Half an hour later, the ox cart was traveling on the mountain road to Baigou Village’s production team, with Su Huaiyuan and Su Ze walking alongside, along with Bai Daqiang, the village chief.

Qiao Jiuru and Zhou Wanwan were sitting on the ox cart, holding their two children, Dabaobao and Xiaobao, with their luggage comfortably leaning against the cart.

They finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Another hurdle crossed.

“Xiaoru, do you remember Uncle Jiu?”

When there were no other people on the road except their group, Uncle Jiu, who had been silently driving the cart, suddenly turned around and looked at Qiao Jiuru, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

Uncle Jiu?!

Qiao Jiuru stared blankly at the elderly man in front of her.

Hearing his familiar tone, it was clear she was supposed to recognize him, but she couldn’t recall who he was!

She seemed to have never seen him before.

“Uncle Jiu, I don’t remember.”

She honestly shook her head.

She hadn’t thought about trying to make connections at this time, and since the man had a close relationship with her family, he wouldn’t have asked her like that otherwise.

Uncle Jiu wasn’t surprised by her response.

Instead, he nodded and then shook his head.

“I’ve gotten old and confused. You were only three years old back then, and so many years have passed. How could you remember?”

“Uncle Jiu, what can a three-year-old remember?! You’re Qiao Jiuru, right? I’m Bai Lianshan, five years older than you. I’m the village chief of Baigou Village’s production team. Since Uncle Jiu calls you Xiaoru, I’ll call you Xiao Qiao.”

Just as Uncle Jiu finished speaking, Bai Lianshan, who had been silently driving the cart, smiled loudly and introduced himself in a hearty manner.

Baigou Village, like Daxian Village, had many people with the surname Bai.

Some were close relatives, and others were distantly related, but everyone had some sort of connection.

“Uncle Jiu, Bai Gege, we’re troubling you by coming here.”

Qiao Jiuru felt a lump in her throat as she was moved by Bai Lianshan’s cheerful laughter.

She knew that these people must have had a good relationship with the Qiao family back in the day, or else she and her daughter-in-law wouldn’t be sitting on this ox cart with their children.

“What trouble are you talking about? I won’t say anything outside, but Baigou Village will definitely protect you. Xiaoru, Baigou Village is your home. As long as Uncle Jiu is here, your family can live peacefully in the village.”

The elderly Uncle Jiu glared sharply, feeling that Qiao Jiuru was being too distant, so he immediately gave her a serious reminder.

“Xiao Qiao, what I mean is what Bai Lianshan means. It’s what Baigou Village means. You might not know, but Uncle Jiu was adopted by your grandfather. When he heard that your family was in trouble, he was really worried. Fortunately, you’ve finally come back.”

Bai Lianshan revealed something that even Qiao Jiuru didn’t know.

Many people in Baigou Village had received help from the Qiao family.

The villagers were all grateful and wouldn’t stand by and do nothing in times of need.

What?!

Uncle Jiu was adopted by her grandfather?!

She didn’t know this! Qiao Jiuru was stunned.

She had never heard her grandparents or parents mention this.

“What adoption? I just shamelessly followed old Master Qiao around, received his teachings and guidance. Let’s not talk about the past. Xiaoru, you and your family can settle down in the village now.”

When Uncle Jiu spoke about his benefactor, his face was filled with gratitude and nostalgia.

If it weren’t for Old Master Qiao, he would have died a long time ago.

Everything he had now was because of Old Master Qiao.

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about it. Xiao Qiao, this is your husband, your son, and daughter-in-law, right?!”

Bai Lianshan, knowing that Uncle Jiu loved to hear stories, cheerfully changed the topic and pointed out Su Huaiyuan and his son, Su Ze, who had been walking silently, as well as Zhou Wanwan.

“Bai Gege, this is my husband Su Huaiyuan, my eldest son Su Ze, and my daughter-in-law Zhou Wanwan. And these are my two grandsons, Dabao and Xiaobao.”

Earlier, when Uncle Jiu and Bai Lianshan had been talking about the Qiao family, Qiao Jiuru hadn’t had the chance to introduce her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and children.

Now that the opportunity had come, she quickly made the introductions.

“Uncle Jiu, Bai Gege, I’m Su Huaiyuan.”

“Uncle Jiu, Uncle Bai, I’m Su Ze.”

