The next day, Zhou Jiao wrote a letter, stuffed it inside her sweater, and sealed it. She solemnly handed it to Zhang Guoqing and watched him drive away.

This time, in addition to the usual greetings, the letter also contained a secret code agreed upon by father and daughter. Zhou Jiao wondered if her father, Zhou Xiaozheng, only reported good news and not bad news. Every letter he sent her was filled with assurances of his well-being, which only deepened her anxiety.

During this period of time, she observed carefully and found that there were no strangers approaching her, nor any suspicious people. Does this mean that the father and daughter were overthinking it?

After all this time, has her father found some clues about what happened back then? Will the Gu family's affairs affect her mother? Zhou Jiao watched the car drive away. She wished she could turn into a package and go to the capital.

Despite the enormous expense, Zhou Jiao was delighted. Of course, it wasn't just for the seafood; she wanted her father, Zhou Xiaozheng, to see that she was living a good life and not constantly worry about him. Most importantly, she hoped to be able to help her father. He had been gone for so long, and it was time for him to get out and about and improve his relationships.

At the Zhou family's home in the Beijing Military Region compound, Zhou Xiaozheng got out of the car and walked straight into the house holding a package.

Seeing this, the guards and driver behind him looked at the secretary, only to see that the secretary had already started to pick up the package and turned to walk into the Zhou family - they smiled at each other, quickly picked up the package and followed.

Lin Lishan stayed at home as soon as she got off work. Just now, when Mr. Lin asked her to come over, she refused. This was just to hear about Zhou Jiao in advance.

Thinking of her mother, Lin Lishan immediately looked sad.

Some time ago, the old lady wanted to host a banquet for relatives and friends to celebrate the glorious return of her son and son-in-law. She said she wanted to go to a big hotel to celebrate, but I scolded her, and finally she gave up the idea.

What are you celebrating? Just showing off!

Was it easy for her during this period? Others said she was unfit to be a mother, but she felt that she was much better than the old lady. How could a grandmother secretly embezzle her granddaughter's money?

She was still holding onto her daughter Jiaojiao's dowry, saying nice things like she would personally hand it over to Zhou Xiaozheng and his daughter, and that she couldn't let her son-in-law and his daughter suffer any loss. She guessed that the old lady must have sold her out again.

The sound of a car outside the door interrupted Lin Lishan's thoughts. She immediately stood up and saw Zhou Xiaozheng walking quickly towards her. She immediately ran forward happily.

"Brother Zheng, you're back? Why are you late again? Did the conductor tell us how Jiaojiao is doing? Is he Liu Ming? If it weren't for Liu Ming, we'd be in big trouble. Xiaowu would have to rush to find someone. Next time, don't send the child over. It's too troublesome. What do you think..."

Zhou Xiaozheng didn't bother to answer his wife's questions. He said, "Take them to pack their packages first. We can talk later." He immediately went into the study and closed the door.

Lin Lishan glared at the door and muttered, "Really? How could you do this? Jiaojiao is not just your daughter. You hid in there secretly to have fun, and you didn't even let me read the letter. You stingy man, wait and see if I'll show you the next letter I receive from Jiaojiao. I'm just envying you."

When she turned around, Lin Lishan saw the nanny, Aunt Chen, and said happily, "Aunt Chen, my daughter sent some food over. Come and help. Why is Jiaojiao so silly? She even asked the conductor on the train to bring it home. How much can her father and I eat? This child always thinks of her father when she has something to eat."

"That's because the child is filial, you should be happy. Tell me how to pack it up? There are quite a lot of things." Aunt Chen hurried forward to take a look.

In the study, Zhou Xiaozheng sat on a chair, looking at the two sets of sweaters and trousers and a few pairs of wool socks in front of him, and gently rubbed his face. After a while, he took out a letter from his sweater.

Zhou Xiaozheng's mouth curled up at the sight of Zhou Jiao's handwriting. He examined the writing with satisfaction, opened it, and found the secret code—she was still worried about his safety.

