Xing Zhaozhao quickly helped the person up: "Hey, be careful."
The little guy looked up and saw a familiar face again—Xiao Qinshi.
"Hey, it's you?" Xing Zhaozhao exclaimed, feigning surprise.
Xiao Qin frowned as he looked at her, his face full of confusion.
"Does your sister know Xiaoshi?" Fu Lan asked curiously.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "Once when I went to the scrap yard, he happened to run out of there and bumped into me."
Little Qin Shi kept a straight face and still couldn't remember.
"Oh, I see." Fu Lan responded, glancing at the tattered sack in Xiao Qinshi's hand, and asked, "Is Xiaoshi going out to collect recyclables again?"
"Mm." Xiao Qin nodded, and said nothing more.
"Going to collect recyclables?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
"Hmm." Fu Lan patted Qin Shi's little head with affection and said, "Grandpa and Grandma, the old principal, are not in good health and can't do much work. If it weren't for the fact that they could go out to collect recyclables to earn some money when they were little, I don't know how they would survive."
Although their family would occasionally lend a hand, these days no one is rich, and the amount of help they can provide is limited. Even if there were other families who were able to help, they wouldn't dare to get involved because of the old principal's grandmother's status.
Xing Zhaozhao felt a pang of anxiety as she looked at Qin Shi's stubborn little face.
I never imagined that Mr. Qin had such a difficult childhood and suffered so much hardship.
"The former principal? Is it the former principal of Lanyuan Middle School?" Xing Zhaozhao pretended not to know and asked deliberately.
"Mm." Fu Lan nodded.
“My wife graduated from Lanyuan Middle School, and the person she respects most is Principal Qin. She used to talk about him often.” Xing Zhaozhao made up an excuse about Gao Mingcheng and asked Xiao Qin, “Could you take me to see him?”
Little Qin looked at Xing Zhaozhao with a tense expression, but his face was full of vigilance.
Xing Zhaozhao was puzzled and turned to ask Fu Lan, "What's wrong?"
Fu Lan smiled bitterly and said in a low voice, "The ones who caused the old principal's family such a miserable situation were his former students from school."
"..." Xing Zhaozhao paused for a moment, then looked at Xiao Qin and smiled gently, "My husband is no longer a student. He is now serving in the army and is on the front lines."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qin's eyes immediately lit up.
"Can you take me to meet your grandparents?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
Xiao Qin stared at Xing Zhaozhao for a while, considered it carefully, and then nodded.
"Then I'll leave it to you." Xing Zhaozhao smiled and extended her hand to him.
Xiao Qin hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and gently grasped it.
Xiao Qinshi pulled Xing Zhaozhao into Dacheng Street, and Fu Lan followed along.
“Oh right, didn’t you come to see Sister Wan? This is it.” Fu Lan pointed to a house and said, “My house is over there, and Xiao Shi’s house is right next to mine.”
"Let's go see the old principal first," Xing Zhaozhao said, leading Xiao Qin Shi straight past Lin Wan's house without even glancing at her.
The former headmaster's family didn't live here before; they only moved here recently. Compared to their previous comfortable life, they are now practically destitute.
The yard was piled with scraps that Xiao Qin had collected from outside, sorted by type and stacked quite neatly.
The room was dark, with the old woman's painful groans and the old man's coughs coming from time to time.
Seemingly hearing the commotion outside, the old headmaster, his back hunched, came out of the room: "Who's outside?"
The old principal, with his gray hair, looked haggard and walked with a shaky gait.
“It’s me, Grandpa.” Xiao Qinshi immediately ran over and helped the old principal to sit down on a stool.
"Didn't you just go out? Why are you back so soon?" The old principal affectionately patted his grandson's head and looked at Fu Lan and Xing Zhaozhao, who had come to the house with Xiao Qinshi.
He recognized Fu Lan: "Lan'er is here too."
Upon seeing Xing Zhaozhao, he didn't recognize her: "This lady is..."
