Wang Datou readily agreed. Jiang Qiao was their family's benefactor, especially since Jiang Qiao never came empty-handed when visiting them. Just for the fact that Jiang Qiao treated him as a friend, he would be willing to do anything, even die for him.

"Okay, don't worry about it, I'll be going now."

Jiang Qiao handed Wang Datou some money and tickets, saying, "Keep this for renting a place and taking the bus. If you get hungry, go to a restaurant and get something to eat. We'll talk more when we meet."

After leaving Wang Datou's house, Jiang Qiao didn't go directly to Gujia Village. Instead, she found the path she had taken with Qiao Jie up the mountain, put away her bicycle, and ran all the way to the water source.

The mountains have been almost completely looted, and with the weather so cold, no one wants to venture into the old forest at this time.

Jiang Qiao had previously discovered a cave in this place. Although it wasn't very big, it was enough for her.

She was busy cooking in the cave, having a great time. When she came out to gather firewood, she was lucky enough to run into a deer. Of course, she wouldn't be polite about something that was delivered to her door.

Taking this opportunity, she learned to skin deer herself. She couldn't rely on others for everything. If her father were around, she wouldn't have to go through all that trouble.

Actually, peeling skin wasn't too difficult for her. After all, she had handled a scalpel before and wasn't unfamiliar with cutting flesh. She hadn't done it before because she thought things wouldn't be so bad, but the current situation had exceeded her expectations. She couldn't predict what would happen in the future, so she might as well do it herself.

She did everything she could to make it easy to take out later, which would save her trouble. By the time she finished tidying up, it was almost afternoon.

Jiang Qiao rode his bicycle all the way here, and the old men who were squatting under the wall sunbathing looked at the shadow in the distance and turned to ask Qiao Jie.

"Old Joe, is that your granddaughter? She looks like her. She's pretty fierce—"

Qiao Jie took a closer look and slapped his thigh, "That's right, what's the rush for this girl? She should ride slower."

Seeing Qiao Jie's delighted expression, the other elderly people were filled with envy. "You old man, you're really lucky to have such a wonderful granddaughter. But you're really too carefree, leaving the child alone at home. Aren't you worried?"

Qiao Jie waved triumphantly to Jiang Qiao in the distance and said, "What's there to worry about? We all live in the same compound, we're all neighbors, we can help each other out. Besides, there are her children who go to school together, they've grown up together since they were little, they can look after each other."

Jiang Qiao saw the old man waving at her from afar, and happily rode her bicycle over, calling out, "Grandpa Qiao—"

Qiao Jie stood up. "Guys, I have to go back now. My granddaughter's here, call me if you need anything—"

The other elderly people waved their hands, "Go on, go on—"

On the way, Qiao Jie asked Jiang Qiao why he came at this time. Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "Grandpa Qiao, I brought some good stuff with me. So you and my grandpa won't be afraid to eat it. I've prepared everything for us this time, so you can eat right away."

Grandpa Qiao loved to eat meat, and his eyes lit up when he heard that he could eat meat openly. Although the courtyard in the countryside was more convenient than their house in the city, the aroma of meat would fill the whole village, so Grandpa Qiao didn't dare to eat it.

"Oh, right, Wang Datou brought me firewood yesterday."

Jiang Qiao looked at the old man in surprise; she hadn't expected Wang Datou to do such a thing.

Qiao Jie sighed, "This guy is really unbearable to look at. Everyone used to shake their heads and sigh when they mentioned him. I never expected that he would actually bring me firewood. It seems that this kid still has hope for the future."

Your uncles are back, let's hurry—"

As soon as Jiang Qiao heard that Gu Zhengkai had returned, she quickly pushed her cart and followed the old man home, afraid of missing the two of them.

Fortunately, Gu Zhengkai and his family were still around. Now his status was different, and no one dared to let him live in the cowshed. So, Gu Zhengkai and his father lived in the old courtyard.

"Uncle, elder brother—"

Gu Zhengkai was in the kitchen thinking about what delicious food to prepare for the child to take back when Jiang Qiao arrived at that moment.

Upon seeing his niece, his face immediately lit up with joy. "Qiao'er, you've come at the perfect time! Come in, come in quickly and get some food for your older brother to take back. Your uncle really doesn't know what to do."

Jiang Qiao waved her hand and said, "Don't bother, I brought everything with me. They're all in the baskets."

The basket was mostly filled with meat, along with a few bottles of her homemade medicinal wine and liquor.

Gu Zhengkai's eyes lit up when he saw the wine and meat. It wasn't that he, the former young master of a landlord family, was ignorant; it was just that these kinds of things were quite valuable at the moment.

There's not enough grain to eat, so where would we get so much surplus to brew wine? Even if it were available for sale, it would be very expensive. Besides, Jiang Qiao brought Moutai, which he'd tasted before and found delicious.

"Girl, you're amazing! You even have all of these things. Well, this time your uncle is benefiting too. I'll take some back to drink as well."

"Actually, I wanted to send some over to you, but since you're back, you can take some with you. I'll send some over to the grandfathers later. Uncle, I'm going to make some flatbread. You guys eat first."

Jiang Qiao brought braised pork and roast chicken. How could the father and son not be tempted when they saw it? When Qiao Jie looked at the food, the old man had a vague guess in his mind.

"Girl, it still looks pretty warm to me. Don't tell me you went to the mountains to do it?"

Jiang Qiao gave the old man a thumbs up. "Grandpa Qiao, you're amazing! I just came down from the mountain. I can't make it at home, so I had to go up the mountain to make it and see if I could catch any game. Anyway, I was lucky today, so I brought it over to you as soon as it was done. Eat it while it's hot."

Qiao Jie and the other two each tried a piece, and the taste was simply indescribable, truly delicious.

"Son, hurry up and go find your grandpa and brother so we can eat together. We should head back soon."

While making steamed pancakes, Jiang Qiao turned to look outside and said, "Uncle, why are you only taking one day off? You haven't been back for so long. Can't you have a couple more days off? Isn't there such a thing as accumulating holidays?"

Gu Zhengkai sighed, "We're short-handed right now, there's nothing we can do, things will get better in the future."

When Gu Hanting heard that his granddaughter had arrived, he rushed over with his two grandsons. He had just finished harvesting the vegetable seedlings from the field yesterday and wanted to bring some over for his granddaughter, but he didn't expect her to arrive so quickly.

Seeing the old man arrive, Jiang Qiao quickly invited them to come and eat meat.

Upon learning where the meat came from, even Gu Hanting couldn't help but chuckle wryly, "Only a girl like you has such audacity. Don't do this again. Do you want some vegetable seedlings?"

Jiang Qiao shook her head. "Grandpa, you marinate it first. We'll ask you for it later when we want some. We don't need it right now. You and Grandpa Qiao can keep it for yourselves. My pancakes will be ready soon."