Wang Datou sighed with emotion as he held the bag of dried fish. He truly didn't understand why Jiang Qiao wanted to help him; in fact, he already owed her a lot.

Qiao Jie didn't expect his granddaughter to come back so soon. The old man and Gu Hanting were still nagging each other, saying that the child had finally gone to visit and wouldn't be able to come back until the start of the school term.

So when Jiang Qiao appeared at the gate of the courtyard, not only Qiao Jie, but even Gu Zhengkai was taken aback.

"Qiao'er, when did you get back?"

Seeing her uncle at home made Jiang Qiao quite happy. "Uncle, why aren't you at work?"

A hint of unease flashed across Gu Zhengkai's face. "Your uncle hardly gets any rest throughout the year, and you won't even let me take a holiday during the New Year to spend time with my family?"

Qiao Jie snorted, "Hey boss, stop making excuses in front of the child, okay? Qiao'er isn't an outsider."

"Girl, come here, Grandpa has something to tell you. Your uncle was forced into marriage by his boss."

Jiang Qiao looked at Gu Zhengkai in surprise, "Forced marriage? What do you mean? Your boss has taken a liking to you?"

Gu Zhengkai gave a wry smile and patted Jiang Qiao's head. "You silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about? Our leader is a man."

It was Qiao Jie who spoke up: "Your uncle has always been single. The organization took care of him and asked him to come back and find a wife."

Jiang Qiao immediately became displeased. "Isn't this ridiculous? What does my uncle's personal matter have to do with their organization? I'm telling you, uncle, do you have that idea? If so, you should hurry up and find someone while you're still young. It won't be so easy to find someone when you get older."

If not, then quickly explain it to your supervisor to avoid any misunderstandings or speculation.

Gu Zhengkai sighed, "Girl, you're oversimplifying things. They said that only when the rear is stable can we better devote our energy to our work."

Jiang Qiao snorted coldly, "What kind of bullshit logic is this? According to his logic, all young people who don't get married are just pretending to be enthusiastic?"

Uncle, just tell me honestly, do you really have the heart to do this or not? If you do, we'll go find someone; if not, I'll talk to your boss for you. What kind of person is this? During the ten years you were wrongly accused, I didn't see anyone taking care of or showing concern for your family. What's this? You've just gotten back to work, and you're already causing trouble again?

Gu Zhengkai sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, I don't want to find someone. You don't know about my relationship with your aunt, but your grandfather and the others know. No one can compare to your aunt, and no one can replace her in my heart."

I feel I've failed this family, failed my children, and failed them as both a son and a father. All I want to do in my remaining years is work hard, take good care of my children, my father, and my nephew. I have no other ambitions.

Qiao Jie sighed from the side, "Qiao'er, your grandfather and I have both tried to persuade your uncle, but he's made up his mind. Why don't you try persuading him instead?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and shook her head. "Why should I advise him? It's rare to find someone so devoted in this world. Do you think my uncle has never thought about anything? Uncle?"

Gu Zhengkai had indescribable feelings for this niece; she was so considerate, and his words and actions couldn't be viewed through the lens of how one would treat a child.

His niece's words struck a chord with him: "Exactly! Can't I mourn my deceased wife in this way? Who says that if you lose your wife, you have to remarry?"

Jiang Qiao shrugged and said, "That's not settled then. Let's go sit on the kang (heated brick bed) and talk."

The old man quickly poured hot tea for his granddaughter. "Girl, have you eaten yet?"

Jiang Qiao nodded. "Grandpa Qiao, where are my grandpas and the others?"

"Sigh, this old man won't listen to advice. He took your brother and younger brother back to the cowshed to practice writing. They'll come back later when they have dinner."

Since her grandfather and the others were alright, Jiang Qiao turned to Gu Zhengkai and continued to press him about the origin of the matter.

That person wouldn't tell his uncle such a thing for no reason. Gu Zhengkai felt upset whenever he talked about it.

“Someone introduced me to someone before, but I didn’t agree. Later, I found out that it was that person’s sister-in-law, who was also divorced and had two children. I even suspected that his conversation with me this time was because of his sister-in-law.”

To be honest, it's not that I look down on divorce, but that woman herself has problems, and the conditions she proposed are ridiculous. She wanted me to sever ties with my family. Who is she? Let alone that I have no interest in dating her, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't want someone like that..."

Speaking of this, Gu Zhengkai got angry. His father and his wife had waited and suffered for him, but who were they waiting for? Wasn't it all for him? His wife couldn't hold on, and his father was left alone at home with his two grandsons, all alone and helpless. Who did she think she was, telling him to sever ties with his father? What kind of person was she?

Jiang Qiao glanced at him and realized that her uncle was very aggrieved. Thinking about it, it made sense. Who was this other person? Putting aside whether her uncle had any feelings for her, he directly told Gu Zhengkai to sever ties with the family. What kind of person was he?

Just as Jiang Qiao finished asking about the leader's situation, someone outside called out, "Zhengkai, are you home?"

Jiang Qiao peered out the window and saw Jiang Weihan standing at the door with two women.

Gu Zhengkai's expression immediately turned grim. "Why are those two here?"

Jiang Qiao turned to look at Gu Zhengkai and asked with a hint of doubt, "Uncle, don't tell me that one of those two is a matchmaker and the other is the woman who has her eye on you?"

Gu Zhengkai nodded reluctantly with a bitter face. Qiao Jie was about to get up, but Jiang Qiao pressed him down.

"Grandpa Qiao, just lie on the kang and don't move. When the time comes, just cooperate with us. Uncle, let's go downstairs. I also want to see this shameless thing."

Gu Zhengkai had previously said that the woman had a problem. Jiang Qiao knew without even thinking what the problem was, what her uncle was too embarrassed to say.

That wretched woman actually showed up at the door. If she doesn't give her a proper talking-to, she'll be letting her grandfather down.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw two women walking inside. Jiang Weihan quickly said, "Zhengkai, these two women said they were looking for you. That's why I came over to ask. Luckily you were here, otherwise I would have had to go to the cowshed. Since everyone's here, I'll be going now."

"Grandpa Jiang, won't you come in and sit down?"

The old man waved his hand, "No, no, I have to go to work. Little girl, come visit us sometime, your grandma Jiang and the others miss you."

The old man wasn't lying at all; he really missed Jiang Qiao. They hadn't seen her for quite some time. They heard she went to visit her second son and his wife. During the New Year, his brother was heartbroken. Although his son and daughter-in-law weren't around, the old man was very proud of his granddaughter.

"What's going on with you two?"