A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

"Why are you here?"

Lu Nianci looked at Lu Xingzhou, who stood silently at the door like a guardian deity, and a hint of surprise flashed in her clear eyes.

She thought that a busy man like him would never be interested in such "trivial matters".

Lu Xingzhou did not answer her question.

His gaze, deep and intense, slowly shifted from the excited Gu Jiusi to Lu Nianci's face. He looked at her blushing face, flushed with joy, and at her clear, untainted eyes.

He paused for a moment, then took out something neatly wrapped in a handkerchief from the pocket of his crisp military uniform and handed it over.

"What?" Lu Nianci blinked in confusion.

"Take it." Lu Xingzhou's tone was still that commanding and concise manner, but it lacked some of its usual coldness and had a hint of... awkwardness that was barely perceptible.

Lu Nianci hesitated for a moment, but still reached out her little hand to take it.

I opened the handkerchief and saw two steaming hot...roasted sweet potatoes lying quietly inside.

A sweet aroma instantly filled the air.

Lu Nianci was stunned.

She never dreamed that her icy brother would actually come all the way to bring her food.

Did the sun rise in the west?

"Eat it while it's hot." Lu Xingzhou said this and, without waiting for Lu Nianci's reaction, turned and strode away.

His tall, straight back looked somewhat... flustered in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Lu Nianci looked at the roasted sweet potato in her hand, then at his retreating figure, and couldn't help but smile.

This older brother... doesn't seem so bad after all.

"Ahem," Gu Jiusi, standing to the side, couldn't help but cough twice as she watched the scene filled with "deep brotherly and sisterly affection," and teased, "Your brother is quite good to you."

"No way!" Lu Nianci immediately stopped smiling, her face hardening as she feigned disgust. "He's just a big ice block! He always has that long face, like everyone owes him money!"

Despite saying that, she still carefully handed one of the smaller roasted sweet potatoes to Gu Jiusi.

"Teacher, please have some."

"Okay, okay." Gu Jiusi smiled and accepted it, feeling indescribably pleased.

An old man and a child were sharing two warm roasted sweet potatoes in this bookish storage room.

The warm atmosphere dispelled the last trace of sadness before parting.

That evening, the atmosphere at the Lu family's dinner table was more harmonious than ever before.

Because Gu Jiusi was exonerated, Lu Zhenguo and Zhou Yayun were both in high spirits. Zhou Yayun specially cooked two extra dishes. Lu Zhenguo even took out his treasured Moutai, poured a small glass, and insisted on drinking it with Gu Jiusi.

"Old Gu! No, I should call you Director Gu now!" Lu Zhenguo, his face flushed and his tongue slurring, said, "I'd like to toast you! Congratulations! And thank you!"

"Thank you for your guidance of Nianci over the years! This child's success today is largely due to your efforts!"

"Zhenguo, you flatter me." Gu Jiusi also raised his glass, a genuine smile on his face. "I should be thanking you. If you hadn't taken Nianci in, how could I have met such a gifted student?"

"More importantly," he glanced at Lu Nianci, who was quietly eating beside him, and said with emotion, "it's this child who gave this old man... a new life!"

The two elderly people, whose combined age was over one hundred, drank, talked, and laughed, taking turns drinking.

And Lu Xingzhou, unusually, did not leave his seat early.

Although he remained taciturn, he no longer exuded that aloof and unapproachable aura. He would quietly serve Lu Nianci her favorite braised pork, and when Zhou Yayun served her soup, he would discreetly hand her the bowl.

That subtle change made Zhou Yayun, who was standing to the side, overjoyed.

She felt that her home was finally becoming more and more like a real home.

After dinner, Lu Nianci called her parents and Lu Xingzhou to the living room.

She took out a small package wrapped tightly in cloth from her schoolbag.

In front of everyone, she opened it layer by layer.

Inside was a thick stack of brand-new, ink-scented... "Great Unity" bills!

"This..." Zhou Ya Yun covered her mouth in shock when she saw the "huge sum" of at least a thousand yuan.

