When the old principal and Grandma Qin arrived at Xiaogaozhuang, it was already broad daylight, and smoke was rising from every household as they prepared breakfast.
As the two passed by Aunt Hao's house, they ran into Hao Xiuning, who was returning from washing clothes by the river.
"Excuse me, young lady, may I ask you about someone?" Old Mrs. Qin stopped Hao Xiuning, smiling kindly as she asked.
“Please go ahead,” Hao Xiuning said with a smile.
"Do you know where Xing Zhaozhao's house is?" Old Mrs. Qin asked.
"So you're here to find Sister Xing. Go straight this way, out of the village, up the mountain. There's a stone house halfway up the mountain; that's it," Hao Xiuning pointed out the way.
Hearing the commotion inside, Aunt Hao immediately came out: "Who's looking for Zhao Zhao again?"
"You are..." She looked the old principal and Old Mrs. Qin up and down warily.
Uncle Lin caused a scene yesterday. If she didn't run into him, fine. But if she did, she'd better keep a close eye on him and not let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry disturb Zhao Zhao's peace and quiet.
Seeing that Aunt Hao had probably misunderstood something, the old principal quickly explained, "Hello, my surname is Qin. I used to be the principal of the middle school in town. This is my husband. He came to see Xiao Xing about something. My grandson used to come here often. You should have met him. His name is Qin Shi."
Upon hearing Xiao Qinshi's name, Aunt Hao quickly realized who he was and chuckled heartily, "Oh, so you're Xiao Qinshi's grandparents. It's alright then. I'm sorry for misunderstanding you two. Yesterday, Zhao Zhao's uncle suddenly came over and caused a scene at Zhao Zhao's place. I was worried that some shady characters might come looking for her, since there's no man in her house. I was concerned that she might get taken advantage of, so I was keeping an eye on things for her."
The old principal hadn't expected something like this to happen yesterday. He and Old Mrs. Qin exchanged a surprised glance.
"It's nothing, it's what we should do. I'm relieved that Xiao Xing has such good neighbors to support her," Grandma Qin said with a smile.
Aunt Hao was pleased that the kind-hearted Old Mrs. Qin was so considerate of Xing Zhaozhao: "How about I take you up?"
Grandma Qin shook her head: "No need, you all go about your business. We know the way, we can get there by ourselves."
Aunt Hao didn't insist any further: "Alright then, be careful on the road."
The old principal and Mrs. Qin left hand in hand. Aunt Hao went back to the kitchen to continue her work. Hao Xiuning was hanging clothes in the yard when she suddenly saw a familiar little figure flash past the open gate.
Hao Xiuning let out a strange "Huh?" and peeked out, but the person was already long gone.
Aunt Hao came out of the kitchen with the breakfast she had prepared. Seeing this, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"It looks like I've seen Xiao Qin Shi," Hao Xiuning said.
“He came with his grandparents, right?” Aunt Hao said.
"Probably," Hao Xiuning replied casually, not paying much attention to it and putting the matter aside.
Meanwhile, halfway up the mountain, Xing Zhaozhao had already prepared breakfast and set it on the table, ready for them to eat.
"Knock knock," a knock suddenly sounded at the door.
"Who's here so early in the morning?" Xing Zhaozhao exchanged a glance with Fu Lan beside her, both of them becoming somewhat wary because of what happened to Uncle Lin yesterday.
"I'll go take a look," Fu Lan said, walking straight towards the main gate.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"Is that Xiaolan?" A familiar voice came from outside the door.
Fu Lan was shocked. That voice... why is she here so early in the morning?
She quickly went to open the door.
Upon seeing this, Xing Zhaozhao came out of the house and asked, "Who is it?"
"It seems like Grandma Qin has arrived," Fu Lan said.
Xing Zhaozhao was stunned for a moment, then, thinking of the letter she had sent yesterday, she quickly realized why she had come so early in the morning.
However, when the door opened, Xing Zhaozhao realized that there was more than just Old Mrs. Qin there.
"The former headmaster?" Xing Zhaozhao asked in surprise, "Why are you all here?"
The old principal and Mrs. Qin both had dark circles under their eyes, clearly indicating that neither of them had slept well the night before.
As soon as Grandma Qin saw Xing Zhaozhao, she grabbed her hand tightly and refused to let go.
The old principal looked at Xing Zhaozhao with a complicated expression, smiled apologetically, and said, "I really couldn't sit still, so I came over to ask you about that letter."
Xing Zhaozhao knew it would be like this.
She pulled Old Mrs. Qin into the house: "Come in and let's talk slowly."
Looking at the breakfast laid out on the table in the main room, Old Mrs. Qin said apologetically, "It seems we came at the wrong time, and have kept you from eating."
"It's nothing." Xing Zhaozhao smiled nonchalantly and asked, "You've come so early, you must not have eaten yet, why don't we sit down and have something to eat together?"
Grandma Qin shook her head; she had no appetite at all.
Seeing Qin's appearance, Xing Zhaozhao understood and led her and the old principal to the inner room.
As she was leaving, she specifically told Fu Lan, "You and Hongfei and Hongyu eat first, don't wait for us."
Fu Lan nodded, without asking any further questions.
Inside the room, on the kang (heated brick bed), little Hongling was still fast asleep, her little bottom sticking up.
Grandma Qin leaned over to take a look at the chubby little girl, and was extremely fond of her: "This is your little daughter? What a beautiful child!"
"Won't we wake her up if we talk here?" she asked worriedly.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head: "It's alright, she should be waking up soon."
After saying that, Xing Zhaozhao invited the two to sit down at the table and poured them water.
"Xiao Xing, is that letter... real?" Old Mrs. Qin asked Xing Zhaozhao impatiently.
Xing Zhaozhao patted Old Mrs. Qin's hand reassuringly, then looked at the old principal beside her and said, "Since you two came all the way to see me, you must already believe me, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have paid any attention to such nonsense."
Grandma Qin's eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She gripped Xing Zhaozhao's hand tightly and asked, "How is he doing now, Xiao Shi?"
"Didn't he tell you that in his letter?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
"I did tell her. But you know that child, he's too sensible, he always reports good news and never bad," said Grandma Qin, wiping away her tears.
“I’m doing well now, and I’m living a worry-free life, so you can rest assured. But before…” Xing Zhaozhao paused, looking at Old Mrs. Qin and the old headmaster with a deep gaze, “How difficult it would be for a little child without parents and elders. You two are more experienced and should know better than I do.”
Grandma Qin's tears fell even harder.
The old principal unconsciously clenched his fist, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
"I really don't know how to thank you enough, Xiao Xing. If it weren't for you, after the two of us old folks passed away, my family would probably be in trouble again..." Old Mrs. Qin choked up as she said, "We are afraid that we can never repay you in our lifetime."
Hearing what Grandma Qin said, Xing Zhaozhao felt embarrassed and quickly shook her head, saying, "To be honest, we're the ones who benefited from your kindness."
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