Chapter 91

the next day.

We slept too late yesterday, so when we woke up in the morning, no one was in good spirits. But since seven o'clock, the Han family had not been quiet. People came to pay New Year's greetings one after another. While Chu Jiujiu was still lying in bed on the second floor, Chu Liqiang had already returned from his morning run and was entertaining the guests with Grandpa Han.

When everyone arrived, they would ask who Chu Liqiang was. Chu Liqiang would introduce himself and say that he was the political commissar and chief of staff of the Sixth Division of the Capital Military Region who had just been transferred back.

The Sixth District is at the border of Hebei and the capital. It takes two hours to drive from the city to there. It sounds like a long time, but in this era, it is considered very close.

When people heard Chu Liqiang's position, their first reaction was to take a look at his appearance and guess how old he was. Chu Liqiang looked young, so everyone thought he was only in his thirties, but he was actually forty. But it didn't matter. Whether he was in his thirties or forties, being able to get a position like the division political commissar was definitely a hot commodity.

Those who were enthusiastic about Grandpa Han were also enthusiastic about Chu Liqiang. Some even evaluated their understanding of the Han family in their minds when they saw Chu Liqiang living in their house. In the past, when people mentioned the Han family, they thought of them as having political power but no military power. But now it is different. They have joined forces with the Chu family. Although the old man of the Chu family is old, his son is not inferior to his father at all. He is now the political commissar of the division, and maybe one day he will be promoted to the political commissar of the army.

Chu Liqiang was a soldier, but he also worked in politics within the army. He wasn't a reckless man; on the contrary, he was quite good at managing interpersonal relationships. After Chu Jiujiu got up, she changed into the new clothes Grandma Han had bought her at the department store. Wen Xiuwei came out of the bathroom and saw her buttoning her clothes. She came over with a comb and gave her a doll-like hairstyle.

The curls below were done with a chimney. Wen Xiuwei developed a skill to use a hot chimney to perm hair, and she was the only one in the family who knew when to put it on and when to let it down. Chu Jiujiu tried it herself once and almost burnt her hair.

After getting dressed, she sat obediently by the coal stove, tugging at her hair. Wen Xiuwei's movements were particularly gentle, which made Chu Jiujiu want to sleep again. Half asleep and half awake, she suddenly heard Wen Xiuwei shouting happily: "Okay, take a look, is it beautiful?"

Chu Jiujiu quickly turned around and went to the dressing table to look at her new hairstyle for the New Year.

Except for the part close to the scalp, the rest of the hair was curled by Wen Xiuwei. There was also a large lock of hair in front of her forehead, which was slightly curled and stuck to her temples. This style was the most common celebrity hairstyle in Europe and the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, but over there, girls with this hairstyle were generally blondes.

The blonde is playful, while Chu Jiujiu has black hair, which makes her look more mature and dignified. In fact, this hairstyle is not so suitable for her, after all, she is young, but as a beauty, she looks good in any style, and even if she has flaws, it is difficult to see those flaws.

Chu Jiujiu couldn't see it. In fact, she felt very satisfied, as if she had really become an adult girl of eighteen or nineteen. She waited patiently for Wen Xiuwei to put a brown hair clip in her hair, fixing her bangs. Then, she ran out excitedly.

Loud "dangdengdeng" noises came from the stairs, and naturally everyone downstairs heard it. Then, everyone looked up and saw an exquisite and classical little beauty running down from upstairs. When she saw so many strangers, the smile on her face suddenly froze.

Just when Chu Jiujiu didn't know what to say, Chu Liqiang stood up from the bench and waved to her, "Come here, Jiujiu, meet the elders."

When Chu Jiujiu came over, he smiled and looked at everyone in the living room, "This is my daughter. I'm sorry, she's been spoiled by her brother and she doesn't act like a girl anymore. Look, it's New Year's Day and she's still sleeping in."

