The old lady ran out on tiptoe, and even Jiang Qiao was somewhat impressed by her speed.

"Grandma Jiang, slow down, I can't run away. I've come to see you."

The old lady had lost a few teeth, and her speech was a little slurred. "Oh dear, where have you been? Grandma misses you but can't see you. Come, come, come inside and sit down."

The old lady fondly held Jiang Qiao's hand and stroked it back and forth. Especially when she saw Jiang Qiao's appearance, she asked with heartache, "Girl, what happened to you? Why are you so dark and thin? Did you go to work? You look worse than you did half a year ago. Is your grandfather not feeding you?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "Grandma Jiang, I suffer from summer heat. I can't eat anything during this season. It has nothing to do with my grandfather. How are you doing? Are you in good health?"

The old lady nodded, "Okay, okay, she won't die anytime soon."

"Grandma Jiang, go find Uncle and come over. Grandpa and I are unloading some things. We'll talk later."

After seeing the old lady off, Jiang Qiao quickly helped the old man move things into the house. Although Jiang Weihan didn't ask, he wasn't blind; how could he not know what was in the bag?

"Girl, is this thing of yours legitimate origin?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "You can eat without worry. I went to great lengths to get these back. I don't care how you and your uncle divide them. I've delivered them to you."

In addition to carrying down two bags of grain for the old man, Jiang Qiao also brought some fruit, brown sugar, and meat.

When Jiang Xiuqi arrived, Jiang Qiao had already moved everything that needed to be moved down, and she pulled Jiang Xiuqi aside to study the rest.

“Uncle, there are still a few bags of grain left. I plan to use them as an emergency measure for your team. But there is a condition: everyone must know that my grandfather contributed to this. In the future, you can't cause trouble for my grandfather over small things. You think of a suitable excuse that can help everyone out of their predicament and also make the commune members remember the kindness of you and my grandfather.”

Jiang Xiuqi's eyes practically lit up when he saw those bags of grain. With this, everyone would have the energy to catch the autumn harvest. Otherwise, he was worried that people would collapse before the crops were even harvested.

"Okay, girl, I thank you on behalf of the guy. I'll find a reasonable excuse to talk to everyone about this. You go home and sit down first. I'll go find a few people to come over, and we'll talk again in a bit."

Jiang Xiuqi didn't just randomly pick people on this trip; he brought along the accountant, several respected elders, and strong laborers.

The shock everyone felt upon seeing the food Jiang Qiao brought was beyond words.

Food was their lifeline, and it was right in front of them.

"Captain, where did this come from?"

Jiang Xiuqi sighed, "Where else could it come from? Our team is short of food, and everyone is working on an empty stomach. I'm worried too, but this situation isn't just happening in our team. It's common for everyone, but I can't control others. I can only control the people in our team."

So I went to discuss this matter with Gu Hanting. After all, he knows a lot of people, and that old man is a righteous person. He wrote letters to his old friends to help us gather food. We have to get through this difficult time.

These were obtained for us by Gu Hanting's friends. Knowing we're poor, they didn't say a word, just had someone bring us grain. We'll put this grain in the account first, and everyone can eat something dry tomorrow. We'll discuss more after the autumn harvest. I invited you all here so everyone is aware of the situation.”

Everyone present fell silent. No one had expected that Gu Hanting had managed to get the grain back.

One of the elders couldn't help but sigh, "I never expected it, I never expected that it would be Gu Hanting who would finally lend us a hand. We all received a lot of help from him in the past. Alas, you can see people's true character at crucial moments. When we get back, we should tell our descendants to be more polite to Gu Hanting in the future. No matter what he did in the past, he has never mistreated the people of our Gu Family Village."

Putting aside the past, just based on what he's doing now, everyone should respect him. Besides, he has two excellent sons; I admire that.

"Whether you accept it or not, you don't need to say it out loud. Just understand it in your heart. Hurry up and move the things to the warehouse. We'll start harvesting tomorrow. After harvesting, we'll plant another crop of vegetables. No matter how well they grow, even if they're just seedlings, it's still better than gnawing on tree bark."

The young man left, and the old man went inside. When he saw Jiang Qiao, he understood immediately. The person who brought them the food was probably the child in front of him.

Jiang Qiao quickly got up and greeted the old men. The old men hadn't seen Jiang Qiao for a while, and they were more concerned about when Qiao Jie would come. When Qiao Jie was around, if anyone in the village was sick or had a misfortune, the old man would treat them for free. If the old man didn't come, it would be inconvenient for them to see a doctor.

“We went out for a while and just got back. In a couple of days, I’ll bring my grandpa down to see everyone. Staying in the city is not as good as staying in the countryside. At least there are people to chat with. People in the city are busy with work. Don’t worry.”

The old men didn't linger here long because they had to go to work the next day. After chatting with Jiang Xiuqi, Jiang Qiao learned that her grandfather had sent all the things he brought back to the canteen.

"Sigh, to be honest, I really can't say a bad word about your grandpa. He's a really good man. Your and Grandpa Qiao's food rations have benefited us all. Girl, once the situation in the team improves, we definitely won't let you down. In these days, grain is like gold. You might not be able to buy it even if you wanted to. Sigh, I know that perfectly well."

Jiang Qiao smiled and nodded, "We'll talk about this later, Uncle. You must hang in there. By the way, if it really doesn't work out, let's just break up. It's not fair to always eat in the canteen. Since everything in the city is closed, we can stop here too."

Jiang Xiuqi sighed, "I would like to stop, but we don't have that many pots. What about the families who donated their pots to steelmaking? They can't just eat them and watch them eat, can they?"

They learned their lesson last winter. "These pots are hard to find now; you need industrial ration coupons. Where are we peasants supposed to get one?"

After saying this, Jiang Xiuqi's gaze towards Jiang Qiao changed. "Girl, do you have a plan? Don't worry, we'll pay whatever it costs. As long as we have the pot, everything will be fine."

Jiang Qiao raised an eyebrow, her tone teasing, "Uncle, you really trust me. For no other reason than your trust, I have to do my best to solve this problem. I'll try to figure out how much the village is short, but I can't guarantee I can get it. I'll do my best."

If I get this pot back, I'll see who dares to mess with my grandpa again. I'll really storm their house and smash the pot!

Jiang Weihan smiled and nodded, "I think it's a good idea, girl. I support you. If anyone dares to make things difficult for your grandfather, just do it this way."