1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

I've already called my son-in-law in the city in advance, and he, Lu Mingzhu's husband, will pick me up beforehand.

A few days after Miao Cuiying left, Qiao Wanqing received the remittance slip for the second book of adventure stories.

Because the first book sold quite well, Qiao Wanqing added some content when she sent the second book. This time, the price per copy was higher, with an initial print run of 100,000 copies. The royalty rate was still 10%, and a total of 30,000 yuan was sent to her.

For an author like her, who is not yet famous, to receive such high royalties, it seems that her father's influence is really useful.

With the money in hand, Qiao Wanqing felt that she might as well make the most of her resources and write more to earn more money. The adventure story was called "Adventures in the Forest," which was actually like a comic book with text and illustrations. The main characters were a cat and a dog searching for their owner, experiencing various dangers along the way and meeting all sorts of animal friends. If she wanted to write it, she could continue it indefinitely.

So, after calling and confirming with the publisher, she also sent over the manuscript for the third volume.

The following days were a bit boring, so Qiao Wanqing stayed at home with her child, did her creative work, and occasionally visited her grandparents.

Perhaps because of the Xu family's affairs, Grandpa has started contacting his former illegitimate sons and daughters. Although they are not as numerous as the Xu family, they are not non-existent. This behavior makes Grandma very unhappy. Recently, Qiao Wanqing can clearly feel that her grandmother is not in a good mood, so she often goes to see her.

For more than two months, Lu Mingzhou did not go home. He only called back a few times, saying that he had a heavy mission and could not come back. He told her not to worry and to take good care of herself at home.

Although Qiao Wanqing missed him a little, she could only accept reality.

Summer vacation has started, and Lu Mingyue and Lu Mingyu are on holiday. This time, the two of them did not go home. They basically shuttled between Qiao Wanqing's place and their second son Lu Mingan's place. Sometimes they would come to take care of the children, but most of the time they helped out at the shop.

Another month passed, and during the hottest time of the month, Lu Mingzhou still didn't go home. Instead, he was greeted by Miao Cuiying and his father.

Both of them carried loads on shoulder poles, bringing a lot of grain, and even slaughtered a pig to bring along, as well as two baskets of eggs.

Qiao Wanqing drove to pick them up and was completely stunned when she saw so many things.

"Dad, Mom, why did you bring so much stuff?"

Miao Cuiying wiped the sweat from her brow. "They're all from home. Bringing them over saves us from buying more. Your dad and I spent so much on train tickets; we have to earn it back."

Qiao Wanqing: "..."

These two old people are really brave! Train stations are very chaotic these days. The security at the train stations in Beijing is better, but it's definitely not as good as back home. Plus, there are transfer stations along the way. These two old people not only brought so much stuff, but also their second son's three daughters!

These three girls used to go to school in their hometown. When Lu Ming'an came last time, he only brought the two younger girls from his family. The three girls who were still in school were still in their hometown. Now that they are on summer vacation, they came together.

She drove the person to the shop.

The second son's family, along with Lu Mingyue and Lu Mingyu, were all there. When they arrived at the location, everyone came out to help carry the things. They were all incredibly surprised to see so many items.

There's an electric fan in the main living room. Since we run a business, we need to store some things, so we bought a freezer, put some ice cubes in a basin, and used the electric fan to cool it down.

When they got home, Miao Cuiying and Li Dongmei quickly put the pork into the freezer. "I put it in the freezer overnight before I came. It was like a block of ice, but it melted on the way. Your dad even went to buy a lot of popsicles to cool it down. We finally brought it over. Luckily, it didn't go bad."

Li Dongmei was very touched. "Mom, this pig isn't very big. It would be more cost-effective to raise it until the end of the year before slaughtering it. It's too much trouble to slaughter it now and bring it over. Please don't do this again."

Miao Cuiying waved her hand, "Small is fine. You have to fight to buy meat here, and you need meat coupons. It's not as convenient as home. If I didn't have to bring you food and eggs, I would have killed two animals and brought them over."

Li Dongmei was quite frightened. "Mom, please don't! There are so many things. I'm really worried that you and Dad will get tired. Besides, I heard from Wanwan that things are very chaotic outside. There are robberies all over the trains. Please don't bring too many things. Safety is the most important thing."

Miao Cuiying pursed her lips. "It's really chaotic on the train. Your brother-in-law found a train attendant to look after us. Otherwise, your father and I, two old bones, might not have been able to bring so much stuff safely."

Robberies are rampant at train stations. They were spotted as soon as they entered the station, carrying so much pork.

The old man carried all the weapons he had kept hidden at home for several years with him, just in case he encountered someone who didn't value their life.

Mr. Lu didn't rest at all. As soon as he entered the house, he looked around and became more and more satisfied.

Wow, so many houses! Such a large space, and even storefronts! With this location, no wonder the second son's family makes so much money!

"This house is a good buy; there's a bus stop right outside, so there's no need to worry about foot traffic."

Qiao Wanqing cut up a chilled watermelon and called out, "Dad, Mom, come in and eat some watermelon to cool off."

The three little girls were a bit listless after their first train ride of such a long distance; they hadn't quite recovered yet. Mr. Lu and Miao Cuiying, on the other hand, were in good spirits. They came over and ate some watermelon, which was incredibly refreshing.

Miao Cuiying asked, "Is the fourth brother not home again?"

Qiao Wanqing replied, "He has never come back."

Miao Cuiying paused. "He wasn't here last time I came. He hasn't come back for so long?"

Qiao Wanqing nodded.

The elderly couple fell silent for a while.

Qiao Wanqing reassured him, "That's just how their job is. When they were in Beichuan, they sometimes didn't go home for months at a time. He called me a couple of days ago, so don't worry."

The two sighed, and Mr. Lu advised, "He has no choice with this job. You usually stay at home alone taking care of the child. If you get bored, go visit your parents' home more often. By the way, your mother quit her job and won't be leaving this time. She'll be helping your second brother and sister-in-law at the shop from now on. If you're too busy over there, send the child here and let your mother help take care of him for a few days. It just so happens that your third aunt and Qiya are familiar with your mother."

Miao Cuiying quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I'll stay here from now on. If the child gets restless, you can bring him over and I'll take care of him for you."

Qiao Wanqing smiled. She knew that her parents-in-law were concerned about her. In the years since they got married, her parents-in-law had always treated her well.

"I understand. Now that Mom is here, I'll bring the kids to visit you whenever I have time."

Lu Mingyu was somewhat surprised. "Mom, you're giving up your job back in your hometown?"

Miao Cuiying shook her head, "I'm not doing it anymore. Your second brother is too busy with his children and business. I'm retired, and the rehiring salary isn't very high anyway, so I don't want it!"