Before leaving, Lin Cuiping held Jiang Qiao's hand and repeatedly told her to come to her house to play.

“Your brother Song knows the place, have him take you there. Junqiang, remember, take your little sister there to play.”

Qian Bicheng patted his brother on the shoulder and said, "Old Song, go report for duty tomorrow. The sooner you go, the sooner you can get a house. Then you can bring your brother and sister-in-law over, and your family will be reunited."

Speaking of this, Song Zhi was extremely reluctant: "I really don't want to take off this military uniform."

Gu Zhengfeng put his arm around his brother's shoulder and said, "So what? Take off this uniform and put on another one. Even though the colors are different, we're still half soldiers. We're all serving the people, so it's the same wherever we go."

After packing everything up, Jiang Qiao went to Song Zhi's house to help. She packed everything that needed to be packed, except for the bedding that the father and son needed.

"After you finish eating, come to my house. I'll take Uncle there tomorrow."

Song Zhi looked around the room, somewhat reluctant to leave. "Sigh, I've grown attached to this place after living here for so long. If you're feeling peckish, you can go to your parents' place for a nice meal. Now that I'm leaving, I don't know how my colleagues at work are doing. We'll be far apart in the future, and it won't be convenient for us to meet up."

Jiang Qiao sighed, "All good things must come to an end. This parting is for a better reunion next time. Uncle, work hard, and I'll come to see you next time you come."

Jiang Qiao's mature words amused Song Zhi, who was feeling sentimental.

"Sure, your uncle will treat you to the best restaurant in the city. However, your brother Junqiang will have to stay at your house for a while. I might not be able to get a house right away. I'll have him go over there once I do."

"You'd better teach him to drive properly during this time, kid. Learn properly and don't embarrass him."

After getting ready, and with nothing else to do, Jiang Qiao took Song Zhi and his son to their driving lesson. They were leaving tomorrow, so they still had time today. Speaking of which, learning to drive really isn't difficult.

Besides, this place is flat and you rarely see vehicles. You can't say you can drive with your eyes closed and it won't be a problem, but that's pretty much the situation.

Young people learn quickly, and by the time it was almost dark, Song Zhicai had learned most of it and was at least able to drive the car back.

"Alright, you've all mastered this. All that's left is practice. Tomorrow, we'll take you to your workplace to report for duty."

With nothing to do, Jiang Qiao thought she'd go into the city and see if there were any good things she could bring back.

When Gu Zhengfeng told his parents that evening, they agreed without hesitation. He trusted his daughter to drive, but Wen Jingwan disagreed.

"Can the city compare to the countryside? The kids can drive fine in the countryside, but it might not be the same in the city. How about I go with them? I haven't taken a vacation yet, so this time, I'll take the kids to the city for a look around."

"If my mother can go, that would be wonderful." Jiang Qiao stared at Wen Jingwan with her big, clear eyes. "Mom, can you drive? You don't trust me to drive, and you can't drive either, so what should we do?"

Wen Jingwan flicked her daughter's forehead. "You've finally gotten to the point. If I didn't know how, I wouldn't dare ride in your car, would I?"

Jiang Qiao looked at her mother in surprise, "You can?"

Wen Jingwan retorted, "Why can't I learn? You learned to drive so quickly, you must be like me. Your mother was just as good at it when she was a child."

Jiang Qiao glanced at her father with a teasing look. Gu Zhengfeng scratched his head and grinned at his daughter, "Your mother's family is better off than ours. If she doesn't learn, she'll be letting down her family's resources."

Jiang Qiao was dumbfounded, and then another question came to mind: she still didn't know what the situation was like at her maternal grandmother's house.

When her daughter asked, Wen Jingwan nodded in satisfaction. That's more like it. She thought the child only wanted to go to her grandfather's house. She remembered to ask her maternal grandparents. It was worth the big gift her father prepared for the child back then.

“Your maternal grandfather’s family used to be in business. We have a car, and all three of us siblings can drive it.”

You have two uncles, the eldest and the youngest. I am the second oldest. When you were born, your maternal grandfather gave you a big gift, saying that he would save it for your dowry.

The box your dad took out contained two property deeds in our names. As for our belongings, they're all kept in that house. I've only been there once; your dad handled everything, from packing to storage. If you want to see them, you'll have to ask him.

Jiang Qiao then asked about her maternal grandparents' situation. "The family is doing well right now. Your maternal grandparents are still alive. It's just that the business has been merged with a public-private partnership, so they don't have much to do. Your uncles are both working. The old couple stay at home, tending to their flowers and plants and looking after their grandson."

Jiang Qiao wasn't particularly interested in the things her grandfather gave her; she had enough in her own space for her to use for the rest of her life.

She was worried. She had just had a landlord grandfather, and now a capitalist grandfather had suddenly appeared.

Seeing his daughter lower her head, Gu Zhengfeng was puzzled. He lifted her little head and teased her with a smile, "What's wrong? Not satisfied with what your maternal grandfather gave you? Be content. Your maternal grandfather treats you so well."

Jiang Qiao sighed inwardly. Why hadn't she thought of her mother's surname, Wen, before? She was so rich; she was most likely from the Wen family she knew.

"That's not how it is. I'm just wondering, how come my grandpa is so generous? Mom, where do you live?"

Upon hearing the place name Wen Jingwan mentioned, she understood immediately. The Wen family was a well-known and wealthy merchant family.

Gu Zhengfeng was not fooled by his daughter's little expressions.

"Tell me honestly, what exactly happened?"

He couldn't see the anxiety in his daughter's eyes.

Jiang Qiao sighed, "Can I say that my grandfather didn't give me enough? Rather than have it taken away, it's better to give it all to me. After all, I'm his granddaughter. I can pay them back when they run out of money."

Gu Zhengfeng turned his daughter's head, making her look directly at him, "Speak properly, what exactly happened?"

Jiang Qiao sighed, "Do I need to explain? Don't you know what happened to my grandfather back then?"

My grandfather said that back then, everything in our house was looted and confiscated. Those people even dug up the ground three feet deep, afraid he would hide anything. If my grandfather went through all that, how could my maternal grandfather possibly run away?

Wen Jingwan hesitated for a moment, her tone not very certain, "I don't think so. Your grandfather donated a lot of supplies to our troops back in the day for the War of Resistance."

Jiang Qiao pushed Wen Jingwan and said, "Mom, hurry up and write a letter back to tell my grandfather to hide all the valuables. Don't hide them at home. My grandfather's house has been confiscated, and he's still living in the cowshed."

Seeing that Wen Jingwan didn't move, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but pull her out of bed.

"Mom, hurry up and let Grandpa prepare early and store more food. Haven't you seen how bad things are outside? There's no hope for the autumn harvest."

Wen Jingwan gave a wry smile. "You child, why do you believe everything you hear? Your grandparents are on government-supplied food; they have a supply."

Jiang Qiao was really anxious. Not for any other reason than the generous gift the old man had given her, she couldn't just abandon him.