As soon as the old lady saw Xiao Jiu arrive, she glared at her son. Before Tao Changyi could respond, she was already slurring her words as she comforted Xiao Jiu.

When Xiao Jiu saw how anxious the old lady was, she felt sorry for her and quickly stopped crying to comfort her.

"Grandma, look at you, look at you. How could you let yourself get like this while I was away? How can I get angry with you like this? How can you chase after me and scold me? Honestly, if there's something good to eat, just eat it. Why are you so reluctant to spend this and that? Are you saving it for Grandpa or for us to eat? Look at my grandpa, that old man is more obedient than you. Now he's lying here, shouldn't he listen to us and eat and drink what he wants?"

Xiao Jiu's tone was light and cheerful. Although her voice had a noticeable tremor, she was able to control herself and not lose her composure.

While trying to make the old lady happy, he held the old man's hand and repeatedly gave him instructions.

"Dad, you go to work. I'll take care of things here. Sister, you've both worked so hard for so long, go home and get some rest. I'll have to trouble you to come over again tomorrow night."

Tao Changyi was surprised, "I thought you wouldn't even go to school if you knew your grandma was like this!"

"How could that be? My grandma's biggest wish is for me to go to school. She's been talking about it for years. Now that I've skipped a grade and entered the second year of junior high, she's overjoyed. If I don't go to school, my grandma will be the first to hold a grudge against me. I can't let my grandma be angry, so I have to study hard."

Cuihua and Cuiju breathed a sigh of relief. "We prepared a whole bunch of advice for you, but now it's all good. We don't need to say anything. You figure it out yourself, and that's better than anything else."

After everyone left, and after feeding Grandma and putting her to sleep, Xiao Jiu told the nurse what was going on and went downstairs alone.

She had consulted the doctor about her grandmother's condition in detail and reviewed her medical records; her condition was not considered mild.

Cold weather already makes people more susceptible to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, especially the elderly. In addition, we are currently in a period of famine. Even if they are well cared for, they will not be able to absorb nutrients well. Once a person is bedridden, it is as if they have already lost half of their life.

She was heartbroken, especially after her beloved grandmother had passed away. The emotions she had been suppressing since school finally broke down in the gazebo downstairs from the hospital, and she burst into tears.

As she was crying, she heard footsteps and instinctively looked up. A tall, slender figure walked towards her in the darkness, and it seemed that someone else was following behind him.

As they got closer, they heard a familiar voice: "See, I knew she must have run off somewhere to cry!"

Xiao Jiu's eyes were still filled with tears. Hearing Tao An's voice, she subconsciously stood up: "Little... Brother?"

She recognized Tao An's figure; he wasn't that tall at all. So who was this tall person?

When she squinted to look, a pair of warm, large hands landed on her forehead.

"What, it's only been a short time since we last met, and you don't recognize me?"

Hearing the familiar yet unfamiliar voice, she frowned.

It wasn't until he emerged from the shadows and stood in front of Xiaojiu that she rubbed her eyes and stared in disbelief.

"Brother Yue? Why are you back at this time? Shouldn't you be flying planes in the Northeast? Why does your voice sound so awful? Didn't you go through puberty a long time ago?"

"Well, there were some problems with the background check, so I went back to my hometown and stopped by to visit. I didn't expect that Grandma Tao had an accident. We went to the ward just now and found that you weren't there, so we guessed that you must have been hiding and crying. As for your voice, it's a little injured and inflamed, but it's nothing serious."

As she spoke, she turned back to Tao An and instructed, "Xiao An, you go and keep watch in the ward first. I'll talk to this girl."

That hoarse voice, now pretending to be mature as he tries to comfort her, is somewhat laughable.

Although it was dark and his features were not clearly visible, his posture was noticeably more upright than before, indicating that his daily training at the military academy had been very effective.

"Brother Yue, you seem to have grown quite a bit taller. How about it? You can fly a plane now, right? Didn't you pass the background check a long time ago? Why are there problems now?"

“It’s because Xing’s performance was too outstanding that he aroused jealousy. They investigated my hometown, my good-for-nothing father and stepmother. Fortunately, although they are not good people, they have not done anything illegal or disorderly. Investigating my brother was the first step, and the second step was me, so I also came back. Now everything is fine.”

Zhou Yue is already a sophomore in the first semester. He went to visit Xing Gege's family last year and didn't come back. He's back this year, does that mean he won't come back either?

Zhou Yue ruffled her hair: "Well, your brother Xing is now the captain of the Special Forces in C Province. It's very difficult for him to get leave to visit his family, so I was planning to go there this year. I originally wanted to come back and see him, but I didn't expect Grandma Tao to..."

Zhou Yue, born in 1942, is eight years older than Xiao Jiu. He is exactly eighteen years old this year and is now a proper young man.

