Speaking of which, since they all live in the same courtyard, they naturally run into each other occasionally, but they only exchange greetings. Since Jiang Ping found a temporary job, the old lady has been going out less often, and Jiang Qiao really hasn't seen Wang Dahua for quite some time.
This was Wang Dahua's first visit. Since she was discharged from the hospital, this grandmother had never come to see her. Jiang Qiao could guess what the grandmother's purpose was without her even having to say anything.
When Wang Dahua saw Jiang Qiao cooking, her expression became somewhat unnatural. In the past, it was always the young girl who cooked for her; now it was the old man Qiao Jie's turn to enjoy this treatment.
The old lady was in a bad mood, so her face naturally turned ugly.
"Qiao'er, do you have any extra iron at home?"
Jiang Qiao shook her head. "Grandma, we don't have any either. We finally managed to scrape together the money, so where would we get any extra? You should think of another way."
"If that doesn't work, you can take down the gate; this will be enough. Keep the pots and pans at home, and have your uncle use the planks from the yard to make another gate."
The old lady sighed, "I'll go somewhere else and think of a solution."
She really didn't want to stay in the Qiao family any longer; she felt extremely uncomfortable.
When Jiang Qiao and the others were about to leave, they heard that the old lady had finally dismantled the iron gate.
The old man sighed as he packed his things for the trip.
"Although Wang Dahua has found her son, I don't think Jiang Ping is any good. He's always quiet and doesn't even greet people when we meet. I don't know how your grandma raised her son."
Jiang Qiao put the lunchbox in the basket. Hearing what the old man said, she just smiled and said, "Grandpa Qiao, you should say that she doesn't know how to teach her own blood relatives, but she's quite good at teaching outsiders. Under her tutelage, I can do everything."
"Hmph, that's her only redeeming quality, which is a good thing for me. Girl, get ready, let's go."
Taking advantage of the good weather, the old man wanted to collect more herbs. He also wanted to get to the bottom of what happened yesterday with Jiang Qiao.
When he went outside, he saw a long line of people handing over scrap metal, all of them in high spirits. Jiang Qiao admired them for this. If the whole country had this kind of spirit back then, why did it take so long to defeat the Japanese?
With such a comparison, it's immediately clear who has the most popular support. Not to mention their united efforts and frugal lifestyle—I've even heard that leading cadres wear patched clothes—it's no wonder they've won the hearts of the people.
However, Jiang Qiao was still a little puzzled. "Grandpa Qiao, you know, they took out all the rice cookers from home. Aren't they worried about the waste? What will they do if they want to cook in the future?"
The old man smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Follow the Party, and you'll have food to eat. Listen to the Party, and you can't go wrong. Come on, you little kid, why are you so worried? Don't forget, we still have important things to do."
The two were lucky today, as they encountered an oxcart on the way and it gave them a ride. Jiang Qiao took the opportunity to ask the cart owner about the situation in the countryside.
The car owner cracked his whip, radiating satisfaction. "Things are great now. We don't have to pay for meals, and someone cooks for us every day. It's much better than what we used to cook at home."
I never imagined that after suffering for half my life, I would finally have a good life. I don't have to go hungry anymore. The food is delicious and juicy. I can even eat meat and drink meat soup every three days. What a wonderful thing!
"Little girl, you're lucky to be born in such a good time. Back in the day, we rented land from landlords to farm. After paying the rent, there wasn't much food left at home. Our Party is so good; they've allowed us ordinary people to live like gods."
Jiang Qiao didn't want to hear this, so she quickly changed the subject and talked about other things. When they arrived at their destination, the grandmother and grandson got out of the car and continued on their way.
As soon as Jiang Qiao arrived, she saw the boy who had been beaten up yesterday squatting by the roadside, secretly crying. The patched and oversized clothes on the young boy made him look like a child who had stolen an adult's clothes. Especially the shoes with his toes sticking out, which made Jiang Qiao feel indescribable emotions.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Gu Zhixuan looked up and saw it was the little girl who had helped him yesterday. Her eyes were red as she shook her head and stammered, "I didn't do anything—"
Jiang Qiao stared intently at him. "If you didn't do anything, then why are you crying?"
The boy looked into the distance with red eyes. Jiang Qiao and Qiao Jie saw this and exclaimed, "Good heavens, the people in this village are really idle. Instead of working, they're parading through the streets!"
Approaching from afar was an elderly man, bound and wearing a tall hat and a large sign. As he drew closer, Jiang Qiao's eyes reddened. "If you're going to criticize someone, fine, but why do they kick him every time he takes a step? The old man stumbled and fell with every step, then got up again."
Looking at the young boy beside her, she understood immediately; the old man was probably the boy's relative.
Such scenes were not absent from Jiang Qiao's memories, but none of them were enough to excite her. Especially when she saw the old man, the anger in her heart was uncontrollable.
Now she couldn't help but suspect that she had some kind of blood relationship with this old man; otherwise, there was no way to explain why she was so emotional.
Jiang Qiao watched as the young boy clenched his fists, suppressing his emotions, and glared angrily at the people in the distance.
He sighed. "Who is he to you? What's your name?"
The boy turned his head away with tears in his eyes. "He is my grandfather. My name is Gu Zhixuan. My grandfather is not a bad person, but they won't listen to anything I say."
That was all he could say. He didn't know if the girl beside him could understand him, or if she, like everyone else, felt contempt and disgust for him.
Jiang Qiao didn't ask Gu Zhixuan any more questions. Instead, she turned to look at the old man who was being pushed around by those fanatics. Although he was in a sorry state, he still exuded the air of a Confucian scholar.
After seeing the old man's face clearly, Qiao Jie also became excited and muttered to himself, "How could it be him?"
Jiang Qiao had no idea what the old man meant by "him". Right now, she couldn't bear the stinging pain in her heart, and she reached into her pocket.
"Ah, who hit me—"
Gu Zhixuan stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the distance where all the men who had kicked his grandfather were now lying on the ground, unable to get up.
Seeing this scene, Gu Zhixuan's eyes lit up with joy, while Qiao Jie seemed lost in thought.
Jiang Qiao nudged the old man next to her, "Grandpa Qiao, it's your turn. Go treat the injured, and we'll go rescue people."
Because several people collapsed and couldn't get up, and the sound of wailing filled the air, the public humiliation and denunciation became anticlimactic.
"Alright, that's all for today. Hurry up and find someone to take a look—"
When Jiang Qiao and the others ran over, the old man first introduced himself as a doctor, and quickly squatted down to check the condition of the person who had fallen to the ground.
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