If Jiang Qiao knew what Fu Lin was thinking, she would definitely scoff. This was nothing. Not to mention that she had studied medicine in her previous life, when she was a special agent, she had seen far more erotic scenes than just deer penis.

Jiang Qiao sat in the chair holding the wad of money, feeling somewhat helpless. This small body, in this era, made her afraid to act too freely.

Even though there were so many things in her space that could be exchanged for money, she didn't dare to take them and could only rely on her own labor to earn money, which made her feel quite helpless.

Thinking about the relatives she had just recognized and all the mess she had made, she felt a headache coming on. She didn't know if recognizing relatives was the right thing to do or the wrong thing.

However, thinking about the attitude of Gu Hanting and his two cousins ​​towards her, she felt very warm. With the care and love of her family, perhaps she and Grandpa Qiao would not be too lonely during the New Year in the future.

Thinking of her parents in another city reminded her of her relatives from her previous life, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She realized she truly had a cursed fate, dying before she was even married, without even having the chance to properly care for her parents, watching helplessly as her father passed away before her very eyes. She could still feel that sense of powerlessness even now.

It's a rare privilege that her parents are still alive in this life. She hopes they can live a long life, so that this body can at least experience the warmth and happiness of family. She wants to experience what Xiao Jiang Qiao didn't get to enjoy.

Thinking of the little girl who died young, Jiang Qiao remained silent for a long time.

Unable to figure it out, he could only shake his head helplessly. He went to the kitchen to boil some eggs and was just about to cook some meat when he heard Li Meilan's voice outside.

"Jiang Qiao, Jiang Qiao, are you home?"

Jiang Qiao could only hurriedly pack everything away. This Li Meilan was greedy and always wanted to take advantage of others; she really didn't want to deal with such a person anymore.

"What's wrong, Auntie? Is there anything you need? I'm busy with something."

Li Meilan walked over happily. "Jiang Qiao, there's a meeting in a bit. One of your family members has to come with you. Come on, let's go together. Perfect timing, we can have lunch at the cafeteria. What's there to do at home all by yourself? By the way, where's your grandpa? Why isn't he back yet?"

Looking at Li Meilan's bright, darting eyes, if Jiang Qiao couldn't guess her little scheme, she would have wasted all those years of her life.

"Auntie, don't worry, my grandpa is doing well. He's in the countryside treating patients and collecting medicinal herbs on the side. You can see the herbs drying on our roof and at the door."

Li Meilan wasn't really concerned about where Qiao Jie was going; she was wondering if the old man also didn't like living with Jiang Qiao anymore. If that was the case, she could take him home.

"Oh my, I'm a little envious of you. Look at all these mushrooms you've dried. When are you going to finish them all? How about I help you eat some?"

Jiang Qiao glanced at Li Meilan sideways and said, "Auntie, are you kidding me? Your family doesn't even have a pot anymore, what are you going to cook with?"

Besides, you're just sitting at home all day with nothing to do. Why don't you go pick mushrooms in the mountains? You have no idea how hard it is for my grandpa and me to pick these mushrooms; we even have to cook for ourselves. Don't try to take advantage of us poor folks."

Jiang Qiao was not tactful at all towards Li Meilan. This woman was shameless, with a lot of fat on her body, and she was always gossiping about this and that. She didn't do much work.

Li Meilan secretly rolled her eyes at Jiang Qiao. This brat was always going against her and didn't act like a child at all.

"Oh dear, Auntie is just worried about getting bugs."

Jiang Qiao turned around and first gathered up all the things that had been drying. "Then there's nothing I can do. Let's go."

Jiang Qiao really didn't want Li Meilan to stay at their house any longer. This woman was cunning and might have her eye on something again. She definitely couldn't give it to her, but she was too lazy to bother with her constant arguing.

Actually, she would prefer to take matters into her own hands, as that would solve the problem once and for all. However, hitting someone is a mistake, and even if the person is a bad person, you can't hit them. That's what gives her a headache.

As everyone made their way to the meeting place, Jiang Qiao learned that it was a mobilization meeting. Steelmaking had just begun, and they needed to boost everyone's enthusiasm.

Jiang Qiao felt that she must be an oddball among these people. She felt that she had absolutely no interest in any of this. She knew exactly how it would end, but she couldn't tell the truth, which made her feel terrible.

She had only intended to listen and be done with it, but to her surprise, the person who came to give them a pep talk was the same man she had seen last time. She remembered his name as Sha Junchi, but this man hadn't used that name earlier. Could it be—

Thinking of this, Jiang Qiao's eyes were fixed on the person on the stage who was talking non-stop. This kind of life was what she had always dreamed of in her previous life: peace and tranquility. She didn't want to live that kind of life of constant fear and anxiety, where she had to keep her head in her pocket every day.

Song Lianfeng moved closer to Jiang Qiao and noticed that the little girl's eyes were strange. She nudged Jiang Qiao and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Qiao snapped out of her daze and asked in a low voice, "Third Aunt, who is that person? Why is he holding a meeting for us?"

Song Lianfeng suddenly realized and said, "Him? I heard he's a staff member of the county committee. Leaders from above have come down to give him a pep talk. What, you know him?"

Jiang Qiao shook her head. "Where am I supposed to get to know him? I just think he's too good at talking nonsense. I have things to do at home, and I need to go see my grandfather later. When will he finish talking?"

Song Lianfeng sighed, "Who knows? I'm anxious too. I took leave to come back, and it's not good to be delayed for too long. If you're in a hurry, you can go back first. You're just a child, you won't understand anything. I'll talk to your grandfather later."

Jiang Qiao nodded, turned around and left quietly. Everyone's attention was drawn to the man on the stage, and no one paid attention to Jiang Qiao, a child.

Back home, Jiang Qiao sat in a chair and remained silent for a while. She was conflicted. They had been colleagues who had gone through thick and thin together and fought side by side. Now she didn't know anything about the other party's background. Was it because he had defected and changed his name, or was it for some other reason?

She really didn't want it to be the latter; if these people made any trouble, everyone around would probably suffer.

She sighed and hurried to cook the meat. She really didn't have time to investigate, and given her current status, she couldn't possibly investigate anyway, which was what was truly infuriating.

Just as she finished tidying up, she saw Zhu Lin walking dejectedly into the yard.

"Grandma Ning, what's wrong?"

When Zhu Lin saw Jiang Qiao, she smiled weakly and said, "It's nothing, Qiao'er. If Grandma isn't home in the future, you and your Grandpa Qiao can take good care of your Grandpa Ning."

Jiang Qiao stared blankly at the old lady, not understanding what she meant.

"What, are you going on a long trip?"

Zhu Lin forced a smile. "I guess they have this plan, but it's not finalized yet. You go ahead with your work, I'm going back to my room."