Father Zhang is indeed very busy.

I still go out for a walk during these coldest days of winter.

Not only did Zhang's mother notice this, she also noticed that he always came in with his belly held high and in a good mood.

If she hadn't been with this crazy old man for most of her life, she would have really wondered whether this old man had a young widow outside.

Unfortunately, there were always people at home for several days...

But she is not afraid, she just doesn't believe that she can't catch the fox's tail!

"Mom, how about I make you a pair of shoes?"

"No, you should go back early to see your grandson."

"The child's grandmother is here today, so I came here specifically to have a good chat with them."

Zhang's mother never thought her eldest daughter was so annoying!

——Why can’t you understand people’s expressions?

"Do you know how to be a mother-in-law? Oh, you didn't entertain your in-laws and ran back to your parents' home. Do you know what they will think? Go back now!"

Zhang Meili smiled disapprovingly, "What? Her in-laws are very nice, and her family doesn't live far away. How could she not know what kind of person I am?"

"The better the relationship, the more particular it is. Okay, go back now. I want to get some sleep."

"So, I took the shoes away?"

"Take it, pick it up..."

Don't even mention the shoes' appearance. Even if you took them away, Zhang's mother wouldn't even blink. In another hour or so, the old man would be back, and she was still waiting to catch him!

Zhang Meili looked at her suspiciously, "Mom, are you feeling unwell?"

"Your health isn't as good as mine! I just got up too early today and now I'm sleepy. Don't bother me anymore. Mai Sui just took my pulse and your father's pulse yesterday, and I'm fine."

Zhang Meili still had confidence in her niece. Upon hearing this, she smiled and nodded repeatedly, not forgetting to look at her mother's expression. She tucked the quilt for her mother and gave her a few more instructions.

Mother Zhang kept watching her back as she left, and only when she heard the sound of the yard gate opening and closing outside did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Her eldest daughter is getting more and more nagging as she gets older!

So on this day, Zhang Dad, who had just returned from the west of the city happily, had just stepped into the yard when he was surprised to find his wife wrapped up like a bear and sitting on a small stool, staring at him intently.

This frightened him greatly, and he quickly pulled off his mask and scarf to reveal his face. "Mother, what's wrong? Who bullied you? What did they say to make you angry?"

In fact, Zhang's mother didn't sit there for long. She couldn't really be planning to be an ice man. She was just waiting for the familiar footsteps outside, and she was deliberately playing with him.

But how could she say this?

I can't let the old man have an excuse to laugh at my own old age!

Seeing that she was so cold that she couldn't even speak, Father Zhang could only shake her head stupidly, just like the black bear in the mountains. He didn't care about anything else and just grabbed her and ran into the house.

(Are you sure she's not wrapped up too tightly to speak?)

"Mother, do you know who I am?"

Father Zhang asked incoherently, "Are you cold? I'll take off your coat for you. Don't be afraid. Do you know who I am?"

Zhang's mother was stunned when she heard this. "Doesn't this silly old man think he's stupid? You're stupid, your whole family is stupid... No, only you are stupid!"

While Zhang's mother was secretly thinking, she reached out and touched Zhang's father's arms.

Zhang Dad, who was helping his wife take off her hat and coat, was almost in tears. How foolish! His wife was fine when he left home in the middle of the day. What had happened?

"Big girl, don't be afraid. I'll take you to find our oldest son. Everything will be fine once you see our Little Five. Don't be afraid..."

Zhang's mother had already felt the hard thing in her husband's arms and knew what was going on. Upon hearing this, she glared at him and said, "You are the big girl! I am Huang Xiuzhi."

"Yes, yes, it's not Big Girl, it's not..." Father Zhang was surprised, but before he could finish his words, he was stunned. His wife did have a real name, something like Xiuzhi, and she was married to a lesbian during the literacy movement. But now, after so many years, when she went out to get documents, she was always called Big Girl Huang. If he hadn't mentioned it, he would have forgotten it.

No, it’s not a question of daimyo now, but that she is not stupid at all... Oh, when Father Zhang discovered the truth, he was so angry that he wanted to beat this damn woman up.

Have you never heard of someone scaring someone to death?

"Daddy, are you hiding money?" Zhang's mother had no idea and poked his stomach with her finger. "I told you not to hide it from me, I told you not to hide it from me..."

Father Zhang was both angry and amused when he saw this. He pushed her down to sit on the kang and covered her with a quilt. He also poured her a cup of hot water to keep her warm.

"What kind of a show are you playing? Sitting in the yard in this freezing cold weather. If I come back after dark, you'll be frozen into a block of ice."

But as soon as he said this, Zhang Dad understood what his wife was trying to do. He took off his coat first, untied the cloth bag tied in his arms and handed it to his wife.

"I'm not trying to hide it from you. The things are in the warehouse anyway, how can I run away? You're really going backwards. If my daughter-in-law sees it, it will be so embarrassing!"

Mother Zhang rolled her eyes at him, lifted the quilt and patted the kang, signaling him to come up quickly. "It's not a big deal. Just tell me you're going to exchange things."

"Sometimes I can get good things in exchange, and sometimes not. It's hard to tell right now. I wanted to wait and tell you, but you have such a bad temper that you can't sleep when you're worried about something."

Father Zhang got on the kang and poured out the contents of the cloth bag.

When Zhang's mother saw the silver coins and jade bracelets rolling out, she said, "You don't seem to be going to the black market at this time every day."

"You're so clever!" Father Zhang glanced at her. "These were collected for me by Laoguai from the north of the city. They know a lot of people who collect junk. I hadn't thought about collecting them at first, but I ran into him a while ago. He still remembered the kindness we had shown him, and he advised me to collect some and keep them in my possession. He said someone had already contacted them, and they'd take as many as they could."

"Oh, it's him. This man is trustworthy."

Father Zhang rolled his eyes at her speechlessly. Did he not trust him to be away for the past few days? Did he really think these things could be easily collected these days?

He guessed that all the good stuff was taken away by those bastards.

What a pity!

Thousands of miles away in the capital, in the fifth courtyard, the three Ping'an brothers, who were busy sorting and organizing, sneezed violently. They looked at each other and muttered, "How dirty!"

He muttered, "I still have to buy masks!"

Wuyi rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth, "It must be some bastard scolding me!"

——Yes, you guessed it right!

What a pity there is no prize!

Zhang's mother was silent for a moment, then worriedly warned her husband, "But you still have to be careful. Who knows if there will be some new documents suddenly released."

"It's not a big deal this time. I asked Brother Dashan a few days ago, and he said the tide has turned. As long as it's not public knowledge, there's no problem. And didn't that girl Yuanyuan say last week that people in the provincial capital are already wearing gold and silver jewelry on the streets? It's really different!"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you something. Brother Dashan might be transferred to the provincial capital after the New Year. Don't tell anyone yet. I think even Zuo Lin will be transferred this time."

"Ah? Are they really leaving this time? Yeah, they should have been promoted a long time ago. I heard from the second brother years ago that they didn't want to leave."

Father Zhang smiled and said nothing more.

Official matters are very complicated, he doesn't understand them and doesn't want to understand them.