In the new semester, Zhou Jiao works honestly and behaves well.
The more undercurrents there were, the more time she spent in the student department serving everyone, and she smiled without saying a word in the school.
Zhou Jiao understood better than anyone that the most difficult moment was coming.
After traveling back and forth between the compound and the school many times, one weekend, seeing that there were no activities at the school, we all agreed to go home together.
On the way back, a few people passed by a large shopping mall and were surprised to find that the queue was longer than they had imagined.
At this point, even the hard-hearted Wan Dayong shouted, "What's going on? I haven't been home for half a month, and suddenly there are so many people. Is there any large-scale event coming soon?"
"We go in and out with you, who knows?"
"Listen, there are quite a few dialects."
Zhang Guoqing glanced at them and shook his head speechlessly.
"Why? You know? Oh, by the way, you two go home often, so you must know the inside story."
Zhang Guoqing saw that most of the people were staring at him with bright eyes, and he felt a lot of pressure, okay? He looked around and whispered, "They are all residents of nearby cities and counties."
After he finished speaking, seeing that they were still confused, he didn't say much and pointed to a high-priced restaurant not far away - there were more people there, and you could see many people hurriedly covering their stomachs.
Yi Jiefang nodded in understanding. "No wonder my mom said some relatives came to visit recently and asked me to go back and meet them. It seems like they're trying to get money from them."
Wan Dayong asked him nervously, "What relative? They can't be distant relatives, right? Don't be so careless and take it lightly."
After hearing this, Ding Datou and his companions all stared at Yi Jiefang.
"What? Can you chase someone away when they come? This time it seems to be my mother's cousin. I don't know the details of the situation."
"Our hospital guesthouse is full." Zhang Guoqing added coldly, making Wan Dayong and others shudder subconsciously.
"It's over. With so many people from other places pouring in, my uncle is going to be very busy."
Zhou Jiao knew that Geng Da was a straightforward person, so she hadn't heard him exclaim so loudly, causing those around him to look at her with cold eyes. This silly boy!
"Let's go home first."
Everyone saw Zhou Jiao winking at them and understood and sped up.
As he walked out of the intersection, Ding Datou suddenly slapped his head. The loud bang startled several people and made them glare at him angrily.
Seeing this, he chuckled and whispered, "Do you think with so many people here, some criminals might come in and cause trouble? Fortunately, there are sentries at the gate of the compound."
Zhou Jiao's heart shuddered. She finally understood why she'd been feeling so uneasy lately. Influenced by past-life beliefs, she'd assumed that warmer weather would attract more tourists. How could she have forgotten the kind of rich people these days? There was no guarantee there wouldn't be those with ulterior motives taking advantage of the situation to disrupt things.
Years ago, department stores in my hometown's provincial capital were already out of stock, so how could Beijing maintain a stable supply? There would undoubtedly be those who would be dissatisfied, so what would they do?
Zhou Jiao looked around, at the bus driving on the street, with its large airbag attached - she got goosebumps all over her body.
She lowered her head to hide the panic in her eyes, no longer caring about their whispers. She hurried back to the compound, thinking over and over again on the way how to prevent it.
As soon as she entered the house, Zhou Jiao didn't care about anything else. She saw the chubby Ping'an rushing out from the living room with a smile, and she nervously hugged him.
"You guys are back? I'll go get some more food."
Before Zhang Guoqing could reply, he saw his wife looking at Aunt Chen seriously. He felt a pang in his heart. No one knew Zhou Jiao better than he did, and it seemed she was even beginning to suspect Aunt Chen.
Fortunately, Zhou Jiao spoke up, otherwise he would have stepped in to stop her.
"Auntie, has anyone been asking about our family recently? Have you seen any strangers walking around our house?"
Aunt Chen was frightened by her and asked quickly, "Did something happen? Without a pass, you can't even get into the courtyard, let alone the small gate outside."
Zhou Jiao smiled. She was so frightened by herself that she forgot about the surroundings she was in. However, she still had to speak seriously, otherwise her son would be in danger if the other party was careless.
