When we live in this world, we cannot choose our birth and cannot escape the malice given by fate, but as long as we hold our breath, what we want and what we ask for can always be realized more or less.

Zhang Guoqing used what he knew and saw from the outside world, which was completely different from life in the compound, to try to let his three sons experience it personally, learn to understand, and learn to cherish.

He didn't know how to teach his children, he just wanted his sons to see with their own eyes, learn to be grateful, learn to recognize the injustices in the world, and learn to be strong.

When facing adversity, think more about the fact that life is not as you wish in nine out of ten cases. People who are more unfortunate than you are living well and trying to survive. When you are successful, don’t forget what you have seen and heard, and don’t forget that prosperity is only one step away from decline.

Zhou Jiao's return made him overjoyed. He felt at ease having his wife by his side. He felt at ease knowing that there was someone he could understand and discuss his inner thoughts with.

"Mom, have you bought the gifts? Is your salary enough for me to spend? Should I hand over my New Year's money?" Ping An hugged Zhou Jiao's neck. After being happy, he couldn't forget his stingy nature and fed her some candy.

"Mom, I want a hug."

Compared to Liuyi, Wuyi came over without saying a word and squeezed into Zhou Jiao's arms, rubbing his little head against her.

"Where did this little puppy come from?" Zhou Jiao teased her youngest son and reached out to hug all three of them. She loved each one the most and she couldn't bear to leave any of them out in the cold.

"Mom, I miss you so much."

Zhou Jiao looked at her three sons with a smile, "Mom misses you too, I miss you all the time. Then I look at this, and my kids like it. I look at that, and my kids like it too. So, I buy too much without noticing."

"Mom, I love you the most."

The three brothers fed Zhou Jiao a big handful of candy in unison, making her laugh with joy.

Zhang Guoqing on the side nasally said, "Hmm?"

"Dad, we love you the most too."

Happy days always pass quickly, when the twins began to learn to read picture books, children's books, and understand the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

In the blink of an eye, the spring of 1966 arrived.

That year, Zhou Jiao and her family didn't return to their hometown, and Zhang's father and mother were busy devoting their remaining energy to street work. They weren't looking for a salary, but in their letter, they said they enjoyed the feeling of contributing to the country.

Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing didn't understand the older generation's thinking, but they could understand it. Besides sending more money and more letters and family photos, they could only offer their full support in spirit.

During this period, my eldest nephew Zhang Ziwen also wrote several letters. Before his graduation last July, Zhang Guoqing consulted with him and then arranged for him to be assigned to the finance department of the county post office.

It is rare for a three-year technical secondary school student to receive such treatment, not only because of his consistently excellent academic performance, but also because he can be assigned to such a department.

It's no wonder the child is so close to Zhang Guoqing. He seems to have grown significantly beyond Xizi. He's independent-minded and principled, and more importantly, he understands his responsibilities as the eldest son.

Isn't the provincial capital good? So many people dream of the big city, but he wrote to say he'd better lay a solid foundation first and then see what the future holds. He wants to settle down first, taking one solid step at a time.

Even Zhou Jiao appreciated these words. Her elder sister-in-law had finally made it. Zhang Ziwu, who had just graduated from high school last year, had also started working at the supply and marketing cooperative after his elder brother.

The next ones left were the sixteen-year-old third child, Zhang Zicong, and the eleven-year-old Yaya. With only the third child left, their family could probably handle it.

The three children of Zhang Meihao, the second aunt, are still little kids and don’t have to worry about the situation changing at all.

But the Zhang family...

Zhou Jiao could foresee that a wave of trouble would soon come.

Zhang Guofu's left and right brothers have just turned sixteen. If they heard that they would not be able to take the college entrance examination in the future, it goes without saying that the first one who would jump out to oppose continuing to go to high school would be Huang Cuilan.

Next, her mother-in-law will oppose the child joining the army.

This brought the matter back to Zhang Guoqing. If Zhang Guoqing allowed his two nephews to continue their studies and graduate from high school in two years, Huang Cuilan would be the first to target him.

Zhou Jiao was unwilling to take on the responsibility of making wedding dresses for others, not to mention that she had a mother like that who would let her family take risks and give others a handle to use against her in order to arrange for her nephew. How could it be possible?

Forget about assigning two jobs, even for just one, not only would you owe someone a favor, you'd also have to pay for the thank-you gift out of your own pocket. Whose money is so generous?

Zhou Jiao doesn't dare to think about this matter now, because as long as she is not away, it will be fine. When the time comes, Father Zhang will definitely write to consult, and Zhang Guoqing will also be worried about his nephew.

Zhou Jiao never told Zhang Guoqing about these thoughts. Knowing that it would bring risks and crises to the family, she believed that Zhang Guoqing would understand the seriousness of the matter when the time came.

Unlike the army which never got involved in these issues, in April, dark clouds were gathering over the city, people were restless, even the uncle in the unit's communication room was like a frightened bird. However, Zhou Jiao felt a sense of relief that it had finally come.

She began to adopt a silent approach, spending time with her three sons after work to provide them with guidance. As long as their father remained healthy, there would be no danger in the family. On the contrary, the three young children were the most vulnerable to being seduced by those with ulterior motives.

She had to take care of the children, and even gave Dr. Hu a lot of instructions and suspended her weekend internship at the hospital.

Keep a low profile and mind your own business—these became the most common phrases used in the family during this period. And to Zhou Jiao's surprise, the twins' belligerent nature suddenly changed.

She felt distressed and sad, but more often she was also relieved.

If there's one major change in the outside world, it's that editorials have become increasingly hard-edged in tone and wording as the weather warms up, with startling articles appearing in various newspapers every day.

In May, seeing her father attending meetings more frequently, Zhou Jiao no longer pondered reading those articles carefully, and no longer tried to grasp the purpose of the text.

Zhang Guoqing, on the other hand, grew calmer. Unlike Zhou Jiao, he was genuinely relieved. Since last year, they'd been playing friendly matches from time to time, and with familiar faces falling, he'd been worried his father-in-law would be implicated. Now, everything was fine; his family was fine, and the outcome would be clear soon.

"Wife, I'm here!"

This promise contained so much, but Zhou Jiao felt at ease. Yes, with him, there were many things in the future that she couldn't reveal to her father, and he was right beside her.

Zhou Jiao had no idea that, with Zhou Xiaozheng's abilities, he couldn't fail to analyze the two possible outcomes of the current situation. But how could he bear to let his only daughter waste her brainpower and worry about trivial matters?

For him, having lived for over forty years, what storms had he not experienced? He was always investigating this and that, but each one started well but ended badly.

Unfortunately, this time he was just like his old boss, miscalculating many things. Once something goes off track, no one can control the outcome.