Yu Yao wanted to ask, but considering that it was inappropriate to discuss such matters at the dinner table, she didn't ask and instead urged everyone to eat.

The housewarming banquet was very lavish, featuring chicken, duck, and braised pork, and the guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

After the meal, the sisters-in-law helped wash the dishes and clean up the tables and chairs before saying goodbye and leaving one by one.

In the end, only Wu Wanying and Wu Huaiqing, Qi Feng and Mo Ruqing remained.

With everyone sitting in the courtyard, Yu Yao finally had a chance to ask Wu Wanying what happened afterward.

Wu Wanying recalled, "I searched everywhere but couldn't find it. Just when I was at my wit's end, I ran into Xiao Mo, who was out playing, and that's when I found the way."

Although it was too late when she finally found Yu Yao's grandmother, she and Cui both remembered the kindness of being informed.

Yu Yao listened quietly, and as Wu Wanying spoke, she gradually pieced together what happened next.

Wu Wanying and Mo Ruqing's mother, Xu Ruoling, were originally just colleagues and neighbors with a good relationship, but they became good friends because of this incident, and the two families often visited each other.

Later, Cui Zhizhou's family moved to the island. During one of her visits, Xu Ruoling met a junior manager at the island's steel plant. The two later got married, and Xu Ruoling moved to the island with Mo Ruqing.

Unfortunately, Xu Ruoling was unlucky; her second husband passed away unexpectedly. Fortunately, her third husband was quite good.

Xu Ruoling married the chief of staff of the military region. Back then, the chief of staff wanted to marry a woman who had been married three times and had a child. This caused quite a stir in the family compound. All the women in the family compound knew about this.

The rest of the story involved Wu Wanying and Cui Zhizhou contacting her, so Wu Wanying didn't mention it much.

Mo Ruqing looked at Yu Yao, her face full of joy: "Comrade Yu, actually, the first time I saw you, I felt a sense of familiarity, but I didn't think about it at the time. I never imagined that you were Aunt Wu's daughter. Back then..."

As she spoke, Mo Ruqing burst into tears, choking out, "I've felt so guilty all these years. If I had been a little older and more sensible back then, and had stopped Grandma, would you not have gotten lost? Thankfully, you were found."

Whether it was because she knew Mo Ruqing was two-faced or because she had seen too many terrible acting skills in later generations, Yu Yao always felt that her crying was a bit fake.

The incident of her getting lost back then was full of suspicious points. Originally, this matter had nothing to do with Mo Ruqing, but she insisted on saying it, which set off alarm bells in Mo Ruqing's mind.

Could it be that there was more to the story than meets the eye back then?

However, this is just her speculation, and there is no evidence.

Qi Feng, standing to the side, patted her shoulder to comfort her: "This is not your fault. You were only a few years old then and didn't know anything."

Wu Wanying also said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. If you hadn't told me that Yu Yao's maternal grandmother had taken Yu Yao away, I wouldn't know how to find her."

At this point, she looked at Yu Yao and smiled, saying, "Fortunately, all of that is in the past, and our family is finally reunited."

“Aunt Wu is right. I’ve been blaming myself. Let’s not talk about this anymore.” Mo Ruqing wiped away her tears and said, “My mom told me yesterday that she was going to visit Aunt Wu and Uncle Cui. If she knew that Aunt Wu had found Zhizhi, she would be so happy.”

Thinking of Xu Ruoling, Wu Wanying said gently to Yu Yao, "Your Aunt Xu is also a pitiful person. Her first husband was unlucky, her second husband died unexpectedly, and her third marriage was better. Your Aunt Xu has helped you a lot over the years. Next time you have the chance, I will take you to visit your Aunt Xu's home."

Mo Ruqing walked up to Yu Yao, took Yu Yao's hand, and said gently, "You and Aunt Wu are very welcome to visit."

Yu Yao wasn't used to being so close to unfamiliar people, so she subtly withdrew her hand and politely said, "Thank you for the invitation, Comrade Mo. We will definitely visit you when we have the chance."

When she takes the initiative to get close and be friendly, I feel uncomfortable all over and just can't get close to her.

Mo Ruqing probably sensed her lukewarm attitude and that she wasn't very attentive.

Yu Yao felt this was the best approach; after all, they weren't exactly compatible, so there was no need to force it just to save face.

It was getting late, and since Yu Yao had to go to work the next day, the group left first.

Before leaving, Wu Wanying pulled Yu Yao to the room and said, "This is my and your dad's food ration book. Take it to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things to eat."

Yu Yao didn't expect them to give her this.

In those days, urban residents and workers all had a notebook like this when buying non-staple foods, which recorded how many people were in a family and how much non-staple food they could buy each month.

When you go to the supply and marketing cooperative, in addition to coupons and money, you also need to use a food ration book. Once you run out of your ration book, you can't buy any more food.

For example, regarding meat, the island has specialized farms that raise pigs, so pork supplies are relatively abundant compared to other places. Military personnel and their families have a monthly purchase quota of two jin (1 kg).

Lu Ze is a regimental-level officer, and he receives a subsidy of 1.5 jin per month. Together, the two of them can buy 5.5 jin of meat per month.

Of course, having such a quota doesn't mean you can buy that much meat every month. In those days, resources were relatively scarce, and the supply and marketing cooperatives sold a limited amount of pork each day; once it was sold out, that was it.

For this housewarming banquet, Yu Yao used almost two jin (1 kg) of meat, and she had to queue up at five in the morning to buy it.

Wu Wanying offered her the supplementary food booklet, but Yu Yao refused it no matter what. Afraid that Wu Wanying wouldn't believe her, Yu Yao even took out her own and Lu Ze's supplementary food booklets to show her.

“Lu Ze and I have enough non-staple food every month. Dad is still recovering from his injury and needs to eat better. You are not in good health either, so we will save it for you.”

Wu Wanying insisted on giving it: "This is a small token of our appreciation from your father and me. The cabin and the nursery provide monthly benefits. Your father was injured, and the cabin specially approved a batch of supplements. We have enough for us, so don't worry."

Wu Huaiqing also chimed in, "Sister, just accept it. I can vouch for it; your aunt and uncle really do have enough each month." He would make up for any shortfall if needed.

Yu Yao saw the expectation in Wu Wanying's eyes and knew they wanted to make it up to her. She reached out and took the food booklet. "Thank you, Mom and Dad!"

"Oh! My Zhizhi!" Wu Wanying cried tears of joy when she heard her call her "Mom".

Zhizhi, Mom will definitely protect you from now on and will never let anyone hurt you again.

Before going to bed that night, Yu Yao organized her tickets as usual, arranging them according to their expiration dates so she wouldn't forget them.

Only after finishing my work did I have time to look through Wu Wanying and Cui Zhizhou's food ration book.

Cui Zhizhou is a scientific research expert. The country provides preferential subsidies and material supplies to such top talents. In addition to having more meat, eggs, aquatic products and cooking oil than ordinary residents, he can also purchase some scarce or uncommon materials.

These scarce and sought-after items didn't require coupons, but special purchase receipts were needed. The records for non-staple foods were kept in a booklet.

As Yu Yao watched, she suddenly became excited.