Ma Liu certainly knew why Qiao Jie wanted this. He had severed ties with his son and things had turned out this way, so his older brother wanted him to have a happy and prosperous New Year.

"No need for such trouble. Just eat whatever you have. As long as you're happy, wild vegetables and cornbread are good food. We've eaten them before when we were kids."

Jiang Qiao knew what was going on. "Grandpa Qiao, don't worry. I'll figure out a way to handle these things later. You just need to take good care of Grandpa Liu. Leave everything else to me. I'll make sure you two have a good New Year. I don't care how other families celebrate. We'll eat as usual. You just wait and enjoy the good food."

Qiao Jie smiled and nodded, "Then I won't worry about it. You're the head of the household, so I won't concern myself with anything."

"Girl, what's with all these snakes in the middle of winter? You're not usually interested in them, are you?"

Jiang Qiao sighed, feeding Ma Liu while explaining, and the two of them were both surprised.

"Is something about to happen?"

Jiang Qiao shrugged. "Who knows? I also find it strange, but the snake has already been brought to me, so I can't just ignore it. It's good for making oil and medicine, and the snake meat is edible. Anyway, you keep an eye on it. I'll help you in a bit. Although I hate them, having something to eat these days is already pretty good."

Ma Liu stared wide-eyed and said, "It's more than just good. Other families can't even get enough to eat, but we can still eat dry food. That's already very good."

After dinner, the grandfather and grandson cleaned up Ma Liu and then began administering acupuncture, with the grandfather giving instructions and Jiang Qiao performing the procedure.

Ma Liu lay on the bed, looking at Jiang Qiao with a smile. The child's earnestness warmed the old man's heart. Although he was only half human, he was still able to get away with it and have someone clean him up. He felt that he must have burned incense in his past life.

"Joe, thank you—"

Jiang Qiao smiled and shook her head. "Grandpa Liu, you're too kind. You gave me so many gifts. Even if it's not for anything else, just because of all those things, I have to take good care of you."

Ma Liu knew that this girl wasn't after his things; he had heard about the situation outside from his neighbors.

"You little rascal, you're clearly a good person, but you say such things. Alright, Grandpa won't say anything more, I'll keep it all in mind."

After the acupuncture, Jiang Qiao gave the old man his medicine and then helped him with a massage, otherwise the muscles in his legs would atrophy if he didn't move them for a long time.

“Grandpa Qiao, starting tomorrow, let Grandpa Liu stand while holding onto a chair. This will help his recovery.”

Qiao Jie nodded. "Okay, you should go back and rest early too. You must be tired after a long day."

The next day, before dawn, Jiang Qiao had already prepared the meal. "Grandpa, I'm going out now. The food is in the pot; you can make your own food. Don't forget to render the oil—"

"Okay, come back soon—"

Qiao Jie assumed that his granddaughter had gone out to buy New Year's goods, and that he and Ma Liu were at home, the two old men quite at ease.

Seeing the meal Jiang Qiao had prepared, Ma Liu sighed, "Ever since you guys came, I've been eating a balanced diet of meat and vegetables every day. When I was lying in bed, I never dared to imagine that I would have such a good life again."

While feeding his old friend, Qiao Jie said, "That's right. I used to have the same thought as you. I was wondering what I would do when I got old. Even though Ma Congwen is no good, my adopted daughter is no good either. I haven't heard from her for years. I mailed her to the address, but she said there was no such person. She can't wait to sever all ties with me."

I'm old, who cares? Only Jiang Qiao, this girl, seems like a gift from heaven. I never imagined that since she came to our home, my life has gotten better day by day.

Ma Liu smiled and nodded, "I think so too. That old lady will regret it sooner or later."

I just don't understand how she could be so heartless as to scheme against a little girl when she raised her own child.

Qiao'er is such a good girl. She's capable and kind-hearted. It's rare to see such thoughtfulness in a child her age.

"Brother Qiao, aren't you going to ask the child why she's out so early? You're too careless; she's still so young."

The old man smiled and shook his head. "Qiao'er has her own ideas and things to do. We two old folks shouldn't ask too many questions. This girl won't get into any trouble. You stay here and bask in the sun. I'm going to make snake oil."

Jiang Qiao disguised herself and went to the black market early in the morning. There were people there every morning and evening, but the morning time was much earlier. After exchanging her things here, she immediately went to another place.

This time, when she arrived at the food supply area, she pretended to queue up with the elderly people, while also asking them for information and observing the situation of the people around her.

When it comes to buying things, everyone is worried. Their children are all at work, and the elderly at home have to queue up every day, but the supply is limited. Once it's sold out, it's gone. You might not even be able to buy anything after queuing for half a day.

Hearing everyone's private discussions, Jiang Qiao had a clue. "Grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunts, if someone were selling things without tickets, would you like to buy some?"

The elderly men and women immediately perked up upon hearing this. They had a limited number of coupons, especially in those days when food was scarce and everything was restricted. They didn't have many coupons, and although they wanted to buy more, the vendors wouldn't sell them. With such an opportunity, they would definitely rush to buy them, let alone buy them.

"Young lady, do you know where to buy it? Tell us quickly, and we promise not to tell anyone."

Jiang Qiao smiled, seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to her, and then spoke in a low voice.

"It depends on whether the location is suitable. If it's not suitable, who would dare to go? It definitely wouldn't work here."

An old man suddenly perked up. "I know a place, young lady. Do you see that alley? We all live in that area. I'll take you there to show you the way. Later, you can deliver the things to my house, but there's one condition: let me choose first, and then we'll have them buy them, okay?"

Jiang Qiao glanced at the old man with a smile. Judging from his clothes and appearance, the old man was obviously well-off. She just didn't know who he was.

He leaned closer to the old man and said, "Grandpa, the other party won't be coming forward personally. We'll have to trouble you to help sell it. After all, there are so many people involved, and they're worried about something going wrong. If you think it's a good idea, let's talk about it."

She was completely unfamiliar with this place. The problem was that Ma Liu was currently unwell, so even if she left, it wouldn't be very convenient to have a patient with her. She was afraid of implicating Qiao Jie and Ma Liu. If she were alone, she could easily move to another location after each mission.

Jiang Qiao thought a lot, but she forgot one thing: when a person is hungry, what is there to be afraid of?

The old man agreed immediately. Why not? Such an opportunity was too rare; he could buy more and store them away.

"Girl, if you trust me, then send it over. I'll settle the bill with you, and you don't need to worry about the rest."

After saying that, he whispered something to the others, and the line immediately thinned out considerably.

Keep your tickets and queue up again tomorrow. There are people who don't need tickets, so hurry back home.