After chatting with Zhao Dashan for a while, Zhang Dad walked slowly back home with his hands behind his back. Along the way, he kept wondering why Zhao Chuangguang had allowed him to go back to the village to visit Xiaowu's yard before leaving.

The yard was right there, and Zhao Laodi should have known that the old couple would go back and live with Xiaowu. No matter how he thought about it, it just didn't seem right.

"Dad, where's Uncle Guang?"

Father Zhang looked up and saw his two sons at the door. "Drive back."

"My mother prepared some things for him to take back. Why did you let him go back empty-handed?"

Father Zhang stepped into the yard and said with a smile, "Bring Xizi over when school starts. Your Uncle Dashan has already secretly stuffed a lot of things into the car."

Entering the living room, Zhang Laoer rolled his eyes and asked, "Dad, it's the weekend now. Does Uncle Guang have something important to discuss with you?"

Zhang Dad was about to speak when he suddenly remembered Zuo Lin and shook his head. During his time in the capital, he had met people from the Zuo family, and they were not the same group as his brother Zhou.

If Zhao Chuangguang intended to reveal it to Zuo Lin today, it would be impossible for him and Zhao Dashan to be present without inviting Zuo Lin.

He didn't understand these twists and turns, but he knew that if Zhao Dashan was interested, he should wait until he revealed that he was not suitable.

"Then why is Uncle Guang here?"

Father Zhang smiled and said, "Silly boy! Didn't you see that your uncle Guang brought a lot of things here? I heard him say that Jiaojiao called him a few days ago and mentioned me and your mother. He came to see us on behalf of his daughter."

"He was talking to your Uncle Guang about our Xiaowu joining the army," Father Zhang said, then suddenly asked, "Xiaowu should be almost done with his training, right?"

Zhang Guofu nodded worriedly, "There's still a little over half a month left. I heard military training is very tiring, I wonder if I can handle it? Did Uncle Guang mention it?"

"Your Uncle Guang also said that Xiaowu is currently undergoing some kind of closed-door training. I think it's quite tough. It's okay to be tired. It's always good to learn more skills."

Zhang Laoer shook his head. "I really can't understand why this idiot doesn't go to work like Jiaojiao? Being a soldier is exhausting."

Father Zhang looked at him with disdain. His son was such a smart man, it would be strange if you could guess it.

"Dad, what's that look in your eyes?"

Father Zhang chuckled twice, "You don't understand!"

Zhang Guofu laughed heartily when he saw his second brother being disliked by his father.

"Brother, do you understand?"

Zhang Guofu was quite knowledgeable. He nodded and said, "Uncle Zhou is just a spoiled child. He will never treat his son-in-law badly. You know how much our Xiaowu opposed joining the army before. If this stubborn boy is willing to join the army now, it must be good."

"Of course I understand this, but I'm afraid that fool will act rashly..." Zhang Laoer stopped talking mid-sentence. He almost forgot that his parents would be worried.

Zhang Guofu glared at him secretly, then smiled cheerfully at Zhang Dad and said, "With my Uncle Zhou, a smart guy, and Jiaojiao by his side, Xiaowu will be fine."

Unlike Zhang Lao Er, Zhang Dad was not worried at all about the path Zhang Guoqing had chosen. He had confidence in his shrewd son.

If there is no benefit, his son will not agree. If it endangers his life, not to mention Brother Zhou, even his own daughter-in-law will not agree.

He was now worried about why his brother Zhao Chuangguang had asked him to go back to the village to take a look? What to look for? His household registration was not even with the team, and all he had left was a small courtyard.

If someone gets into trouble, it can't be linked to my family... No, my brothers are in the village... checking the accounts...

Father Zhang seemed to have thought of something, but couldn't place it for a moment. He tapped his long pipe in frustration. It was indeed his lack of education that had brought him down.

"...Brother, I'm getting a raise next month."