Every word Chu Liqiang said was a criticism of Chu Jiujiu, but no one would be so tactless as to agree with him. After all, everyone could hear that he was just being polite. If they really followed his words and said, "Yes, your daughter is uneducated," then they probably would never speak to Chu Liqiang again in their lives.

In the past, Chu Jiujiu had no elders to accompany her, and she always felt embarrassed about her identity, so she didn't go out or get to know other people living in the capital. But today, with Chu Liqiang introducing herself and sitting next to Chu Liqiang, Chu Jiujiu gradually became less nervous.

She went from listening to others with a smile to occasionally interjecting a word or two, and slowly, she let herself go.

Yes, she is a legitimate member of the Chu family. Chu Liqiang and Chu Shao are by her side. What else can she be embarrassed about?

The more times she was introduced, the wider the smile on Chu Jiujiu's face became. By the time someone else came in, she'd already announced her name without needing Chu Liqiang to introduce her. She was pretty and good at talking, so everyone liked her. Grandpa Han's friends were much wealthier than the villagers in Qingzhu Village. Chu Jiujiu received over ten red envelopes a day, the smallest of which contained a full fifty cents.

Grandpa Han is old, so he doesn't need to go out to pay New Year's greetings. He can just wait for others to come to his house. Han Shengyi needs to go out, and the three members of the Chu family also need to go out. Not to mention anything else, they must go to the Wang family.

This time, they brought Chu Jiujiu along. As they walked along the road, Chu Jiujiu listened to Chu Shao introducing Grandpa Wang's situation to Chu Liqiang.

"Not very well. I can't get out of bed. Every time I go, I can only talk for ten minutes at most, and then Grandpa Wang gets tired."

Chu Liqiang nodded and said, "It's really not good. It's the same as your grandfather's situation last year."

There were too many things to do yesterday, and too many people this morning. It was not until now that Chu Liqiang told Chu Shao that Chu Xinghua had passed away. Before his death, he had received a letter from Chu Shao, but he did not reply because he was unable to pick up a pen.

Chu Shao felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this. After arriving at the Wang family, when Grandpa Wang saw Chu Liqiang, the first thing he asked him was how Chu Xinghua was doing.

Upon learning that Chu Xinghua had passed away, Grandpa Wang was stunned for a long time before he sighed deeply, "After all, I still didn't make it."

Chu Liqiang knew what he was talking about. He sat next to Grandpa Wang and said, "I will do my best."

Grandpa Wang nodded gravely. "Me too. After the New Year, I'll go out and meet up with some old friends to see if I can be of any help."

Chu Liqiang: "Don't torture yourself. If you take care of your health, you will be helping us."

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Wang glared, "How can you say that, kid? I'm not that old yet. My health is getting better day by day. I can't stand it if you ask me to lie down again!"

Chu Liqiang: "..."

Isn't that bad? Chu Shao, what kind of false information are you spreading?

Chu Shao was also confused. As if to prove himself, Grandpa Wang actually got out of bed. He walked to a pear wood chair beside him and sat down. He poured himself a cup of tea. After drinking it, he put the teacup down heavily and snorted at Chu Liqiang.

Chu Liqiang smiled bitterly. Seeing this, Chu Shao explained for him: "Grandpa Wang, my dad didn't mean that."

After doing these actions, Grandpa Wang also felt that he was a bit childish. He coughed uncomfortably twice, then raised his eyes and noticed Chu Shao: "You are here with your father, come, grandpa will give you a press..."

Just as he was about to pay, Grandpa Wang looked behind Chu Shao with a determined look, "Who is this girl?"

When the two met, they were so busy exchanging pleasantries that they forgot to introduce the children behind them. Chu Liqiang quickly said, "My daughter, Chu Jiujiu."

Grandpa Wang's eyes suddenly became sharp.

He asked quietly, "Are you worthy of Juanzi, who is in the netherworld?"

Chu Liqiang: "..."

