“Grandma Sun is a war hero who retired from the battlefield,” Xu Nana said with an embarrassed smile. “That’s all I know.”
“That’s already quite a lot,” Lu Qingqing smiled.
Still, it seemed the old lady was low-key and did not like to show off.
Just from the aura she gave off when angry, her identity was clearly not ordinary.
It was just that in her previous life, Lu Qingqing had never come to the People’s Park and had never met Grandma Sun, so she hadn’t known there was such an acquaintance in Nancheng.
She wondered how much surprise this “acquaintance” could bring.
From Xu Nana, she also learned that the Xu family was not simple either.
Xu Nana’s father was the director of a branch of the Public Security Bureau.
Her eldest brother worked in the sent-down youth office, her sister-in-law worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, two of her brothers were in the military, and another brother was in university.
Her paternal uncle was the director of the Revolutionary Committee—a top official with great power.
Under normal circumstances, the paperwork sending the Lu family down to the countryside was probably signed by that same director Xu.
At this moment, Lu Qingqing had to admit that the system’s intelligence was truly powerful—none of it was useless.
While they were talking, Xu Nana’s mother returned carrying large and small bags. Seeing that Lu Qingqing was out of bed, she immediately came forward with concern.
“Why are you out of bed? Hurry back and warm up. Check if there’s anything missing—I’ll bring it to you early tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Auntie. I’m already much better. I should head home,” Lu Qingqing said, glancing at her watch. “My family will worry if I’m late.”
“This?” Xu Nana’s mother still didn’t want to let her leave. She hadn’t properly thanked her yet.
“Auntie, you already helped me a lot by buying so many things,” Lu Qingqing said, opening the bags.
There were snacks, candies, canned food, malted milk, as well as fabric, cotton, rain boots, and liberation shoes—everything she needed had been prepared.
She hadn’t said anything, but Xu Nana’s mother had thought of it all.
She assumed the girl was young and inexperienced and didn’t know what to bring.
“Auntie, thank you. As for this money and these ration tickets—”
Before she could finish, Xu Nana’s mother immediately became unhappy.
“Child, what do you mean by this? You saved Nana’s life. From now on we’re family. Why are you being so distant?”
“Huh?” Lu Qingqing hadn’t expected her to bring up adopting her as a goddaughter.
Normally, when people heard about being sent down to the countryside, they would avoid them like the plague.
“Auntie, one thing at a time,” Lu Qingqing insisted. She didn’t like owing favors—she wasn’t short of money.
But when it came to arguing, she was no match for Xu Nana’s mother.
And she didn’t have time to argue either; she still had to go to the black market.
So she pretended to accept the money, but quietly slipped it under Xu Nana’s pillow.
After finishing all this, she left the Xu family carrying two large bags.
She rode her bicycle quickly into an empty alley, then entered her space together with the bicycle.
After changing her disguise, she became a gloomy middle-aged man again.
She arrived at Old Liu’s courtyard on time. Old Liu was very happy to see her—customers like this, rich and easygoing, were rare.
As for whether she bought intelligence to take revenge on others, he didn’t care.
Besides, didn’t those people deserve it? They had ruined countless families.
“Brother, take a look and see if you’re satisfied,” Old Liu said proudly. “Only I have such complete information.”
“I’ll check,” Lu Qingqing said, taking it over.
On the list, behind Zhang Shan’s name, there were five hidden properties.
What disappointed her was that the thatched hut was not included. It seemed Old Liu’s intelligence network wasn’t all-powerful after all.
Huang Ergou also had three private residences; one of them had already been emptied by her.
The current home he was living in belonged to a capitalist family that had already been sent down two years ago.
Most other people only had one or two properties under their names—not as many as Zhang Shan.
Still, she was very satisfied with the information and immediately paid. Two hundred yuan per property—fair and clean.
Seeing the stack of money in hand, Old Liu’s eyes narrowed in satisfaction.
Customers like this were more than welcome.
They agreed to complete the next transaction in three days.
After confirming no one was following her, Lu Qingqing changed back and returned home.
When she arrived, the Lu family was already worried sick.
Seeing her return carrying large bags, they were all stunned.
Was their granddaughter/daughter/sister this strong?
“Qingqing, what is this?” Old Master Lu looked her up and down. Was this still his delicate little granddaughter?
“Grandpa, I won’t hide it anymore. I’ll admit it—I’m a strongwoman,” Lu Qingqing said, striking a bodybuilder pose.
Unfortunately, her arm muscles couldn’t compare to Lu Lao San, who proudly stepped forward to show off.
“Being strong is good! Your grandmother was very strong too,” Old Master Lu said with satisfaction.
“Really?” Lu Qingqing asked with admiration.
“Yes. Your grandmother could lift over a hundred or two hundred jin with one hand and walk like the wind.
When fighting the Japanese with a bayonet, even they couldn’t beat her…”
As he spoke, his eyes reddened.
No matter how skilled one was, they couldn’t defeat aircraft and artillery.
Not wanting to make him sad, Lu Qingqing quickly changed the topic.
“Grandpa, come see what I brought back.”
She opened the bags. Lu’s mother immediately joined in, praising everything she saw.
Even a handkerchief was praised warmly—nothing was wasted, everything was useful.
Lu Qingqing’s face turned slightly red from all the praise.
Her two sisters-in-law also came over, and soon the house was filled with discussion about the goods and how to transport them.
“I’ll send the hard-to-carry ones later,” Lu Qingqing said. “I’m a sent-down youth, no one checks me.”
“Then send them,” Lu’s mother agreed. “Don’t waste money trying to carry everything yourself.”
“Right, our family isn’t short of money,” Old Master Lu added.
Everyone nodded.
Because their destination was relatively safe, they weren’t too worried—only relieved.
Honestly, staying in Nancheng had been stressful every day. Not physically exhausting, but mentally draining.
Dinner was abundant, cooked by Lu’s mother and daughters-in-law.
While they cooked, Lu Qingqing quietly asked about her sisters-in-law’s families.
From their red eyes, it was clear they had cried.
Oldest brother Lu said softly, “Your eldest sister-in-law’s family wanted a divorce. They said we should leave the children with them so they wouldn’t suffer going to the countryside.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Lu Qingqing asked, genuinely confused.
In her previous life, why did both sisters-in-law still go to the countryside?
Her family wasn’t cruel—if they had divorced and stayed behind, they would not have stopped them.