Chapter 288: Chapter 288: The Poor and Backward Village Chapter 288: Chapter 288: The Poor and Backward Village This certainly was not an easy physical task; waking up early and working late were extrely exhausting, yet the rewards were very generous.
Qiao Qingyu thought deeply and extensively, drifting into contemplation, but soon she rembered sothing she had forgotten— the knot, the one Han Xianglan had repeatedly instructed her about yesterday.
Everyone had finished breakfast and was drinking tea in the living room.
Qiao Qingyu brought out the knot. Before she could even speak, Wu Xiucai’s face changed dramatically, his eyes fixated on the knot. Without waiting for Qiao Qingyu to hand it to him, he sowhat ungracefully snatched it from her hands.
Tears stread down Wu Xiucai’s cheeks.
“This is the Longevity and Peace Knot that my wife made for our daughter, Qian Yun.”
“She learned this weaving thod from an old palace maid who had co from the palace.”
“Every knot carries a story, carries a significance.”
“This thread isn’t ordinary, it’s made from golden silk.”
Silence fell upon the room.
Qiao Qingyu’s eyes also reddened as she discerned the suppressed sorrow in Mr. Wu’s words.
Secretary Chang hurriedly passed a handkerchief, but Mr. Wu pushed it away gently, wiping his tears with his hand instead, and cursed openly, “That son of a bitch.”
Wu Tai’s expression changed, and he felt sorrow too. Having severed all father-son ties with one swing of his leg, he felt even more remorse.
Wu Xiucai had arrived on a chartered flight, preparing to fly directly to North City with Qiao Qingyu; he simply couldn’t wait any longer.
Qiao Qingyu took half a month’s leave.
However, Qiao Qingyu had many things to handle. This May, she had planted a hundred acres of potatoes near her family’s ancestral ho, which yielded a sizable crop. She kept half as seeds, storing them in Warehouse 5 at the Seed Laboratory, closing any gaps there. She left the rest to be managed by Wang Laogen.
Wang Laogen was now truly a wealthy man, with his ho granary filled to the brim and, for the first ti in his life, boasting three bags of white flour.
There were also matters involving paynts of public grain and contract fees to the authorities which she entrusted to Mr. Qian and Fang Xiaoi.
But even so, there was still much to be done.
Nevertheless, after calculating her costs and earnings, Qiao Qingyu found herself holding over 300,000 yuan.
In this era, that surely made her a very wealthy woman.
Of course, in a few years, that amount would no longer be surprising.
…
Rongrong knew her little aunt was about to leave again, and she held back tears, pouting. If it had been just a week, she would have taken her along, but half a month was too much—it would disrupt the child’s schooling.
The staff at the base were unaware of the real situation; He Xiuyu felt a subtle sadness—alas, it was distressing that he still couldn’t accompany his wife back to her maternal ho.
The responsibilities were vast, and he knew he needed to strive even harder.
…
The Qiao Family Team’s autumn harvest had just concluded.
The day was just like any other; the sun rose, and a slight breeze made it feel a bit cold. Many students went to the fields to dig up corn roots, planning to use them for heating during winter.
Back then, there was no heating, and the local elentary school was very rudintary. In winter, it used a clay stove for warmth, with each student bringing a bag of firewood from ho as a heating fee.
So people drove horse carts carrying grains to the county, and then they saw three small cars driving toward them.
The old man driving the horse cart quickly shouted to make way for the cars ahead, exclaiming, “Those in the small cars must be high-ranking officials; they are here for an inspection, we mustn’t delay them.”
However, the cars stopped. The road was narrow, so they waited till the horse cart had passed before the cars continued driving forward.
The old man driving the horse-cart turned to look as they passed; the cars didn’t head to the commune but instead turned towards the Qiao Family Team.
This old man is from another village, and he’s a bit envious; now the people of Qiao Family Team are quite wealthy.
Good days just pop up, leaving you no ti to react.
So, he decided that next year he would definitely plant high-yield corn.
As he thought about it, those three cars had already vanished.
When Han Xianglan received the phone call, she was restless; her face was sowhat pale, pacing back and forth in the yard. She didn’t know what she was trying to do by walking around, but if she didn’t walk, her heart would have no place to settle.
Han Xianglan kept looking outside; she knew her biological father would arrive soon.
Suddenly, she heard a group of children outside shouting, “Cars, cars, the small cars with four wheels…”
To be honest, these children had truly never seen cars entering their village before.
Qiao Qingyu didn’t understand either; why did her maternal grandfather insist on driving the car into the village?
Could it be that he wanted everyone to know that Han Xianglan was his daughter?
To let them know that Han Xianglan had a father like him, that Han Xianglan was not without support—it was probably this idea.
Qiao Qingyu pointed ahead, she had already changed her form of address, “Grandpa, we are here…”
She shouted it quite smoothly.
Every ti Qiao Qingyu called him ‘grandpa,’ Wu Xiucai felt very pleased, but at the mont, his body felt sowhat stiff.
Suddenly he yelled to stop the car.
The car ca to a halt, and Qiao Qingyu helped him get out, while Secretary Chang was pushing Wu Tai out as well.
Wu Xiucai looked around at his surroundings.
He frowned slightly.
This was the countryside in North City; to tell the truth, he had indeed never been here, not even before the liberation when he was in the Southern regions.
His family owned a shop, they were capitalists, they owned many estates, and they could be considered major landlords. This place was almost like one of his family’s run-down estates back in the day.
Only now, these people were all managing on their own.
People passing by kept looking at them. In Qiao Qingyu’s view, it had improved a lot since last year, but for Wu Xiucai, it was startling and hard to accept.
Farrs wearing patched grey cotton-padded jackets, faces marked by ti, rough skin, thatched cottages, muddy roads, uneven and rutted paths, children with runny noses, and the distant sound that seed to be a donkey braying…
He was very upset; his daughter had grown up in such an environnt.
His daughter had been bought and sold like rchandise in this environnt.
His heart was wracked with pain!
There were so things he dared not think about deeply. Often, he was numbing himself.
The psychological pressure was imnse, an endless guilt, tornting him at all tis.
If he had been a qualified father, when the Wu family left the harbor, he should have looked after his own children. He was a man, taking care of his wife and daughter was his responsibility.
But right under his watch, he had lost his daughter.
Wu Xiucai stood in place, his face pale and motionless.
Yet, many children didn’t know what the old man was thinking.
Curious, they opened their eyes wide, circling around the car parked on the road.
So children wanted to touch it but didn’t dare…
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