After seeing Cui Chang'an and his companion off, the old man looked at the certificate Jiang Qiao had received from left to right, liking it no matter how he looked at it. He thought to himself, "My granddaughter is really something. She went out to visit her uncle and even brought back a certificate for the family."

The old man wanted to put the award certificate on the wall, but Jiang Qiao stopped him.

"No, let's keep this to ourselves. You keep thinking about why I received this award; it's better to be safe than sorry—"

Qiao Jie suddenly realized what had happened, slapped his forehead, and said with a look of regret, "How could I be so confused? This really shouldn't have been made public. Those people are not easy to mess with. Aren't there still some who slipped through the net? We'd better keep it quiet."

"Girl, put this away. Sigh, it's such a shame that such a prestigious honor is now being treated with such disrespect that people are afraid to display it."

Jiang Qiao put the things away, looking indifferent. "What's there to be upset about? There's still twenty yuan left, Grandpa Qiao. Keep this safe. Buy whatever you like. Don't go around treating people anymore. You're not young anymore. You should enjoy your retirement at home."

The old man sighed, "I've been wandering the streets all my life. It's really not my style to sit down suddenly like this. Take it slow. I'll see if you're sick. I know my own body."

Jiang Qiao packed up the wild vegetables, intending to send some to Song Lianfeng and the Ning family. Unexpectedly, she saw Song Lianfeng returning with food as soon as she stepped out the door. Seeing Jiang Qiao, she finally found someone to talk to.

He pulled Jiang Qiao towards home, "Qiao'er, where have you been these days? I haven't seen you at all. Your grandfather said you went out to visit relatives. What relatives do you two have?"

Jiang Qiao sighed, "What kind of relatives could they be? I just helped someone visit a relative."

Just as I turned the corner, I saw Li Meilan come out of the house. "Hey, Jiang Qiao, I saw two policemen at your house this morning. What happened? Did you do something wrong?"

Seeing Li Meilan's gloating expression, Jiang Qiao found it irritating no matter how she looked at her. "Auntie, are you really hoping something bad will happen to me? We don't have any grudges between our families, do we?"

Li Meilan sensed something was off about those words and glanced at Jiang Qiao sideways. "You child, how could you think like that? Do you think your aunt is that kind of person? We live in the same courtyard. I'm just concerned about you. You're just a kid, and I'm worried you might get into trouble. Are you alright?"

Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Auntie. It's nothing serious. It's just a friend coming to visit. We'll be going now."

When Li Meilan saw the fresh and tender wild vegetables in Jiang Qiao's bowl, her eyes lit up. What they were eating now was neither porridge nor vegetables, and seeing this fresh and tender stuff made her mouth water.

"Qiao'er, where did you get this?"

Jiang Qiao shrugged. "Up in the mountain? Auntie can go pick some too. While it's still warm, you can gather as much as you can. Isn't your hometown in the countryside? Hurry back and get some. I'm off—"

Before Li Meilan could even speak, Jiang Qiao pulled Song Lianfeng away quickly.

"Hmph, this person is too lazy to even lift a muscle. Qiao'er, are there still these things by the edge of the woods? We picked almost all of them last time we went?"

Jiang Qiao sighed, "That's right, I picked these in the old forest."

When Song Lianfeng got home, she couldn't wait to share the secret with Jiang Qiao.

"Huh? She got beaten up, and my grandma even knelt down to him?"

Speaking of this, Song Lianfeng felt upset. "Tell me, what kind of mess is this? Putting aside what your grandma did before, which wasn't very decent, let's just talk about what's happening now. You know how much your grandma has worried about her grandson, trying so hard to bring all the children in the family into the family."

"If Jiang Mei wasn't willing, she should have told him earlier. Why did she secretly date other men? Now look what happened, she got caught red-handed. Tsk tsk, it's so embarrassing. Your grandma, on the other hand, is quite the pragmatist; she actually knelt down and begged him, tears streaming down her face, to not let this get out."

"Did that person agree?"

Song Lianfeng sighed, "To be honest, Jiang Mei's ex-boyfriend was really kind. He didn't say anything and broke off the engagement. As for Jiang Mei's job, he said he had already given her a favor, and that your grandma should pay for it. Wang Dahua compensated him with some money, and that's how the matter was settled. Sigh, now that I think about it, it would have been better not to acknowledge this family back. It's too upsetting."

Jiang Qiao was actually quite curious about which man Jiang Mei had gotten involved with.

Speaking of this, Song Lianfeng shook her head. "The Jiang family is keeping this a secret. I saw that man from afar. He's much younger than the previous one. I don't know what he does for a living. Not only did I see him, but Li Meilan saw him too. The engagement has been called off. I guess good things are coming up over there."

Jiang Qiao snorted, "I didn't expect Jiang Mei to have such good luck with men. As for how it will turn out, we'll see. There's still a long way to go."

Song Lianfeng nodded. "I think this is also a big question mark. Jiang Mei isn't ugly, but she's not outstanding either. At this time, she doesn't even have a city household registration. Putting aside everything else, just finding food will be a problem in the future."

Jiang Qiao smiled and poured out the wild vegetables. "It's none of their business anymore, Auntie. I'll be going now. Come visit me sometime."

When Jiang Qiao delivered the gifts to the Ning family elders, she noticed that the old lady's expression was not quite right. Before she left, she thought the old lady looked quite well, but after not seeing her for a while, the old lady seemed to have become much more listless.

"Grandma Ning, are you alright?"

Zhu Lin sighed inwardly. Even if something was wrong, talking to this child wouldn't make a difference.

Ning Zhengtao spoke up, saying, "Your Grandma Ning did a good deed, but she ended up in trouble herself."

"What's wrong? Is someone causing trouble for my Grandma Ning?"

Ning Zhengtao gave a wry smile. "It's not really a problem. She just said a few fair words for someone, but they were said at an inappropriate time. Oh well, it's already like this, so it's not a big deal."

Little girl, write a letter to Ning Hao when you have time. You've been away from home for a while, and my grandson wrote to ask what happened to you. If you have nothing to do, try to contact Ning Hao more often.

Your brother Ning suddenly went to a new place; he's probably homesick. You and he get along well, so try to comfort him more often.

Jiang Qiao didn't understand what had happened to the old lady either. She offered a few words of advice and then came back with the basin.

After telling Qiao Jie about the Ning family's situation, the old man knew a thing or two about it.

"Sigh, I've heard a bit about your Grandma Ning's situation. It seems like she was labeled a rightist. I don't really understand what that is. She just goes to report her thoughts whenever she has free time. It doesn't seem like a big deal right now."

Jiang Qiao's heart skipped a beat after hearing this. She couldn't say for sure what the matter was; it could be a big deal or a small deal. She was worried that someone might bring up this old story later.

"So that's why Grandma Ning told me before I left that I should take care of Grandpa Ning as much as possible in the future. So it was because of this?"