Jiang Qiao was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected that simply watching the commotion would be noticed.

Many classmates were staring at her, but Jiang Qiao calmly stood up, glanced at the whole class, looked up at the teacher, cleared her throat, and began to read the text aloud with intonation.

Jiang Qiao's pronunciation and speaking speed surprised even the teacher. With such standard pronunciation and a clear voice, this child could totally be a Russian broadcaster.

Jiang Qiao had originally intended to keep a low profile, but the teacher had disrupted that. However, she wasn't a coward. Since she was already there, she decided to make the best of it. Since someone wanted to test her, she couldn't let the principal down.

Even after Jiang Qiao finished reading, the teacher was still in a daze. "Teacher, I've finished reading. May I sit down now?"

The female teacher hurriedly said, "Please sit down, please sit down. Jiang Qiao's Russian pronunciation is very standard, very good. Keep it up in the future."

Not only the teacher, but even the classmates were amazed, because Jiang Qiao's reading voice was so beautiful, even better than the teacher's.

Jiang Qiao finally managed to get through the morning's classes when the school bell rang.

Li Ling pulled Jiang Qiao aside and asked her directly how she learned Russian.

"I learned it from my teacher. You really think I was born knowing how? I'm going now, I have to go back and cook."

She could clearly see the jealous look in her deskmate's eyes. Despite her young age, she was quite jealous. Did she really think she was some ignorant country bumpkin?

However, she didn't have time to deal with these trivial matters; going home for dinner was the real priority.

"Qiao'er, Qiao'er—"

Just as she stepped out of the classroom, she heard Chunming calling her. The three of them walked home together. They left both backpacks at school. No, Jiang Qiao carried them everywhere she went. They weren't heavy anyway, and they were her best way to cover herself.

"Oh dear, I'm starving. What can my mom cook for lunch?"

This was Zhao Jianjun's lament. Not to mention him, even Chunming was hungry. Jiang Qiao had eaten a full breakfast and hadn't done much, so she wasn't that hungry.

"Let's go quickly. No matter how hungry you are, you have to go home to eat."

When Jiang Qiao returned, Qiao Jie was already cooking. "Grandpa Qiao, I'm back. I'll cook. You go and rest. Go and have some water with Grandpa Ning."

Qiao Jie's biggest concern was whether any clueless people at the school would cause trouble for his granddaughter.

"Who would dare? I'm so capable, I wouldn't even stoop to their level. Besides, it's only the first day, I haven't even figured out their backgrounds yet. Do you think those kids are idiots? They're all shrewd. Don't worry, everything's going smoothly for me. Sigh, it's just that sitting in the classroom makes me uncomfortable. Grandpa, should I just go home and study?"

"No way, what time is it? You have to take the high school entrance exam. Just bear with it, it will be over soon."

Jiang Qiao ate sausage sandwiched in a pancake for lunch, so the aroma wouldn't be too strong. With some green vegetables and pickled vegetables, it made for a very good meal.

"Oh my, this is good stuff! It looks so delicious, I want to eat it. Girl, come on, eat up."

While eating, Jiang Qiao chatted with Ning Zhengtao about learning a foreign language. "Sure, why not? Grandpa will teach you tonight. But I don't really understand the high school stuff. I've forgotten it all. You'll have to rely on yourself."

I don't know why this child is in such a hurry. The exams haven't even started yet, and he's already thinking about high school courses.

Qiao Jie chimed in from the side, "The sooner you finish learning, the sooner you'll be done. You still have to learn how to treat illnesses from me, so let's take it slow."

Ning Zhengtao felt a little sorry for Jiang Qiao. "There's so much, can the child learn it all?"

Jiang Qiao nodded repeatedly, "That's no problem. I can make time for it. I should learn while I'm still young. They say it's always good to have more skills."

Jiang Qiao changed her previous slow eating habits and sped up her eating pace today.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Jiang Qiao swallowed the food in her mouth. "I'm going to visit my grandma in a bit. I need to bring her some gifts. You guys enjoy your meal, I'm done eating."

After Jiang Qiao left, Ning Zhengtao sighed, "Wang Dahua really lost a lot of money. If that incident hadn't happened back then, wouldn't she be the one eating rice now, and we wouldn't be involved?"

Qiao Jie nodded in agreement. "That's why I'm the luckiest one. Let me tell you, you know what you're eating at home. Don't go out and tell anyone. It's not easy for us to get some food back, so don't let anyone know. Otherwise, people will label us as hedonists."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I'll move all the food I received this month over here."

Qiao Jie really didn't care much about the little grain Ning Zhengtao had. His family only ate bran to keep them healthy. As for other things, not to mention him, even his daughter couldn't do it. If there was good food, who would want to eat bad food?

"No, let's not. How much food did you get before? We can reduce it a little in the future so that outsiders can't say anything. Otherwise, how do you think the two of us will feed you?"

Ning Zhengtao nodded. "Okay, I understand. I'll go see the old lady tomorrow."

Jiang Qiao had just arrived at the gate of Wang Dahua's house with her things when she heard a clattering sound coming from inside. It was obvious that someone was throwing things around, but she couldn't tell who was throwing things at whom.

Jiang Qiao had no intention of going in; she didn't want to see that family, and she didn't want to get involved in their affairs.

"Grandma, are you home?"

Hearing Jiang Qiao's shout, Wang Dahua came running out of the house.

"It's Qiao'er, you're back?"

Jiang Qiao didn't know whether Wang Dahua genuinely didn't know they were coming back or was pretending, but none of that mattered.

"Grandma, this is a gift for you. It's not much, so you can keep it for yourself. I'm in a hurry to get to school, so I won't talk to you anymore. I'll be going now."

Jiang Qiao gave Wang Dahua a bag of pastries, a bag of red dates, and a piece of clothing, which she had bought in Huaiguo.

The old lady wanted to say something more, but Jiang Qiao had already run far away.

Watching Jiang Qiao leave, Wang Dahua was filled with thoughts. Now she had no one to confide in, as they were all her daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Who could she say anything to? She was getting older every day, and she would still be relying on her daughters-in-law to take care of her and give her food in the future.

But then she wondered, if Jiang Qiao hadn't left and her son's family hadn't come over, wouldn't their lives have been like paradise?

However, she quickly shook her head. These things shouldn't be thought about; the past is the past, and there's no use in regretting it.

After leaving Wang Dahua's place, Jiang Qiao hurriedly ran to the post office again. She had just returned yesterday and hadn't had time to mail anything to her parents. Although she had saved some things, she was worried that the couple were too generous and might not be able to keep the items, which would be a hardship for them.

Jiang Qiao didn't dare to mail too much, for fear that people would become suspicious. Everyone else was starving, so where did her family get so much food?

Fortunately, there are several post offices in the city, so she can get everything she needs with just one more trip. She's already decided that she'll go there during her holiday.

She also mailed the letters to Ning Hao and Erping. She figured they were probably waiting for her reply. Now that she knew the whereabouts of their relatives, it was best to inform them as soon as possible.