Chapter 173 It's Mom

Jiang Zhizhi looked resentfully at Zhou Xiye, who was cooking glutinous rice balls in the kitchen. He knew no one was home, so he was bullying her on the sofa.

Her tongue hurts now because she bit the tip of her tongue when she resisted.

Zhou Xiye brought out a bowl of glutinous rice balls and placed it in front of Jiang Zhizhi: "Does it still hurt? Let me take a look."

Jiang Zhizhi snorted and pushed the bowl back in front of Zhou Xiye: "No, I'm injured. You have to feed me and blow on it for me."

Zhou Xiye's eyes crinkled with amusement: "Okay."

The two of them ate a bowl of glutinous rice balls for half an hour, sticking to each other.

After finishing her meal, Jiang Zhizhi went to wash the dishes in a good mood. Since Zhou Xiye was there, she definitely couldn't go looking for Bian Xiaoxiao. She would wait until Zhou Xiye went to a meeting in the afternoon before going to find her.

It was almost noon, and Fang Hua still hadn't returned.

Zhou Xiye was preparing lunch, and Jiang Zhizhi was helping him. She looked very busy, but she wasn't actually helping at all.

When Fang Hua returned, he saw the young couple cooking in the kitchen. Jiang Zhizhi was like a little bee, circling around her son with a constant smile on her face.

Meanwhile, his usually taciturn son was all smiles. He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, blew on it, and fed it to his wife.

She stood at the door for a long time, and the scene really warmed her heart.

Following Jiang Zhizhi's suggestion, Zhou Xiye stir-fried a hot and sour shredded potato dish.

Jiang Zhizhi was in charge of saying things: add some vinegar, add some sugar, and then have him pinch a piece for her to taste.

Zhou Xiye actually went along with her, picked up a few pieces with chopsticks, and knowing she was being difficult, he consciously blew on them and fed them to her.

Jiang Zhizhi ate happily, and when she turned around, she saw Fang Hua standing in the hallway, having returned at some point.

Her face flushed, and she quickly ran out, asking, "Mom, when did you get back?"

Fang Hua smiled and said, "I just came in and said I was just going to chat with your aunt for a bit, but I completely forgot the time."

Jiang Zhizhi, still blushing, said, "You should go wash your hands and get ready to eat. I'll go get the rice."

After saying that, she ran to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks.

Fang Hua laughed, his gaze falling on the sheepskin on the sofa again. Since Jiang Zhizhi joined the family, he felt that his eldest son had become more humane.

The house seems much livelier now.

Lunch was simple: two dishes with white rice.

While eating, Fang Hua gossiped with Jiang Zhizhi about something else: "I talked to your aunt about Song Man's blind date. I didn't expect your aunt to know Bian Yucheng's ex-wife, who is the daughter of Old Ge, the boiler operator in their family compound. I don't know why the two families were able to get married back then."

“I don’t care about social status when it comes to marriage, but how could Bian Haishan be willing to let Bian Yucheng marry the daughter of a boiler operator?”

Although the boiler operator came from a good family, Bian Haishan, a man who always puts profit first, would definitely find a relative by marriage who could benefit the Bian family.

Zhou Xiye put down his chopsticks: "Didn't everyone know who Bian Yucheng married before?"

Fang Hua shook her head: "I don't know. Our two families aren't close, so I haven't paid attention. I heard about the divorce and the death yesterday, which surprised me. I'm telling your aunt today, that's what she said."

"And there's something even stranger. Old Ge, who was in charge of the boiler, was a widower. His wife died of illness years ago, and he raised his daughter alone. His daughter finally married well, and everyone thought he would also be able to live a good life. But then, while drinking, he threw himself into the boiler stove and burned to death."

Jiang Zhizhi was shocked: "What a coincidence?"

Fang Hua also felt it was too coincidental when he heard it today: "Yes, but this happened seven or eight years ago. Things were chaotic back then, and nobody cared about this."

Jiang Zhizhi calculated the time and realized that it was indeed chaotic at that time; there was no time to care about this.

Just as she was about to speak, Zhou Xiye placed a piece of tofu on her plate and said, "Eat first. You and Mom can talk after I leave."

Fang Hua glanced at the time and quickly nodded: "Let's eat first, we'll talk later."

After dinner, Zhou Xiye went back to his room to change his clothes, and Jiang Zhizhi followed him, gently closing the door behind him: "You have something to tell me, don't you?"

As Zhou Xiye picked up his coat, he said, "Don't analyze your thoughts and guesses with Mom. She likes to go out and chat, so you don't want to say something that might cause trouble."

Jiang Zhizhi was taken aback; she hadn't really thought that far ahead. "Mom shouldn't go around spreading rumors."

Zhou Xiye shook his head: "You don't understand the ability of some people in the institute to stir up trouble."

As he fastened the top button of his shirt and prepared to leave, he suddenly remembered something, walked up to Jiang Zhizhi, bent down and kissed her forehead: "I'm leaving now. I shouldn't have anything to do this afternoon, so I'll be back early."

Jiang Zhizhi chuckled, thinking how quick Zhou Xiye was to understand. She tiptoed and kissed the corner of his lips back, saying, "Okay."

...

After Zhou Xiye left, Jiang Zhizhi didn't have time to continue chatting with Fang Hua; she had to go find Bian Xiaoxiao.

I told Fang Hua I was going to buy something and I'd be right back.

At noon, there was little wind, and the sun was quite strong.

The snow, compacted and melted in clumps, began to melt on the road, revealing a muddy area.

It's a bit of a distance to find Bian Xiaoxiao by bike from Xiangshan Courtyard. Near Wukesong, there are mostly bungalows and farmland on both sides.

Bian Xiaoxiao returned to the General Hospital near Wukesong.

However, upon her return this time, she was assigned to the hospital's archives department, where she was in charge of personnel files.

It's not that important, and the hospital leaders are annoyed by her being transferred around, but they can't afford to offend the Bian family.

They could only find a reason—that there wasn't a suitable position available at the moment, and they would arrange for Bian Xiaoxiao to be transferred later when the opportunity arose—and casually assigned her to the position.

Jiang Zhizhi looked at the hospital complex, which was considered a very magnificent building for this era. Influenced by the Kirov Hospital of the foreign military, the hospital was dug down to build seven more floors.

This would prevent casualties from being wounded by artillery fire during wartime.

Moreover, the medical standards and technology here are also very advanced.

I was still quite surprised.

Just as I locked my car and stood up, a woman suddenly grabbed my arm: "Young lady, can you help me find this place?"

Jiang Zhizhi turned around and saw a woman whose age was hard to guess. She was wearing a black hat and a white mask. Her left eyebrow and the corner of her eye looked like she had been burned, and her skin was dark red and wrinkled.

There is also a small scar at the corner of her right eye, which extends under the mask.

Jiang Zhizhi was stunned for a moment, then quickly looked at the paper in her hand. The hand holding the paper was also burned, and a finger was missing.

The address written on the note was Beijing Hotel.

Jiang Zhizhi didn't know why, but she felt a dull ache in her heart and made a decision: "This restaurant is a bit far from here, I'll take you there by bike."

The woman was somewhat surprised, her eyes reddening: "Won't that be too much trouble for you?"

Her vocal cords had also been injured, making her voice a little hoarse, but it carried a unique sense of vicissitude.