After spending the night in Gujia Village, Jiang Qiao left with Gu Zhengfeng early the next morning. As for Gu Zhixuan, since it wasn't time for school to start yet, he was asked to stay at home with his younger brother and grandfather for the time being.
Gu Zhengkai took some things from Jiang Qiao's house to save himself the trouble of buying and cooking. He was the only man left at home and was probably too lazy to do anything. He was worried that her uncle would have to make do, so he brought her along with him.
After seeing Gu Zhengkai off, Jiang Qiao took her things and pushed her cart out the door.
If that ugly daffodil and her brother-in-law aren't dealt with quickly, they'll become a real problem later.
Moreover, she also knew that after these ten years, Gu Zhengkai had no real foundation here. Even though he had been given a job, his family background was still a factor. People might not say anything, but they were probably thinking all sorts of things.
Therefore, she could particularly understand her uncle and father's situation. Although they had good jobs, they were all walking on thin ice. Fortunately, she had a good status now, and no one was watching her, which made it easier for her to do things.
She rode her bike to the usual spot, where, because of the New Year and the cold weather, all the little beggars she knew were huddled in a dilapidated house warming themselves by the fire.
Jiang Qiao brought food and clothing for everyone, as well as some money and tickets, and explained the purpose of her visit to them.
"Remember, it must be done in secret. Don't let anyone find out. If you discover anything, come and tell me right away. Also, this can't go on like this. Is there anything you want to do or are good at?"
The little beggars were grateful for Jiang Qiao's usual care for them, but they were also aware of their own status. Although they were young, they gave Jiang Qiao a sense of having experienced many hardships.
"We dare not think about that. We are just hoping to have enough to eat each day. To be honest, we don't have any other skills. All we know is begging."
These dozen or so children included some who were about the same age as Jiang Qiao, and others who were much younger than her. However, the older children took care of the younger ones, and over time, they naturally developed feelings for each other and got along like brothers and sisters.
Jiang wanted to follow the example of Beijing and send these children to welfare homes, but they didn't have that option here.
Even for these people, the villages below might not be willing to register their household registration. One more person means one more food ration, and nobody is stupid enough to do that, so of course they wouldn't want to.
"Sister, you don't need to worry about us. As long as we don't starve, we'll definitely live well. You don't need to worry about us in the future either; you've had a hard life too."
Jiang Qiao was about their age. Judging by her clothes alone, her family wasn't well-off. Even if they were, with so many of them working in the martial arts world, they knew exactly what was going on.
Each family has a fixed amount of food rations. If Jiang Qiao brings it to them, the family members will definitely eat less or go hungry.
Jiang Qiao sighed, "I don't have any good ideas for now, so let's leave it at that and wait for a better opportunity. Everyone, let's eat first."
Jiang Qiao brought a lot of food, but these kids were quite frugal. They couldn't eat all the good stuff at once. Each of them only ate half a steamed bun and a mouthful of oily meat soup, saving the rest for later.
Jiang Qiao sat with everyone for a while, explaining everything that needed to be explained, and then went home to wait for news.
However, thinking of Song Zhigang's new home, she hadn't even finished her business yet, so she packed her things and went to Song's house again. Since Song Zhigang didn't have a suitable place to live, she rented an apartment in a nearby staff housing complex for him. Fortunately, the room was not small and was enough for the four of them to live in.
Song Zhi was very welcoming to Jiang Qiao's arrival. He had just seen off the leaders from the Municipal Bureau. He knew why: if Jiang Qiao hadn't given him such a great credit, the leaders wouldn't have come to see him.
Although the case here isn't going very smoothly, having such a contribution to the higher-ups is at least enough to convince the subordinates, and that's the most important thing.
Jiang Qiao wasn't concerned about anything else; she just wanted to know how the investigation at the detention center was going.
"Sigh, there's been no progress. We have no clue who the prisoner was in contact with before he died. It seems like this happened very suddenly, without any warning."
However, we did investigate, and surprisingly, we found a few clues among the people who came in before and after. But that person denies being instructed by anyone and claims to have had no contact with the prisoner, which is the real headache.
Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "What's there to worry about? Some messages aren't necessarily passed on by notes or in person. If they won't confess, then just beat them up."
Song Zhi gave a wry smile. "You silly girl, we have rules that we can't handle cases like this. Otherwise, we'll be making mistakes ourselves."
Jiang Qiao sighed inwardly. Asking questions little by little like this, unless the person has a weak will, if they encounter a seasoned veteran, it will take a long time to get any information out of them.
"There's no rush. Let's investigate slowly. Whether they're human or ghost, they'll eventually reveal their true forms."
Actually, I've found that this line of work is really tiring. All you do is think about how to catch bad guys all day long. I'd rather stay in the army.
Cheng Yingli chimed in, picking up where Jiang Qiao left off, "Your third uncle is already doing pretty well. You think being a soldier is easy? You haven't seen it. He's always like a monkey, on missions every few days. If things go wrong, it could be a matter of life and death."
Although this job is busy, at least we can see each other every day—”
Cheng Yingli handed Jiang Qiao the fruit she had brought, but Jiang Qiao didn't really want to eat it, so she put it aside.
Third Aunt, have you arranged your work yet?
Speaking of this, Cheng Yingli was extremely satisfied. "It's been arranged. The leader came over yesterday and mentioned it. Unlike my previous workplace, where I stayed at home for more than half a year, it's much better to come here. Before I even had a chance to rest, this workplace had already arranged everything for me."
Jiang Qiao was very curious. "Auntie, what kind of job did you get arranged that makes you so satisfied?"
Speaking of her job, Cheng Yingli was genuinely satisfied: "It's in civil affairs, much better than my previous job. At least this one is in an office, whereas before I worked in a factory, doing three shifts."
Song Zhi glanced helplessly at his wife. "It's good enough that I have work to do. This is only because the leaders are giving me special treatment because of my merits. What do you think—"
Jiang Qiao nodded knowingly. "This job is good, Auntie. Work hard in the future, and maybe you can become a leader or something."
Song Zhi shook his head with amusement. "No need for the leadership position. This is already quite good."
Jiang Qiao casually asked the children begging on the street if there were any better solutions.
Song Zhi sighed, "There are too many. There's no such document at all, and these people's situations are all different, so there's no way to solve it. The situation is like this now; no family can afford to have another child, especially those with urban household registration, where the requirements are too strict."
"What, did you see those begging children?"
Jiang Qiao nodded. "I would like to help them, but my abilities are limited, so I can only ask. I know that their situation is somewhat special, not to mention our county, there are probably more in other places as well."
“That’s right. When my family wrote to me, they said that quite a few people in the village had gone out begging. It’s not just a matter of two or three people. If they could make a living, who would want to do this? There’s nothing we can do about it. Girl, have lunch at your aunt’s place—”
Jiang Qiao waved her hand, "Never mind, I still have to go back and tidy up the house. I'm going straight to the countryside before I've even finished tidying up."
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