Heartache

By the time they finished handing out the gifts, the meals were almost ready.

"Qibao." Mrs. Wang said: "Your grandfather and his group have probably eaten by now. It's getting late, just go see them tomorrow to let them know you're safe."

"I'll do that, Grandma!" Qibao replied.

The old man spoke up: "Let's all sit down to eat first. After munching on dry rations the whole way here and now we want to have a bite of hot food."

Once everyone was seated, Mrs. Wang asked: "Xuedong, Wenwu, how did your exams go?"

Qian Xuedong answered: "Granny Xu, the results haven't come out yet, so I'm not sure. But Wenwu seemed more confident than me."

Madam Qian tried to comfort him: "Just do your best, son. If you don't pass this time, you can always try again next year."

Qian Xuedong nodded: "Right, Mother. I mostly wanted to gain some experience and give it a shot. But we can't make any conclusions until we see the results."

The old man agreed: "Xuedong speaks the truth. Don't lose heart until you've heard the end."

Xiaowu piped up: "Grandpa, what's so special about Qingyun City?"

"Nothing really." The old man replied: "It's just bigger than our town, with more people and a wider variety of things to see and do."

"If you're interested." Mrs. Wang suggested: "When things settle down, we could all take a trip to the city for some excitement."

Mrs. Zhang sighed: "Aren't cities wonderful? But if you're not careful, trouble will find you in a flash."

The others at the table looked stunned.

Mrs. Wang quickly asked: "Has something happened?"

Uncle Xu pulled on Madam Zhang's sleeve: "Why bring it up?! Won't you just worry everyone for no reason? We're fine now, aren't we?"

Mrs. Wang's face hardened: "Eldest." She asked: "Just what happened?"

Under his mother's stern look, Uncle Xu finally gave in. He told the whole story, from when his wife and daughter, along with Fuqiu, were taken to the Yamen.

"That scum! How dare he bully my sister and my Auntie! I won't let him get away with this!" Xiaowu pounded the table, his face full of anger.

The other brothers also looked furious.

The grandfather spoke up: "That Gao Yuan will have a permanent disability now—a painful lesson he won't forget."

When Mrs. Wang thought of her daughter-in-law and granddaughter being thrown into prison and nearly being whipped, she felt choked up and said: "Qibao has never suffered such injustice since she was a child. Fortunately, Qibao is capable, otherwise she would have been beaten to a pulp."

Xu Erbo said: "Thanks to the good Magistrate, otherwise things could have been far worse!"

Mrs. Zhang said: "Magistrate Wen's family is very good. Miss Wen is both talented and beautiful, and she is sensible. Master Wen is no less capable. He is older than Wenwu, and they get along well. Plus, our Juxiang Pavilion is also very good thanks to Magistrate Wen's care. He has solved many problems for us."

Mrs. Wang nodded: "We should thank them properly, they've gone to a lot of trouble for us."

The old man chimed in: "Magistrate Wen loves our fruit wine. We'll give him a few jugs when the time comes."

As they talked, their meal finished in the lively chatter.

Later that night, Qibao washed up and climbed into bed.

Suddenly, someone knocked on her door.

Qibao opened it, it was Mrs. Wang.

"Grandma, why are you here?"

Mrs. Wang entered and closed the door behind her, saying: "Tonight I want to sleep with you, I haven't seen you for such a long time, grandma's heart can't tell you how much she misses you."

Qibao smiled: "I want to be with Grandma too."

After the two of them went to bed, Mrs. Wang hugged Qibao and patted her granddaughter's back gently, saying with emotion: "When you just learned to walk, you often sneaked from your mother's room to my room at night and wanted to sleep with me. You were only this big at that time, and in the blink of an eye you have grown into a big girl." Mrs. Wang gestured with her hands as she spoke.

Qibao listened quietly to Mrs. Wang's words, even though she couldn't remember them.

Mrs. Wang continued: "You've always been sensible and lovable since you were little. Even after you studied under an immortal, your personality changed a bit, but you're still as endearing as before. Grandma notices, though, that despite your young age, it's like you're hiding something in your heart. Just remember, it's natural for Grandma to care for you, and there's no need for you to repay me. Sometimes I wish you could act more like other kids and throw tantrums. Your maturity is both a blessing and a burden on my heart."

Qibao clenched her fists, unsure how to respond. She cherished this hard-earned family bond, which was her first experience of the happiness of having relatives. She feared that one day when they learned the original Qibao had died, they might change their view of her.

She deeply cared about every person in the household. She constantly thought if she worked hard enough, she could provide a good life for her family, thereby repaying their love and ensuring she never lost this precious connection.

However, she had forgotten that she was still very young. This heavy burden might also cause worry for her loved ones.

Mrs. Wang continued: "Your brothers are all grown now, and it's time for them to take on the responsibility of running our household. Bao'er."

Qibao nodded silently.

Mrs. Wang suddenly smiled and said: "Look how much I've been talking. It must be making you sleepy, isn't it? Grandmother will stop talking now. Just let me keep stroking your hand gently until you fall asleep. You always loved it when I did this when you were little."

Qibao closed her eyes, feeling her grandmother's warm presence around her. As her breathing gradually evened out, she drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Mrs. Wang watched over Qibao's sleeping form, gently brushing away strands of hair that had fallen across her granddaughter's face. Her eyes overflowed with affection.

The next morning, when Qibao woke up, Mrs. Wang was already gone.

She chuckled softly - despite usually being a light sleeper, she hadn't even noticed her grandmother getting up.

Seeing her young mistress awake, Fuqiu quickly brought over a basin of water and helped Qibao wash up and get ready before leaving the room.

When they entered the main hall, breakfast was already prepared, and the family gathered to eat.

"Second and Third." The old man began: "How's work been going at the construction site lately?"

Uncle Xu Erbao replied: "Everything's going well. We're almost done with the construction. Everyone's looking forward to the tourists coming so they can make a good profit!"

The old man exclaimed: "That's good. We need to prepare everything in advance to make sure there aren't any problems. This is the hope of our entire Xujia Village. We need to find some people to watch over it. If there are too many people, it will be bad if something unexpected happens. The fish pond at home is quite deep. For the safety of tourists, we need to find a few people who can swim to patrol the pond."

Xu Dabo said: "I've already thought about it, Father. We can find some people from the slums to come help us. It's a chance for them to earn money too. I'm sure they'll be happy to."

The old man nodded: "Then I'll leave this matter to you."

"Don't worry. Just let me talk to them, and I'm sure they'll jump at the chance to help." Said Xu Dabo.

The slum that the Xu family had helped build was almost finished. It was a big project and a good deed too. The county governor thought it was important too and had hired many workers to get the refugees settled as soon as possible.

The Xu family is now quite famous in the town. Everyone praises their kindness and they have a very good reputation. As a result, the reputation of the Leshan Pharmacy has also been getting better and better, not to mention the Xu family's Iron Triangle BBQ Shop.

After breakfast, Mrs. Lin took Qibao's hand and headed towards the winery with a package in her hand.