To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

She knew that Xiaotian would arrive at the hospital in half an hour.

In that way, Gu Juncheng will have someone to take care of him.

As Xiao Tian said, he would take care of Commander Gu until he was discharged from the hospital.

Xiao Tian is a very good child. With Gu Juncheng by her side, she feels very at ease.

As for her, she was already queuing in a long line at the train station ticket window to buy a ticket and get back as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, she managed to get someone else's refunded ticket, boarded the train back home, and arrived back in Gujia Village the following afternoon.

The whole family was overjoyed at her sudden return home.

The mother-in-law immediately went to kill the chicken. Zhiyuan, who had been leading Xiaomai to play outside, rushed back in a flurry, holding a handful of wild fruits from the mountains, intending to give them to her.

Lin Qingping looked at the fruit held in Zhiyuan's small hands, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Auntie, it's delicious, not sour." Zhiyuan thought she was afraid of sour food.

Xiaomai nodded in agreement, "Auntie, it's really not sour."

Zhiyuan picked up one and fed it to her.

The small handful of fruit was warm in his hands, and when he put it into her mouth, it still carried the warmth of his palm.

As Lin Qingping ate, her eyes finally welled up with tears.

"What's wrong, Auntie? Is it sour?" Zhiyuan felt a sense of panic, as if he had done something wrong.

"No, it's very sweet! Auntie... she just got tired from the long train ride back from the provincial capital." Lin Qingping hugged Zhiyuan.

Zhiyuan nodded. He had also taken the train to the provincial capital before, and he knew that taking the train was tiring.

"Auntie, please rest. I've finished all my homework," Zhiyuan said obediently.

Lin Qingping felt increasingly distressed...

"I'm fine, silly child." Instead of resting, she went out to stop her mother-in-law, Liu Fen, from killing the chicken.

The mother-in-law grabbed the chicken in her hand and was quite surprised to hear her words, "You still have to go back to the factory so late?"

“Yes…” Lin Qingping took the chicken from her mother-in-law and put it down.

If a person is about to leave, they won't even be able to part with the chickens...

These chickens were chicks that she and Zhiyuan bought together, and Zhiyuan fed them every day until they grew up.

The mother-in-law sighed, "You're so busy these days, I wonder if it's worth it to earn so much money..."

People at this time had not yet experienced the market economy era, and they did not know what the future would hold, let alone how much a house would cost in the future.

Lin Qingping felt a pang of sadness.

Since marrying into the Gu family, her mother-in-law has been very tolerant of her. Even if this tolerance is only because of Gu Juncheng, she is still very grateful. In particular, she should also take into account the kindness she received in her previous life. After all, in her previous life, she caused all sorts of trouble and made the Gu family a mess...

"Mother, come in, I have something to tell you."

She pulled Liu Fen into the room and took out a savings book from her cloth bag, which contained half of Liu Fen's savings.

She handed the file to Liu Fen, saying, "Mother, I've earned some money these past few months. Take this. I'll write down the password for you later. Make sure you keep it safe and don't give it to anyone or let anyone else find out."

Liu Fen had never had a savings account in her life, so she couldn't understand it, let alone know how much money was in it.

"Mom, take this. It has the password. You can go to the bank in the county and withdraw the money." Lin Qingping taught her step by step how to withdraw the money.

Liu Fen frowned, pushed the passbook back to her, and said, "It's your own money, you can keep it yourselves. Why are you giving it to me? I'm just a country bumpkin, I don't know anything. If I lose it, I don't want it."

Lin Qingping smiled, but her heart ached terribly. "Then you should wait for Juncheng to come back and hand it over to him."

Fearing her mother-in-law might still refuse, she could only say, "It's inconvenient for me to carry so much money around when I'm all alone. I'm worried about it being stolen every day."

Liu Fen thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case, so she put the document away, but still said, "Then leave it here for now. I'll lock it up, and you and Juncheng can come and get it from me whenever you need it."

"Yes!" Lin Qingping nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

So, is the debt now paid off?

Gu Juncheng, do I not owe you anything anymore?

“Mother…” Lin Qingping gazed at Liu Fen’s kind face, her voice choked with emotion.

"Hey!" Liu Fen looked at her, waiting for her to say what she was going to say next.

Lin Qingping held back her tears, "Mother, thank you."

Thank you for treating someone as wretched as me as family.

"What are you saying? What's wrong with you, Bottle?" Liu Fen stared at her and noticed that something was wrong with her.

Lin Qingping quickly shook her head, "No, Mother, I wanted to say thank you for taking in my second sister."

"Silly child! We're all relatives, why are you saying such things?" Liu Fen said with a smile. "Pingzi, are you really going back to the factory today? How about you leave tomorrow morning?"

"No, Mother, I have to go to the factory tomorrow morning, it's very important." Since she was leaving, she didn't want to delay any longer. After all, she wouldn't be a member of the Gu family anymore, and every extra day she stayed would make her more reluctant to leave.

The mother-in-law made a decision immediately, "Then you should pack quickly and leave as soon as possible. It's not safe to wait until dark."

"Okay, Mother," Lin Qingping said, her voice choked with emotion. "This time, I want to take my second sister with me too."

"What's wrong?" the mother-in-law asked in surprise. "Didn't you want her to go to university? Now she's going to work in a factory?"

"I found her a teacher in the county town to give her some intensive tutoring," Lin Qingping lied.

“Alright! The teachers in the county town are definitely better than those in our village. I’ll feel more at ease knowing you two have company on the road.” The mother-in-law said, and went to the kitchen to pack Lin Qingping’s things.

After returning to her room, Lin Qingping told her second sister about her idea and asked her to go to the factory with her, since the exam would be held in the county town anyway.

Lin Qingyun had no doubts whatsoever; whatever her sister said, she agreed and began packing her things.

There was only Zhiyuan, and Lin Qingping, facing his still exceptionally innocent and clear eyes, didn't know what to say.

“Zhiyuan…” She squatted on the ground, holding Zhiyuan’s thin shoulders with both hands, not daring to look the child in the eye.

Zhiyuan tilted his head and looked at her, wondering what she wanted to say.

Lin Qingping suppressed the bitterness in her heart and forced a smile. "Zhiyuan, from now on, you must listen to Uncle Gu and your grandparents. Remember, you must study hard, okay? Go to university and become a knowledgeable and cultured person."

Zhiyuan's expression suddenly changed. "Auntie, don't you want us anymore?"

"How...how could this be..." Lin Qingping was caught off guard by the child's words. Why is this child so sensitive?

Zhiyuan's eyes reddened. "When my mom passed away, that's what she told me: to listen to... listen to my dad..."

Mom and Dad are two people Zhiyuan never mentions.

Now that it's mentioned, her mouth gapes open, and she's about to cry.

“Zhiyuan…” Lin Qingping hugged Zhiyuan tightly, holding his small body. She tried to control herself, but she couldn’t. Tears silently streamed down her face and dripped onto the child’s clothes.