With He Chuchu sent off to the countryside, only He Ximing remained. The police, being kind-hearted, took him back to the Hu family.
The Hu family had completely turned against Qiao Yuewei after Hu Xiumei’s scheme involving Hu Dashu, even though they had nodded in agreement the other day. But the police pointed out that it was an interference in a military marriage, and the family immediately caved, insisting it was all Hu Xiumei’s idea.
When He Ximing was brought back, they pretended to be agreeable on the surface, then promptly forced him to drop out of school and handed all the household chores to him.
Qiao Yuewei, upon hearing this, ate an extra bowl of rice at lunch.
She remembered how, after her death, He Ximing had laughed and remarked: “The Qiao family are short-lived, obviously paying for their misdeeds—deserved!”
That day, as Qiao Yuewei was planning to buy a train ticket to Haicheng, a few unexpected visitors arrived at the old Qiao residence.
“Comrade Qiao, we are staff from the welfare institute. While cleaning and repairing some houses, we found these items, so we requested your address from Director Li and brought them here.”
Qiao Yuewei glanced at the large wooden crates with curiosity. Could these belong to Hu Xiumei? If so, she could just throw them out.
Uncle Ren heard the noise, came out, and peeked inside. “These are the boxes from when Zhiyu got married.”
Qiao Yuewei realized immediately—these were her mother’s things.
She thanked them right away. “Thank you.”
The staff waved her off. “By the way, here are some clothes, still fairly new. Do you want them?”
Mentioning the clothes reminded Qiao Yuewei of the items packed from He Chuchu’s room, which had not yet been sent to the welfare institute.
“Thank you, comrades. These clothes are likely from Hu Xiumei and her daughter, so I won’t take them. I’ll donate them tomorrow.”
The staff’s eyes lit up. “Comrade, we happen to be organizing a donation drive. How about donating them to us?”
Feeling slightly embarrassed, they added, “If you don’t mind…”
Qiao Yuewei smiled. “Sure! It’s all the same!”
The staff hadn’t expected her to agree so straightforwardly and praised her repeatedly.
“Comrade Qiao, thank you! You are a good comrade!”
They could see the clothes were all in good condition and quite valuable.
Qiao Yuewei waved her hand. “Comrades, wait a moment. I have more clothes; I’ll bring them for donation too.”
She went inside, retrieved clothes from her space, and decided to pack a batch of children’s clothing as well.
She had considered sending food, but the packages had production dates; donating them would require additional preparation. She decided to wait until she reached Haicheng to send them under the names of Old Master Qiao and her mother.
Carrying two large bags of clothes out, the staff accepted them with smiles. “Thank you, Comrade Qiao. Good people will be rewarded!”
At the welfare institute, the children rarely got new clothes, and though these were slightly big, they could easily be altered.
After sending off the staff, Qiao Yuewei turned to open the boxes they had brought.
Before she could begin, the doorbell rang again.
This time, it was Assistant Xu.
“Comrade Qiao, I’m here to deliver this. Thank you for your charitable donation!”
It was the certificate of honor and donation receipt Director Li had requested last time, delivered together.
“How thoughtful,” Qiao Yuewei said with a smile, taking them.
Assistant Xu had come suddenly and left just as quickly.
Once alone, Qiao Yuewei resumed opening the boxes. The first contained old belongings. She flipped through a photo album.
“Uncle Ren… it’s Mom.”
It was her vibrant mother. In the photos, Qiao Zhiyu smiled like a sunflower, her radiant joy almost contagious, her eyes gleaming at the camera.
Tears streamed down Qiao Yuewei’s face.
Her mother had passed away when she was six. This was exactly how she remembered her.
“Yuewei, good child, don’t cry,” Uncle Ren said, wiping his own tears.
Her foster father had done countless good deeds in his lifetime, helping so many people, yet fate had been cruel.
Qiao Yuewei sniffed and continued flipping through the album until she reached a family portrait. Seeing it, Uncle Ren could no longer hold back, and the two cried together for a while.
After calming down, Uncle Ren pointed at the family portrait. “Yuewei, I almost forgot to tell you something. You know you have a little uncle, right? He’s in this photo.”
He pointed to a young boy who resembled their grandfather.
“Back then, Xiaoxuan was only ten. He went with the store’s staff to deliver supplies to Grandpa Qin’s unit and never returned.”
“Over the years, aside from your foster father, the Qin family also searched for him. Your foster father’s greatest wish before he died was to see him… but alas…”
Uncle Ren’s voice choked with emotion.
Qiao Yuewei patted his back. “Uncle Ren, I’ll take these photos. I will definitely find my little uncle.”
Whatever life demands, she would fulfill.
By noon, after packing her mother’s belongings, Qiao Yuewei had lunch and headed to the train station to get her ticket.
“Comrade, I need a train ticket to Haicheng tomorrow.”
With the ticket in hand, she checked the schedule: departure at 9:05 AM, arrival at 10:10 AM the next day. She would also need to figure out transportation to the military district upon arrival.
After securing the ticket, Qiao Yuewei went to the food factory.
Her work had to be handed over, and the grain-related matters also needed to be transferred.
“小 Qiao, what are you doing here? Weren’t you on leave today?” Sister Sun from the same office was surprised.
“Hello, Sister Sun,” Qiao Yuewei signaled her, and they found a quiet spot to talk.
The day she had requested leave, she was almost denied, and Sister Sun had intervened to help.
Sister Sun, in her early forties with three children, one about to graduate high school and still without work, looked at her curiously. “What’s up, little Qiao? You’re being mysterious.”
Qiao Yuewei took her hand. “Sister Sun, I’m going to Haicheng with the army tomorrow.”
Sister Sun froze for a moment, then realized.
“So, little Qiao… you mean your job…”
Qiao Yuewei nodded. “I can’t take this job with me, it must be transferred. Sister Sun, do you want it?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Sister Sun eagerly nodded, her voice rising before she glanced around. “Yuewei, don’t worry. I won’t let you be at a loss!”
Qiao Yuewei smiled, trusting her. “Quickly, call the others. Let’s transfer it today.”
“All right, all right!” Sister Sun was ecstatic. “Yuewei, wait here while I get my husband to bring the kids.”
The factory had a public phone. Sister Sun made the call and returned within five minutes.
“Yuewei, they’re on their way. Thanks for waiting with me.”
After a short wait, the security office called Sister Sun. “Someone’s here for you.”
She patted Qiao Yuewei’s hand. “They’re here.”
The group entered the factory.
A tall, thin man was followed by a fair-skinned girl. Seeing Sister Sun, the girl smiled and linked her arm with hers. “Mom.”
“You must be little Qiao. Thank you so much this time.” Sister Sun’s husband greeted Qiao Yuewei warmly.
“This is the job transfer fee. Based on your monthly salary for three years, plus three years of benefits, totaling twelve hundred. Keep it safe.”
Qiao Yuewei counted nothing, simply received it. “Let’s go handle the paperwork.”
“Okay!”
The group went to the personnel office. Filling out forms and completing the transfer took just over ten minutes, thanks to Sister Sun’s influence as a senior staff member.
Afterward, Sister Sun held Qiao Yuewei’s hand and thanked her again. “Yuewei, I really appreciate this. My daughter’s job was a constant worry, and now it’s resolved—it feels unreal.”
Qiao Yuewei waved her hand, smiling. “Good deeds are rewarded.”
Sister Sun recalled that just two days ago, Qiao Yuewei had spoken a few fair words, and now… this young girl had gone above and beyond.
Her eyes reddened as she smiled. “Yes, it surely will be.”