He said, "You misunderstood. Jiujiu is Juanzi and I's daughter. Like Chu Shao, she was born in the army, but she was in poor health. We were afraid we couldn't support her, so we sent her to the countryside. Later, when we returned to the capital, we didn't tell anyone. My father forbade us to tell anyone. He said there were rules and taboos involved."

Chu Xinghua was already dead. Even if others wanted to ask, they couldn't prove anything. Chu Liqiang had put the blame on him, feeling completely at ease. It was all for the Chu family's descendants. Even if Chu Xinghua knew, she wouldn't blame him.

Grandpa Wang's eyes widened when he heard this. He quickly waved to Chu Jiujiu, "Come here, come here quickly, let grandpa take a look."

Chu Jiujiu obediently stepped forward. Grandpa Wang looked at her and liked her very much. "You are so pretty, darling. How old are you this year?"

People in the capital like to call their children darlings. This wasn't the first time Chu Jiujiu heard this. She blinked and replied, "Fourteen."

"Did you go to school?"

Chu Jiujiu shook her head. "No, I won't go to junior high school until after the Chinese New Year."

Chu Liqiang explained, "Before, she lived in the countryside, and the teaching conditions there were difficult, so I didn't let them go to school. The same goes for Chu Shao. In February, I'll take them to register. Jiujiu will be in the second grade of junior high school, and Chu Shao will be in the second grade of high school."

Grandpa Wang: "Can you keep up?"

Chu Liqiang: "I can keep up. They have been studying even when they were not in school."

"Okay, okay, that's good."

Patting Chu Jiujiu's hand, Grandpa Wang sighed again, "I really didn't expect that Juanzi is already this big, fourteen, fourteen..."

As he was reciting, he suddenly remembered something and raised his voice, shouting out with all his might: "Hongye! Hongye, come in quickly!"

Chu Liqiang: "..."

He was not sure whether Grandpa Wang was well or not, but when he heard the shout, he was sure.

It seems to be really good.

Wang Hongye walked in confused and saw Chu Shao coming. He was thinking about asking him to go out and play together later. He turned his eyes to the side and saw Chu Liqiang. He hadn't seen him for many years. In fact, he didn't remember what Chu Liqiang looked like, but he looked like Chu Shao, so Wang Hongye recognized who he was at a glance.

He called out politely, "Uncle Chu, Happy New Year."

Chu Liqiang smiled at him, "Happy New Year, Hongye."

After he finished speaking, he took out two yuan from his pocket. Before he could hand it over, Grandpa Wang interrupted him. He hurriedly called Wang Hongye, wanting him to turn around quickly, "Hongye, look quickly, this is your sister Jiujiu, the biological daughter of your uncle Chu and aunt Juanzi. Hahahaha!"

Wang Hongye: “…”

Chu Shao: “…”

Chu Liqiang: "..."

Just kiss me, you are so happy, what does it mean?

Neither of them knew the inside story, but Wang Hongye knew. He was shocked for two seconds, then his face turned red. He didn't even see what Chu Jiujiu looked like before turning around and running out.

This was the first time Chu Jiujiu saw someone run away when they saw her. She was confused. Grandpa Wang realized that he had teased her too much and touched his nose. He explained to Chu Jiujiu, "It's okay. He's just shy. Jiujiu is pretty and he's embarrassed to stand with you. Don't stand there. Come on, sit down. I'll grab you some sunflower seeds."

Wang Hongye ran out, but didn't get far before sitting down at his doorstep. He was furious at his grandfather's incoherence while secretly wondering what Chu Jiujiu looked like. He also mentally criticized Chu Shao several times. They'd met so many times, but he'd never once heard him call Chu Jiujiu his biological sister. And yet, they were still considered friends!

Wang Hongye was sitting at the door sulking when suddenly a few people approached him. The one leading them was Chu Yue, whom he had met before.

Chu Yue was holding something in her hand. Behind her were Chu Lidi, Gao Meiyin, and her younger brother Chu Ri.

Seeing Wang Hongye sitting here, she smiled and asked, "Brother Hongye, why don't you come into the house?"