After exchanging a few pleasantries, someone came over to register the donated goods in detail. Yunyi also donated all the money she had received from the Sun Family, whatever was left after purchasing supplies.
She also explained to the person in charge that her main purpose for this visit was to see her grandfather's old friends. The person in charge was very obliging and assigned someone to take her to them.
When she saw them, several elderly gentlemen were each lost in thought. This made Yunyi's heart ache. They were all heroes, after all.
Perhaps it was a lingering sentiment from the body's original owner; the memory of the late Old Master Chu brought a faint redness to her eyes. "Grandfathers," she asked, her voice a little thick, "do you remember me?"
One of the old men was the first to react. "Are you young Yunyi?"
Yunyi smiled and nodded. "It's me."
She didn't plan to tell them the news of Old Master Chu's passing. "My grandfather asked me to come and visit you all on his behalf."
With that, she lifted the gifts she had purchased with her own Money Coupons. "Look, these are the nutritional supplements my grandfather asked me to bring for you. Aren't you pleasantly surprised?"
Perhaps it had been too long since anyone familiar had visited them. After a moment of stunned silence, the old men's faces lit up with joy.
The old man closest to the door stood up with a smile. "It's true what they say, a young woman is so different by eighteen! You've grown quite a bit taller and become even more beautiful."
After chatting for a good while, Yunyi saw a caregiver helping other old gentlemen wash their hair. "Grandfathers," she said, "it wasn't easy for me to make this trip. Let me wash your hair for you today. We can chat while I do it."
The caregiver, who was busy nearby, overheard Yunyi offering to help. "Oh, that would be wonderful!" she exclaimed. "The grandfathers will surely be overjoyed."
Yunyi brought over some warm water. As she washed their hair, she chatted with them, and the room was occasionally filled with the hearty laughter of the old men.
Watching all this, Yunyi was deeply moved. When I return to the Capital, she thought, I'll definitely make more time to visit them.
Because she still had other matters on her mind, and as it was getting late, she eventually took her leave, despite the old men's reluctant gazes.
Meanwhile, at the Sun Family's home, things were in utter chaos.
After learning that her third son was in trouble, Mrs. Sun completely panicked. She turned to her youngest daughter, Yanzi, whose face was ashen, and said, "Yanzi, hurry! Go find your father and your two older brothers and tell them to come back!"
Sun Xiaoyan hadn't even run out of the large courtyard compound when her father, Sun Anshou, rushed in. Seeing his daughter about to run outside, he asked, "Yanzi, what on earth happened? How did your Third Brother get arrested?"
Sun Xiaoyan was frantic. If what happened with Third Brother is officially determined to be serious, she thought, the entire Sun Family will suffer, and my reputation will be ruined too! Even in her panic, she knew that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. "Dad," she urged, "let's talk inside."
She had barely finished speaking when her eldest brother, Sun Jianming, and her second brother, Sun Aiming, came rushing back, one right after the other.
Before they could ask anything, Sun Xiaoyan said, "Let's talk inside."
Seeing neighbors in the courtyard craning their necks to look their way, and not wanting to become a spectacle for others to laugh at, the family members lowered their heads and reluctantly went inside.
As soon as they were inside, Mrs. Sun said urgently, "Husband! Our Third Son has been taken by that damn Committee!"
Her husband, terrified, quickly stepped forward and covered her mouth. "Are you crazy? Do you want to drag the whole family into this?"
Her husband's hissed rebuke jolted Mrs. Sun, Gao Haitang, back to her senses. She pulled his hand away from her mouth. "Husband, what do we do now?"
Her husband pushed her away. "First, tell me what exactly happened."
Mrs. Sun, her face pale, recounted incoherently what she knew. "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics myself; I only heard it from others."