Qiao Mei stood up and waved the children over, bringing them to wash their hands.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong. Wash your hands then go and eat,” Qiao Mei said.
“Xiao Wei, go and get your Grandpa Qiao Qiang. Let’s eat together,” Li Gui said to Zhang Wei.
“Aye! Alright!” Zhang Wei folded the clothes and put them into his school bag before carrying it and running out. He did not say anything and kept everything to himself. The truth was he was overjoyed, and actually more worried that nobody would see the school bag that Qiao Mei made for him.
Qiao Qiang was sitting in the courtyard when he saw Zhang Wei rushing over.
“Grandpa! Come, let’s go to my house for dinner,” Zhang Wei said.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Qiao Qiang smiled and stood up to walk back with Zhang Wei.
“Grandpa, look. My elder sister Mei Mei made this for me.” Zhang Wei showed off his small cloth bag.
When Qiao Qiang saw the look on Zhang Wei’s face, he grinned and said, “Aiyo, let me see. This looks really nice. Even grandfather doesn’t have one. Your elder sister Qiao Mei is really good to you.”
“Yes, and I’m not the only one who has it! We all have one!” Zhang Wei jumped around happily.
Qiao Qiang was happy to see this. He had brought Qiao Mei up from young and she had since grown up, but now there were new children who called him grandfather and hung out around him. Although they were not his biological grandchildren, having the children playing around in his courtyard brought a lot of happiness to him.
As the saying goes, “Happiness is the best cosmetic”. Ever since the children came, Qiao Qiang had been smiling more. When he had nothing to do, he would make toys for the children and bring them out to play. This in turn made up for the fact that the children previously did not have a kind elder to bring them around.
When they arrived at Li Gui’s house, it was time for dinner. Everyone gathered together happily and Qiao Mei was relieved to see such a harmonious atmosphere.
After dinner, Qiao Mei had a private conversation with Li Gui in the courtyard.
“Mom, I might go to the capital for about a month. I’m worried about my grandfather being at home alone, so I’ll have to trouble you to visit him more often.” Qiao Mei looked at Li Gui worriedly.
Although Qiao Qiang could do everything by himself and no one in the village dared to bully him, she was still worried and had to repeatedly remind everyone to help her take care of him before she could feel at ease.
“The capital? Why are you going there?” Li Gui looked puzzled.
“My husband is coming back from his mission. I want to go to the capital to visit his parents with him,” Qiao Mei said.
Li Gui thought for a moment and went into the house to take out 20 dollars and stuffed it into Qiao Mei’s hand. She looked at Qiao Mei firmly and said, “Mom is useless. This is some money that mom has recently earned. Keep it and buy something to eat on the way. Don’t go hungry and don’t think of mom as a nuisance.”
Qiao Mei did not lack money, but looking at the look on Li Gui’s face, Qiao Mei knew that it represented the love a mother had for her daughter.
“Alright, I’ll accept it,” Qiao Mei said.
“Don’t worry. During that period, I’ll get Zhang Wei to ask him over for dinner. Otherwise, if he feels too tired to come by, I’ll get Zhang Wei to send the food over. We can also go over to cook and eat with him occasionally. You can rest assured about it,” Li Gui said.
“Alright, then I shan’t worry about it anymore. You also have to take good care of yourself and don’t let anyone bully you,” Qiao Mei said.
“Aye, don’t worry.” Li Gui nodded.
Qiao Mei was going off to Gushan with all her luggage tomorrow. Once she had settled everything at home, she started to pack her luggage. Qiao Qiang sat at one side and watched her doing her packing with mixed feelings. He did not know what to say and constantly felt uneasy. He felt that it was too dangerous for Qiao Mei to go to the capital alone.
“Mei Mei, if there’s really no other way, then let your Uncle Chen Hu go with you.” Qiao Qiang frowned and looked at Qiao Mei.
As Qiao Mei kept the blanket, she said, “Grandfather, so you’re still so worried about me. Uncle Chen Hu’s soldiers might not even be as strong as me.”
Qiao Qiang thought about it and had to agree with her. Qiao Mei could indeed protect herself with her strange super-strength, but it was different now from before. Previously, her looks did not attract any attention, but now that Qiao Mei was so beautiful and outstanding, even if she was really capable, what could she do if she was targeted by villains.
Qiao Qiang still felt that it was not safe. Qiao Mei’s current appearance was more problematic than before. Previously, when she went out, he was not worried about her being targeted by others. The way that Qiao Mei looked in the past, she also did not seem like a nice person at all.
