Chapter 5

At night, Zhong Miao slept soundly, her long, slightly curly hair scattered on the pillow. Even in her sleep, her brows were slightly frowned, like a delicate flower that had been destroyed, and I felt pity for her.

Pei Ze was puzzled. Zhong Miao was different now. She was polite but cold.

She did feel a little pity for An An, but only a little. She didn't dislike him, but she didn't like him either. She didn't seem shy when she slept with him, a grown man, at night with her child, as if he didn't exist.

Zhong Miao will do whatever you ask her to do, and won't do it if you don't let her, without saying a word, as if everything in the outside world has nothing to do with her.

What surprised Pei Ze even more was that Zhong Miao not only couldn't fold the quilt, but also couldn't cook, and couldn't even wash dishes or clothes. He couldn't even use the well and couldn't do any work.

I've heard that Lao Zhong suffers from headaches for his daughter, but I didn't expect it to be this painful. It's hard to imagine how such a girl could survive in the village.

This made Pei Ze very unhappy. The wife he married was not only a waste, but also a needy shrew. She was not good at anything and was even the last one to eat. She was not as good at eating as the four-year-old An An.

He thought to himself that he should wait until his mother got over the heat before getting a divorce. He couldn't afford to serve such a delicate girl.

-

Pei Ze was carrying a lot of things in large and small bags, and Zhong Miao was carrying two killed chickens in her hands. The couple went back to her parents' home together.

The two houses were not too far apart, about twenty minutes' walk. Zhong Miao followed Pei Ze quietly, but her heart was filled with turmoil.

When she thought of the original owner's father, she felt depressed. She had lost her only relative and also the motivation to live. She didn't care much about the plot or transmigrating into a book. She was in a daze.

But what about the original owner's father? What if he found out that she wasn't the original owner? What would she do?

They were silent along the way. Pei Ze couldn't help but look back at Zhong Miao. Her little face was pale and there was a bag of tears in her eyes, which seemed to be about to fall out. Even a heartless man like him felt a little sorry for her.

"What's wrong? You miss your dad already after just a few days?"

"Um."

"It will be here soon. Don't cry, or Old Zhong will think I'm bullying you."

"Yeah." Zhong Miao wiped his eyes and continued walking forward.

"Alas, I didn't marry a fool."

"No." It has nothing to do with you whether he is stupid or not. They will get divorced sooner or later. That's what she thinks.

When they arrived at the Zhong family's house, Pei Ze knocked on the door, and Zhong Miao felt her heart beating wildly.

When she saw the middle-aged man opening the door, she was so surprised that she couldn't speak.

She didn't expect that the original owner's father was so similar to her own father, except that he looked a little older and thinner than her father.

When Zhong Miao saw this face that looked so much like her father, her emotions, which had remained calm for a few days, finally broke down and she couldn't help but shed tears.

Seeing the father and daughter looking at each other with tears in their eyes, Pei Ze couldn't help but speak first, "Dad, we're back."

"Good that you're back, good that you're back, come in." Zhong Ming said in a hoarse voice.

"Dad, you are reluctant to marry your daughter off. Why have you lost weight?" Pei Ze couldn't help but tease. It's only been a few days and his father-in-law has become so thin.

"Good girl, good girl, don't cry." Zhong Ming ignored Pei Ze and just looked at the crying Zhong Miao, with the heartache and reluctance in his eyes almost overflowing.

When Zhong Miao heard this name, she burst into tears. Familiar expression, familiar name, familiar temperament. She was sure that this was her father.

Zhong Miao threw herself into her father's arms, "Dad, is that you, Dad, Old Zhong?"

"Yes, it's Dad. We meet again as father and daughter. Haha, it's so good to be able to see my baby alive." Zhong Ming cried and laughed, hugging his lost and found daughter tightly.

The worries, fears, and reluctance of the past few days came flooding back to her mind. She was overwhelmed with sorrow and joy. Seeing her father again, she almost couldn't bear the emotion.

Zhong Miao was crying so hard that she couldn't breathe. Zhong Ming was afraid that his daughter would faint from crying, so he quickly let her go and patted her back to help her calm down.

