“Tomorrow, when we have some free time, let’s find a place and start raising chickens. I’ll go find some vegetable seeds tomorrow and plant the vegetables first.”

Qiao Jiuru was digging the land while discussing with her husband, wishing that the time in this space could pass twice as fast.

But, she had to go to work tomorrow.

She really didn’t want to go to work at all and had no mood for it.

All she could think about was quickly hoarding supplies, gathering a lot of things, because she still didn’t feel secure.

“Ah Ru, when we go to the black market tomorrow morning, we can spend some money to have people bring us vegetable seeds and grain seeds. Ah Ru, don’t worry, we’ve already prepared so many things. If we’re careful with our food, we might not have enough for a year, but we’ll be fine for seven or eight months.”

“Moreover, we’re growing food, vegetables, raising chickens, and fish here. As long as this place is here, we won’t starve.”

“I noticed that it doesn’t seem very cold here; it’s about twenty degrees. You’ve also prepared so many quilts, cotton clothes, and cotton fabric, and even hidden some clothes. We’ll definitely get through this tough time.”

Su Huaiyuan could feel his wife’s anxiety and unease and tried his best to share her burden, giving her enough security.

“I know, I’m just worried that I haven’t prepared enough. What worries me most is that I might not be able to protect Dabo, Xiaobao, and Huazhu.”

Actually, how could Qiao Jiuru not know that something was wrong with her state?!

She just couldn’t calm herself down.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. We’ve already prepared. This time, the things you dreamed about won’t happen. Ah Ru, trust me.”

Su Huaiyuan put down his hoe and tightly embraced his wife, who was crying.

It was his fault for not being more helpful, leaving her to bear it all alone.

“Tomorrow, after work, let’s send Dabao and Xiaobao to Sister Lu’s house. In the afternoon, we’ll go to Brother Zhang’s house to ask about Xiaofeng’s job offer and whether Huazhu can go to the countryside. After dinner, we’ll quietly go to Nanluoguxiang and Dongjiaominxiang to collect our things.”

If it weren’t for the concern that they were being monitored, they wouldn’t have had to take so many precautions.

“Alright, let’s hurry up and prepare the land. The sooner we prepare, the sooner we can plant.”

Qiao Jiuru’s mood changed quickly, but time was tight, so she couldn’t afford to think too much.

Soon, the two of them managed to clear about thirty square meters of land and immediately planted potatoes.

This idea suddenly came to Qiao Jiuru’s mind, and the potatoes were from their home.

The day before they were about to be relocated.

Around 3 a.m., Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan quietly went to the black market again.

They bought 100 pounds of flour and rice, then eggs and live chickens, and even managed to grab five pounds of pork and three pounds of lard.

The most surprising part was that there were live fish and shrimp available in the black market.

The couple naturally didn’t miss the opportunity, buying several fish and several pounds of shrimp.

In addition, Qiao Jiuru also exchanged for seven or eight overseas Chinese coupons.

It was only when she saw them that she remembered she and her daughter-in-law had not prepared sanitary napkins yet.

In the past, when she went to exchange for overseas Chinese coupons, she would also buy some sanitary napkins for herself and her daughter-in-law, alternating them with menstrual belts and toilet paper.

Qiao Jiuru suddenly realized that she hadn’t prepared menstrual belts and toilet paper yet.

After lunch, she would have to hurry to buy those things.

After finishing at one black market, they went to another.

Fortunately, they had the space to hide in if things went wrong.

Luckily, their luck had been good these days.

Although they bought a lot, there were also many wealthy people in the capital, and it wasn’t unusual for people with large families to buy supplies for a half-month’s worth.

By the time they returned to the family compound, the sky was just starting to lighten.

Su Ze and Zhou Wanwan were already up, making breakfast and getting ready for the day.

Zhou Wanwan was already used to her in-laws not being home early in the morning.

As soon as the breakfast was ready, her in-laws returned together.

“Xiao Wan, wake the children up for breakfast. I have to go to work today. I’ll take Dabao and Xiaobao to Sister Lu’s house.”

They all worked at Jing University, and since they started at 8 a.m., they had to wake the little ones up before work and take them to someone’s house to help with childcare.

Dabao and Xiaobao were taken care of by the retired Sister Lu from the family compound.

They paid her 20 yuan a month.

She didn’t need to worry about meals, just looking after them in the morning and afternoon.

“Mom, I know.”

Luckily, the little ones went to bed at 9 p.m., so waking them at 7 a.m. wasn’t a problem.

Soon, the two little ones were woken up, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quickly helped them with water, washing their faces, and giving them breakfast.

Although Dabao and Xiaobao were young, since their parents were going to work, they were calm and didn’t cry or make a fuss when they were taken to Sister Lu’s house.

“Sister Lu, we’re troubling you with Dabao and Xiaobao again.”

Qiao Jiuru held one child in each hand and took them to a house not far from theirs.

A middle-aged woman, a few years older than her, stood at the door.

“Teacher Qiao, you’re too polite, it’s no trouble at all. I should be thanking you. Anyway, I’m not watching them for free.”

Lu Meiling calmly took the two little ones from Qiao Jiuru’s hands.

Thanks to the income from watching the Su family’s children, she didn’t have to go and paste matchboxes.

Watching children for the Su family was easy work with decent pay, and it was much better than working as a temporary worker, so Lu Meiling did her best to take care of them.

Moreover, the Su family wasn’t stingy.

They often gave her fruit, candy, or half a kilogram of biscuits.

She also had one day off a week. Where else could she find such a good deal?

“Dabao, Xiaobao, be good and listen to Sister Lu. When Grandpa, Grandma, and your parents finish work, we’ll come to pick you up.”

Qiao Jiuru lovingly touched her two grandsons’ little heads and gently reminded them.

Dabao and Xiaobao immediately nodded obediently, not making a sound.

They even waved their little hands at their grandmother, reassuring her.

At noon, after picking up the children and having lunch, Zhou Wanwan led them to take a nap, while Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan headed out the door together.

Without saying a word, the couple went straight to the hospital.

But halfway there, they met Zhang Hong, who was also riding his bike.

“I was just about to come to your house. I didn’t expect to run into you here. Xiao Feng’s job offer has arrived.”

Zhang Hong had just finished lunch and came over.

Since he already had the job offer letter, he wasn’t in a hurry to go to the Su family and chose to take this time instead.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan immediately felt a wave of relief after confirming the news with Zhang Hong.

They had finally arranged their youngest son’s future and could now feel at ease.

“Let’s go buy Xiao Feng’s train ticket now. He’ll leave tomorrow.”

Time was of the essence.

They needed to send their son off quickly, or else, if he found out what was going to happen at home, he might not want to leave.

At that moment, Qiao Jiuru couldn’t wait for a moment longer.

She was ready to drag Su Huaiyuan straight to the train station.

“Wait, Xiao Ru, Huaiyuan, let’s find Old Lu and ask him to buy a sleeper ticket for Xiao Feng and check the situation with Huazhu’s countryside assignment!”

Right, right.

The matter of the Su family being reported and arranging for Huazhu to go to the countryside was being handled by Lu Baoguo, who had taken charge of the investigation and was also making connections to handle it.