezing cold up north, and she hadn't prepared for that before. This time, she made warm clothes for her parents using fur, so that the wind wouldn't get through. She also took out some snake oil ointment from her space, worried that her parents' skin would crack from the cold, and she also brought some nourishing supplements.

When Gu Zhengfeng saw his daughter bring him this big bag of things, he felt a warmth in his heart. She was still his daughter, so thoughtful.

After seeing their father off, Jiang Qiao and Qiao Jie went out for a few days, and then decided to visit the old man's friend.

Wen Songtao was a little reluctant to part with the child, who had only been here for a few days.

He just felt sorry for his granddaughter. Back when the family was living a life of luxury, he missed out on having her. Now that he finally found her, the family is in this situation.

Jiang Qiao could understand the old man's feelings to some extent. "Grandpa, don't be sad. I will come to see you again. This time, Grandpa Qiao and I did not plan to go back for the New Year. We will have time to get together again."

Qiao Jie also chimed in, "Brother, your child understands your feelings. Qiao'er is still young. If he wants to come see you, he can do so anytime. Don't underestimate our Qiao'er just because he's young. I trust him to handle things. You can just stay home and wait for him to come see you."

The old man wanted to pack some things for Jiang Qiao and the others, but Jiang Qiao stopped him, saying, "Grandpa, we're all ready. Just bring some gifts. It's a long journey, and it would be too much trouble for the two of us to carry too much."

Grandma, Grandpa, please take care of yourselves. I'll come see you again next time.

After saying that, he leaned close to the old man's ear and asked, "Grandpa, did my dad tell you?"

The old man smiled and nodded. "I told you, it's alright. It's better that they moved them; it saves me some trouble. Girl, after you've seen the person, come to Grandma's house, okay?"

Jiang Qiao's departure surprised everyone else in the family. "Why didn't she stay a little longer? There was no one else at home—"

The old man sighed, "That girl is also taking Old Qiao with her. After all, we have to consider your Uncle Qiao's thoughts. She's going to visit an old friend."

This trip was indeed on the way. Your brother-in-law and his wife hadn't considered bringing the kids over before. They were planning to bring the kids when they both had time off, but something unexpected happened—"

Wen Zhongxuan looked at his father in surprise, "Why didn't my brother-in-law say anything? What happened?"

The old man sighed, "You've heard about the shipwreck, haven't you? Qiao'er and the others were on that ship. Luckily, the child is alright, otherwise the couple would have been devastated."

The two brothers gaped in astonishment. "So it was their boat that had the accident? This girl is incredibly lucky. I heard that many people have had accidents, but I never expected my niece to be so fortunate as to escape unscathed."

"If we had known this would happen, we should have given her more gifts, as a way to calm her nerves."

The old man waved his hand and said, "No need for more. The child doesn't care. As long as you two uncles treat this niece well in the future, you'll have everything you need."

"You two need to keep a close eye on your family members from now on, both adults and children. Tell them all: the past is the past, the present is the present. You both need to behave yourselves. You both understand the saying 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down,' and besides, given our past reputation, how many people are hoping we'll suffer?"

The two sons nodded together. "Dad, we understand. Don't worry."

The two brothers exchanged glances and hesitated. The old man, seeing his son's expression, knew most likely that something was wrong.

"What's wrong? Is there something you can't say? Speak up!"

Wen Zhongxuan spoke first, "Father, is there enough food at home? Could you spare some?"

The old man looked at his eldest son again and asked, "Eldest son, are you also borrowing grain?"

Wen Bochen said with a bitter face, "Dad, I really didn't want to ask. My father-in-law wanted to buy some later, but he was too late and couldn't buy any fine grains at all. You know, they're used to being pampered. It's okay for others to eat coarse grains every day, but the old folks can't stand it."

Wen Songtao is now extremely grateful for his daughter's letter; thankfully, he acted quickly enough.

He sighed. "To be honest, we do have some grain at home, but not much. I can give it to you this time, but I can't say what the future holds. There might be another drought, so you should all be mindful of that. Be careful with your food. No one can predict what will happen until the harvest. Alright, you all have parents. I'll help you this time, but you'll have to figure things out yourselves next time. We're getting old too—"

What could the old man say? He couldn't say anything, because his daughter-in-law was still involved.

Jiang Qiao led Qiao Jie to his old friend's house. The door was ajar, and no one answered when they knocked. They had no choice but to push the door open and go inside.

Upon seeing the person lying on the bed inside, not only Jiang Qiao but even Qiao Jie was taken aback. His old friend was lying on the bed, skin and bones, and the house reeked of a foul odor.

"Liu Zi, Liu Zi, what's wrong with you?"