The father and daughter confirmed with each other's eyes that they were the right people, and they couldn't control their tears and laughter.

Pei Zeya felt a little jealous. Marrying him was so unfair. It felt like a separation between life and death. As for you two, father and daughter, hugging each other and crying bitterly?

He said nothing, put down what he was holding, and stood aside to watch the father-daughter reunion.

Zhong Ming still had some rationality, and it was difficult for him to say anything with Pei Ze around.

"Pei Ze, right? This room is warm. Come in and sit down first. I want to talk to Miaomiao."

Zhong Ming didn't bother to entertain Pei Ze. He took his daughter's hand and went into a small room nearby and closed the door.

He comforted Zhong Miao and softly told her about his experiences over the past few days.

After the shipwreck, Zhong Ming also traveled through time, but he had no plot and no memory of his original body. It was only through his neighbors that he learned that this body also had a daughter, also named Zhong Miao.

He got a lot of information from his neighbors, and felt that the Zhong Miao described by his neighbors was not like his own daughter. While disappointed, he also wanted to go to the Pei family to take a look.

But the neighbor said that his daughter had just gotten married, so it would be inappropriate for him to go. He would be able to see her in two days when his daughter came back to visit. He forced himself not to have any random thoughts, adapted to his new identity, and waited for his daughter to come back.

After listening to her father's experience, Zhong Miao calmed down. She told the story of the book and poured out everything she knew.

"My dear daughter, how have you been these days? Have you been bullied by your in-laws?" This is what Zhong Ming was most worried about.

"No, it's pretty good, just like what's written in the book. His family isn't that poor, their conditions are okay, and my mother-in-law treats me very well."

"So what do you think? Do you want to live with him?"

"I don't want to get married. I want to be with you." Since his father is here, Zhong Miao, who has been a dad's boy for more than 20 years, of course wants to be with his father.

Pei Ze had been in the room for a long time and wanted to go out to get a cup of hot water to drink when he heard this. He frowned and just stood at the door listening, not feeling ashamed of eavesdropping at all.

The Zhong family's house has two rooms, one large and one small, with a kitchen in the middle. Even though the father and daughter were whispering in the small room, they could still hear each other through a broken wooden door.

"Did that kid bully you?" Zhong Ming glared.

"No, no one bullies me. He doesn't like me and won't touch me."

After hearing what Zhong Miao said, Zhong Ming felt relieved.

He felt sad when he thought about his daughter getting married, but now his family was penniless and he couldn't let such a spoiled daughter suffer with him.

The original owner's father was a capable man. It was not difficult for him to raise a daughter by himself. He also had some money, and his family conditions were not too bad in the village. But in Zhong Ming's eyes, they were a penniless family.

Zhong Ming told his daughter about his plan. He wanted to go out and do business. Now that his daughter was with him, he couldn't let her be poor.

It is not difficult to do business these days, but all aspects have not yet developed, so doing business will be somewhat difficult.

He had this idea as soon as he came here. In order to wait for his married daughter to see her, he did not go out for the past two days.

But the problem was, it was impossible for him to take his daughter to do business. In the middle of winter, Zhong Miao couldn't bear the hardship.

"Then you go and do your work. I can go back and live here. These are all for you. These are also given by my mother-in-law. Do whatever you want."

Zhong Miao has been living in her mother-in-law's main house. She didn't know where to put the money, so she stuffed it in the pocket of her cotton coat. Some of it was given by the original owner's father, and some was given by her mother-in-law.

Her father is a businessman, and it is much better to give this money to her father as capital than to keep it with her.

"Just keep what your mother-in-law gave you. How could I take your money? I'll go back with you later. If your in-laws are any good, you can live there first. After all, you're already married, and Dad is worried about you being alone."

Zhong Ming was reluctant to leave his daughter, but he really had no choice because the family was too poor.

Outside the door, Pei Ze's lips curled up with a playful smile. Did Old Zhong treat his house as a kindergarten? He even had to help him look after his daughter.

"Well, my mother-in-law also said that she would ask you to come over for dinner." Zhong Miao knew that life was difficult these days and she would not tolerate her being willful.

