Xing Zhaozhao smiled and patted Xiao Qinshi's head: "Did you hear that?"
"Hmm." Xiao Qin nodded, then turned his gaze to Gao Mingcheng, the only stranger among them all.
"This is your uncle. He just came back from the army a few days ago. I brought him here to see your grandparents," Xing Zhaozhao introduced him with a smile.
"I know, I've already heard Sister Xiaolan mention it before." Xiao Qin said, looking at Gao Mingcheng and obediently calling him, "Uncle."
Gao Mingcheng responded with an "Mmm" and slipped over a red envelope that he had prepared beforehand.
Xiao Qin accepted it without hesitation: "Thank you, Uncle."
The two little ones couldn't contain themselves any longer and rushed towards Xiao Qinshi: "Brother Xiaoshi..."
Little Qin's face was flushed with excitement as he took the two boys out to play.
The old principal and Mrs. Qin came out to greet them as soon as they heard the voice.
"Godfather, Godmother," Xing Zhaozhao called out with a smile.
Grandma Qin happily grabbed Xing Zhaozhao's hand, looked at Gao Mingcheng beside her, and said, "A couple of days ago, Xiaolan moved back to live here. When I heard that Mingcheng was back, I guessed that you would come over sometime, but the old man didn't believe me."
As she spoke, she turned and glared at the old principal following behind her: "See? I wasn't wrong."
The old headmaster nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I was wrong."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Gao Mingcheng.
Gao Mingcheng naturally knew the old principal and immediately greeted him respectfully, "Old Principal."
The old headmaster raised an eyebrow slightly: "What did you call me?"
Gao Mingcheng was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what he meant and changed his address to "godfather." After saying that, he turned to look at Old Madam Qin and called her "godmother."
"Hmm." Grandma Qin nodded in satisfaction and invited them inside to sit down. "Come in and sit down, Xiao Lan too, don't be shy."
“Okay, Grandma Qin,” Fu Lan replied with a smile.
Grandma Qin picked up little Hongling and said, "Come here, little Hongling, let your godmother hold you."
"Grandma," Little Hongling called out, obediently pressing her chubby little face against hers.
Grandma Qin was overjoyed as she pressed her handkerchief against the little girl's soft face. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket, opened it to reveal a small gold bracelet, picked it up, and slipped it onto the little girl's chubby little hand: "Good girl, your godmother is giving you a little bracelet to wear."
Xing Zhaozhao wanted to decline, saying, "No need, godmother, we have some at home, but it's not suitable for her right now, so we didn't give it to her."
Grandma Qin gave Xing Zhaozhao a reproachful look: "I know you don't lack anything, but what's yours is yours, and this is my gift to the child. Can they be the same?"
Xing Zhaozhao immediately knew not to say anything more.
Grandma Qin gently bounced the little girl in her arms. She was well-fed, heavy, and had a good weight to her body.
"Alas, what a pity. After searching for so long, we only found this one, and it's not even heavy enough." Old Mrs. Qin said with regret, "When we have the chance to bring back the things from under the villa, your godmother will make you a gold necklace to wear."
When Xing Zhaozhao heard Old Mrs. Qin mention the small villa, her heart tightened, and her eyes flickered. She'd almost forgotten about that. If the old lady knew that their hidden treasures had already been dug up, she'd be devastated. She wondered when Liu Feiyue and his gang had made their move; she needed to find a chance to go and check on them as soon as possible.
As Xing Zhaozhao pondered, she began to make plans in her mind.
After taking a sip of the water Fu Lan poured for her, Xing Zhaozhao cleared her throat and asked casually, "By the way, godmother, where is our little villa again?"
"Tonghua Lane, that's where all the villas in our Lanyuan Town are built," Grandma Qin said casually, without suspecting anything.
Gao Mingcheng sensed something was wrong and gave Xing Zhaozhao a deep look.
Xing Zhaozhao, preoccupied with the matter of the villa, was completely unaware of what was going on and continued, "There are indeed quite a few villas over there. What's ours number again?"
“Number 6,” said Old Mrs. Qin.
"It seems like they've all been assigned over there," Xing Zhaozhao casually changed the subject.
"Yes, that little villa was my mother's dowry. I hope it won't be ruined." Old Mrs. Qin sighed regretfully, then quickly waved her hand and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about these sad things."
"You both have to stay for dinner today, don't rush to leave," Grandma Qin said earnestly, looking at Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng.
Since it was a rare opportunity for her to come all this way, Xing Zhaozhao smiled and nodded, "Okay."
The old headmaster suddenly stood up: "I didn't know you were coming today, so I didn't prepare anything. I'll go buy some groceries. It's so late, I don't know if I can find any decent pork."
Xing Zhaozhao's eyes flashed, and she stood up, saying, "I'll go." Since she was already here, she thought she might as well take this opportunity to make a trip to Tonghua Lane. Anyway, it wasn't too far from here, and she didn't have any children to hold her back, so she could go and come back quickly.
The old headmaster shook his head: "How can that be? You are guests today, how can we let guests go out to buy groceries?"
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and said, "But I'm a daughter too. Isn't it only right that I help my parents with some things?"
After saying that, without waiting for the old principal and Mrs. Qin to say anything, she immediately turned around and ran away: "It's settled then."
By the time the old principal and Mrs. Qin realized what was happening and tried to stop her, she had already vanished.
Grandma Qin was dumbfounded: "This child, really, how can he run so fast?"
Gao Mingcheng suddenly stood up as well.
Grandma Qin looked over in surprise: "What's wrong, Mingcheng?"
"I'm going to find Zhaozhao. I have all the money and tickets. She has nothing on her, how can she buy anything?" Gao Mingcheng said, and quickly disappeared. His movements were naturally faster than Xing Zhaozhao's, after all, he was a soldier.
The old principal and Mrs. Qin looked at each other in bewilderment: "..." What are these two doing?
"Forget it, let them go," the old headmaster said helplessly after a while. Anyway, even if they wanted to chase after them now, it would be too late; the two had long since disappeared.
When Gao Mingcheng chased after her, Xing Zhaozhao was nowhere to be seen.
He looked around, thought about the approximate location of Tonghua Lane, and headed straight there. Sure enough, after walking a short distance, he saw Xing Zhaozhao's figure in the distance, with a man following her furtively not far behind.
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