As someone who's been through it all, Wen Jingwan wasn't afraid of wasting phone bills. She gave her daughter a good talking-to before hanging up.
Jiang Qiao slowly walked out of the house, while Jiang Xiuqi was busy arranging tasks in the yard.
"How is it? I can tell from your mother's voice that she's happy. Is your father alright?"
Jiang Qiao grinned and said, "We won! Don't you think we should be happy? I'll cook lunch today and invite Grandpa Jiang over for lunch."
Jiang Xiuqi rarely joked, "It's an unparalleled honor to have a hero cook for my dad. I guarantee he'll be there. Cook a lot, I'll get some too."
The news Jiang Qiao brought back caused a complete uproar in the family, and Jian Ling was busy celebrating.
"Make some more delicious food, Uncle Liu, please prepare a few more dishes."
Jiang Qiao chimed in from the side, "There will be a lot of people at noon. Grandpa Jiang and his son will probably come over. I'll lend a hand."
Jiang Qiao was worried that they might have run out of food at home.
“We haven’t finished eating, and you’ve mailed back so much more. Where are we going to eat it? We old folks can’t eat much. A little soup and some porridge would be just fine.”
Besides, the restaurant has also placed an order for seafood, so we can eat it more often. I'll go check with them; I ordered quite a lot yesterday, let's see if it's arrived yet.
Before the man had even left, Dong Kaizhen returned on her bicycle, carrying the seafood that Ma Liu and the others wanted to buy.
"Oh, Qiao'er is awake—"
Jiang Qiao greeted her with a smile, "Auntie, you've come at the perfect time. We're just distributing the gifts. You can take the gifts from your side over there, so I won't make a separate trip."
"Getting a gift is great!"
Seeing the packaging, Dong Kaizhen had no doubts: "Your uncle really went all out this time; he must have brought quite a lot."
Jiang Qiao smiled and nodded, "That's right. We have a lot of people here, so we must have considered it and brought more so that there wouldn't be enough to go around."
Ma Liu took the seafood to the kitchen to be processed, and Dong Kaizhen gave Jiang Qiao a few instructions when she went to pick up the gift.
"Your uncle and his family have visited your grandparents and brought some gifts. The old couple are in good health. However, your grandma said that Ning Hao's stepsister is causing some trouble. She wants the old man and woman to find a way to bring her over. She wants to go back to the city and doesn't want to go to her father's place. The old woman and man are a bit upset."
Jiang Qiao snorted, "Her? Want to come back? How could that be? We haven't even managed to bring my uncle's daughter back yet, let alone her. She should just stay in the countryside and wait for the policy to be released. Those who are supposed to go back will not be forced to stay."
Dong Kaizhen sighed helplessly, "That's right. She's not the only one who's come down here. Who would dare to step forward and take her away?"
Besides, how could she, as the granddaughter, not know the situation of the elderly couple?
"Why look for your grandparents instead of your own father? The old man is in such a state; if it weren't for your and Haozi's connections, he'd probably be lost somewhere by now."
What could Jiang Qiao say? "Every family has its own problems. Look at the Ning family, they're all there, right? But one by one, sigh, I don't even want to talk about it anymore. I'll go see the old folks later. Auntie, has the car come back yet?"
Dong Kaizhen nodded. "It's parked at the entrance of our restaurant. If you need it, just go and drive it away."
Jiang Qiao nodded. "I need to prepare some medicine and mail it to someone. Auntie, are you going into the city?"
Dong Kaizhen shook her head. "I just got back, nothing's wrong. Oh, by the way, don't forget, they invited you to the meeting. It wouldn't be right not to go."
“I remember, take the things with me, I’ll go get the car, and we’ll talk as we walk.”
Jian Ling was helping in the kitchen when she heard Jiang Qiao had gone to get the car and called out, "Old Dong, are you coming back for lunch?"
Dong Kaizhen waved her hand, "There's food at the restaurant, no need to bring mine."
On the way, Dong Kaizhen told Jiang Qiao about Jiang Jinyu's plan: "The director called and said that during this period of rest, you should take the time to make some medicine to strengthen your body, mainly to recuperate and regulate your body and improve your physical condition."
Jiang Qiao glanced at Dong Kaizhen in surprise. "What does he need this for? Any doctor could make it."
Dong Kaizhen knew what Jiang Jinyu wanted to use it for. "Others can prescribe it, but you can make it into pills, and the kind that are very effective. To make pills, remember, there are also medicinal wines and the like. I'll have you make some for sprains and bruises, the kind that are effective and fast-acting."
Jiang Qiao nodded knowingly, "Okay, I'll go to the valley after I get back."
The seafood feast satisfied everyone in the family, and Jiang Qiao ate quite a bit as well.
He patted his belly and burped contentedly. "I reckon Ning Hao will be back in a couple of days. Our house will be lively again. Grandpa, I'm going to the county town tomorrow. Who's coming with me?"
The others shook their heads. "No, we'll just wait at home. You can go and take care of your business."
Hou Diankui has something to do. His house is still empty. Although he asked his apprentice to look after it, the apprentice is busy too. He has to go back and take a look.
“Let’s go together tomorrow. I need to go see how Chunming is doing. Once I’m back, I won’t have time to visit him.”
Chunming is really bored right now. His mentor isn't around, and there's not much work at his workplace lately. All he does is study. When he gets home, he has to listen to his mother's nagging.
“Look at Jiang Qiao, she’s about to have a baby, and you still haven’t done anything proper. Hurry up and find me a wife. Once you’re settled down, we should finish our mission.”
Jiang Qiao and the others' return completely freed Chunming.
"Auntie, what are you talking about? I can hear your voice from far away. It's so strong. I can tell you're in good health."
Upon seeing Jiang Qiao, Song Lianfeng couldn't stop smiling. "Oh my, I'm so glad to see you! I heard that you made quite a grand entrance when you came back."
Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "Third Aunt, I didn't expect this either. When I got off the train, Aunt Jian and I were both startled. But it's all good. At least I came back alive."
Song Lianfeng sighed, "That's exactly right—"
Chunming quickly interjected, "Qiao'er, what happened to you? Didn't you say you were gone?"
Jiang Qiao sighed, "I also survived by the skin of my teeth. I was really close to death and never saw you again. I never expected to be rescued on the way. It was a twist of fate that allowed me to live."
However, I didn't let them off easy afterward. Those who schemed against me had to pay the price, right?
"Third Aunt, this is a gift for you, and my brother Chunming has one too. Hey, what was going on between you two just now?"
Speaking of her son, Song Lianfeng had a lot of complaints: "This child is getting more and more immature as he gets older. He's not a child anymore, so why hasn't he found anyone he likes?"
"Oh dear, I'm so worried about Chunming's marriage. Look at you, he's almost due, and there's still no sign of a wife."
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