The couple didn't think much of it at noon, but when they came back in the evening and saw the yard full of dried vegetables, they suddenly realized that this was what a home should look like.
"Hehe, my daughter is so capable. Qiao'er, the two of us can't eat that much, don't tire yourselves out, that's enough."
Jiang Qiao glared at him and said, "That won't do. The cafeteria food is just enough to fill you up. You two should cook something yourselves. Dad, I want to go into the mountains tomorrow and get some meat to marinate for you. Then you can take it out and cook it whenever you want."
Gu Zhengfeng had no objection: "Dad is off tomorrow, let's go together."
Jiang Qiao thought to herself that he still didn't trust her, but with her father going along, she wouldn't care about the skinning.
That evening, Jiang Qiao took her mother's pulse and found that, just as her father had said, there were still some problems. She then prescribed medicine for both of them.
"Let's go gather herbs together tomorrow. As for whether you eat them or not, I don't care. Just remember to drink the medicinal wine I make."
They're all adults now, and she really can't tell whether they drink it or not; she can only give them a few words of advice.
This time, Jiang Qiao went into the mountains without holding back. It was hard to say when she would be able to come back next time, so she took the opportunity to save some things for her parents.
Who knows, by winter there might be nothing left in these mountains.
Sure enough, once they entered the old forest, the two of them actually ran into several groups of people, and they chatted briefly with them.
Gu Zhengfeng then realized that these people were worried about not having enough food and were preparing it in advance.
"Looks like they're not stupid after all."
Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "Of course, the real masters are often found among ordinary people. If they come out at this time, they are definitely experts. If they wait until the autumn harvest, there will be no harvest left, and it will be too late."
Jiang Qiao hunted and gathered herbs at the same time. This time, Gu Zhengfeng was smarter. He parked the cart at the edge of the woods and brought baskets and sacks for his daughter to carry things.
Jiang Qiao hunted and collected the prey as she went. Once the space was full, she transported the prey out. At first, there were only small prey, but the further in she went, the more large prey there were. Jiang Qiao also took the opportunity to collect a lot of prey into her space. Of course, she didn't forget about the medicinal herbs either.
To be honest, the medicinal herbs in this old forest are much more abundant than back home.
She's encountered quite a few things like Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng.
Gu Zhengfeng admired his daughter's hunting skills, but he couldn't be envious. It really takes years of practice to reach that level with throwing knives.
However, he wasn't too bad off. He had found prey in all the traps he had set. The two of them together had caught quite a lot, enough for Jiang Qiao to feed her parents for the whole winter, even if they ate it every day.
She managed to kill two wild boars, not to mention the others.
She knew her father's personality well. "I can give this one away, but this one has to stay. I want to make some cured meat for you."
Their daughter was busy preparing things for them. As parents, they saw it all, but it pained them deeply. Their child had done everything she could think of and do for them, but they, as parents, could not give her anything in return.
Gu Zhengfeng was even more at a loss for words, saying, "You know, we lost our child back then and didn't give her a good life and a good environment to grow up in. Now that she's grown up, the two of us still can't be there for her as she grows up."
I don't know what use parents like us are. If our child lived on her own, I think Qiao'er could grow up carefree; none of this would be a problem for her.
These words struck Wen Jingwan's heart, because her husband was right in everything he said, and she could find a suitable reason to refute him.
Yes, they love the child very much, but what can they give? They are both busy, and even though the child has come to visit, most of the time it is the child who is with them and taking care of them.
My eyes welled up, and tears streamed down my face. "These days, I've been reflecting on how we haven't taught our child anything. We don't even know how she copes when she's cold or hungry."
When the children came, they were the ones taking care of us. Don't you think we're terrible parents?
"Or I could retire from the military and go back to be with my kids; otherwise, I'll never have peace of mind about this for the rest of my life."
Gu Zhengfeng shook his head with a wry smile. "Do you think the child would agree? Let me tell you, our daughter, don't underestimate her just because she's a child. Her mind is not much different from an adult's."
Let's wait until the end of the year and take our family visit leave. Not to mention Dad's side, even our daughter and Grandpa Qiao's side are a problem.
You said the old are old and the young are young. No matter how capable our daughter is, if some foolish person tries to take advantage of these two, it will be a real problem for the child. We should go and see the elderly, at least to let outsiders know that these two are not people they can bully.
Jiang Qiao, who was busy making cured meat, had no idea that her parents had this discussion. Wen Jingwan wanted to help, but Jiang Qiao stopped her.
Her mother doesn't know how to make it, so instead of teaching her from the sidelines, she might as well do it herself.
With everything settled, it was time for Jiang Qiao to leave. Gu Zhengfeng asked someone to book a sleeper berth for the child and saw the child off on the train with lots of luggage.
The moment the car started, Wen Jingwan was the first to burst into tears, burying her face in her husband's shoulder.
Jiang Qiao did see the couple seeing her off outside the car window, and the scene of her father taking her to school years ago came to mind.
He poked his head out and waved frantically at the couple, saying, "Dad, Mom, please take care of yourselves. I'll come to see you again."
As Jiang Qiao sat back down in her chair, she never expected that she would also be in tears at this moment.
The people sitting next to her saw the little girl crying so hard and kept comforting her.
"Little girl, don't cry. You'll see your parents again next time. They have to do it for their job. You have to understand them. It's not easy being a soldier."
Wen Jingwan and her husband were both wearing military uniforms. Both of them were outstanding in appearance. When they saw Jiang Qiao waving to the other party, there was nothing they couldn't understand.
Jiang Qiao sighed and wiped away her tears. "I'm fine, it's just that my tears wouldn't listen to me and started falling on their own. I just saw my mom crying."
Everyone present sighed in agreement. This time, Jiang Qiao wasn't as indifferent as when she arrived, but she wasn't much more enthusiastic either.
She usually only answers when she's listening to others chat or when someone asks her a question.
She got off the bus halfway through the journey, and it was already evening. Her uncle's location was still some distance away, so even if she went there now, she wouldn't be able to see him immediately.
Therefore, she decisively chose a relatively nice hotel to stay in first.
However, while registering at the service desk, I unexpectedly saw Sha Junchi, the county committee official, coming down from upstairs.
However, according to the information she had gathered, the man had changed his name and was now called Li Cheng. She didn't know what he was doing in this place.
Seeing the man walk out, Jiang Qiao casually asked, "Auntie, may I ask what the name of that comrade who just went downstairs was? He looked a lot like my dad's colleague."
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