As elderly people, Gu Hanting and his two companions loved this kind of atmosphere the most. Not only them, but even Gu Zhengkai felt the same way. After ten years in prison, he dreamed of this scene: the whole family reunited and eating steaming dumplings.

Seeing this similar scene, his eyes couldn't help but well up with tears. Gu Hanting patted his eldest son on the shoulder when he saw him like this.

“Eat up. This is the only thing to look forward to this year. Let’s have a happy New Year. In a little while, you take the kids out to set off firecrackers. Your Uncle Qiao bought a lot. Let’s get rid of the bad luck and hope for a good omen next year.”

His son had already told him about his granddaughter. Gu Hanting genuinely felt that the children had had a tough year, especially his granddaughter. The things that had happened to her were enough to make even him shudder.

You know, this girl handled such a big thing all by herself without even uttering a word of complaint. He felt both heartache and helplessness. That's the real pain in the old man's heart.

His granddaughter, who belonged to the Gu family, was actually being hunted down. If this had happened in the past, he would never have stood idly by. He would have spent all his wealth to take down the perpetrator.

But things are different now. Everything has to follow the rules. If you don't follow the rules, it's the children who will suffer.

Jiang Qiao's gaze swept over Gu Hanting and Gu Zhengkai. How could she not have noticed the subtle interactions between the father and son? She sighed inwardly. She had indeed worried the old man, but there was nothing she could do. It was easy to be a good person, but to be a good person who could catch bad guys was far too difficult.

"Oh dear, I ate a piece of candy—"

As soon as Jiang Qiao opened her mouth, Ma Liu chimed in, "Oh dear, our Qiao'er will definitely have a sweet and happy year ahead, with everything going smoothly."

"Grandpa Liu, I ate a jujube, so what should I say?"

Ma Liu immediately said, "May next year be prosperous and thriving."

Gu Zhihong took out the money he had earned from eating. "What about this?"

Ma Liu chuckled, "Little guy, you'll be rich next year!"

Gu Zhihong couldn't help but laugh, "Grandpa Liu, it seems I'll have to keep my head down every day, otherwise I won't find any money."

The children's words made the old men laugh heartily. Jiang Qiao patted her little brother's head and said, "I'll give you a big red envelope later. We won't have to walk with our heads down anymore. Let's have a great start."

The meal ended amidst laughter. To be honest, even Jiang Qiao admired Ma Liu's cooking skills; it was truly delicious. Anyway, she had decided to spend this holiday with Ma Liu and learn more from the old man.

After dinner, Gu Zhengkai took the children out to set off firecrackers. Although Jiang Qiao liked the atmosphere, she genuinely disliked the sound. In her previous life, she heard this sound every day and honestly, she didn't find it particularly pleasant.

"Grandpas, come on, let's give out red envelopes. I'm not home before, so this time we can't miss out on these red envelopes."

The three elderly people happily accepted the red envelopes handed over by Jiang Qiao, and Ma Liu couldn't wait to open them.

"Wow, Qiao'er, you're so generous! Grandpa finally got his allowance this year. But I also have a gift for you."

Gu Hanting and Qiao Jie laughed from the side, "It's time to let the girl see it, Qiao'er, you need to be mentally prepared."

Jiang Qiao touched her chin. "What is this? It's so mysterious. Don't tell me it's jewelry or something."

Ma Liu snorted, "Do you need that stuff?"

When Jiang Qiao saw what Ma Liu took out, she was stunned. It wasn't that she hadn't seen this before; Ma Liu had changed houses before. It seemed that the old man had made quite a haul this time, as there were several sheets of paper.

"This...was bought?"

Ma Liu laughed, "It's a replacement. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I have to put in some effort."

The houses are all rented out, and Wu Dong and Qin Junlin are helping to look after them. The rent collected is temporarily being held by them.

Jiang Qiao took the papers and looked at them. "Good heavens, Grandpa Liu, what are you doing here at Grandma Deng's place?"

Ma Liu nodded smugly, "What's impossible about that? As for that house, I left some things with Deng Mei and the others, and there are also some in our compound."

"When you have time, go and tidy it up. I'm not worried about the old soldier's yard. As for the small building, those two old folks aren't much of a fighter, even though Zeng Zhiqiang and the others are helping out, just in case."

Gu Hanting gave a wry smile. "Liu Zi, this gift of yours is too much. I thought it was just a little something to exchange. I didn't expect you to have gotten so many houses."

Ma Liu nodded smugly. "Buying houses and land is the best way to preserve value. It's always been like this. I don't have any other way to make money, so I can only think of more ways to help my daughter."

Anyway, that's what all those high-ranking officials and nobles do, so let's learn from them. Speaking of which, if my family had a little bit of money back then, I wouldn't have ended up in that situation.

"Oh dear, it's tough being broke. It's so much better to have money. While I'm still able to move around, I'll try to get as much as possible for my daughter. After all, I'll be counting on her to take care of me in my old age."

Jiang Qiao rolled her eyes at him. "Grandpa Liu, let me reiterate, even if you don't give me anything, I will definitely take care of you in your old age. We've already agreed on this, so you don't need to worry about it. Whether you are rich or poor is not a matter to me. It's just that we two are destined to be together, isn't that right, Grandpa Qiao?"

Qiao Jie nodded firmly. "That's right."

Gu Hanting nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, old man, our Gu family's children will definitely be taken care of by you. You can put your mind at ease."

Ma Liu smiled and said, "I never thought that the girl wouldn't think about getting old. Since Qiao'er said so, I'll believe her. It was just a joke."

Qiao'er, listen carefully to what I'm about to say—"

Ma Liu's expression became much more serious. Based on his many years of experience in the palace, he analyzed that if this year of famine was over, then other things would likely be the focus. Once the food problem was solved, he could only use his own experience to analyze the remaining issues with everyone.

Gu Hanting nodded in agreement, "Liu Zi, I can rest assured now that you'll stay by the girl's side. With you as her advisor, Qiao'er will have a much smoother future."

"Sigh, you have no idea how tough and difficult this year has been for Qiao'er. I won't even go into it during the New Year. Since that's the case, you should go out less often and stay home with the two of us. The three of us can keep each other company."

Jiang Qiao hadn't expected Ma Liu to be so perceptive. Of course, she also thought his analysis made sense. However, some things still needed time to be verified. At this moment, she truly felt that the saying "It's good to have an elder in the family" was absolutely true.

With Ma Liu's reminder, at least they will be more cautious in their words and actions in the future.