He was wearing an old military overcoat, a Type 55 winter uniform cotton cap, a towel around his neck, and even thick cotton gloves on his hands. No wonder he came back from Northeast China; he was dressed very warmly.

She smelled medicine on him, and when she lifted his scarf, she saw that his chin and entire throat were wrapped in gauze. She wondered, "Is it a plaster?"

"Well, we pilots aren't allowed to have any surgical scars, so we've opted for conservative treatment. Damaged vocal cords aren't a big problem,"

"Then hurry up and wrap it around yourself, don't get cold." I helped him wrap the scarf around his neck, and when I got closer, I noticed that he had even grown a small mustache.

Xiao Jiu smiled and said, "My brother Yue has grown up a lot. Look, he even has a mustache and a pimple here. How is he adjusting to military school? How's my older brother? Do you guys have time to meet?"

Zhou Yue is studying at Harbin Military Engineering Institute, Tao Zui at Harbin Institute of Technology, and Tao Ran at Beijing Institute of Technology in the capital, where he is also studying to fly airplanes. Both of them will be key talents cultivated by the country in the future.

"No, my older brother is a researcher, which is different from me who is in special training every day. Even though we live in the same place, we have no contact at all. My brother and I can only apply for leave to visit each other during the Chinese New Year. We rarely write letters to each other at other times."

This guy wholeheartedly agrees. They're all straight men; their letters are so dry and tasteless, barely a word.

I don't know how many times my own mother has complained about me. I'm not attached to home at all. I come back, but I have to leave again after only a few days. Luckily, they still have to go to work. Otherwise, they would not be able to bear the separation if they stayed at home every day.

Zhou Yue's current appearance is somewhat rough and immature, not exactly handsome, but because he has undergone special national training, his physique is undoubtedly excellent. Xiao Jiu's attention was diverted by him, and her mood was finally not so depressed.

"I heard you're already in the second year of junior high? Wow, that's amazing! You're better than all of us. When it comes to self-study, all of us combined can't match you. We used to be unable to persuade you no matter what we said, but how did you suddenly decide to go to school on your own? And you've given us such a big surprise right away. You're only ten years old this year, right? Starting junior high at ten is two or three years earlier than most people!"

"My grandma pressured me, she always felt I was wasting my time at home, so I started studying. I want to take the high school entrance exam this year, and the final exams are coming up soon, right? I've already applied to the school, I'll take both the second and third year exams, as long as I can rank in the top 30 of the grade, they'll let me advance to the third year."

Zhou Yue grinned, "Ten years old and taking the high school entrance exam? What are you trying to do?"

“Go to high school and take the college entrance exam. You've seen my grandma's situation. If I can get into college while she's still alive, she'll be so happy. For her sake, I must get into college as soon as possible.”

Zhou Yue was touched by his little girl's filial piety. Considering that the two of them had a good relationship since childhood, he was not surprised where her current enthusiasm came from.

"Then what will you study? I remember you said before that you wanted to be a doctor like your fifth sister?"

Before Xiao Jiu could answer, Zhou Yue suddenly leaned forward and asked with great interest.

"Actually, I think you could consider becoming a military doctor. Look, so many of our family members are in the military. If you become a military doctor, it'll be easier to find a partner, right? Maybe you can even introduce some people to your older sisters in the future!"

Xiao Jiu looked speechless. "Big brother, I'm only ten years old. If my own brother knew about this when I was ten, he would definitely beat you up! What's so good about being a military doctor? Serving a bunch of grown men? If you go to the grassroots level, life will be tough, and you'll feel like a lamb among wolves. I don't want to go. Also, if my sisters want to find partners, they can find someone without me introducing them. Most of you soldiers come from poor backgrounds and have a lot of people to support. Why would my sister marry one of you? Besides, what's so good about marrying one of you soldiers? You're never home all year round. It's better to live alone!"

Zhou Yue stared wide-eyed at Xiao Jiu's unabashed吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online criticism/roasting), "My goodness, how do you know so much at only ten years old?"

“There are military wives in our village. They stay at home to take care of their in-laws and children. They are bullied by this person or that person all day long. They can’t play any role as husbands. They even have to give birth by themselves. We all see it. Moreover, their husbands’ allowances basically never reach them. They are all controlled by their in-laws. They have to be subservient to others when raising children. One person’s allowance supports a whole family, including their sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Ugh, it’s so frustrating to think about. If my sister were to marry such a so-called soldier, she would rather not marry at all!”

Zhou Yue was speechless. "Then does that mean my brother and I will never be able to find partners?"

Xiao Jiu rolled her eyes at him. "Xing Ge is so outstanding, how could he not find someone? As for you, you're only eighteen, and you're already thinking about getting married?"

Zhou Yue blushed. "Isn't this something that was bound to happen sooner or later? It's always good to think about it in advance."

This topic couldn't be continued, so he quickly changed the subject, "So what do you want to learn?"