“Eat quickly.”

One person had a meat bun from the West, three plain steamed buns, two eggs, and two large aluminum lunchboxes filled with soaked malted milk powder.

Dabao and Xiaobao each had a large water bottle of hot water with milk powder, two meat buns, and two eggs.

Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan stared wide-eyed, swallowing their saliva in disbelief as they looked at the meat buns stuffed into their hands.

Where had their parents gotten all this?!

They were unfamiliar with this place — not even knowing where the state-run restaurants were, nor how their parents had managed to buy these things?!

Amazing.

But now wasn’t the time to wonder about these things.

Their stomachs were already growling with hunger.

Better to eat first and talk later.

Except for Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan who ate leisurely, Dabao and Xiaobao nibbled at their food, drinking milk slowly, completely unlike their parents who devoured theirs like wolves.

“Mom, I need to pee.”

Zhou Wanwan had been holding it for a long time. Luckily, she hadn’t drunk much water today, or she would’ve burst by now.

“Come with me.”

Qiao Jiuru also wanted to relieve herself and, being familiar with the committee’s premises inside and out, she led her daughter-in-law out of the little dark room confidently.

Zhou Wanwan nervously followed her mother-in-law, trembling, amazed at how comfortable Qiao Jiuru seemed here, as if this was her own home.

Her parents-in-law definitely had some secret tricks, or skills and connections she didn’t know about.

So impressive.

After Zhou Wanwan finished in the restroom, it was Su Ze’s turn.

But he didn’t get to go inside; Su Huaiyuan stood not far outside the door and just let him handle the matter there.

“Don’t think too much. The main task now is to get a good night’s sleep, so you can take care of Dabao and Xiaobao properly.”

After all the commotion, it was almost 9 PM.

Su Huaiyuan urged his son and daughter-in-law to rest quickly.

“Your father is right. Tonight, your father and I will take care of Dabao and Xiaobao. Tomorrow, you two will take over.”

Qiao Jiuru and her husband had already quietly agreed to use this excuse to bring the two grandsons over later, then secretly send them into the space to rest well.

Inside the space, it was always spring-like, neither cold nor hot.

Dabao and Xiaobao were too young to understand much, so sending them inside wouldn’t risk revealing any secrets.

Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan had no objections at all. From being reported and sent here, they had truly experienced their parents’ strength.

Obedience and compliance — to do whatever they were told — was the only thing they could do now. And always, their parents’ words were law.

Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan, bundled up in thick cotton clothes and blankets, soon fell asleep leaning against the wall.

Dabao and Xiaobao, who had slept too much in the afternoon, couldn’t fall asleep now. They nestled in their grandparents’ warm arms, sucking on their sweet, fragrant White Rabbit milk candies.

So delicious.

After Dabao and Xiaobao woke up, Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan checked on them briefly, relieved to see they were unaffected by any medicine.

The two little ones played with their grandparents for a while, then began yawning repeatedly and fell asleep before 10 PM.

Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan curled up in one corner; Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan in another nearby.

To easily sneak into the space later, Su Huaiyuan stood in front to shield his wife.

Next, Qiao Jiuru appeared in the courtyard space, carrying the two grandsons.

She laid them on the big bed in the bedroom and covered them with the little quilts she had prepared earlier.

Dabao and Xiaobao immediately relaxed, their tiny brows smoothing.

Qiao Jiuru stayed with them until they fell asleep, then went out to harvest vegetables, feed chickens, and tend fish and shrimp.

After checking on the boys again, she started a fire to cook meat porridge and chopped meat for bun filling.

Only after the meat porridge was ready did she leave the space to relieve her husband so he could rest.

When Su Huaiyuan entered the space, he didn’t rest. Instead, he began making meat buns from the dough that had already risen.

He steamed while wrapping buns, eating one here and there and sipping a small bowl of porridge.

Then he kneaded two large bowls of flour dough left to slowly ferment inside the space.

After finishing, he went to the bedroom to accompany the two grandsons.

