Wen Jingwan insisted, so Jiang Qiao and his father stopped saying anything.

"Sis, sis, look what gift I brought you!"

Seeing her son run in, Wen Jingwan shook her head helplessly. "You know, this little brother of yours, he prepared a wedding gift for you, but he kept it a secret from his mother. He just won't let me see it. I want to see what kind of gift our Shitou prepared for his sister."

Gu Zhengfeng smiled and picked up his son, placing him on the kang (a heated brick bed). "Shitou, show this to your sister."

Shi Tou opened the package and handed it to Jiang Qiao with a look of delight, saying, "Sister, look, this is what I prepared for you—"

Jiang Qiao looked at the thing in her brother's hand in surprise, took it and saw that it was amber, and there was something inside. It was a spider catching an insect and got trapped inside.

"This is something nice, a stone. Where did it come from?"

The little girl proudly stuck out her neck and said, "I found it. I found it when I went to the river with my dad. As soon as I saw it, I knew you would like it. Sister, it's for you."

Jiang Qiao smiled and patted her younger brother's head. "Thank you for the gift, Shi Tou. I won't stand on ceremony. I'll accept it. But I also have a gift for you. Come on, let me show you—"

For the rest of the time, Shi Tou admired his gift, while Jiang Qiao took the time to wash up and eat.

Qiao Jie and Ma Liu took this opportunity to tell Jiang Qiao about the gifts they had received during this time.

"It's all listed, take a look—"

Jiang Qiao glanced at them and recognized them all; they were mostly people she was close to, or had connections with their fathers.

"Alright, I'll keep this. When I return the favor later, I'll know what to expect."

Grandpa Qiao, tell everyone who comes to eat that we don't accept gifts. A meal and someone acting as a witness are enough.

Qiao Jie nodded. "Everything has been discussed and agreed upon, so don't worry."

Jiang Qiao then asked if the orphans had found jobs and if the restaurant had reopened.

"It's open, it's open! Master Hou personally selected the locations. There are two locations, one by the roadside and another in the county town. This way, the children can find jobs, and the villagers can also earn some pocket money."

Jiang Qiao nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. Where are my Aunt Jian and Master Hou? I haven't seen them."

Ma Liu waved his hand and said, "These two guys went to help out at the restaurant. They usually won't be back until the afternoon. Don't worry about them; they won't go hungry."

Jiang Qiao ate lunch a little late. Since she didn't have anything to do, she went next door with Ma Liu and the others to sort through the gifts. They couldn't just leave them piled up like that, so they quickly took a look and distributed or hid what needed to be distributed.

Upon seeing these gifts, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but remark, "I really didn't expect these people to know my hobbies—"

Ma Liu stood by, beaming with delight. "This is great! It's not even worth as much as a washbasin now, but who knows what it will be like in the future? I've seen all of these things, and they're basically all rare treasures. You should hide them away later, so that when people come, it won't be too late to clean them up."

As for the other things, Jiang Qiao kept some, distributed some to the family, and had Qiao Jie and Ma Liu take the rest to the children.

After looking at it for a while, Wen Jingwan suddenly asked, "What did the Ning family take out?"

Speaking of this, Qiao Jie sighed, "Ning Zhengtao told me that the old couple had been ripped off by their daughter and son over the years, and they didn't have much of a good thing or much money. They took out a painting as a betrothal gift."

I looked at it, but I didn't recognize the signature on the painting. Liu Zi told me to keep it; it might be worth something someday.

Wen Jingwan didn't care if the Ning family gave them anything valuable; her daughter really didn't need it. She just felt that the Ning family's attitude seemed a bit off.

Logically, when a child gets married, the grandparents should be enthusiastic about making arrangements. However, to her surprise, all she heard was that Ning Hao himself had made the arrangements.

Qiao Jie sighed, "Zhu Lin gave me a pair of jade bracelets in private. She said that Ning Hao's mother took her to buy them back then. These things are kept in her bedroom in Jiangqiao County. Your Uncle Liu said that these things are quite nice."

Jiang Qiao put his arm around Wen Jingwan's shoulder and said, "Mom, we don't need their stuff. The one who calls the shots in the Ning family is Ning Hao's grandfather. Sometimes, I don't know what's going on in that old man's mind. He's a bit slow on the uptake."

Wen Jingwan sighed, "To put it bluntly, it's the two of you who are living this life. That old man seemed pretty good before, and he made all the promises. How come he changed his mind in the blink of an eye?"

"Forget it, let's not talk about them anymore. Anyway, I won't be living with them anymore. If you want, you can visit them more often; if you don't, you can stay far away."

Gu Zhengfeng turned around and asked Ma Liu for information. When he mentioned the Ning family, Ma Liu became unhappy.

“That Ning Zhengtao is a stubborn person. Ning Hao’s relationship with his father is already like this, why did he still invite his eldest son to the wedding? Isn’t that just making things more complicated?”

He had a good idea: to ease the tension between his son and grandson. But why didn't he consider how Haozi felt? Was the boy really that willing to change careers?

Putting aside Qiao'er's relationship, just looking at her father's side, with such a father around, the child's future is naturally affected.

Moreover, Haozi's mother died indirectly at the hands of his "good" father. Who wouldn't feel good about that? It's because of this that the grandfather and grandson are at an impasse.

Gu Zhengfeng raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? What do you mean? Does Ning Zhengtao want Jiang Qiao and the other woman to take care of their eldest son in his old age?"

Ma Liu sneered, "Dream on. Haozi can take care of these old couple, but he won't take care of his worthless father. Besides, he has so many sisters, he's not the only boy. Why should he?"

"Just pretend you don't know anything about this. We'll talk about it again once we get to the city. Let's get the two children married first; everything else is secondary."

Ning Hao arrived in the evening, and Gu Zhengfeng had a special discussion with his prospective son-in-law about the matter.

Even if Jiang Qiao wasn't there, she could probably guess the general situation. Her father was afraid that she would be mistreated after marrying into the Ning family. This old man Ning and Ning Hao's father were her nominal elders in the future. If these people wanted to cause trouble, her life would be disrupted.

No parent wants their child to have a difficult life; a harmonious and happy life is the best outcome.

Gu Zhengfeng wanted his prospective son-in-law to show some respect, and Ning Hao wasn't stupid; he naturally understood this.

"Uncle, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. If that day ever comes and he needs me, his son, to take care of him, I can. But I can only find someone else to take care of him. He can forget about relying on me unless he can bring my mother back."