"Nothing's happened yet, but I'm worried. There are a lot more outsiders in the city, you know?"
Of course Aunt Chen knew. Even those in her hometown who had a little extra money were flocking to Beijing. No need for food coupons or meat coupons; anyone with money could eat at expensive restaurants, and if they were lucky, they could even queue up to buy something. How could there be a shortage of people?
"There are a lot of strangers in the compound, you know that, right?"
Seeing that she had been holding the child tightly since she came in, Aunt Chen understood something and whispered, "Are you afraid that someone will kidnap the child?"
Sure enough, Zhou Jiao nodded and said with a smile, "Don't worry! Aside from the chief and you guys, I personally pick up and drop off the children. I come back immediately after picking them up."
Later, Zhou Xiaozheng came in without saying a word. He shook his head and stopped Zhang Guoqing.
After hearing what Aunt Chen said, he said in a deep voice, "No matter what happens in the future, just keep an eye on the child. Remember not to let the child leave the compound."
Aunt Chen's scalp tingled when he stared at her, and she responded quickly.
Zhou Jiao touched her nose embarrassedly, "Dad, did you hear that? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?"
Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head. "We always need to be prepared for any eventuality. You've done a great job of that. No matter how smart the child is, he's still too young. We need to raise his awareness of danger when we have time."
It would have been better if he didn't say it. But now that he did, he told the child everything she could think of, including what kind of human trafficker Zhou Jiao was, what kind of beggar she was, and all the various scams, trafficking, and kidnapping she was involved in.
After discussing the interests involved with the child, Zhou Jiao only breathed a sigh of relief when Ping An agreed not to leave the compound without the consent of his grandfather and parents.
In fact, the compound is not safe either. The guesthouses nearby are full of people during this period, and each household has many close relatives who come to seek refuge.
Zhou Xiaozheng was thinking more about his daughter than anything else. No matter how hard Xiao Ping'an tried to hide his talent, he was still far superior to his peers. Besides that vicious woman, Gu Ruyi, his family had plenty of rivals in the shadows. If they couldn't contain his daughter and son-in-law, there was no guarantee they wouldn't take advantage of the complicated situation and try to fish in troubled waters.
Even for that one in ten thousand chance, Zhou Xiaozheng followed his daughter closely. The next day, he sent Secretary Chen to inform the nursery that from now on, no one except the four people in his family and Aunt Chen would be allowed to take the child away.
Even Mrs. Cheng, Zhou Xiaozheng was worried that she was too weak to look after the children. For this reason, he even went to the Cheng family to explain to the old lady.
Zhang Guoqing spent a day and a night carving a small gourd, stuffing it with a drug, and experimenting with it on a dog with Ping An. After the success, he hung it around his son's neck and told him not to reveal it to anyone except him, his wife, and his father-in-law. This was his trump card for his child.
The family's serious and meticulous planning made it clear to even the precocious Ping An that the situation was serious. From then on, Ping An developed good habits, learning to read picture books and magazines and listen to the radio at home.
There are gains and losses, which is also a good thing.
In the blink of an eye, it was Qingming Festival. After the family went up the mountain to pay homage to the Zhou family's ancestral tomb and the tombs of Zhou Jinyu and Gu Mingzhu, they returned to the city and wanted to go to a restaurant.
All the high-priced restaurants were packed, and many had long queues outside.
Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing went out for a walk and soon got the news.
At first, you could still buy some food on the street, but then the quantity dwindled dramatically, and prices quietly increased. In just one week, the price of peach cakes went from 1.6 yuan per jin to 2.4 yuan, yet people still lined up to buy them.
In the study, Zhou Xiaozheng and his daughter remained calm upon hearing the news. All three of them knew the consequences of this situation—no one could save anyone else.
Soon, as they expected, major shopping malls and supply and marketing cooperatives could no longer survive, and candies and snacks were almost extinct except for empty boxes and some display items.
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