Around 3 AM, Su Huaiyuan, having rested well, left the space, and Qiao Jiuru slipped inside.

“Dabao, Xiaobao, get up and play with grandma.”

Time flowed differently inside the space.

They couldn’t let the grandsons sleep too long, so Qiao Jiuru gently patted their little bottoms and called them awake.

Yawning, rubbing their eyes, the two little ones saw their beloved grandma and obediently sat up on the bed.

“Nai,”

“Nai nai,”

The two sweet voices called out, then noticed the place wasn’t where they had slept before, curious and looking around excitedly.

“Come on, grandma will take you to pee first, then to drink milk, then to see the chickens, and the little fishies and shrimps in the river, okay?”

Qiao Jiuru smiled and spoke in a baby-talk tone, putting little shoes on the boys and lifting them off the bed.

“Okay, nai, pee pee.”

“Nai, drink milk, see chickens.”

“And little fishies.”

“Little shrimps.”

The boys eagerly babbled and hurried out the door.

After the pee break, Qiao Jiuru prepared milk powder for them.

They drank while watching the chickens, then she took them to see fish and shrimp in the river.

The two boys had never been to such a beautiful and fun place before.

They were overjoyed—sometimes playing in water, sometimes chasing chickens, hopping and jumping around happily.

After about an hour, Qiao Jiuru led them to tend the vegetable garden.

They had already harvested twice in the past two days; the sweet potatoes and potatoes planted earlier were starting to sprout vines. In a few days, they’d be ready to harvest.

Around 5 AM, Su Huaiyuan and Qiao Jiuru woke Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan, first sending them to the restroom, then giving each three meat buns, two steamed buns, two eggs, and half a cup of water.

After they ate, it was Dabao and Xiaobao’s turn.

The two little ones still drank milk powder and were full after two eggs and one meat bun.

Then Qiao Jiuru had the boys pretend to pee in a corner of the room, just for show.

Just after 6 AM, like Cinderella’s spell ending, the whole family returned to normal.

The quilts and cotton clothes were all put back to their places from yesterday, the only difference being Dabao and Xiaobao held hot water bottles and sat on aluminum lunchboxes filled with warm water.

By 8 AM, the committee people began arriving one after another.

They glanced at the Su family’s luggage left outside, then peeked through the little window of the dark room before returning next door to warm themselves by the fire.

“Director Fang, it’s not early anymore. Which street shall we parade those people on?”

“Director, I’ll prepare the signs.”

“I’ll bring the people out.”

The “Red Sleeves” from yesterday remembered they had to parade the Su family today and were ready to get to work.

“Then let’s start, from here, then move to East Main Street.”

Director Fang slammed the table and gave the order decisively.

The Su family inside the dark room could hear everything clearly and felt extremely worried, scared, and tense.

Qiao Jiuru immediately took the hot water bottles and aluminum lunchboxes from the boys’ arms back into the space, then gave them a few licks of sleeping pills.

Bang.

Before the pills could take effect, the dark room door was violently pushed open.

Dabao and Xiaobao, cold and curled up, were suddenly frightened by the noise and movement.

Their little bodies trembled and tears silently slid from their mouths.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan were angry, helpless, and worried.

The kids were already freezing and now scared like this — would the sleeping pills still work?

Would they be traumatized?

“You damn traitors, come out!”

The intruders swore loudly, furious and impatient.

Su Huaiyuan and Qiao Jiuru tightly held their children.

Su Huaiyuan hurriedly handed Dabao to Zhou Wanwan and grabbed his eldest son to walk out first.

The father and son were pushed down and had wooden placards hung around their necks immediately.

Qiao Jiuru and Zhou Wanwan clung to the children, pressing their little heads firmly against their chests; the boys clung tightly to their grandmothers and mothers.

“Director, shall we hang placards on these two traitor women too?”

Some hesitated, eyeing Qiao Jiuru and Zhou Wanwan holding the children.

Director Fang gave them a nod to let it go.

“Then let’s take them out to parade.”

Just as Director Fang was about to agree, two unexpected people walked into the committee gate.