"That's great. Your seniority has increased, so you deserve a raise."

"Hahaha, you're not bad either. You sit in the office every day. Did you have any business trips before the New Year?"

Zhang Guofu shook his head. "No. The Finance Department does have frequent business trips. I don't really want to go out. It's too tiring..."

Father Zhang interrupted quickly, "Isn't the Finance Department responsible for paying salaries? Why are they on this trip?"

Zhang Guofu suddenly burst out laughing and patiently explained, "Dad, it's not that simple. The Grain Bureau also has accounts with other units."

"Sit down and tell me what they are going to do?"

Zhang Guofu didn't think twice. His father was rarely interested in hearing this. "In addition to the old cashier, our unit's finance department also has an old accountant. They each have several assistants to help."

"In addition to the grain that is requisitioned and negotiated with the various grain management offices, we sometimes have to make transfers with other places, so we often have financial staff accompany us on business trips."

"The situation here is quite complicated, and it's hard to explain right now. Didn't the Finance Department deal with someone at the beginning of the spring? Xiaowu was worried that money was involved and that I might be taken advantage of."

"Look at my eldest brother-in-law's father. He's been managing everyone's accounts in the village for so many years. Didn't his five sons all live better than ours in their early years?"

"With the captain uncle in charge, he was able to build houses for his four sons, marry them off, and have children, and there was also the betrothal gift that my eldest brother-in-law had paid. Some things can't be explained in detail, there are a lot of things to play with."

Father Zhang waved his hand to stop him. After hearing what his eldest son said, he actually understood something. Everyone in the village said Accountant Zhang was a shrewd man. After spending most of their lives together, what was there that he didn't understand?

——But Accountant Zhang is already pretty good compared to others.

"Don't say these things again, or you might offend others. Also, try to avoid those people at work. Since Xiaowu has thought of this, let's just avoid them. Since we have enough shelter, food, and clothing at home, it's better to just stay at work and be an honest person."

Zhang Guofu nodded, "Dad, don't worry. Not to mention that our family is doing well now, even if we were so poor that we couldn't even afford to eat, the three of us brothers wouldn't do anything that would go against our conscience."

Father Zhang nodded nonchalantly. He had a glimpse into what Brother Zhao meant. He was reminding him to let the old captain know.

The thought of even the village checking the accounts made Father Zhang's heart tremble. This seemed like a serious matter. Then he thought of his eldest brother, the deputy captain, and he felt relieved.

From Zhang's father's perspective, his overbearing elder brother wouldn't have the guts to embezzle public funds. And Xiao Shitou, being from an outsider family, was even more closely watched by the Zhang family.

Besides, the old captain’s temper… nothing will happen to him!

"Have you two been going out drinking with other people lately?" Father Zhang looked at them. "Starting tomorrow, don't go out unless you have anything to do, especially you, second brother. If you really want to drink, come to me and we can drink together as a family."

Zhang Laoer listened to what his father had been saying for almost half the night, but he didn't think his father was making a big deal out of nothing. He walked outside, looked around the yard, and then ran back in. "Dad, did something happen?"

Father Zhang smiled and said, "This has nothing to do with our family. Don't ask me, just mind your own business. I've always been against you going out drinking. When you're drunk, you start saying all sorts of nonsense."

Zhang Lao Er nodded and said with a smile: "My eldest brother and I understand. From now on, except for a few elders, we will say that our daughter-in-law is strict."

Hearing this, Father Zhang took out his pipe and was about to hit him, "You damned boy, you have to have someone believe what you say."

Zhang Laoer quickly dodged and said with a smile, "Dad, don't worry, I'm just joking. I'll explain to others that my stomach can't take it."

Father Zhang turned and looked at Zhang Guofu.

"Dad, I'd say I'd have a headache the next day at work after drinking too much. Don't worry, alcohol is so expensive these days, and apart from those with ulterior motives, no one would invite us two brothers to go there."