Chapter 20

“Baihe sister is so smart, she definitely won’t get lost.” Qiao Yunbai was very confident in Qiao Baihe on this point. But the adults’ main concern was still that the He family wasn’t attentive enough to their daughter, Qiao Baihe.

“Well, then Qiao Baihe won’t have good luck with food,” Qiao Xinyi said regretfully. “Since everyone’s here, let’s eat.”

Qiao Xinyi had already noticed at the police station that the He parents were unreliable.

Qiao Xinyi’s cooking was indeed excellent—six people, eight dishes and one soup. The adults called it a waste, while the younger generation ate happily with smiles all over their faces.

While eating, Chen Yubing mentioned to Qiao Xinyi that she should go back to the Qiao family home tomorrow evening.

“I heard you’re back. Your eldest uncle, aunt, and younger uncle said they want to see you,” Chen Yubing said. “Your grandma asked you to come home for dinner tomorrow night.”

“I didn’t just get back, and they didn’t just find out I’m home,” Qiao Xinyi rolled her eyes. “If they really wanted to see me, they would have come by already. Who knows why they want to come tomorrow?”

“Grandma also told Mom to buy some fancy dishes to take back tomorrow,” Qiao Yunbai wrinkled his nose. “I told Mom not to buy anything, and to just keep eating like these past few days.”

When Qiao Yunbai talked about the meals at the Qiao house these days, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Grandma’s been complaining every day in the residential compound that Mom is abusing her and Dad, but no one in the whole compound sides with her. Instead, everyone advises her, saying it’s not easy for Mom to earn money and support the whole family alone, and Mom still owes debts to pay back. They say Mom and I eat the same food every day, and lots of people even ask Grandma how come Mom and I can eat it, but she and Dad can’t?”

For the first time in his life, Qiao Yunbai felt that staying at home was actually pretty pleasant.

Li Jun and Li Xiuying, the two siblings, immediately laughed out loud.

Liu Guilan listened and felt relieved on Chen Yubing’s behalf. The more she knew about the Qiao family’s affairs, the more she despised them.

Li Jun took a bite of the stewed beef and gave Qiao Xinyi a thumbs-up, praising, “Your beef stew smells great, better than the state-run restaurants. Oh, by the way…” Li Jun suddenly remembered something and smiled. “Fu Qingshan won’t have good luck either. He’ll be back in the provincial city around midnight tonight. If you’re eager to find him, you can look for him at the compound tomorrow. He’s still on vacation and will be free as long as he’s in the city.”

“I’ll go find him first thing tomorrow morning,” Qiao Xinyi was, of course, anxious. She was eager to get back her 5,000 yuan. Only when she got the money back could she take out her electric fan. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have any excuse to explain why she had so much money to buy a fan.

Though Qiao Xinyi had prepared many dishes, everyone at the table had good appetites, and by the end, except for a bit of leftover soup, all the food was gone.

Chen Yubing and Liu Guilan took charge of washing the dishes, while Qiao Yunbai sat in the yard with Qiao Xinyi and the others, enjoying the breeze.

He quietly said to Qiao Xinyi, “I never thought eating meat could be this satisfying. Xinyi sister, I really like you.”

The more time Qiao Yunbai spent with his biological elder sister, the more he liked her. Since she came back, Mom no longer had to endure everything silently at home. Since she returned, he had the happiest meal he’d ever had in his life.

Also, the elder sister and Baihe got along well, so he didn’t have to feel awkward being stuck in the middle. He was worried his elder sister wouldn’t fit in with the family, and also worried Baihe would be hurt.

One was his elder sister by blood, the one Mom had regretted losing contact with for nineteen years. The other was the sister who had lived with him and taken care of him all those nineteen years. Qiao Yunbai hoped they could both be happy.

“You sure know how to flatter,” Qiao Xinyi ruffled Qiao Yunbai’s hair. “I’ll treat you to candy tomorrow.”

Qiao Yunbai shook his head seriously. “Sister, you better not buy candy. Save that money and use it to eat meat next month.” Probably because Qiao Yunbai had been aware of the family’s finances from a young age, even though he was only thirteen, he already understood money better than most kids his age. Just from tonight’s meal, without even asking, Qiao Yunbai guessed. Besides the thirty yuan that Chen Yubing, his mother, had given Qiao Xinyi for pocket money, Qiao Yunbai suspected she must have some other money on her as well.

Qiao Yunbai wouldn’t pry into such private matters, but he also didn’t want to see Qiao Xinyi spend all her money. He knew earning money was hard, and saving it even harder. When he heard Qiao Xinyi wanted to buy him candy, no matter how much he craved it, he would find a reason to refuse, so she could save that money first.

But thinking about tonight’s meal and then hearing about buying candy, Qiao Yunbai quietly sighed to himself. This family really had to rely on him to hold things together.

Before going to sleep, Qiao Xinyi planned to get up early to find Fu Qingshan and get her bankbook, but when she woke up, it was already 10 a.m. The weather was too hot, and Qiao Xinyi hadn’t slept well—waking up several times from the heat—so she got up late.

At this time, Li Xiuying had already gone out to meet some classmates. Qiao Xinyi ate the breakfast Liu Guilan had left for her and then went out.

After taking two transfers, by the time Qiao Xinyi arrived at the entrance of the compound, it was already 11:30 a.m. She told the young soldier at the gate her name and who she was looking for. After a short wait, a young soldier came running over to escort her.

“Comrade Qiao Xinyi, unfortunately, our battalion commander is currently in a meeting with the political commissar. He told me to bring you to his house to wait; he’ll be back soon,” said Xiao Mao, sweating from running, explaining, “The commander thought you’d arrive earlier and has been waiting for you at home since morning. Unfortunately, he was just called away by the commissar.”

“I overslept this morning,” Qiao Xinyi said honestly, without even trying to make a better excuse for herself.

Xiao Mao chuckled, glanced at Qiao Xinyi’s head, and recalled what Commander Fu had told him before leaving: if a bald female comrade named Qiao Xinyi came looking for him, he should bring her to his house to wait.

Before seeing her, Xiao Mao had thought, “Who in the world would be a bald female comrade?” But it turned out such a person really existed, and he got to meet her.

Xiao Mao felt awkward asking about the relationship between the female comrade and the commander, so after leading her into the compound, he quickly changed the subject.

“Our compound built several new residential buildings last year, all toward the back. They are five stories tall each, looking very grand,” Xiao Mao said. The new buildings stood tall and impressive, definitely more so than the old-style residential buildings not far away.

“Unfortunately, our commander was transferred in late, and no large vacant apartments were left in the new buildings, so he took one of the houses here instead.”

As they talked, they reached Fu Qingshan’s house. Fu had just transferred in and taken over the house only a couple of days ago. The two-story small courtyard was empty in many places.

Xiao Mao said there was only a wooden bed in the house, and no other furniture yet.

So naturally, there wasn’t even a chair for Qiao Xinyi to sit on.

Since Fu Qingshan wasn’t home, and Qiao Xinyi didn’t want to wander around someone else’s house, it was a bit awkward standing there with Xiao Mao without anything to do. So Qiao Xinyi asked, “Is there also a Captain He here?”