Lu Zhenguo and Lu Xingzhou frowned at the same time.

"Nianci, where did you get so much money?" Lu Zhenguo's tone instantly turned serious.

He knew the Gu family had given the child many gifts, but he didn't expect them to give him cash directly, and such a large sum of money at that!

"It was given to me by Grandpa Gu and Grandma Lin," Lu Nianci replied calmly. "They said it was my allowance."

"Nonsense!" Lu Zhenguo slammed his hand on the table, his face contorted with anger. "They offer it to you, and you dare take it? Our Lu family may not be wealthy, but we're not so desperate that we have to sell our daughters to make a living!"

"I'll have Xingzhou find a way to return this money to them tomorrow! We can't accept a single penny!"

"Dad, please don't be angry." Lu Nianci was not intimidated by her father's anger.

She raised her head, her clear eyes fixed on Lu Zhenguo, and calmly said, "I don't intend to keep this money myself."

As she spoke, she divided the thick wad of money into two portions of different sizes.

She pushed the large portion of money, which made up about four-fifths of the total, in front of Zhou Yayun.

"Mom, I'm giving you this money."

"With the addition of my brother and me to the family, expenses will definitely increase significantly. Besides, didn't Grandpa Gu have someone install a telephone line for us? I heard that the initial installation fee and the monthly telephone bill are ridiculously expensive. Please use this money to supplement your household expenses."

Zhou Yayun's eyes instantly reddened as she looked at the thick wad of cash in front of her.

How could her daughter be so sensible? So sensible that it breaks your heart!

"No! This money was given to you by the Gu family, we can't accept it!" Zhou Yayun waved her hands repeatedly.

"Mom, please let me finish," Lu Nianci said, taking her hand. "And I have another request."

She glanced at Lu Xingzhou beside her, then said to Zhou Yayun, "My brother came back this time to carry out a very important secret mission. I heard that although the country provides funding for missions like his, it's often inconvenient to spend money on things that require secrecy."

"Please save this money for me. Whenever my brother needs money in the future, you can take it from here. Consider it... my way of doing my part for him and for the country as his younger sister."

boom!

Lu Nianci's words once again deeply shocked the Lu family of three!

Zhou Yayun was completely stunned. She looked at her daughter, who was so thoughtful and meticulous that she didn't seem like a child, and couldn't say a word.

For the first time, a deep sense of shock and... pride appeared on Lu Zhenguo's usually serious face!

He had always thought that the child was just smart and just resilient.

But he never expected that she still had the country and a sense of righteousness in her heart!

With this vision and this magnanimity, let alone children of the same age, how many of his battle-hardened regimental and battalion commanders can compare?

Lu Xingzhou was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

He stared intently at Lu Nianci's young yet incredibly earnest face.

He felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly, both sore and swollen, making it almost impossible to breathe.

He never imagined that his sister, whom he once thought was a "little liar" and "scheming," would support his work in such a way.

That's not just about giving money.

That was a weighty trust and...support, pure and unadulterated!

"Then... what about the remaining small portion?" Zhou Ya Yun took a while to find her voice. She pointed to the small stack of money left on the table and asked.

"This," Lu Nianci picked up the remaining small wad of cash, weighed it in her hand, and a sly smile, almost like a miser's, appeared on her face. "This is my 'study fund'!"

"A learning fund?"

"Yes!" Lu Nianci nodded, and said seriously, "I want to go to a university in Beijing, which will cost a lot of money! I need to save up for tuition and living expenses in advance!"

"And..." she changed the subject, a shrewd glint in her large, dark eyes, "Just saving money isn't enough. Money is inanimate; you have to make it come alive!"

"I plan to use this money to start a small business."

"Make money make money!"

Her remarks, which were rife with "capitalist" rhetoric, once again left the three audience members speechless.

Do business?

How to make money work for you?

Is this something a five-year-old should say?!

Looking into his daughter's eyes, which were full of confidence and ambition, Lu Zhenguo suddenly realized that his previous understanding of his daughter was too superficial.

In her heart lay a world far broader and more magnificent than he had ever imagined.