In Jiang Qiao's eyes, the three sons of the Wang family were bullies who preyed on the weak. Because the other children living in the same courtyard all had older brothers and sisters, these three didn't dare to mess with them at all, and they only dared to show off their power to her.

Zhao Jianjun looked Jiang Qiao up and down with a puzzled expression, and didn't forget to praise her, "Jiang Qiao, when did you become so amazing? You should have been like this a long time ago."

Du Chunming disagreed, saying, "That's because Qiao'er was pushed to her limit. Honest people are even more frightening when they get angry. Besides, those three cowards only dare to bully Jiang Qiao. If it were someone else, they would have already attacked them at their doorstep. They're just spoiling their bad habits."

It's good that you know how to fight back. Keep it up in the future. But if you can't win, run away quickly, and we'll avenge you later.

Zhao Jianjun snorted, "Chunming, do you think you can beat those three by yourself?"

Du Chunming was taken aback for a moment. "But we still have you, right? Are we two brothers afraid of them?"

Zhao Jianjun rolled his eyes at him and said, "I thought you'd gotten more capable. If the two of us were to fight for real, I might not be able to win."

Du Chunming retorted, "So what? Your brother, my brother, my sister—aren't they afraid of any of them?"

Speaking of this, Zhao Jianjun laughed and said, "That's right. But remember to tell me if there's anything good to eat, don't eat it all by yourself."

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Jianjun asked Jiang Qiao how he had taken down those three. He was genuinely curious, as he admitted that he couldn't possibly take on three people by himself.

To his question, Jiang Qiao could only offer a wry smile. "It's nothing. My uncle taught me a little martial arts before, just in case I got bullied. I picked it up again recently, so—"

Du Chunming suddenly realized, "So that's why, Qiao'er, you really don't plan to continue your studies?"

Jiang Qiao sighed, "You all know what our family situation is like. My grandma is sick, and we're out of money. What are we going to do?"

"That's all I can do for now. We'll talk about it again when things get better. Chunming, can I borrow your books from now on? Even if I don't go to school anymore, I can still study at home."

"Okay, no problem. I'll tutor you after school from now on."

Zhao Jianjun scoffed, "Chunming, do you really think your book, which looks brand new, will work?"

Du Chunming scratched his head. "Then what should we do? You tutor Qiao'er. Aren't you a better student than me? You come—"

Jiang Qiao saw Zhao Jianjun's expression and quickly waved her hand, "Alright, stop arguing. I don't need anyone's books. Just let me read the books you've used. I can read them anyway. Let's go. I need to go back and cook for my grandma."

The first thing Jiang Qiao did upon returning was to patch up the window with two holes using paper from her spatial storage. The old lady was too lazy to even open her eyes now, so she probably didn't care about this at all.

Hurry up and start a fire to heat the kang (a heated brick bed). Not to mention the old lady, even she herself felt uncomfortable. After all, she had caught a cold, and it takes time to recover.

"Grandma, Grandma, get up and drink some water. I'll give you cupping therapy in a bit."

The old lady didn't say anything else. She reached out and touched Jiang Qiao's forehead, then sighed and opened her eyes. "Qiao'er, go borrow some money from your third aunt. Get some medicine for yourself. Your head is still burning up."

She knows her granddaughter is sick, but her body is failing her. If her granddaughter falls ill again, this family will truly be finished.

Jiang Qiao smiled and shook her head. "Grandma, I'm fine. I'll get through this. Look how much better I am than yesterday. I'll drink more water and I'll be fine. Here, drink some water. I'll cook and make medicine for you in a bit."

This time, she used water from the well in her space. The water tank at home was empty, and she was too lazy to fetch water from outside on such a cold day. Besides, she had tasted it herself, and the water in her space was sweet and refreshing. As for any other effects, she hadn't noticed any. The taste was even better than spring water, so she figured it would definitely be fine to drink it.

The old lady was really thirsty all day, so she took Jiang Qiao's hand, tilted her head back, and gulped it all down without even having time to savor the unusual taste of the water.

Jiang Qiao had secretly mixed in some medicine, and she was glad that the old lady hadn't noticed. As long as she could drink it, the illness would gradually improve.

I helped the old woman lie down, lifted her clothes, and applied cupping therapy using a teacup.

The old lady had her doubts, and Jiang Qiao herself certainly would, after all, her father was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

"What's so difficult about this? I saw Auntie pull them out before. You'll learn it after just a few glances. You'll see in a moment if you don't believe me."

There were cupping sets in the space, but Jiang Qiao couldn't take them out, so she just used a small teacup from home. It worked just as well; she was an expert at it, and it was no problem for her.

She let the old lady continue lying down, then went downstairs to cook. Looking at the few handfuls of cornmeal at the bottom of the jar, she sighed, took some more from her spatial storage, and put it in the jar. Anyway, the old lady didn't know what was going on, so she just let it slide for now and dealt with the rest later.

However, she didn't skimp on herself. There were still meat buns and other food in her space. After secretly eating and drinking her fill in the kitchen, she quickly brought the old lady some thin pancakes, porridge, and pickled vegetables.

Whether it was the cupping that worked or the medicine she had taken, the old lady actually got up on her own because she could smell the aroma of food.

Jiang Qiao was even happier to see the old lady like this; the fact that she could eat on her own meant that her illness was improving.

The old lady was really hungry. In those days, she could only barely drink porridge. This time, the pancakes tasted really sweet to her.

"Qiao'er, why aren't you eating? One pancake is enough for me. Are we running out of food at home?"

Jiang Qiao wouldn't tell the old lady the truth. Her condition had just started to improve, and if she told the truth, wouldn't that make the old lady even more upset?

"Grandma, there's still some grain left. I've already eaten it all. You can eat slowly."

The old lady sighed, "Grandma's illness has drained all our money. It's all my fault. I'm half-dead, and I'm just a burden to you—"

Jiang Qiao glared at Wang Dahua and said, "Grandma, what are you saying? You're my only family. What will I do if you leave?"

If anyone bullies me, there's no one to stand up for me. It's only because you're here that I can slowly grow up. Otherwise, how would a little girl like me survive?

Wang Dahua sighed and lovingly patted Jiang Qiao's head. "My granddaughter has grown up and can speak like an adult now. Grandma is just worried that if I leave, you'll be all alone. It's okay, Grandma won't die anytime soon. I will definitely watch our Qiao'er grow up."

Seeing the old lady eating with relish, Jiang Qiao also shared her plans.

Upon hearing this, Wang Dahua immediately shook her head. "That won't do. It's not safe for a young girl like you to go up the mountain to chop firewood. Let's just make do like this for now, and we'll buy honeycomb briquettes to burn later when Grandma is better."

After saying that, she noticed her granddaughter's clothes and remembered something. "Qiao'er, it's so cold, why are you wearing a padded jacket? Where's your cotton-padded coat? You have a fever, why are you wearing so little?"

Jiang Qiao lowered her head. In her memory, the little girl sold her cotton-padded coat to raise more money for the old lady's medicine.