Upon seeing what Jiang Qiao had taken out, Wen Jingwan was initially incredulous, and then burst into tears.

"We finally found it, Qiao'er, where did you find it?"

Jiang Qiao was actually quite puzzled. Logically speaking, it was just a hollow child bracelet and a lock; her mother shouldn't be so stingy.

However, he still honestly explained the origin of this thing, and Wen Jingwan sneered after listening.

"That Wang Dahua, she's really good at scheming, but unfortunately, all her calculations have come to nothing. Girl, you only know it's a hollow bracelet, but you don't know there's much more to it than meets the eye—"

After saying that, he used a needle to pry open a certain mechanism, and after fiddling around for a while, he finally took out two pieces of paper from Jiang Qiao's two small bracelets.

Upon seeing the above content, even Jiang Qiao was astonished: "My God, my family is definitely rich!"

Jiang Qiao felt that she was more than just a rich person; she was definitely a third-generation rich kid. The amount in her savings account was enough for her family to live comfortably even if they didn't work. She felt that she didn't need to work anymore; with this money as a guarantee, her retirement would be a sure thing.

Wen Jingwan sighed, "That's why I said she miscalculated. If she had kept this thing, she might have figured out the mechanism one day. It's a pity that in the end, it will still belong to whoever it belongs to."

That's why we didn't say anything at the time. Since it was lost, this wealth had nothing to do with us anymore. Unexpectedly, it came back after all the twists and turns.

"Qiao'er, keep this safe. It was part of my dowry back then. You can take the money out later when you have the chance."

Jiang Qiao couldn't help but marvel at the Wen family's wealth; the dowry for a young woman was so generous. Her maternal grandfather was truly a very generous man.

"No wonder I didn't see much at my grandma's house; it turns out she'd stored it all away."

Wen Jingwan was, after all, a member of the Wen family, and she knew her family's wealth and resources. She smiled and said, "What do you think? How could the Wen family have become a prominent family after so many generations without some wealth and resources? Without a backup plan, how could they avoid the schemes of their opponents and establish themselves in the business world?"

Actually, the Wen family has another branch overseas, but they went abroad a long time ago and don't keep in touch unless there's a specific reason. Only then will they offer assistance.

Jiang Qiao knew a little about this. "That must be Grandpa's brother, right?"

Wen Jingwan nodded. "You should know this in your heart. Life is unpredictable. Who knows what might happen in the future? Keep the things safe. They were meant for you."

Jiang Qiao shook her head. "I'll keep the things for now, and I'll share them with my younger siblings later. You don't need to worry about this."

Seeing her daughter's greedy look as she held the deposit slip, Wen Jingwan shook her head with amusement. To be honest, it was rare to see a child as fond of money as her daughter. Most children would be content with just a little treat or nice clothes.

But their daughter seems to have inherited traits from both families; she loves money and is capable of making it herself. But that's fine too. It's good that their daughter doesn't live with them, and it's good that she can live a better life. It's not a problem; daughters should be pampered anyway.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, people in the family quarters are going out to buy New Year's goods for their families and food and clothing for their children. The service center can no longer meet the needs of these military spouses, so the military sent a truck to take everyone into the city to make purchases.

Jiang Qiao went with everyone. Even though she had some in her space, she still had to get some out to avoid attracting attention. Of course, she wouldn't go with anyone else, especially Meng Yuzhi. Having another third wheel would make things inconvenient for her.

After agreeing on a time with everyone, Jiang Qiao started wandering around. As soon as she started, she stumbled upon the black market again. Upon inquiring, she discovered that the price of grain on the black market was skyrocketing, changing every day. There weren't many people selling grain, but there were people selling meat and game.

For those who want to trade, basically no one will trade with them. At this time, what is most important is food and money. What can jewelry do? It can't be used as food or clothing, and it can't be worn. Only a fool would want it.

However, there was one fool who came specifically to take these things – Jiang Qiao. After exchanging the items, she quickly left, then secretly added some things to her basket before leisurely heading to the store.

She still had the tickets, so she bought some liquor and daily necessities for her family before stopping her purchases.

"Jiang Qiao, Jiang Qiao, over here—"

Seeing Meng Yuzhi and the others waving at her, Jiang Qiao quickly went over to rejoin the main group.

"Where did you go? What did you buy?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "I took a stroll around the city and didn't really look around the county town. I just bought whatever came to mind. Have you all finished shopping?"

Meng Yuzhi sighed, "We didn't buy much. Everything requires money and coupons, so we just bought a little for the family. Besides some food, we bought clothes for the children. Let's get on the bus quickly."

"Let's eat something before we go back. We're all starving at this hour."

Meng Yuzhi glanced at the military wives around her, shook her head, and whispered a few words to Jiang Qiao. Some of them were well-off, and some were not. Those who were well-off had already eaten, while those who were not well-off could only go back hungry.

Jiang Qiao had originally wanted to find a place to eat something, but now that she had spent a bit too long in the black market, her mealtime had been delayed.

With so many people on the bus, she felt embarrassed to eat. Whom to offer food to and who not to offer it to was a delicate matter; she figured she might as well eat at home.

As they rode the bumpy truck back home, the military wives chatted about the things they had bought, followed by a few exclamations of surprise and laughter.

Jiang Qiao sat quietly in the corner, holding her basket. It was freezing cold, and she didn't want to talk. If she opened her mouth, the wind would blow in. She was also hungry, and she wasn't in the mood to pay attention to what others were buying.

She didn't say anything, but people were paying attention. After all, she was the brigade commander's daughter, so they had to take care of her child.

"Jiang Qiao, have you bought everything?"

Jiang Qiao nodded, and then someone asked her what she had bought. She couldn't help but answer, "I bought some meat, bones, and eggs."

Upon hearing that eggs were for sale, these people were dumbfounded. "Where are you selling them? We didn't know about this place; we haven't seen any eggs for sale."

In the dead of winter, the chickens here have stopped laying eggs long ago. Where did this girl buy them? How come they didn't know?

"I happened to run into someone selling it at the entrance of the bookstore—"

Everyone was deflated. "If we had known this would happen, we would have gone to the bookstore with you. Did you buy any books?"

Jiang Qiao nodded, then hunched her shoulders and leaned against the partition. Even though she was wearing a lot of clothes, she still felt cold. She just didn't know where these women got so much to say and were so enthusiastic.