Qiao Jie took some snacks and went out. Gu Hanting helped Jiang Qiao put everything in the kitchen and put it away. Then he handed the money that Wang Datou had given to his granddaughter.

"My God, so many."

Jiang Qiao wasn't unfamiliar with money, but she didn't know how much her coal could sell for, since it hadn't been weighed.

"It's alright. This stuff is expensive to begin with. Even if you have money, there's nowhere to buy it. Here, take it. If they weren't making money, they would have gone out of business long ago."

Jiang Qiao wanted to leave money for Gu Hanting and the other man, but said, "Don't bother. Your Grandpa Qiao and I haven't even spent all our money yet. We have everything we need. Even if we wanted to spend it, we wouldn't have anywhere to spend it. Girl, take out some more wine from your place. It's not enough for us to drink."

Jiang Qiao's disappearance surprised Gu Hanting, but when he saw his granddaughter reappear, the old man had a happy smile on his face.

"Grandpa, I have some foreign wine, do you want some?"

Gu Hanting shook his head. "No need. Just use our sorghum liquor. Go to the west room and pack everything up."

Jiang Qiao obediently went over to take a look, and even she exclaimed in surprise, "Grandpa, where did you get these? There are quite a few!"

Gu Hanting smiled and said, "I traded them with someone else. It's inconvenient for the two of us to carry the big furniture, so we could only get some small pieces. Later, I'll have your Grandpa Qiao take you there, and you can bring the furniture by car."

When it was time to go to sleep, Gu Hanting suddenly remembered who had told him those words. "It was a beggar. I gave him some food years ago, and then when we were chatting, he mentioned it, but he didn't say which mountain it was on."

Qiao Jie sighed, "I went out and talked to those old guys, but none of them knew what else the Japanese had repaired."

Qiao Jie looked at Jiang Qiao with some worry. "Girl, what should we do? If we can't find it, what if the bad guys find it first? Wouldn't the people around us suffer? I remember, during that plague, so many people died, and we couldn't do anything about it."

Not to mention Qiao Jie, even Gu Hanting remembers the plague that the Japanese launched back then; it was terrifying.

“Brother, how about we go back with Qiao’er tomorrow and see if the beggars on the street know about this? After all, those people travel to many places, and they might know things that we don’t.”

Jiang Qiao also thought it was feasible. "Grandpa, I've been sponsoring some little beggars in the city. How about we go back tomorrow? You two can talk to those little beggars and ask them to help us find out more. I'll go find Hou Diankui. Although I don't know much about him, the fact that he's staying here means he still cares about the country. If it's really as I suspect, it's not safe for him to stay here."

Gu Hanting nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, he has a wide circle of friends, so he might know something. You can ask your uncle later and see if he knows anything."

Jiang Qiao shook her head. "If my uncle knew about this, he would have reported it long ago. How could he let this thing continue to harm the people? I'll ask him again later."

As for Gu Zhihong, they could only entrust him to the care of the elderly couple, Jiang Weihan and his wife. The young boy, however, said nonchalantly, "Sister, you can go without worry. I can manage on my own at home. I can cook. I'm old enough to take care of myself. Besides, there's food at home."

Although Gu Zhihong didn't know what his grandfather and sister were going to do in the city, in the young boy's mind, he felt that they were going to do something big. He couldn't help them, but he had to support them.

On the way to the city again, Jiang Qiao observed the surrounding mountains for a long time, wondering if it was possible.

If possible, could it be near that dead woman?

But she also felt it was impossible; with such a commotion, it was highly unlikely that the local people wouldn't know anything about it.

She sighed inwardly. This was a huge problem. She sincerely hoped that the enemy agents might not even know about this place, so it would come down to who could move faster.

After taking the old man home for dinner, Jiang Qiao had him change his clothes and go out carrying a bundle containing some food and water. She had planned to let the old man hang out with these little beggars during the day and come back at night.

When Mengzi saw Jiang Qiao coming over, he was about to talk to her, but when he saw the two elderly people beside her, he was stunned.

"this?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "I've brought two grandfathers for you. You'll be responsible for taking care of and protecting them during the day. Also, if they ask you anything, tell them what you know. If you don't know something, try to ask the other beggars, but be discreet, understand?"

Mengzi nodded. "I know, Qiao'er. Ma Jinwu went to see someone today."

"who?"

“A woman. Do you know where that woman lives? She lives in the staff housing downstairs from your school.”

Jiang Qiao stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "A teacher's family member?"

Mengzi nodded. "Anyway, Er Ya saw it, so it shouldn't be wrong."

Jiang Qiao sighed, wondering how this matter had gotten involved with the teacher's family.

"Do you know what they're talking about?"

Mengzi shook his head. "We didn't talk. The man went first and put something under the stool. Then the woman came later and took the thing. They went first and then last, seemingly unrelated. But if Er Ya hadn't seen the woman take the thing and follow her out, no one would have thought things would turn out this way."

Jiang Qiao, what are your plans?

Jiang Qiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "You guys keep a close eye on things and make sure everyone is safe. I'm going back to discuss this with someone. Er Ya, I'll take you with me first. Also, please take care of the two grandfathers. I'm leaving now."

Jiang Qiao led the little girl to find Song Shutian first. Song Zhi wasn't at work, so she wasn't really sure who was in charge there. Since Song Shutian was in charge of the case, she should just go to him.

"What, you mean there are other people involved?"

Jiang Qiao led Er Ya to sit down, and then explained the whole story: "I had someone keep an eye on Chou Shuixian's brother-in-law just to protect my uncle. Since he dared to scheme against me, I'll have to think about him properly."

But the feedback today seems to suggest I've oversimplified the situation. Do you really think these two people are ordinary citizens who would do something like this?

Song Shutian nodded, "Qiao'er, let us borrow Er Ya for a moment."

Jiang Qiao turned to Er Ya and said, "Er Ya, this uncle is a good person. In a little while, he will take you to identify people. Do you remember what that woman looked like?"

Er Ya nodded. "I remember, Sister Qiao'er. What about me?"

The little girl was a bit nervous, so Jiang Qiao smiled and hugged her. "Er Ya, don't be afraid. After this uncle helps you recognize people, he will take you back to your brother and the others. You can wait there for your sister to come back, okay? You two can chat with Grandpa for a while."

The little girl nodded, and Jiang Qiao stood up. "I still have things to do now. Investigating this matter is too much trouble."

Song Shutian patted Jiang Qiao on the shoulder understandingly, "If it weren't difficult, I wouldn't have entrusted it to you. It seems that it was the right decision to give you this task. Look, it hasn't been long, and you've already brought me a pleasant surprise. You can go and do your job with peace of mind. I'll take care of Er Ya's safety."