“Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?!”

It was past eight in the evening, and the youth commune was about to close.

Suddenly, Su Huazhu heard someone outside calling her name, and the voice sounded very familiar.

At that moment, she was a bit dazed and couldn’t immediately recall who it was.

Then, she heard Song Luoyun calling her to come outside.

So, she hurriedly went out with Song Luoshu, who was supposed to stay with her.

When they reached the youth commune’s entrance, they were both surprised and delighted to see her parents.

It had been nearly a month since they had seen each other.

Su Huazhu missed her parents so much.

“Uncle Lu sent us a lot of dried seafood, so we came to bring some to you.”

Qiao Jiuru handed the seafood meant for her daughter and the Song family’s children to Su Huazhu. Inside the package, there was not only dried fish, kelp, and seaweed but also a one-pound block of cured pork.

When Su Huazhu heard that it was from Uncle Lu, she was very happy.

With Uncle Zhang and Uncle Lu supporting their family, she felt more at ease.

“Mom, how is Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law?! How are Da Bao and Xiao Bao?!”

Aside from her concern for her parents, she was also very fond of her two adorable nephews.

“They’re good, all good.”

Qiao Jiuru said with a smile, that the two little ones were getting fat from being well-fed, though they hadn’t been eating as much or as well lately.

“Don’t let yourselves suffer, you and Xiao Shu, Xiao Yun. I’ll come often to bring you things.”

She knew that life in the commune wasn’t peaceful, with many people and many thoughts, and a lot of scheming.

Thankfully, there were old friends here; otherwise, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

Su Huazhu nodded vigorously. Having her parents here was such a relief.

After chatting a bit more with Song Luoyun and Song Luoshu, Qiao Jiuru asked them to go back and rest early.

As they had done before, the couple watched the three children enter the youth commune before leaving.

The next day, for lunch, Song Luoyun and Song Luoshu had familiar dried salted fish and seaweed egg drop soup.

The salted fish wasn’t just meat, it was also great for eating with rice.

Paired with a bowl of egg drop soup, it was delicious.

That evening, after dinner, the three of them, as usual, sneaked outside the commune to eat.

“An apple?!”

When Song Luoshu and Song Luoyun saw the bright red apples in Su Huazhu’s hands, they couldn’t help but widen their eyes in surprise, not quite believing it, and they kept swallowing.

They hadn’t eaten apples in a long time, probably since their family had fallen into hard times.

First, they couldn’t afford it; second, if they had money, they would buy food.

“My mom brought them, one for each of you. Quick, eat.”

Su Huazhu was just as shocked when she saw the three apples in the bag her mom gave her.

Then she noticed the note inside, telling her to share the apples with Xiao Yun and Xiao Shu and to finish them quickly without anyone seeing.

That’s right, the fruit in Qiao Jiuru’s space had ripened and was abundant. Now, the couple, along with Da Bao and Xiao Bao, ate fruits from the space every day.

This kind of treatment was even better than what their eldest son and daughter-in-law received.

But now, Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan were also part of this privilege.

“Big cousin, Aunt and Uncle Su are really too kind.”

“Uncle Su and Aunt are so good to us.”

The siblings held their apples, deeply moved.

They truly felt they had received so much kindness from the Su family. Life here was even better than in the capital.

“My mom says that now we’re helping your family, but in the future, we might need your family’s help too. True sincerity is shown in times of hardship, and the bond formed through mutual assistance is the most genuine. If I ever need help, you won’t turn your back on me.”

Su Huazhu understood the feelings of the two siblings so well.

If it were her, she would be grateful too, so she expressed these thoughts to them.

“Big cousin, thank you.”

Song Luoshu wiped his tears, seriously thanking her.

He understood what Su Huazhu meant.

Song Luoyun, standing by, didn’t know how to express his gratitude but nodded vigorously to Su Huazhu.

“Let’s eat quickly, it’s not good if someone sees us. My mom says what goes into our stomachs is ours. We can’t leave the apples; if someone sees, there’ll be a lot of gossip. It’s better to finish them quickly and be done with it.”

Su Huazhu had learned all too well that in the commune, you couldn’t leave good things behind; you had to finish them quickly and not let anyone know.

Song Luoshu and Song Luoyun nodded quickly, exchanged glances, and then bit into their apples.

Delicious, so sweet, so fragrant.

They had eaten apples often when their family was well off, but they had never tasted such delicious apples. These were especially, exceptionally good.

They also felt extremely happy and incredibly lucky.

Because now, their meals were better than the other youth in the commune.

They cooked for themselves, and all three of them ate the same food.

Of course, they fetched their own water and firewood, which was a bit more troublesome, but it also gave them a sense of confidence.

Unfortunately, living together in one room was still inconvenient.

However, Su Huazhu, Song Luoyun, and Song Luoshu had quietly discussed that as soon as they had the chance, they would move out and live on their own.

Song Luoshu not only agreed but fully supported the idea.

It was Song Luoyun, though, who had written about this matter in a letter to his grandfather.

Soon, he received a reply from his grandfather.

The old man suggested that if there was something he couldn’t decide on, he should ask Aunt Qiao and Uncle Su for their opinion, or listen to his sister and Su Huazhu’s advice.

Grandfather Song knew his eldest grandson’s personality very well.

Before the family’s troubles, he was steady and reliable.

But after the family fell into hard times, although he had struggled to hold on, his courage had shrunk, and he had become even more timid than his younger sister, Xiao Shu, who was bold and brave.

In truth, Grandfather Song was very clear that his eldest grandson was just afraid of spending money.

The family’s condition was so bad that he lacked the confidence to make bold decisions.

At the end of the year, Grandfather Song thought he would bring his eldest grandson back; otherwise, he would live in constant fear.

“Delicious, so good. I’ve never had such delicious apples.”

Su Ze bit into the large red apple, one bite after another. It was the one his parents had specifically brought for him before they went to deliver things to his sister, one apple per person.

Even Da Bao and Xiao Bao had their share.

Zhou Wanwan also couldn’t stop eating the apple. Hearing her husband’s words, she nodded in agreement.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao each had an apple, clutching them tightly in their little hands. They bit into the apples, and the juice dripped down their tiny mouths.

The two little brothers chewed eagerly, their eyes and hearts filled with the apples in their hands.

Today, they finally got to eat delicious fruit again, and they happily squinted their eyes.

After the crops were planted, the fieldwork was halved, and the production team started work early and finished early.

At noon, after lunch, Qiao Jiuru, Su Huaiyuan, and Su Ze, along with Zhou Wanwan, went to the mountains to collect firewood, leaving Da Bao and Xiao Bao to be carried in slings by their mother and grandmother.

They soon fell asleep.

The family gathered firewood and cut timber around the mountain’s edge.

Su Huaiyuan and Su Ze did the cutting, while Zhou Wanwan and Qiao Jiuru collected and tied the firewood.

By the end of the afternoon, the family quickly returned with enough firewood to last for five or six days.

In the evening, after work, they returned the farm tools and hurried home to prepare dinner.

However, as soon as they finished eating, they heard loud noises coming from outside.

The sounds grew louder, seemingly heading in their direction.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan exchanged a glance, and without a word, the couple swiftly stood up and started packing away anything in the house that shouldn’t be seen.