"What about you? What are your plans for the future?"

"No."

"Listen to Dad's advice. Now that the college entrance exam has resumed, you can reapply for an art school. I'll go to the city to see what Qingzhou Academy of Fine Arts is like now, and I'll find out and tell you when I get back."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Zhong Miao originally graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Qingzhou Academy of Fine Arts, but that was decades later, and she didn't know what the current situation was.

Apart from cheating on her father, Zhong Miao only knows how to draw, and she has no objection to her father's arrangement.

After the father and daughter finished talking, their emotions calmed down a little.

After returning to the main house, Pei Ze sat cross-legged on the kang and drank water. Zhong Ming then realized that he had somewhat neglected his cheap son-in-law.

"Sorry, Pei Ze, I was a little excited just now. I apologize for my impoliteness. How have you and Miaomiao been these past few days?"

"It's fine, Dad. You don't have to worry." Pei Ze lied with his eyes open.

After a few polite words, the three of them put on their cotton coats and went to Pei's house together.

When Zhong Ming saw that these two dilapidated houses were even more dilapidated than his own home, his old father almost lost his temper.

Zhang Weilan enthusiastically showed Zhong Ming the new house that was being renovated, which made Zhong Ming feel a little better.

It was not until Zhong Ming saw the table full of vegetables and meat and the kitchen piled with rice and flour that he was completely relieved. The conditions seemed acceptable.

"My dear in-laws, it's not easy for you to raise your daughter all these years. Now that our two families have married their children, you can rest assured that I will not neglect my daughter-in-law."

Zhang Weilan is a careful person, and Zhong Ming's worried look did not escape her attention.

"Well, I trust my sister-in-law. I have to go out for a while recently, so I'll leave Miaomiao to you."

"Don't worry, I treat Miaomiao as my own daughter. My second son is also very capable, so I won't treat Miaomiao unfairly."

Speaking of his cheap son-in-law, Zhong Ming felt mixed emotions. His son-in-law was born earlier than himself in his previous life. If he had met him in his previous life, he would probably have to call Pei Ze "Big Brother". This was really a mess.

The more he looked at his son-in-law, the more dissatisfied he became. His daughter was 26 years old, and Pei Ze was only 27, which was the right age for them to be compatible. However, his daughter was only 20 years old now, and she had already gotten married when she hadn't even graduated from college in her previous life.

No matter how Zhong Ming thought about it, he felt that his daughter had suffered a loss, and Pei Ze was definitely not worthy of his beloved baby.

In Zhong Ming's eyes, Pei Ze has some business acumen and only a good look.

Zhong Ming had also experienced this era and had been to the countryside. He had lived a wealthy life in his previous life and had a hard time adapting to it, not to mention his lovely daughter.

He felt so sad. He felt sad that his daughter had died once, and he also felt sad that she had come to a strange era. He didn't know how she had survived these days.

For the sake of his daughter, he was even more determined to go out and earn money. Letting her stay in her husband's family was just a temporary solution. With his support, she could divorce whenever she wanted.

After all, Zhong Ming is just a selfish businessman. He doesn't care about anything except his daughter, and he won't consider the Pei family. In his opinion, his delicate daughter has suffered a great loss by marrying Pei Ze. The worst that can happen is that he can give her some money as compensation when they divorce.

After dinner, Zhong Miao sent Zhong Ming to the door, "Dad." There was dependence and reluctance in Zhong Miao's eyes, and her eyes were filled with tears like a baby bird.

"My dear, my dear daughter, your mother-in-law is a good person. Please stay here. Daddy will go out for a while and come back to see you in a few days."

"Well, be careful."

There were no mobile phones in those days, so Zhong Miao couldn't contact Zhong Ming once he went out. The father and daughter, who had just been found, were reluctant to be separated.

"My dear, don't see me off. Dad is leaving." Zhong Ming was afraid that his daughter would cry, so he turned around and walked away without even looking back.

Zhong Miao looked at her father's back and covered her face to prevent herself from crying out loud.

If Zhong Miao could see his father's face instead of his back at this time, he would find that his old father was already in tears.