Knock knock knock.

“Dad, Mom.”

By the time Su Huazhu and the others quietly arrived at the Su family’s house, it was already dark, so no one saw them coming.

Inside the house, Dabao and Xiaobao were playing with their parents, while Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan sat nearby watching them.

Just then, Su Huazhu’s voice and the knocking came one after the other.

Huazhu?!

That familiar voice—Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan recognized it immediately.

The couple was both surprised and overjoyed. They hadn’t expected their daughter to arrive at this moment.

Dabao, Xiaobao, Su Ze, and Zhou Wanwan all stopped what they were doing and turned toward the door in unison.

“Is that Huazhu?!”

Su Huaiyuan rushed over to open the door, asking urgently as he went.

“Dad, it’s me.”

By then, her father was already at the door, and Su Huazhu had moved closer as well, so she knew it was her father who was opening the door. She answered excitedly.

Sure enough, it was their daughter.

Su Huaiyuan immediately pulled the door open. Standing outside were his daughter and two children from the Song family.

“Come in, all of you, come in quickly.”

He stepped aside, excitedly ushering them in.

After the children entered, he poked his head outside to check the surroundings, then quickly closed the door.

“Mom, big brother, sister-in-law, Dabao, Xiaobao.”

Su Huazhu looked at her mother, her brother and sister-in-law, and her two little nephews with excitement, greeting each one.

“Huazhu.”

“Little sister.”

“Little sister.”

“Auntie! Auntie!”

“Aun-tie! Aun-tie!”

As soon as her daughter walked in, Qiao Jiuru reached out and hugged her tightly.

Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan looked at Su Huazhu with big smiles, scanning her from head to toe.

Dabao and Xiaobao still remembered their aunt.

She used to play with them often and was always so kind to them.

Their bond was the strongest.

Su Huazhu felt a bit shy as she pulled away from her mother’s embrace and quickly went over to hug Dabao and Xiaobao.

“Xiaoshu, Xiaoyun.”

After releasing her daughter, Qiao Jiuru took the hands of Song Luoyun and Song Luoshu, looked them over carefully, and only relaxed when she saw they were in good health.

“Old Su, go find Uncle Jiu and have him kill that chicken we asked him to buy for us. Bring it back quickly.”

“Ah, ah, alright! I’ll go now—be right back!”

Su Huaiyuan, being perfectly in sync with his wife, instantly understood her intent and rushed out.

“Dad, I’ll go help.”

Su Ze quickly offered to help too—more hands meant faster work.

“Xiao Ze, you and Wanwan go knead the dough, boil water, and make some steamed buns for your sister and the kids.”

Unexpectedly, Qiao Jiuru called him back and gave him a different task.

“Alright, we’ll go right now.”

Su Ze obediently turned to get the flour and went to the kitchen with his wife to get started.

Once the people who needed to be sent away were gone, Qiao Jiuru pulled Xiaoyun and Xiaoshu over to sit by the heated brick bed and began asking about their situation.

“Have you written to your family? Is everything okay back home?”

“Auntie, we wrote, and Grandpa, Grandma, and little brother wrote back. They told us to work hard with Cousin Huazhu, and that everything’s fine at home.”

Xiaoshu replied brightly. She felt immense gratitude toward Auntie Qiao.

Without her, they wouldn’t be where they were now, and things back home would’ve been much worse.

Their grandfather had said the same in the letter, urging them to stick close to Su Shuzhu at all times, and to be careful.

“Xiaoshu, didn’t you not finish elementary school? Are you not planning to continue your studies?”

Qiao Jiuru sensed the gratitude in the young girl’s words and tone, and developed a genuine fondness for her.

She was happy to show her more care.

“Auntie, I only went up to the first semester of fifth grade.”

Their family had run into trouble back then.

With their background, life at school was difficult—they were bullied constantly.

Even when she wanted to keep studying, the family couldn’t afford it.

After saying this, Xiaoshu lowered her head.

“Xiaoshu, I think you should go back to school. Your production team has a primary school, right? I have a suggestion: why not attend school in the morning and work in the afternoon? That way, you won’t fall behind in your studies or your labor.

As for food shortages—based on what I know, if you run out of rations, you can buy food from the production team. It’s cheap, and honestly, we’re not short on twenty or thirty yuan a year anymore. Try it for a semester, and you can write to your grandfather about it if needed.”

“Auntie, there’s no need to ask—we’ll do as you say.”

To her surprise, Song Luoyun immediately and excitedly made the decision for his sister.

He knew Auntie Qiao truly cared about them.

And a university professor like her wouldn’t give bad advice—this was the right path for his sister.

She had to go to school.

They brought enough money when they moved to the countryside to support her through middle school.

“Xiaoluo, Xiaoshu, the country won’t stay like this forever. It’ll need educated people to move forward. What if one day, a factory suddenly starts hiring in large numbers but only takes people with a middle school education? Then wouldn’t Xiaoshu miss her chance to change her life? Opportunities are always for the prepared. You have to prepare in advance—otherwise, even if the chance is right in front of you, you won’t be able to grab it.”

Qiao Jiuru appreciated Song Luoyun’s decisiveness but still took the opportunity to explain her reasoning.

In five years, they would thank themselves for making this choice today.

“We’ll listen to you, Auntie.”

Song Luoshu wasn’t foolish—she was the smartest and most thoughtful one in the Song family.

After all the hardships, at just over thirteen, she fully understood what Qiao Jiuru meant.

She also had a strong feeling: Tonight’s conversation would become one of the most important turning points of her life.