"Everyone was hoping to improve their family's situation, but now, things have gotten even worse."

Seeing that the sadness on Xu Dasheng's face didn't seem fake, Su Qingci gritted her teeth and said.

"Actually, before I pulled you up, I also retrieved some other items from the sea."

"There was also a safe inside, which contained a lot of Taiwanese dollars, almost half full."

Xu Dasheng's pupils contracted, and he quickly understood what Su Qingci meant.

He immediately knelt down before Su Qingci, saying, "On behalf of Da Niu, on behalf of the brothers who went to sea with us, and on behalf of their families, we thank you for saving our lives. You are a good person, and good fortune will surely be rewarded. Heaven is watching. You are a living Bodhisattva..."

Those living in poverty can better empathize with that despair, and Su Changzhi and Si Gui also looked at Su Qingci with hopeful expressions.

Su Qingci helped Xu Dasheng up. "You and Sigui should go out and inquire these next two days about who the sailors are on board the Ghana ship, and also find out about their families."

"I left the safe on the cruise ship over at Mount Utau. I'll go and bring the money down later to see how much there is."

Si Gui and Xu Dasheng were both excited. "Okay, okay, let's go out and inquire now."

Su Qingci nodded, "Let's go on my bicycle!"

The two of them didn't dare to delay for a moment and immediately turned around and left. A moment's delay could mean the loss of a life.

After the two left, Su Qingci asked Su Changzhi in a low voice.

"Uncle, have you discussed going home with Aunt and the others?"

Su Changzhi smiled and said, "It's all agreed. They understand me and are willing to go back with me."

"We can leave anytime once things are settled here."

As he spoke, Su Changzhi's face showed apprehension again, "I just don't know what the situation will be like at home when I go back. Sixiang and Sijia are still in school, if I go back..."

"Besides, I don't know what the situation is like over there. Is it difficult to find trouble? We don't have any special skills. We can't just sit at home and eat for free, can we?"

"I want to go home and see my mother. I don't want to be a burden to her."

Su Qingci comforted him, "Uncle, we're all family. Why are you being so formal? Besides, Grandpa is mostly responsible for how you got lost. If he hadn't taken good care of you, I guarantee Grandma would have sent him to see Great-Grandfather right then and there."

"Besides, aren't we still here?"

"Just relax and don't think too much. Just wait peacefully to go home and see your grandma."

"Although the situation in China is still somewhat tense, it will improve soon, and the overall situation is not as bad as you think."

Su Qingci is right. The national college entrance examination will be reinstated next year, and small vendors will gradually appear. Then, the great leader will start reform and opening up, and the south will be developed.

The situation will gradually improve. As long as you are willing to work hard and have the courage, making a living will no longer be a difficult task.

Seeing that Su Changzhi was in a better mood, Su Qingci excused herself to go to the cruise ship to get something and said goodbye to him.

"It's so late, aren't you going to eat before you leave?"

Su Qingci shook her head. "I got up late and just had breakfast, so I'm not hungry yet."

Seeing Su Changzhi's dejected expression, Su Qingci said, "Let's have dinner together."

Su Changzhi immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, have dinner at my house tonight, your aunt's cooking is very good."

Su Qingci nodded, "Then I must try it properly."

"Alright, Uncle, I'm leaving now. I'll come back this afternoon."

"Okay, be careful."

When Sixiang and Sijia saw that Su Qingci was leaving, their eyes were full of reluctance, and they followed her out.

"Sister, are you leaving again?"

Su Qingci learned from her casual conversation with Su Changzhi that although he had come to live with them, Liao Fengmei had discussed it with him and only allowed Sigui to take the Liao family name.

The following names, Sixiang and Sijia, both follow Su Changzhi's surname.

Her full name is Su Sixiang, also known as Su Sijia.

Su Qingci smiled and nodded, "I'm going out to take care of some things, I'll be back later."

The little girl's face immediately lit up with a bright smile. "Okay, sister, come back quickly when you're done. I have a gift for you."

Su Qingci feigned curiosity, "What gift?"

Su Sixiang smiled shyly, "It's a secret."

After leaving the Su family, Su Qingci took out a bicycle from the farm and rode it around the coastline, watching the children walking on the beach, dressed in tattered clothes and tanned all over.

A woman, her back bent, carrying a heavy basket, her face etched with the marks of time.

An elderly man, leaning on a cane and looking pained, slowly moved from the doorway.

In this remote coastal town, most residents rely on the sea for survival. Lacking proper fishing tools, they still rely on manual fishing, much like the indigenous people of the past. As a result, many suffer from decompression sickness in their old age.

Su Qingci pushed her bicycle, taking in the local scenery and customs. When it was almost time, she found a secluded spot, and in a flash, she and her bicycle entered the farm.

They opened the safe that had been salvaged from the ship and took out all the Taiwanese dollars inside.

Su Qingci glanced at them and saw that they were all neatly stacked and categorized. There was a pile of 1,000-yuan notes, as well as many 500-yuan and 100-yuan notes, and even one 10,000-yuan note.

I roughly counted them, and they came to be close to 300,000.

Converted to RMB, that's roughly 60,000 yuan.

Su Qingci found a black hiking backpack, put all the money in it, and then took two pieces of cured meat, two sausages, and a free-range chicken from the farm.

Su Changzhi's family was truly destitute. Although they wanted to, putting together a meal tonight was a real challenge for them.

When Su Qingci arrived at Su Changzhi's house, carrying large and small bags, it was not yet five o'clock.

Liao Fengmei looked at Su Qingci's large and small bags and kept nagging.

"Oh my, Qingci, why did you buy so much stuff? How much did this cost?"

"Dazhi, look! They bought so much food..."

Su Changzhi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the dishes Su Qingci had prepared. Although he had invited her to stay for dinner, all he had at home was a basin of oysters that Sixiang and Sijia had just collected from the beach, some dried fish that had been dried before, and six eggs that Liao Fengmei had borrowed from the neighbor's house.

"It's all Qingci's heartfelt gift. Keep it. We'll prepare it tonight and invite Dasheng's family for a get-together. If it weren't for Dasheng looking after Sigui this time, Sigui really wouldn't have been able to wait for Qingci to pick him up. We should thank her properly."

"Okay, okay, I'll go over and talk to Xiaoyu and Aunt Zengliang now, and tell them not to cook dinner tonight, and to come to our house to eat together."

As Liao Fengmei spoke, she walked outside, expressing her sincere gratitude to Xu Dasheng.

Si Gui told them everything when she returned. Several times, Xu Dasheng risked his life to give Si Gui the only chance of survival.

Under those circumstances, Xu Dasheng truly treated Sigui like his own son from the bottom of his heart.