The letter described nothing unusual on her side, and he let out a long breath. Reading further, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zhou Xiaozheng never expected his daughter to clearly instruct him that the Lin family would give less and ask her mother to distribute it to the elders in the compound. Regardless of official rank, she would have her mother personally deliver all the gifts, and the rest would be taken to the cafeteria for free snacks—she was truly thoughtful.

At the end of the letter, he even changed the words to regular script - Mom, I often hear grandpa mention that his old friends in the compound are happy for Dad's return. Please go and thank these old people in person on my behalf. It's not a big gift, but just a token of my gratitude.

Only his daughter Jiaojiao would change the font in a letter.

He had deliberately let her mother see this—was he afraid that he wouldn't follow her wishes? How could Zhou Xiaozheng, who had given birth to such a smart daughter like her, not understand these social customs?

Zhou Xiaozheng carefully read the letter again. It didn't seem out of place, and the wording was perfectly appropriate. He smiled and nodded, then quickly folded his sweater, trousers, and socks on the desk.

After packing up, he patted his top sweater happily, took the letter and left the study.

"Shanshan, our Jiaojiao has a letter, take a look first."

Lin Lishan quickly put down what she was holding and ran over to grab it. "I knew there must be a letter. Did Jiaojiao knit another sweater for you? This child must dislike my poor craftsmanship and is afraid of embarrassing you."

Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head when he heard this, thinking that it was fortunate that she still had self-awareness.

Lin Lishan quickly read the letter and said with a smile, "I'm relieved that she's doing well. This child is really a troublemaker. It must be tiring to run so far and send it here! Brother Zheng, can you come over and see what's suitable for the old lady?"

After saying that, she folded the letter and handed it to Zhou Xiaozheng, and Lin Lishan took him to the kitchen.

Zhou Xiaozheng raised an eyebrow and glanced at the scattered packages in the living room. The guards and their companions had already left, leaving only the nanny, Aunt Chen, still sorting them out.

"Aunt Chen, please send some over to Xiao Wang and the others later. Tell them that they don't need to come again today." After Zhou Xiaozheng said this, he followed his wife's force and went into the kitchen.

The "Xiao Wang" he was referring to was the guard. He was going out to visit his elders later and had no intention of letting those people follow him around. Whenever a group of people followed him around, he felt completely helpless. If the logistics department hadn't assigned him, he would have retired, except for Nanny Chen.

Aunt Chen looked up and saw that he had already gone to the kitchen. She smiled and shook her head. She thought Xiao Wang and the others would be frowning again. She had never seen such a casual leader.

In the kitchen, Zhou Xiaozheng saw that there were still many live crabs. He raised his eyebrows, touched the sawdust in the box with his hand, and smelled the seawater temperature inside the sawdust.

He smiled proudly. His Jiaojiao was so smart! She was worthy of being his daughter.

"It's rare to see live crabs in the middle of winter. These are great gifts! Give each family's elders three live crabs and two yellow croakers so they can try them. Send them over early while everyone is home. If they ask, follow the instructions in Jiaojiao's letter. I'll take care of the rest."

"Brother Zheng, some families have two elderly people who are still alive, while others are all alone. How do we divide them?" Lin Lishan looked at him eagerly, waiting for his advice.

"Remember—Jiaojiao said she was thanking the old men her grandfather mentioned, not the old ladies."

Zhou Xiaozheng watched his wife happily carrying the basket out, chuckled and shook his head.

He began packing his own things. Since the elders in the compound had already sent gifts, the elders who cared for him should also send gifts. Especially the old man should be the first to be sent. It doesn't matter how valuable the gift is, as long as the thought is there.

As for the rumors? His daughter had traveled thousands of miles to get him to send her elders off, so who would dare to say anything bad about him? Unity is the best!

Zhou Xiaozheng drove the car alone and went home after delivering the goods on his way home with a smile on his face.

Did his daughter Jiaojiao still want to keep a low profile? Before, when his parents' old acquaintances heard that he had a daughter who looked like an old friend, they all urged him to send the child to Beijing. What about now?