Zhou Songyuan glared at Jiang Qiao and said, "What are you talking about? What food expenses? You came here to help us all. Besides, you're Xiao Haozi's friend. It's not proper to talk about money."
"You can eat at our house. A villager who was on welfare recently passed away. If you don't mind, you can stay in his room; it's fully furnished."
Having a place to stay alone made Jiang Qiao very happy. "No problem, I'm not scared at all. This is great, I like it."
Wang Dahua said with concern, “Comrade Zhou, I came to check on the children because I was worried about them. I think you are a good comrade. My children are young and don’t understand many things. Sometimes we will need you to help us. Thank you in advance.”
Zhou Songyuan waved his hand and said, "Auntie, you're too kind. Putting aside the fact that Jiang Qiao came to help us, just because she's Haozi's friend, I'll still help if I can. Don't worry about it."
The old lady was in a hurry to go back and catch up with her son, and she was also worried about her granddaughter. She kept telling Jiang Qiao to be careful. Only Zhou Songyuan seemed like a good person, otherwise, she really wouldn't feel comfortable leaving.
"Qiao'er, Grandma wants to take your uncle and the others back to familiarize themselves with the place first. I probably won't be able to accompany you then. Be careful. If you're too scared to go back, send me a message and I'll come pick you up."
Jiang Qiao smiled and waved her hand, "Grandma, what are you saying? They're coming to pick up the goods anyway, so it's no big deal if I go with them."
Besides, with Uncle Zhou around, you can rest assured. Your granddaughter has been raised by you for so many years, how could she be a fool?
Seeing the little girl's quirky antics, Wang Dahua felt a pang of emotion. Her child had changed; before she was even ready, she had already begun to shoulder the responsibilities of the family.
"Alright, Grandma won't nag anymore. Be more careful. I'm leaving—"
She wanted to say more to her granddaughter, but she didn't know what to say.
With a sense of melancholy and reluctance, the mother and daughter left first. Jiang Qiao was wondering why she hadn't seen the captain's children and women.
"Well, they've all gone to the beachcombing area and should be back soon. Jiang Qiao, let me tell you, it's difficult for our village alone to gather the amount you need in a short time. I'm thinking of talking to the surrounding fishing villages and asking them to contribute as well. What do you think?"
Jiang Qiao had no objection. "Why not? We're so grateful. Every little bit helps. Everyone can earn more money to have a good New Year, and the workers in the city can have plenty of festive food. It's a win-win situation. I'll leave this to you. Shall we start buying tonight?"
Zhou Songyuan had no problem. He first took Jiang Qiao to her place to settle in. Since there was still some time before high tide, Jiang Qiao took the opportunity to familiarize herself with the surrounding environment.
She wasn't in a hurry to go beachcombing; she was going to stay there for many days, so there was no rush. She was more interested in the mountains behind the fishing village.
“Girl, you can’t go in by yourself. Let me tell you, there are wolves in there. We always go in groups to gather firewood.”
There's still some firewood in your yard, enough for you to burn. This place isn't for you to play in. Let my child take you in for a look sometime.
Jiang Qiao planned to go into the mountains to hunt some game, but she couldn't refuse the captain's kind offer.
When they returned after their rounds, Zhou Songyuan's wife and children had already come back. Upon learning the purpose of Jiang Qiao's visit, the family was incredibly welcoming to her.
They live by the sea and have plenty of seafood, but people in the surrounding area can come and buy whatever they want. Besides giving it to relatives and friends, it's a bit difficult for them to sell what they have.
After all, entering the city requires an expense, and private individuals are not allowed to sell goods. Therefore, Jiang Qiao's arrival is undoubtedly a blessing for them.
Especially the things she wanted—they'd already had enough of those, some of which were just for feeding chickens and ducks and weren't worth much at all. Now that they could turn them into cash, how could they not be happy?
Moreover, Jiang Qiao's situation can also enhance her husband's prestige in everyone's eyes, something Dai Chun, as a family member, understands better than anyone else.
So the dinner was quite lavish, with seafood as the main dish. Jiang Qiao hadn't eaten seafood in a long time, and this time she finally satisfied her cravings.
"Auntie, your cooking is so delicious, I'm stuffed! Thank you for your hospitality. Shall we hurry and have everyone send over the food?"
Zhou Songyuan waved his hand and said, "Go over and help. Keep an eye on things for Jiang Qiao. Who knows if that blind girl is trying to fool the child? Since we're helping someone collect this, we need to make sure it's good. We can't fool them."
On their way back, the Zhou family members chatted with Jiang Qiao and inquired about Ning Hao's situation.
Jiang Qiao was really puzzled. How did they know Ning Hao when they were so far apart?
Speaking of the past, Dai Chun's tone was filled with emotion: "Back then, my son got meningitis, and the local hospitals didn't have any medicine, so we had to take him to the provincial hospital."
Back then, my family was really poor and we didn't know anyone. We heard from a doctor that the military hospital had a special medicine, so we thought we'd go and give it a try.
But the medicine they had was restricted; it was only for soldiers. My husband and I were holding our child and crying at the door, when Ning Hao saw us. He was quite young then, and seeing how pitiful we were, he asked his mother for help.
Speaking of which, Ning Hao and his mother are really good people. With their help, our child was able to escape danger and was given a second chance at life.
We've kept in touch all these years. It's such a pity that Ning Hao's mother passed away. Such a good woman, how could she just be gone like that? It's so pitiful for Ning Hao.
Jiang Qiao gave a wry smile. "No wonder. I was wondering why he sent me to find you. It turns out you've known each other for a long time."
Jiang Qiao didn't really know much about Ning Hao's situation, since they didn't usually interact. Besides, the young Jiang Qiao used to be introverted and didn't like to socialize much, so she didn't know much about him.
When they arrived, there were already quite a few people waiting at the door with their belongings.
With the Zhou family's help, Jiang Qiao didn't have to worry about anything. She didn't even need to weigh the items; she only had to pay, and the Zhou family's children would keep track of the expenses for her.
Good heavens, there's a dazzling array of goods, everything imaginable. With the Zhou family in charge, the quality is absolutely guaranteed.
Moreover, those things are naturally grown in the sea and don't require them to spend any money. There's no need to fool Jiang Qiao at this time; they even intend to maintain a long-term cooperative relationship.
Zhou Songyuan had some live seafood kept alive in seawater beforehand, to ensure it was fresh when it was taken away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com