Jiang Qiao quickly started cooking. For lunch, she made cornbread and leftover meat and vegetables from the morning. She also scooped out a piece of spicy cabbage, which made lunch for the two of them.

"It's already pretty good. Those children and veterans might not even be able to eat this. They eat pickled vegetables every meal. Now even green vegetables are restricted, let alone meat and eggs. Fortunately, these children have household registration, so we've given them some subsidies. Otherwise, with that little supply, how could we possibly feed and clothe these children?"

"Girl, if you have any vegetables or anything at home, please send some over to the veterans later. Seriously, these are the people who deserve our respect and support."

Ma Liu had never experienced this before, but after living with the veterans for more than half a year, he personally felt what those veterans had sacrificed to drive out the Japanese. He admitted that he could not do what they had done, which is why he admired them even more.

"Okay, I'll ask my friends to get more of this later. As long as it's edible, it'll be fine. How are the kids? They're all doing well."

Ma Liu chuckled and said, "It's definitely better than before. At least they have a place to stay. The veterans have their children with them, so they're happy. Sigh, girl, you don't know, when people get old, they just endure each day, waiting for death to come. With their children around, at least they're not lonely."

After eating the kimchi, Ma Liu had a great appetite and exclaimed how delicious it was. "Girl, do you have any more at home? Take some for your grandpa and the others. Later, you can bring some back for me too. This stuff is so delicious, and it goes well with rice. The veterans can eat this."

Jiang Qiao gave a wry smile. "Grandpa Liu, you always come back just to rummage around. Don't worry, I'll prepare everything I can for you. Let's eat quickly. After we finish eating, we'll go to the countryside and tell my Grandpa Qiao."

Qiao Jie didn't expect Ma Liu to come back at this time. The two brothers hugged each other, then looked Ma Liu over and patted him hard on the shoulder.

"Liu Zi, you finally decided to come back? I'm telling you, you've got your eyes on making money. There's no end to making money. That's enough."

Ma Liu chuckled, "Big brother, you don't know, do you? I'm still in the capital with my apprentices. I can't come back until they're familiar with things. If I hadn't run out of supplies, I wouldn't have wanted to come back."

Qiao Jie chatted with Ma Liu about things in Beijing. Jiang Qiao originally wanted to visit her grandfather, but Qiao Jie stopped her.

"Your grandpa and the others are busy. Let's go see him at noon. They're repairing the irrigation canal right now."

Jiang Qiao's eyes widened. "Repairing it now? Are you kidding me?"

Qiao Jie sighed, "We can only repair it when we're not busy. It can both irrigate and drain water. Your grandfather and the others said that we don't know what the situation will be like next year. We should do what needs to be done first. We can't let everyone work for a whole year and then only get a little bit of food, can we?"

Sigh, let alone the hardship in the capital, life in the countryside is even worse. At least city dwellers have a certain supply, but look at the people in the countryside, they've almost stripped the bark off the trees, and you can't even find a trace of wild vegetables. Tell me, who's really suffering?

"Only the team leader in Gujia Village is decent; at least he hasn't acted recklessly. Otherwise, the villagers would be suffering terribly."

When the two old men met, they each shared their feelings. Jiang Qiao got up helplessly and went out for a stroll. Since the free market had been opened up, she wanted to buy some eggs in the village. These things were either sold at the market or sold to the purchasing station. She wanted to take this opportunity to buy more.

Her mother is going to give birth next year. Putting aside the nourishment before the birth, she'll still need to eat eggs after the baby is born.

They went to Jiang Weihan's house. They've all gone up the mountain to repair the irrigation canal, so I guess only the old man and woman are at home.

However, the old lady wasn't home; instead, Jiang Weihan was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), and it was clear from his appearance that he was ill.

"Girl, you're here. Sigh, I'm fine, just my old ailment, my back hurts. Your grandfather came to take a look, so I'm lying on this warm kang."

Jiang Qiao sat down next to the old man. "My grandfather has examined you and said there shouldn't be any major problems. How about I give you a massage?"

Jiang Weihan looked at Jiang Qiao with amusement, "Little girl, you can do this too?"

"That's right, I learned it from Grandpa Qiao. You don't need to doubt it, just try it and you'll see."

As soon as Jiang Qiao started touching him, Jiang Weihan felt his back hurt even more. "Mom, girl, be gentle, be gentle, you're going to kill your old grandpa Jiang!"

"If it doesn't hurt, it won't get better. Once the pain goes away, it will feel better. You'll feel it soon. Just bear with it."

Sure enough, after a while, Jiang Weihan really did feel a lot more relief in his lower back; at least it wasn't so painful anymore.

While massaging the old man's back, Jiang Qiao explained, "You used to twist your back a lot when you were young, but you didn't take it seriously. Now you keep doing heavy work. If this goes on for too long, you'll get sick. You really need to take good care of yourself this time."

Jiang Weihan's pain subsided, and he remembered to ask Jiang Qiao, "Girl, it's not the weekend yet, why are you here? Don't you have school?"

Jiang Qiao chuckled, "I took leave. My grandfather Qiao's friend is here, so I brought him over to see him."

"By the way, Grandpa Jiang, is it open for market time here?"

Jiang Weihan nodded. "We just received the notice too. The market is open now. What's up, girl? Is there anything you want?"

Jiang Qiao sighed, "I want to buy some eggs or something. My mother is pregnant, and I need to prepare eggs for her. Her living conditions are very difficult, so I need to prepare in advance."

Grandpa Jiang, are there many eggs for sale at the market?

The old man nodded. "Yes, we do have some, but not too many. Why don't we make an order with the villagers first and see how many they have? That way, we won't have to go all the way there to sell them."

I'll have your Grandma Jiang tell everyone about this later. Just make sure you have the money ready.

Since the old man agreed, Jiang Qiao stopped talking and gave the old man a massage. "Alright, Grandpa Jiang, try to get up and see if you can."

Sure enough, Jiang Weihan actually got up as instructed, and the old man walked back and forth on the ground in disbelief.

"Wow, amazing, little girl, you're really something! If I'd known you knew this, you should have come sooner. There are several people in the village with bad backs; could you help them massage their backs? Your grandfather did get some medicated patches, but I feel like they don't work as fast as yours."

Jiang Qiao shook her head. "My technique needs to be combined with my Grandpa Qiao's medicine to heal quickly. Have you been applying it for several days now?"

Jiang Weihan nodded. "Yes, how did you know?"

Jiang Qiao gave him a knowing look and said, "The technique I used is a family tradition passed down from my grandfather, Qiao. It requires the use of medicine in conjunction with the technique. However, my grandfather is getting old and doesn't have the strength to massage your backs anymore. Also, this has to be done according to acupoints. If he massaged everyone, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep. His arms would probably be swollen."

How about this, tonight you can have someone come to your house, and I'll come over and give them a massage. It's not convenient for me to do that right now."

Jiang Weihan knew that Gu Hanting would definitely have to go. Since his granddaughter had come, how could the old man not bring his grandson over to have a meal with her?

"Okay, it's settled then. Come over after you finish eating."