By now, the seeds collection was almost done and Auntie Dong had helped out a lot. They just needed to wait for He Guang to come to the village to pick up the stock. Zhang Qin looked like she had recovered a lot and ate more than usual.
"Is Zhang Qin feeling better?" Qiao Mei asked as she entered the house.
"Elder sister, you're here. I feel much better! I still feel a little dizzy but I'll be much better if I sleep a bit more," Zhang Qin said with a smile.
Zhang Miao could now sit up and eat by herself. Her body had recovered well and she could walk around slowly by holding on to the wall. She was as lively and cheerful as before.
"I'm relieved to hear that you're fine. How is Miao Miao feeling today?" Qiao Mei said as she then looked at Zhang Miao.
"I'm much better. Mom's cooking today was especially delicious," Zhang Miao said.
Seeing that the entire family seemed to be doing quite well, Qiao Mei felt more at ease. After they chatted for a while, Qiao Mei went home to contact He Guang to find out about the sale of seeds.
"Grandfather, I want to talk to you about something," Qiao Mei stammered as she sat opposite Qiao Qiang.
"What's there that you find hard to tell me? Just say it," Qiao Qiang said.
Qiao Mei hesitated for a long time before she said softly, "I'm thinking about bringing my mother and the kids to the capital."
Qiao Mei had made a decision after she woke up early in the morning. Her original plan was to set off for the capital in half a month's time, but she did not expect Qiao Zhuang's family to attack Zhang Qin. It would be too dangerous to let the family stay behind in this village and it would be much better to have them by her side. Moreover, the education system in the capital was better and it would be beneficial for the children to go over.
"That's not a problem, but they can't stay at my place. It's not that I'm biased, but it's just that your mother's relationship with me makes it awkward," Qiao Qiang said.
Although Li Gui was originally Qiao Qiang's daughter-in-law, she had remarried and was not related to the Qiao family anymore. If they all lived together in the capital, people would gossip about them. Furthermore, that would not be good for the Xia family's reputation as well.
Even though the Xia family was an open-minded family, their neighbors might not be the same. If people found out that Qiao Mei had brought her mother and four half-siblings with her, it was hard to imagine what they would say about her.
Qiao Mei nodded in agreement. She did not lack money and could buy any kind of house. Since her grandfather had agreed to bring them to the capital, this matter would be much easier to handle.
"Thank you, grandfather," Qiao Mei said with a smile.
"No need to thank me. I also think that it's been tough on those children. They're very nice to me and we should take care of them as much as we can. I've long treated these children as part of my own family," Qiao Qiang said.
She had originally planned to pass all the things in her house to Li Gui, but now it seemed that she had to find another family to take over. The most important thing was that the two pigs were not easy to sell. She planned to give one to Auntie Dong. After all, they would all not be in the village in the future and she would need Auntie Dong's help with all kinds of things.
She decided to give the other one to Uncle Zhao. She had lived here for so long and it had always been Uncle Zhao who helped her. If not for Uncle Zhao, they would have long been bullied badly by Qiao Zhuang's family.
However, she could not let anyone else know that she was gifting them. They must make it sound like she had sold the pigs to them. Otherwise, it would cause resentment among the villagers.
They would not understand why Auntie Dong and Zhao Liang had special treatment when everyone treated Qiao Mei equally well. If the villagers started forming cliques, it would not do anyone any good.
Qiao Mei secretly asked Auntie Dong to come over and said cautiously, "Auntie, can I discuss something with you?"
"What's the matter?" Auntie Dong said equally furtively.
"I want to sell you one of these pigs," Qiao Mei said as she pointed at the larger and fatter pig in the pigpen.
Auntie Dong was so shocked that she quickly waved her hands. Although her family was big, there was nothing she could help with if Qiao Mei wanted to sell the pigs. Back then, Qiao Mei had spent a lot of money on the piglets. Given that she had fattened them up so much, it must not be cheap.
"I can't! I don't have that much money! Qiao Mei, you should ask other families. If there's really no other way, you can ask your Uncle Wang Wu. He's a pig seller. Maybe he has other connections?" Auntie Dong said anxiously.
Qiao Mei was so amused that she laughed loudly and quickly said, "You haven't even asked me how much it is! How do you know it's very expensive?"
"What nonsense! Such a big pig will cost at least 120 dollars!" Auntie Dong said.