When Gu Hanting went to check the cellar early the next morning, he sighed inwardly. He thought to himself that his granddaughter was too generous. Fortunately, she knew that the meat she took out was cured meat and ham, otherwise, even in the cellar, the fresh meat would not have lasted overnight.
Not only is there plenty of meat, but also plenty of eggs—chicken, duck, and goose eggs—not to mention the things needed for the wedding.
The old man sighed. He couldn't take this out for the time being; the child would have to leave for a few days before it could be shown.
When Jiang Qiao told Gu Zhixuan in the morning that she wanted to take him back, he agreed without hesitation.
That's true. A hot-blooded young man like him, if you say there's something wrong with his class background, he'll admit it. But if you say they're the offspring of traitors and lackeys, he'll resolutely refuse to admit it. They're not, so why should we admit it?
Besides, he doesn't even know what his father's situation is yet; he has to go back and find him.
Halfway there, Jiang Qiao explained to the two brothers her reason for bringing Gu Zhixuan there.
Gu Zhixuan was dumbfounded. "Isn't this extortion?"
Ning Hao nodded with a broad smile, "That's a good idea. This person is half dead. No matter what his background is, it's still a human life. The murderer has to be handed over to me."
Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "Don't rush this. I'll go and give those people a warning first. We need to make them afraid. When it's your turn to step in, we'll make a big scene. Brother Ning Hao, we're a bit short-handed. Do you think we can find some people from the county to come and help? Putting everything else aside, we need to make a big splash."
Gu Zhixuan's mouth dropped open. He had no idea what his sister was thinking. They were supposed to keep a low profile, but his sister seemed much more arrogant than other people of her kind.
Ning Hao raised an eyebrow. "What's so difficult about that? We have people on our own. Remember those orphans you raised? They've all grown up now. It's perfectly fine to have them go and help Zhixuan and Uncle."
For the past four years, my uncle, Zhixuan, and I have contributed half of our salaries to them. "We've been training them for a thousand days to use them for one," they say, "and it's time to send them into battle."
Jiang Qiao still had some concerns: "Won't what we're doing lead these kids astray?"
Jiang Qiao really didn't want the children she had raised with such difficulty to witness the cruel side of human nature too early.
Ning Hao sighed, "I know what you're thinking. Don't you think about what kind of lives they lived before they met you? They experienced the coldness and warmth of the world far too early."
Besides, with Old Ma and Auntie around, what do you think? It would be hard for them to go astray.
These kids have caused quite a bit of trouble, but it's all been against Jiang He and his gang. Jiang He and his group harm people, while these kids secretly help them. Unfortunately, they can't say it openly, since Jiang He is quite influential now.
Jiang Qiao smiled and said, "I guess they'll be out of the spotlight soon. These two siblings have gotten to where they are today by throwing money at them, but there are definitely people who buy into it."
I need to go and investigate properly to find out who took the kickbacks, and I'll make them pay it back.
Who knows, Master Hou might already be causing Jiang He some trouble.
Since she was going to take these kids with her, Jiang Qiao decided to go back to the old courtyard house in the county town. After all, they were old neighbors. Her mother had told her that during the years she had been ill, these neighbors had visited her many times to comfort Wen Jingwan.
She took some homegrown vegetables out of the car and shared them with the neighbors in the yard. That was the gist of it. She had plenty, but she couldn't bring herself to give them away because she couldn't explain where they came from. She decided to keep them to herself.
Seeing Jiang Qiao, a grown woman, appear in the courtyard, everyone was overjoyed. They had just heard the Ning family elders say that the girl had woken up, but no one knew how far along she was.
Now that they see the child standing in front of them looking healthy and well, everyone is happy for Wen Jingwan and the others. It's good that the child isn't ruined.
Upon seeing Jiang Qiao, Zhu Lin burst into tears. She was worried that if something happened to Jiang Qiao, their grandson's life would be ruined. The child didn't resemble his father but his mother. Now that Jiang Qiao was well, the old woman could finally put her mind at ease.
When Li Meilan saw Jiang Qiao, she became even more direct and enthusiastic, immediately embracing Jiang Qiao and patting her hard twice.
“You child, aren’t you scared? It’s been four years. Not to mention us neighbors, even your mother and the others have been counting down the days. Do you know how hard it has been? Don’t do this again. You can scare people to death. I’ve been so worried about you these past few years that I’ve gotten wrinkles on my face.”
Jiang Qiao patted her shoulder with amusement. "Oh dear, Auntie, I'm so sorry. Just because of your wrinkles, I'll have to treat you to some good food later."
Zhu Lin and the others teased from the side, "Isn't this all because you're worried about your son?"
Li Meilan smiled sheepishly, "It's the same for everyone. I also treat Jiang Qiao like my own niece. Don't you all feel the same way?"
Well, after not seeing her for several years, Li Meilan has become much more eloquent.
Unfortunately, Song Lianfeng was still at work, so Jiang Qiao wouldn't be able to see her for the time being. She had things to do and couldn't stay in the tenement for long.
But before leaving, I casually asked, "What have Jiang He and his sister been busy with lately?"
When this comes up, Li Meilan is definitely a gossip pioneer: "Let me tell you, Jiang He is sick and suddenly can't get up. Jiang Hong has disappeared and we haven't seen him for a long time. We had to call his brother to get him to the hospital."
"I doubt things will get better anytime soon. People need to have a conscience; if you do too many bad things, you'll see the retribution coming."
Jiang Qiao rarely said anything like that, but he said, "Oh dear, this illness came at just the right time. Otherwise, we would all have suffered too. Everyone, I have to go out and take care of some things. I'll come back to see you later. I'm leaving now."
Zhu Lin wanted to pull Jiang Qiao aside and ask where Haozi had gone, what the child had been doing lately, and why there hadn't been any news about him.
In the past, this child would tell his family before going out, but this time, I don't know what happened, he just ran away.
"Grandma Ning, don't worry, Haozi is doing well. He'll definitely come back after he's done with his work. I'll be going now."
Although everyone had many questions they wanted to ask, Jiang Qiao was in a hurry to leave, so all the questions could only be answered when the child returned next time.
Ning Hao and his group went to the courtyard where the orphans lived to look for Dong Kaizhen and her husband, but unfortunately, Ma Zongxiang was not there.
"Sigh, I left after receiving a telegram. I don't know when I'll be back. What about Jiang Qiao? Didn't they say she woke up? How is she? Is she alright? I'll have to take the children over to see her later."
Ning Hao waved his hand, "Auntie, there's no need to see her. Jiang Qiao will be here soon. However, we've come to discuss something with you..."
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