Ning Botao muttered something, then lowered his head to eat. Fortunately, Qiao Jie's porridge was thick and creamy, with millet and beans added to the corn, so even though it was just a simple porridge, it was nutritious enough.

Qiao Jie sighed, then looked at Ning Zhengtao and said, "Old Ning, don't get upset. It's common for couples to bicker, but this time, you two have to handle it properly. We can't let our daughter be bullied for no reason."

Eileen, I'm not trying to be mean, but since you have several children, you should understand that motherhood makes you strong. You two are like this every day, but have you ever thought about your children?

What will the children become if they grow up in such an environment? Will they continue to be like their father, or like you?

Sigh, girl, you really need to think this through carefully.

"Let me tell you something you won't like to hear: if this happened to my Jiang Qiao, he'd beat that bastard to death! How dare he hit his wife? He's got a death wish!"

Ning Zhengtao sighed from the side, "That's right. If Jiang Qiao were here, she would have already made a move. Regardless of whether she can fight or not, that girl is the type who never suffers a loss."

Leaving aside Jiang Qiao, even our Haozi is like that. When he's home, he can just stand by and watch his aunt get bullied. But when our Haozi isn't home, that bastard becomes arrogant.

"Girl, tell your father the truth: can you even continue living like this? If not, I'll have your older brother come back."

Ning Ailin looked distressed. "Father, please let my eldest brother come back. I don't know if I can hold on any longer, but what will happen to the children?"

Ning Zhengtao sighed deeply, "Look at you all, how can you be so troublesome? Your mother is still locked up. Look at all of you, has anyone cared about your mother?"

Ning Botao said impatiently from the side, "Dad, is it any of our business to control Mom? It's all her fault for meddling in other people's business. Now she's dragged herself into it."

"Right now, let's deal with my sister's situation first and get my older brother back as soon as possible. He hasn't been back for years. Does he really think you only raised the two of us? He's not acting like a proper older brother at all."

Qiao Jie didn't want to get involved in the Ning family's affairs anymore. After packing his things, the old man left first. The Ning family was a mess, and most people really couldn't handle it.

He should think about his granddaughter. He wonders how she is doing at the beach and if she is continuing to read.

Jiang Qiao had no idea that the old man was worried about this. She was busy every day, buying things, and she didn't even have to lift a finger. The old man brought everything, and she just had to weigh and pay for it.

"Grandpa Zhou, do you need any vegetables? If so, we can trade you cabbage for them."

These old men never expected that Jiang Qiao could get his hands on this.

"Sure, why not? Everyone's had enough of eating this every day. Cabbage and radishes are good stuff, girl, so it's settled then?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "There's not much food, so let's give it to you families first. As for how to distribute it, you guys can decide. As for how to exchange it, you guys can come up with a plan. After all, I'm exchanging this for others. Every family only has so many dishes, and they just want to change things up."

The old captain readily agreed. After discussing it, everyone told Jiang Qiao about the exchange ratio. Jiang Qiao thought it was feasible. Although the amount of items wasn't much, it was at least equivalent, and no one would be at a disadvantage.

Gu Zhengfeng arrived just in time; the troops had already set off, and he needed to come over to prepare for their encampment.

Especially since he was also carrying a truckload of cabbages. Jiang Qiao didn't say anything else about the cabbages, but the news brought by Gu Zhengfeng surprised her a little. She didn't expect her mother to be pregnant. This was a good thing, at least in the future, there would be a child to accompany her parents.

Gu Zhengfeng was afraid that his daughter would overthink things, so he looked at her seriously and said, "Qiao'er, no matter whether your mother gives birth to a younger brother or sister, you will always be number one in our hearts. To be honest, I am surprised and delighted by the sudden arrival of this little life. I am not ready to accept a new life yet."

Jiang Qiao's face was filled with surprise. "What, Daddy, you don't want this child?"

Gu Zhengfeng pulled his daughter down to sit. "Girl, I don't know how to raise this child, how to raise her into someone like you. To be honest, I'm more worried about—"

Jiang Qiao patted Gu Zhengfeng's hand. "Dad, whether it's a younger brother or sister, with parents like you and an older sister like me, how could they possibly go astray?"

If he misbehaves, just beat him. You can just wait patiently for your younger brother or sister to arrive; I'll help you discipline him then.

Jiang Qiao hopes to have a younger brother. After all, she has a rather traditional view. Having a boy would at least ensure that her father's branch of the family has someone to carry on the family line. Although she could also take care of the elderly in their old age, people in this era still value the continuation of the family line, especially boys.

The father and son chatted for a while, and Jiang Qiao told Gu Zhengfeng to unload the cabbages at the old team leader's house, and let them take control of how things were handled.

As for the fish, she has already collected quite a lot, and the father and son are currently discussing how to pack them.

"Girl, you'll have to stay here for a few more days. Once the troops arrive, we'll send someone here to pick up the goods. We'll come at night to avoid people. As for the ones for the team, I'll send your brother Junqiang to deliver them. You can go with him then."

"Try to gather as much as possible these next couple of days. As for the money and tickets, they'll bring them when the others arrive."

Jiang Qiao didn't care much about these things. With her father around, she naturally wouldn't suffer any losses. She just wanted to bring some things separately for her mother.

"When the time comes, you can make a separate bag, and Dad will take it with him when he goes back."

Gu Zhengfeng had dinner with his daughter here before leaving. The place they chose was a bit far from the sea. Since they weren't in the navy, they naturally had to choose land, but the distance wasn't too far.

When the main force arrived, Gu Zhengfeng came over with his men in the middle of the night. Jiang Qiao was in charge of having people move things out of the house, and she released the fish one by one.

When Song Junqiang saw Jiang Qiao, he was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected that it would be his younger sister who was in charge here. The two siblings didn't have time to talk about what had happened since they last met, as he was responsible for driving the car back to the army base and having someone else take him back.

"Qiao'er, I'll come pick you up tomorrow, and then we'll travel together."

Qian Haonan came over and greeted Jiang Qiao, "Little Qiao, do you still remember me?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and nodded, "Of course, you are Brother Haonan, the son of my uncle's family. It's a pity you're in such a hurry to leave, otherwise, you could have a meal here with me."

Qian Haonan waved his hand and said, "It's alright. After you go there, we siblings can have a proper get-together."

Before the children could even say a few words, Gu Zhengfeng was already urging them, "Hurry up, let's go. The family is waiting for us to replenish our nutrition. Qiao'er, Dad is leaving first. Take care of yourself."

Jiang Qiao touched the money and tickets her father had brought; they were quite thick. After a moment's thought, she understood what was going on, especially since there was such a large sum of money involved: grain.