Su Huaiyuan and Su Ze respectfully introduced themselves to Uncle Jiu and Bai Lianshan, both of whom they knew were old friends of the Qiao family.

“Uncle Jiu, Uncle Bai, I’m Su Ze’s wife, Zhou Wanwan.”

Sitting on the ox cart, Zhou Wanwan had been listening to the exchanges between her mother-in-law, Uncle Jiu, and Uncle Bai along the way, so she was aware of the situation.

She greeted both men respectfully, introducing herself.

“Alright, alright, don’t worry, you can all stay in the village. We’ll take care of everything.”

Uncle Jiu was so happy that he almost started humming a little tune to express his joy.

Bai Lianshan also laughed heartily, giving Su Huaiyuan and Su Ze a pat on the shoulder.

His first impression of them was quite good.

“I’ve looked at your papers. Huaiyuan, I’m two years older than you, so I’ll accept your ‘Bai Gege’ title.”

“Hahaha, hey, why aren’t these two kids awake yet?! Xiao Qiao, it’s past noon. The person earlier gave them some snacks and biscuits. Let them wake up and eat something, or they’ll get hungry.”

Bai Lianshan, being a few years older than Su Huaiyuan, couldn’t help but feel more genuine affection for the family as he observed their warm personalities.

As he paid more attention to Su Huaiyuan’s family, he finally noticed the two children, Dabao and Xiaobao, in Qiao Jiuru and Zhou Wanwan’s arms.

Right!

The children should be awake by now.

Dabao and Xiaobao had been asleep for several hours and showed no signs of waking up.

When the committee members were still around earlier, Qiao Jiuru had thought that it was better for them to stay asleep.

But now, they should be woken up.

Reminded of this, Qiao Jiuru immediately reached out to pat Xiaobao’s forehead.

But when she saw the two abnormal red spots on his little face, her heart skipped a beat.

“Xiaobao has a fever.”

“Xiao Wan, quickly check on Dabao.”

Qiao Jiuru’s voice changed, her tone filled with panic as she reached for Xiaobao’s forehead and urgently asked her daughter-in-law to check on Dabaobao’s condition as well.

“Mom, Dabao also has a fever.”

As soon as Zhou Wanwan finished speaking, her panicked voice echoed, confirming their worst fear.

The children had fevers.

Just like in their previous life, both children had been scared and shocked, resulting in high fevers.

Qiao Jiuru’s face turned pale, and she started trembling uncontrollably, nearly dropping Xiaobao from her arms.

Su Huaiyuan and Su Ze both heard and rushed over, anxious to check on the children.

“Lianshan, you take the reins. Let me take a look.”

Hearing that the children were ill, Uncle Jiu, who had been driving the cart, immediately became anxious and called for Bai Lianshan to take over the cart.

“Xiao Qiao, don’t panic, we have medicine in the village. We need to get back quickly.”

Bai Lianshan was the calmest of the group.

However, they were still a long way from the village, and it would take another hour and a half to reach the village.

At their current pace, they had to speed up immediately.

Uncle Jiu quickly checked on Xiaobao. He had learned some medical skills from Old Master Qiao and was considered one of the better barefoot doctors in the area.

“Not good. This child has a severe fever. I don’t know how long the fever has been going on, and they’ve been bundled up in blankets for so long. The situation is dangerous.”

After a simple check on Xiaobao, Uncle Jiu’s face turned grim.

The child’s condition was urgent, and without quick and effective treatment, there was a chance it could lead to weakness, or even worse, death or mental impairment.

Uncle Jiu’s words left Qiao Jiuru feeling as if her mind went blank.

She almost dropped Xiaobao from her arms, but thankfully, Uncle Jiu was quick and managed to catch him.

Su Huaiyuan, shocked by the children’s sudden illness, saw the fear in his wife’s eyes and remembered what she had said about the children dying in their past life in a similar situation.

His heart sank, but being a man, he quickly regained his composure and thought of something.

“Ahru, don’t panic. We have medicine. Don’t you remember? We have medicine. Didn’t Brother Zhang give us some special medicine? Quickly take it out for Dabao and Xiaobao.”

Su Huaiyuan tightly grasped his wife’s shoulder with his long, fair hand, his grip so strong that it caused her pain.

The pain in her shoulder broke Qiao Jiuru’s trance, and when she looked into Su Huaiyuan’s eyes filled with urgency and subtle hints, her heart jolted and she snapped back to reality.