An Hour and a Half Later

“Auntie, we’ve settled the money and goods—so we’ll be on our way.”

After loading ten large carts twice with five thousand jin of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, plus around three hundred jin of vegetables, Xiao Lei and his men happily waved goodbye to Qiao Jiuru.

“Alright, take care on the road,” Qiao Jiuru stood at the courtyard gate and waved them off, watching them disappear into the alley and fade into the night.

However, right after Xiao Lei and his crew left, Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan quickly moved the goods they had exchanged with Yu Daniu into their hidden storage space: sacks of rice and flour, eggs, half a pig’s worth of pork, twenty jin of lard, half a butchered mountain goat, ten jin of cured meat, twenty jin of salted dried fish, a hot water kettle, thermos, towels, rain boots, fabric, white liquor, Moutai, cigarettes, face cream, toothpaste and brushes, malted milk powder, leather shoes and belts, cotton, bicycle vouchers, and sewing machine tickets.

In the Neighboring Courtyard

Old Master Song and his wife had already woken up when Xiao Lei’s group delivered the first batch.

But the cautious old couple didn’t dare come out to check.

After all, they knew the neighboring courtyard belonged to Qiao Jiuru.

Who knew if something important was going on? It would be bad if they interrupted anything!

Only after the commotion of the second round had quieted for a while did a soft sound of pebbles hitting the ground come from their courtyard.

Old Master Song quickly threw on a coat, got up, opened the door, and walked to the wall that connected their yard with the neighboring one.

He quietly called out, “Is that you, niece?”

“It’s me, Old Master. Please open the door.”

Sure enough, the voice from the other side of the wall was the one he knew so well—it was exactly who he thought it was.

“Good, good, good!”

Old Master Song responded excitedly but softly.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan hadn’t visited in days, and he had worried something might’ve happened to them.

Now that they’d finally shown up, how could he not be overjoyed?

They hadn’t come empty-handed either. Both were carrying a lot, and at their feet was a large burlap sack.

When Old Master Song opened the door and saw how much they had brought, he was both surprised and a bit flustered.

“Let’s go inside first,” Qiao Jiuru said softly, seeing him frozen in shock.

The doorway wasn’t the place to talk—plus, time was tight.

They had to get back by 6:30, then head straight to the train station.

Old Master Song snapped back to his senses and quickly stepped aside.

The next moment, his arms were filled with things, and Qiao Jiuru dragged the heavy sack into the house.

None of them spoke as they tiptoed into the room.

Inside, Granny Song was already waiting.

When she saw all the supplies, she was shocked.

“Old Master Song, Auntie Song, we’re leaving soon, so I’ll keep it short. We haven’t come by these last few days because someone reported us. We’ve been assigned to labor reform starting today. We won’t be able to return again. These are supplies for you. There’s another five hundred jin of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes in the yard next door. Try to use them up over the next few months. I’m leaving the key with you.”

“Dear niece, given your situation, we really can’t accept all this…”

“Old Master, please just accept it. If we couldn’t take care of ourselves, we wouldn’t have had the ability to bring anything for you. Time’s running short. We have to go before they show up at our house. Old Master, Auntie, farewell—we’ll meet again someday.”

Before Old Master Song could finish speaking, Qiao Jiuru interrupted.

She quickly pressed the key into his hand and pulled her husband toward the door.

Su Huaiyuan and Qiao Jiuru didn’t give the elderly couple any chance to react.

In the blink of an eye, they were already out in the courtyard.

The two elders were flustered and wanted to chase after them, but didn’t dare make a scene or shout—only silently rushed out.

But by the time they reached the gate, Su Huaiyuan and Qiao Jiuru had already disappeared into the dawn.

They had to be home before the neighborhood committee showed up.

The elderly couple could only stand there, watching the couple’s figures vanish. They didn’t dare linger by the door either.

After cautiously scanning the surroundings, they quickly closed the door and went back inside.

There, they took stock of what had been left:

Thermos bottle

Hot water kettle

Five towels

Seven jin of cotton

Thirty eggs

Two jin of pork belly

Two jin of pork

One jin of goat meat

A stick of cured meat

Three jin of salted fish

Ten jin of riceTen jin of flour

A large sack of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes

And more—
Two large stacks of cash, twenty jin’s worth of food coupons, and over a dozen vouchers for kerosene, eggs, sugar, and other daily essentials.

Old Master Song and his wife were completely stunned, unable to believe their eyes.

This… this was far too much.

And there were still five hundred jin of coarse grain left in the neighboring courtyard.

They looked at each other in silence for a long time, tears streaming freely down their weathered faces.