"Hello, former principal, my name is Xing Zhaozhao." Xing Zhaozhao stepped forward with a smile and introduced herself to the former principal. "My husband used to be your student. You may not remember him. His name is Gao Mingcheng."
"Gao Mingcheng?" The old principal was surprised to remember him. "I remember him. He was a very smart kid, but it's been many years. How is he now?"
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "I'm in the army now, still on the front lines."
The old principal looked pleased: "He's a good kid."
As he spoke, he looked at Xing Zhaozhao with surprise: "But why did you suddenly come here?"
“I originally came to see my cousin, Lin Wan. She lives on the same street as you, right next to Fu Lan’s house,” Xing Zhaozhao said. “When I got to the street corner, I ran into Xiao Qin Shi. I heard he’s your grandson, so I stopped by to see you.”
The old principal nodded in understanding, and then asked Xiao Qin to bring over a stool: "Sit down for a while."
"Okay," Xing Zhaozhao said, but her eyes couldn't help but glance into the house. "I heard the old lady isn't feeling well. May I go in and see her?"
“Of course you can.” The old headmaster said, getting up and leading her inside. “It’s a bit dark in the room, be careful.”
“Okay.” Xing Zhaozhao followed cautiously behind the old principal.
People who have been bedridden for a long time often have an unpleasant smell in their rooms if they are not careful. However, Grandma Qin's room was kept very clean and tidy, and not only did it not have any odor, but it also had a faint fragrance.
As soon as Xing Zhaozhao entered, she couldn't help but sniff: "It smells so good."
The old headmaster chuckled, “Madam is very clean. If she lies down for a long time, the room will always smell, so I mixed her favorite fragrance.”
Xing Zhaozhao looked at the old principal in surprise: "You can also blend perfumes?"
The old principal nodded: "It was just a little hobby from my youth."
Xing Zhaozhao's heart skipped a beat.
As they spoke, the two had already reached Old Mrs. Qin's bedside.
Although Grandma Qin was bedridden, she was dressed neatly and properly, with not a single hair out of place, which showed how meticulous the person taking care of her was.
Unfortunately, no matter how carefully she was cared for, she couldn't hide the fact that Old Mrs. Qin's health was deteriorating day by day, and she was so thin that she was almost skin and bones.
Hearing footsteps, Old Mrs. Qin wearily opened her eyes. Her gaze swept over the old headmaster before quickly settling on Xing Zhaozhao: "And this is..."
Before the old principal could speak, Xing Zhaozhao smiled and gently grasped the old lady Qin's thin hand: "Hello, madam, my name is Xing Zhaozhao, and my husband used to be the old principal's student."
Upon hearing the word "student," a flicker of panic crossed Grandma Qin's eyes, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
Xing Zhaozhao gripped it tightly, preventing her from succeeding, and continued with a smile, "His name is Gao Mingcheng, and he's in the army now."
Grandma Qin's initial tension visibly disappeared: "Gao Mingcheng? That name sounds familiar."
“I should have mentioned this to you before. This kid is good; he's still on the front lines,” the old principal said.
"That's indeed a good child." Grandma Qin nodded and said, warmly inviting Xing Zhaozhao, "Sit down, don't stand."
"Yes," Xing Zhaozhao replied with a smile, and sat down beside Old Mrs. Qin's bed.
"The old lady has become so thin; she looks quite ill. Hasn't she gone to the hospital to see a doctor?" she asked with concern.
Grandma Qin had come to terms with it, a faint smile on her face. She said, "I'm getting old, so let it be. There's no need to waste that money." The family was already broke.
The old headmaster looked helplessly at Old Mrs. Qin with heartache: "This is an old ailment of hers, going to the hospital won't help. She used to be able to think clearly, but now..."
"..." Xing Zhaozhao was silent for a moment, then took out a wad of cash from her pocket and stuffed it into the old principal's hand.
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