When the old lady heard that her daughter was gone, she patted her son's back and cried her heart out.

Jiang Qiao, seeing that things weren't going well, said, "Grandma, Grandma, don't cry. Let's find a place to sit down and have a good talk."

Jiang Ping quickly grabbed his mother's hand. "Mom, even if you want to hit me, let's go home first, okay? Where are Dad and my brother?"

When she talked about her husband and youngest son, the old lady became even more heartbroken. She hugged her son and cried again, calling out their names as she cried.

Jiang Qiao explained from the side, "Grandpa is gone too, Uncle sacrificed himself, Grandma, don't cry, let's go!"

Jiang Ping helped the old lady up, while Jiang Qiao carried the bundle on his back. The two of them helped the old lady to his house.

"Mother, who is she? My brother's daughter?"

With just this one sentence, Jiang Qiao understood everything. She had been observing Jiang Ping for a long time, and he acted as if he didn't recognize her, which meant that she and Jiang Ping had no relationship.

Hearing Jiang Ping ask this question again, she realized that her background had probably been revealed and there was no need to ask anymore.

Wang Dahua gave a bitter smile, glanced at her son and granddaughter, and said, "She is Jiang Qiao, the child I picked up. Qiao'er, don't blame your grandma. I was afraid people would laugh at you for being an orphan, so I lied to you and said you were the child of our eldest son. We'll talk about your matter later."

Jiang Qiao sighed, "Grandma, no matter whose child I am, you will always be the grandma who raised me. That can't be wrong."

The old lady was quite pleased with Jiang Qiao's words. She was worried that if her child grew up and heard from others that he was adopted, he would develop feelings for her. Today's events were somewhat unexpected.

Who would have thought that coming here would lead to running into her son and his family who had been separated from them during the war? This was an unexpected surprise.

"Your mother has always been worried about you. Those were terrible times, so many people died along the way. Your mother hoped every day that you could escape..."

The mother and daughter kept nagging along the way, and Jiang Qiao finally understood what was going on.

Wang Dahua fled from her hometown with her family, but got separated from her eldest son's family along the way. Wang Dahua and her husband took their youngest son with them, but her husband died halfway through the journey. The mother and son begged their way to their current place, where they finally settled down. Thanks to her midwifery skills, their lives slowly improved.

Jiang Ping was also heartbroken by his younger brother's early death, especially after hearing that his sister-in-law had remarried with her child, leaving only Jiang Qiao and the old lady at home.

Holding the old woman's hand, he said, "Mother, we'll never be apart again. I'll take care of you in your old age—"

When they arrived at Jiang Ping's house, there was a row of five thatched houses. Upon entering the courtyard, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but frown. The courtyard was a mess, with chickens, ducks, and geese roaming around and defecating anywhere, giving people a very bad feeling. One had to worry at any moment that they might step on a landmine.

Wang Dahua is in no mood to care about this right now; all she wants to see are her grandchildren and daughter-in-law.

Once inside, another round of weeping was inevitable. Jiang Qiao became a mural, watching the family cry and wail, creating quite a scene. She was probably the only one in the room who remained calm.

Looking up at the roof, he frowned again. A home can be simple, but it can't be unclean. Look at the dust hanging from the beams, it's almost blowing in the wind. Why can't you just sweep it up with a broom?

She kept reassuring herself that since she wasn't going to live there permanently, whether it was clean or not really had little to do with her. People should live their own lives, and she, as an outsider, shouldn't meddle.

She admired Jiang Ping quite a bit; he had so many children—six children plus a daughter-in-law, two girls and four boys. She thought that even feeding a family like that would be a problem. She and the old lady were already struggling to make ends meet, let alone such a large family.

Seeing the young woman standing to the side, Jiang Qiao glanced at her. She looked timid and submissive. After recognizing her grandmother, she stood to the side listening, just like her.

After the old lady and the others had finished crying, they remembered that they hadn't introduced their granddaughter yet.

"Come on, everyone, let's get to know each other. This is Jiang Qiao, my adopted granddaughter—"

Jiang Qiao bowed slightly to everyone and greeted them one by one.

Jiang Qiao and Jiang Ping's children didn't show much enthusiasm towards Jiang Qiao; they simply nodded to each other, and that was it.

After finishing their business, Jiang Ping quickly urged Niu Guihua to prepare some food and drink for the old lady.

"Never mind, we have important business to attend to. Boss, do you know Zhou Songyuan?"

Jiang Ping nodded. "Yes, I know him. He's the captain of the fishing village. What's up? You need him for something?"

The old lady sighed, "Jiang Qiao was asked by a friend to do something for him. I'm worried about him, so I'm going to go and check on him. You take us to find the person first, and we'll come back and have a proper talk after Jiang Qiao is settled."

Jiang Qiao couldn't wait to leave the Jiang family. Here, she always felt like she was superfluous, which wasn't a pleasant feeling. She'd rather go and take care of some important business.

Xiayu Village isn't too far from Jiang Ping's home; it only takes about forty minutes to walk there.

Zhou Songyuan made a good first impression on Jiang Qiao. He was not tall, had a dark red complexion, probably from being exposed to the sea breeze all year round, and had very upright eyes.

Upon seeing the letter of introduction that Jiang Qiao presented, especially the mention of Ning Hao's name, Zhou Songyuan became even more enthusiastic.

"It seems Xiao Haozi sent you here. That's great! You've solved a huge problem for us. It's almost the end of the year, and the company wants to provide benefits for its employees. I also want our members to have a good New Year."

"Regarding our seafood here, large quantities like fish are needed to meet quotas, but the smaller, less valuable items are practically worthless. We can't sell them, and nobody buys them. Your arrival is truly a good thing. Come, come, let's talk inside—"

As soon as Jiang Qiao entered the room, she went straight to the point and told Zhou Songyuan about the types of products she had acquired and the approximate quantities.

Zhou Songyuan was actually quite curious. He didn't know how Ning Hao had managed to bring over such a small child, a little girl at that. He was also worried that Jiang Qiao wouldn't be able to make the decision.

"Don't worry, we'll exchange money for goods. I can make that decision. I'm Ning Hao's authorized representative. All of them are busy with work, especially at the end of the year, chasing after tasks. They really can't get away. I'm the only one with nothing to do at home. Luckily, I can read a few words and do some accounting."

So they entrusted me to come over. Uncle Captain, you can rest assured, I've come all this way, I definitely won't do anything to fool everyone.

By the way, I'll be staying here for a while, so you'd better arrange a place for me to stay. It doesn't matter where it is, as long as it's a place where people can live and store their belongings.

They'll come by car at random times in the middle of the night to pick me up. I'll be staying alone so as not to disturb everyone's rest. As for food, I can eat at other people's houses; I'll pay for my own meals.