At the Song family home.
“Too much, too much… ”
“Niece Qiao, I, this old man, don’t know how to thank you.”
Grandpa Song looked at the pile of grain Qiao Jiuru had given, so grateful he didn’t know what to say.
Grandma Song, who was beside him, also wiped away tears excitedly, feeling immense gratitude towards Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan.
Heaven truly had eyes, allowing their family to meet the Qiao family in this time of despair.
“Uncle Song, it’s really not much, just three hundred catties of coarse grain and two hundred catties of fine grain. These two catties of brown sugar and dozens of eggs are for the children to nourish their bodies.”
Besides these, Qiao Jiuru also gave the Song family three sea fish, two cured meats, three catties of pork, two catties of pork fat, and two catties of salt.
“It’s best to cook the pork and pork fat in the middle of the night. If you can’t finish it, smoke it. Also, this is the key to the house next door. You can store the grain and supplies there. As long as you are careful when entering and exiting, there will be no problem.”
Besides giving the Song family so many things, Qiao Jiuru also gave them the key to the adjacent courtyard.
Helping others means helping them to the very end, seeing them through completely.
“Niece, I, this old man, truly don’t have anything good to give you in Beijing right now. However, I still have two courtyards in my old home in Yu Province, and hidden inside them are some good things I couldn’t bring with me when I came to Beijing back then. If there’s an opportunity in the future, I’ll dig these things out and give them to you.”
Grandpa Song thought long and hard, and realized that only the things back in his old home were still valuable. If he had the chance to go back and retrieve them later, he planned to give them all to Qiao Jiuru.
This was an immense kindness, and the Song family intended to repay it.
“Uncle Song, please take good care of yourself and live well. Just wait a little longer, persevere a bit more. Perhaps in a few more years, we will all usher in good days.”
Qiao Jiuru had no intention of taking those things from the Song family. Her Qiao family and Su family had no less good things than the Song family, and helping the Song family was not for their repayment.
At this moment, the people in the adjacent room woke up. Hearing movement in Grandpa and Grandma’s room, Xiao Luo, Xiao Nian, and Xiao Shu quickly got up and came over.
“Aunt Qiao, Uncle Su, you came so early?!”
The three children were both surprised and delighted to see them, overjoyed. After discovering the pile of items on the floor, their eyes all lit up.
“Xiao Luo and Xiao Shu, when you go to the train station later, look for Su Huazhu. Your Uncle Su and I have classes and can’t see you off. Someone will take care of you along the way. Don’t trust strangers. There are many human traffickers outside, specifically targeting and abducting young girls. You must be vigilant. No matter where you go, even to the restroom, the three of you must always go together.”
Qiao Jiuru earnestly and solemnly instructed Xiao Luo and Xiao Shu, her face serious. She was truly worried but had no way to see them off personally.
Xiao Luo and Xiao Shu felt a chill in their hearts upon hearing this and immediately nodded solemnly. They would definitely remember it and keep it in mind, absolutely not allowing themselves to be abducted.
It was almost six o’clock, and Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan had to leave. They still wanted to visit the black market once more on their way home, planning to buy as much as they could.
Less than half an hour later, the couple, bundled up tightly, appeared in the black market. They bought another two hundred catties of grain, eggs, and various tickets—anything they thought might be useful, they bought some of it.
It was already seven o’clock in the morning when they returned home. Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan had already woken up and almost finished making breakfast.
“Today, everyone, eat more and eat well.”
Qiao Jiuru took out twelve steamed buns with meat and four boiled eggs from a cloth bag and placed them on the dining table, inviting the family to eat breakfast.
Zhou Wanwan had barely slept well all night. With both her sons not by her side, suddenly sent to someone else’s home, she was constantly worried about them.
Seeing her mother-in-law take out these breakfast items, she didn’t think much of it, assuming they had just been bought from the National Restaurant. Anyway, she just focused on eating.
After the family had breakfast, before Qiao Jiuru went to class, she first put Su Huaiyuan’s two favorite watches back in their original place in the drawer, and also placed over a thousand yuan in cash and tickets into the drawer.
All the valuable items that had been taken away before, she put them all back.
Then, she calmly went to school for her classes.
Those people would be arriving very soon.
8:30 AM, Train Station.
Su Huazhu’s mood was very low, her eyes red. She carried a bag on her back, a large luggage bag in one hand, and a smaller bag in the other containing a lunchbox, thermos, washbasin, and other miscellaneous items.
About half a meter behind her stood a tall, upright young man with a buzz cut and bright, piercing eyes. He occasionally paid attention to his surroundings, but mostly kept his gaze fixed on the young girl in front of him.
This young man was Guangsheng’s wife’s paternal cousin who was in the army. Early in the morning, he and his paternal brother-in-law had rushed to the Hospital family compound, picked up Su Huazhu, and then set off for the train station.
The train station was very crowded today. A portion of the crowd consisted of young people who were going to the countryside, boarding different trains to various parts of the country to support rural construction.
“Comrade, excuse me, are you Su Huazhu?!”
Xiao Luo and Xiao Shu, the siblings, also carrying luggage and holding daily necessities and food for the journey, squeezed through the crowd to Su Huazhu’s front, asking directly.
Su Huazhu: “…”
Who were they?! How did they know her?! But she didn’t know them.
“Sister Hua Zhu, I’m Song Luoshu, and this is my older brother Song Luoyun. We’re going to the countryside with you. You don’t look much like Uncle Su; instead, you resemble Aunt Qiao a bit. We think you must be Sister Su Huazhu, whom we’re looking for.”
Xiao Shu was very happy to see the young lady from Aunt Qiao’s family, because she felt their ages weren’t too far apart, and Sister Su looked very easy to get along with, so she quickly introduced herself.
“Xiao Shu is right, you resemble Niece Qiao more. I am Grandpa Song, and your maternal grandfather was my classmate in our youth. It was your mother who told us where Xiao Luo and Xiao Shu are going to the countryside, so it’s convenient for you all to look after each other there.”
Grandpa Song also came. He was there to see off his two grandchildren. Once the two children left, they probably wouldn’t be able to see each other for several years. He couldn’t let them go by themselves; he would see them off as far as he could.
Coincidentally, he also wanted to see Niece Qiao’s daughter, hoping that these three good children, who shared similar misfortunes, could all live peaceful lives in the countryside, grow up safely, and return safely.
Before this, Grandpa Song actually hadn’t realized that the Su family was about to face misfortune. It was only when Qiao Jiuru inquired about the Revolutionary Committee director that he vaguely began to suspect.
“Hello, Grandpa Song, hello to both of you. I am Su Huazhu. Grandpa Song, we will take care of each other.”
Su Huazhu immediately recalled what her mother had told her last night. It must be these two people in front of her.
“Good, good, good.”
Grandpa Song nodded with satisfaction, looking at the three children before him with reluctance. Finally, his gaze fell on the young man not far away, and he silently nodded to the other party as well.
Seeing this, Lu Aiguo also nodded to the old man.
The group hadn’t been together for long when the train Su Huazhu and the others were to take arrived. Everyone quickly ran towards the train to secure seats.