After dinner and seeing off the Cheng family, it was already late at night. Ping An had long since given up his independent space and went to sleep on the kang in his parents' room, hugging his little pillow. The family didn't have time to chat for long, and each of them washed up and went to bed.

Zhou Jiao returned to the room and saw her son sleeping sweetly on the kang. She couldn't help but go forward and kiss him. Unexpectedly, she found a small note in the child's hand.

——It seems that he planned to hand it to me personally and threw it aside when he fell asleep.

"I'm going to sleep in the middle. Be safe, my good son."

Zhou Jiao burst out laughing. The "good son" in the signature was particularly large, which must have been a sign of pride and confidence. However, he really was her good son.

"Every time we get home, he doesn't want to sleep alone. It seems we have failed in our duty. I don't even know if he is afraid of sleeping alone." Zhang Guoqing touched the child's face and frowned with heartache.

Zhou Jiao sighed, "Dad said he'd stay with him until he fell asleep before going back to his room. He's also worried that he'd kick off the quilt and get scared waking up alone in the middle of the night. I asked Ping An, and he's very stubborn. He said he could sleep alone. He even asked Dad to prepare a spittoon for him because he sometimes has to pee in the middle of the night and is afraid to go out."

"Dad is just too busy. Ping An doesn't want Aunt Chen to accompany him. He doesn't want anyone else to sleep with him at night except Dad. Mom sleeps too soundly, and Ping An hates her for always pulling the quilt away. He just doesn't want to sleep with his grandma."

Zhang Guoqing smiled and shook his head. His mother-in-law? She should just give up. Besides trying her best to meet the child's material needs, she didn't know how to treat a child.

If his father-in-law wasn't at home, he wouldn't want his son to be with her. He's really worried that he'll be spoiled. Now Ping An is the one who reminds her grandmother about many things. I have to say her IQ is a joke.

"After finishing school assignments during the summer vacation, how about we take the kids to the south for a walk? We can also visit Grandma Jiang and her husband in Hai City. My dad said today that they seemed to be unwell recently and are making a fuss about going back to their hometown again."

Zhang Guoqing hesitated for a moment. He'd been thinking about taking his children back home. But his wife wasn't going south just for a stroll; she was probably planning to activate the other two Gu family secret rooms. These were useless, so why not use them? They'd just take up space.

"Is there enough time to go south?"

Zhou Jiao observed his expression and said, "Let's go with Dayi. We'll pass by Haishi on the way back, so the time is about the same. If we don't go this year, it will be inconvenient in the future."

Zhang Guoqing smiled at her and said, "I'll ask Dayong and the others next week if they want to go."

Zhou Jiao smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "How clever!" Her father had observed that things had calmed down over the past two years, but it was still best to be cautious.

The two changed into pajamas and lay on the kang. Zhang Guoqing whispered to Ping An, "You're really patient. Why don't you ask me how my investigation went?"

In the dim light, Zhou Jiao blinked and said with a smile, "Didn't you say I'd leave it to you? I have great confidence in my man."

"Wife, if you tempt me like this, I'm really going to put my son in the crib."

Zhou Jiao raised her eyebrows provocatively, "If you dare, I'll wake Ping An up."

"Wife, it's not right for you to do this. Forget it, I'll deal with you when we get back to school." Zhang Guoqing stopped teasing her and told her everything he saw and heard this afternoon.

He must be exhausted! Next time, I must let my wife join me so we can enjoy the spring together.

Zhou Jiao felt sleepy listening to him. As soon as he finished speaking, she quickly said, "The woman wants a divorce, and the man wants to return to Beijing. Right? There's no chance. We don't even have to do anything; they'll just have to go back to the Northwest. They really can't move their household registration back now. The city's already saturated with people, and they'll be evicted soon. Moving them in? What a joke!"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Jiao continued, "The document has been drafted. In a month or so, the disaster victims should return to their hometowns to work, and the temporary workers in the city should also return to agriculture. This wave of famine has frightened many people. Next, everyone should take the initiative to stock up on food."

Why didn't I plan to let you go back home this summer? That's why. You'll be pissed off if you go back. A bunch of people will ask you for help. Can you help them? Especially Huang Cuilan and Lin Juhua. It's better not to go back.

"Big brother and second brother are really lucky, especially big brother, he really stepped on shit. So many people went down, and once he finished his training and returned to the unit, he was really well-off. No, there are two other lucky ones too, your two cousins. I heard that the railway system will be coordinating transportation, so they don't have to go back to the village."

Zhang Guoqing chuckled. "The four of them should be grateful to you. No wonder I told you to put a cousin in the factory, and you said you'd do it. You've considered this a long time ago, right?"

Zhou Jiao glanced at him. What a foolish man. She would never admit that.

"Jiaojiao, what about Lin Juhua? Don't you like her very much now?" Zhang Guoqing didn't even mention Huang Cuilan. He was too lazy to get up.

"Second sister-in-law is not afraid of being out of work. She's handy, good at sewing and handicrafts, and can handle any kind of work. She can go to the neighborhood office to pick up some handicrafts to do at home, and still be able to take care of the family and the children. She's also smart, and with her cooking skills, it won't be difficult for her to get a job in the workplace in a year or two."

Both families have savings, and the eldest and second brothers' salaries can support their respective families, so we don't have to worry at all. You can rest assured too."

Zhang Guoqing nodded. Suddenly realizing she couldn't see him, he said, "I'm not worried. I still have to consider my job assignment. My cousin told me tonight that I should reconsider and not return to Northeast China just before graduation. Counselor Wu wanted me to stay on campus and teach, but I declined, considering the future situation."

"I'll be starting my internship around this time next year, so I really should consider it. I thought five years would be a long time, but it's already gone in the blink of an eye. There's no need to hesitate about staying on campus. I turned down the professor's offer last year. Those international students even urged me to continue my studies abroad. Not to mention the wrong timing, even if you and your son were at home, I wouldn't want to leave."

Zhang Guoqing didn't mention that it was now forbidden for children of high-ranking officials to study abroad. Furthermore, since the falling out with the Russians and the debt repayment, the countries they could go to were limited. He didn't believe she would go to those places.

"There's no rush for these things. I'll talk to Dad about it when I have time. I think he's been preparing for our assignments for a long time. I still remember the day I reported for work, he told me in his study to enjoy these good years. Once I get a job, I have to work hard and not relax."

Zhou Jiao patted him and said, "What a filial son-in-law! Thumbs up!"

"I worked hard for you, you have to compensate me."

Zhou Jiao pinched him and said, "Go to bed quickly. It's getting late."

Zhang Guoqing laughed happily when he saw her getting angry out of shame. But he really had to go to bed early. Tomorrow he had to go see if that old guy Zhou Xiaocun had made contact with Lin Liying and the others.

I wonder if Zhou Xiaocun got the news of Gu Ruyi's stroke. I really want to see his expression, it would be quite exciting. If he knew that Mr. Lin had retired and the relationship between the Zhou and Lin families was only in name only, I wonder if he would vomit blood. Yeah, it would be even better if he saw his father-in-law Zhou Xiaozheng in all his glory. That would be even more exciting!