"Yeah, I guess our parents won't agree with us wandering around without working. We still have to think about it again." Zhang Guoqing laughed after hearing this. What Jiaojiao said made sense. They should turn the money into supplies first.

Zhou Jiao only just remembered that she hadn't had time to sort out their private money. "Let's sort out the private money first. It's all in the secret compartment in the closet. Take it all out."

"That's quite a lot, Jiaojiao. Put away all the valuables at home and put some loose change and bills in this secret compartment. Your secret compartment isn't safe."

Zhou Jiao took the two wooden boxes, opened one, and poured out the contents. They were all 10 yuan notes, some loose change, and coupons. Most of the coupons were given to her by Zhang Guoqing, for example, she had a lot of cloth coupons, which were about to expire before the New Year and needed to be exchanged for cloth. It was just enough for her to make clothes. They must have been given to her by Zhang's mother when she got married.

Her grandmother personally prepared a red dress and black pants for her wedding. Her aunt also gave her a few pieces of clothes that were mailed to her, so she didn't need to buy any more clothes.

There were also two kilograms of sugar coupons, and then there were a bunch of miscellaneous bills. She handed them all to Zhang Guoqing, sorting by expiration date. She had to spend them while she could, otherwise they would be worthless. She counted them and found 2,886 yuan, close to 2,900 yuan. She put 86 yuan in loose change in the wooden box. She examined the bills. Most of them were about to expire by the end of the year. Luckily, she remembered to sort them out today.

There was another large box. On the left was a letter from her mother, Lin Lishan, which was basically unopened. On the right was a small box from her grandmother. I remember that it was the jewelry box that her grandmother secretly gave her on the night of her wedding. I didn't look at it carefully afterwards, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.

Opening the small box, he revealed a pair of jade bracelets and a round bead necklace wrapped in yellow silk cloth. The green was a rich, vibrant color, tinged with blue, suggesting imperial green. Another embroidered handkerchief contained a sapphire and diamond necklace and bracelet. A set of rings and brooches was also included. Finally, another embroidered handkerchief contained two dragon and phoenix mutton-fat jade pendants. He took out three packages. The box was padded with two pieces of silk. Two pieces of silk were embroidered with peony flowers depicting prosperity and wealth, and another with twin lotus flowers. Both pieces had profound meanings. The last layer of the small box contained a Shanghai house and land deed, dated 1952 and signed by Zhou Jiao.

"Hubby, I've never looked at this box carefully, so my memory of it is a bit hazy. Grandma also told me clearly that she sold all the valuables she brought from home, and she was so poor that she had to rely on embroidery to make a living. The housekeeper collected firewood and sold it to buy rice, and her personal maid often subsidized her after she got married. Fortunately, she met Grandpa and didn't starve to death.

Please help me take a look at this house deed. It's in Shanghai. My grandmother is from Beijing and has never been to Shanghai. Where did she get the 1952 deed? Five years ago, it was still in my name. Who handled it? My grandmother never traveled far. I was 11 in 1952, so it must have been bought for me when I was 10. It couldn't have been bought by my mother. She already had a house in Beijing."

Zhang Guoqing had been frowning since he saw the deed, hesitant to speak. But with the wooden box, his mind became clear, and all his doubts were confirmed. The problem was that Grandma Zhou had secretly given it to Zhou Jiao, and no one else knew about it, not even Grandpa Zhou. So, did Grandma Zhou know who gave it to her?

He picked up the box and looked at it. After thinking for a while, he found a knife and carefully pried open the wooden box. After a while, the amputated box fell apart. He tore off the bottom layer of paper and found that there was indeed a problem. There were two horizontal lines on it with a knife.

Zhou Jiao looked at him in surprise. What happened? Did they find a clue in the wooden box? "Hubby, how did you think of this? Did you find out who sent it? I've become your fangirl. Could it be that he's an admirer of my grandmother? You have to know that my grandfather doesn't even know about this box."

"Jiaojiao, first look at this thing that was deliberately cut with a knife twice. What does it look like? And why did your grandma's admirer give you a house? The thing was given to your grandma, and your grandpa didn't tell her. He knew your situation at home very well, and he wouldn't let your grandpa get it. He also knew that your grandma was the only one in the family who was sincere to you, so it was a birthday present for you when you were 10 years old." Zhang Guoqing spoke slowly. He wanted to give her some time.

Zhou Jiao stared at the two cuts, tears welling up in her eyes. "Hubby, you mean my dad is still alive? He cut himself twice and covered it with paper to hide his identity, but also to let grandma know he was still alive. The two cuts are like an equal sign, like, wait. Five years have passed. Is he still there? Is he in danger? How can we find him and help him? Let's go to Shanghai. We can definitely find him in that house. He's the only dad I've had in my two lives who's treated me wholeheartedly."

Zhang Guoqing quickly wiped the tears from her face, stood up, soaked a towel in hot water, and wiped her face with it. "You're in confinement, you can't cry! Your father will be back soon, and he will definitely be back before the end of the year. Your mother has also been to our house these two days. If you cry again, I won't tell you why."

Zhou Jiao took the towel and wiped it herself. This bad guy! "Tell me, how did you guess it? Is there anything else I don't know? When you came back at noon and said that you were fighting against the shrew at Zhou's house, did they say anything?"

"What I'm about to say next is rather complicated and long. It will definitely have a huge impact on us, so much so that it will determine the future of our family. Didn't I say when I came back at noon that I would wait for my father to come back to talk about it together? That's it. I suspected it before, but now it's confirmed. You should pack your things first. There's no need to reveal the secret of the box and the title deed in front of your parents. If I'm not mistaken, your mother will arrive before your due date to be with you and give birth to the child. Only then will your father see her motherly love. Your due date is still 8 days away. So the inference is that within these two days, the third day bath will be the day after tomorrow. She won't come immediately after arriving in the county town. She will first ask someone about our temperament and personality. She won't have time, haha, so she will rush to the third day bath.

When she arrives, I imagine my parents will be bewildered. We should share our theories with them first so they can understand what's going on. We should discuss a plan. How to treat her, and what to do if she asks to go to Beijing, is up to them. This isn't that simple. The Lin family has suddenly been sending packages 28 times in less than a year. They must have known your father was coming back. So why didn't they tell you? This presents an interesting question.

"Put on your clothes. The baby is asleep now. I'll carry you to the living room. My dad won't enter our bedroom. I'll tell you in detail when Mom and Dad arrive. Don't tell anyone about the Shanghai house and those things. We'll know them ourselves. Ask your dad when you see him. The property during the mission is public property. Do you understand?"

Zhou Jiao nodded. She wasn't stupid. Others knew it wasn't just a matter of property, it was a matter of ideology, something they could make a big deal about. She also wanted to take a good look at her mother's letter to see what it meant.

He put her clothes on, wrapped her in a thick quilt and carried her to the small living room outside. He then ran to the bedroom to take the baby out and placed her next to her before he felt at ease to go out.