Chapter 205 Coincidence
Jiang Zhizhi called out "Mom".
Fang Hua snapped out of her daze and forced a smile: "Are you feeling better? Still feeling unwell? I cooked some glutinous rice balls, they're still warm, come and eat them quickly."
Then he called Zhou Xiye to eat.
During the meal, Jiang Zhizhi clearly sensed that Fang Hua was in a bad mood, but assumed it was because he was troubled by Zhou Xiaochuan's matter, so she didn't think much of it.
After dinner, Zhou Xiye told Jiang Zhizhi to go back to her room to rest while he washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.
Fang Hua watched Jiang Zhizhi enter the house and close the door before going into the kitchen: "Xi Ye, don't you and Zhizhi plan to have children?"
Zhou Xiye was somewhat surprised: "It's not that I don't plan to have children, it's that I want to wait a few years before thinking about it."
Fang Hua was somewhat incredulous: "Why wait a few years? Zhizhi's schooling won't interfere with getting pregnant and having a baby. While I'm still healthy, I can help you take care of the child. Who doesn't get married at the beginning of the year and have a baby at the end?"
"Think about how old you are? Zhizhi is young, but you're not young anymore. You'll be twenty-nine after the New Year. You should wait a few more years, are you going to have a baby in your thirties?"
"Does Zhizhi not want to have children?"
Zhou Xiye turned to Fang Hua and said, "Mom, I've decided to postpone having children for a few years. My life isn't stable right now, and Zhizhi needs to go to school. If we have a child now, I won't be home in the future, and she'll have to take care of the child to school and work all by herself."
"Although she will face this kind of life in the future, I hope she can enjoy the freedom and happiness of this period without children first."
Fang Hua was a little confused: "What do you mean? How can she be unhappy or not free after having a child? I can take care of the child after it's born."
"While you're still young, you can have more children."
Zhou Xiye frowned: "Mom, I've already made up my mind. And don't tell Zhizhi about this either."
Fang Hua was a little angry: "We don't have many children in our family, and your younger siblings didn't survive either. I was hoping you could have more children to make the family more lively. If you want to focus on your careers, I can help you take care of your children."
"I just want to hold my grandson as soon as possible, otherwise the people in the yard will laugh at me."
Zhou Xiye said helplessly, "Mom, life is about making yourself comfortable. Don't compare yourself to others in this way. I've made my decision, let's leave it at that."
Looking at her son's resolute expression, Fang Hua swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She knew her son's personality and temperament; once he made up his mind, no one could persuade him otherwise.
If she persists, things will end up like they did a few years ago, with Zhou Xiye not returning home for many years.
Finally, he sighed, looking somewhat forlorn, "Then it's up to you, but we can't wait too many years."
...
Jiang Zhizhi developed a high fever again that night, and by the next morning, she was still listless and lacked energy.
Zhou Xiye went to the school to ask for leave for her.
As Jiang Zhizhi leaned listlessly on the sofa reading, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Shang Xingzhou last night. She quickly asked Fang Hua, who was busy in the kitchen, "Mom, Mom, didn't Shang Xingzhou come back last night?"
Fang Hua shook his head: "No, but he came over in the evening to say that he had gone home."
Jiang Zhizhi responded with an "oh," which put her at ease.
She continued reading, but before she could finish two lines, Shang Xingzhou arrived in a flurry, carrying a large bag of things. As soon as he entered, he handed it to Fang Hua: "Auntie, this is a gift my mother asked me to bring you. Thank you for letting me stay at your house the day before yesterday."
Fang Hua looked at the large bag of things and exclaimed, "Your mother is too kind. She's only staying for a short while, yet she's sending so much."
Shang Xingzhou smiled and said, "Yes, my mom said it's a matter of courtesy. If you don't accept it, it means you don't want me to come again in the future."
Since that's what they said, Fang Hua had no choice but to accept the heavy package.
Shang Xingzhou then took out a bag of candy and chocolate from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Zhizhi: "Sister, my train leaves this afternoon, and we may not see each other for a long time. As soon as I finish my basic training and leave the company, I will write to you immediately."
Jiang Zhizhi smiled and said, "Okay, I will definitely reply to you then."
Fang Hua tidied up the things Shang Xingzhou had brought. There was malted milk powder, two bottles of Moutai, and two boxes of American ginseng...
"No, no, the things your mother brought are too valuable, I can't accept them."
Shang Xingzhou didn't care: "Auntie, I even tried to stop her. My mom was going to pretend. I've already brought it, so please accept it. If I take it back, my mom will definitely think I can't even speak properly and can't even give a gift, and she'll scold me."
“I’m so old, and my mom still hits me.”
Seeing that Shang Xingzhou said so, Fang Hua had no choice but to accept: "I'll also take some things with me later, you can take them back to your mother."
She remembered that during the Spring Festival, a relative came and brought her a piece of silk, but she couldn't bear to take it out and use it.
I went upstairs to get it and wrapped it in red cloth: "Take this back to your mother and tell her it's a return gift from your aunt. Make sure she accepts it."
Shang Xingzhou accepted it without much thought: "Okay, I'll give it to my mom when I get back."
She chatted with Jiang Zhizhi for a while longer, then, noticing it was getting late, said, "I have to go back and catch my train."
They ran off in a flurry of activity again.
Fang Hua was both amused and exasperated: "This child is always in such a rush, it's like his butt is on fire."
Jiang Zhizhi thought of Shang Xingzhou's sorrowful and restrained appearance in her dream, and asked Fang Hua with some curiosity, "Mom, what kind of person is Bian Zhan?"
Fang Hua asked curiously, "Why are you suddenly asking about the border war? It's been over three years since he sacrificed his life, hasn't it?"
She couldn't remember the exact time either: "Anyway, he was a very smart kid, three years older than Nishino. They used to play together a lot. I actually didn't like Bian Zhan."
“I always felt that he was a bit too clever and cunning. I remember when they were little, Nishino was about eight or nine years old, they went out to play together and then they were caught stealing apples from someone else’s house.”
"Bian Zhan told Xi Ye, 'You wait here, I'll go home and get the adults.' Then he ran away, leaving Xi Ye there alone to be caught. When he came back, he didn't even tell the adults. I searched the whole area around our family compound, but I couldn't find him."
"I didn't find out until midnight when they brought Nishino to me. The problem was that I ran into Bian Zhan on the way and asked him if he had seen Nishino, and he said no."
“I disliked him for such a small thing. I told him many times not to play with Nishino. Nishino didn’t listen and told me that he was his first friend and he cherished him very much.”
"However, as he grew up, Bian Zhan proved to be quite capable and made many contributions in the army."
Jiang Zhizhi was a little confused. Perhaps Zhou Xiye was too young to distinguish between good and bad when he was a child.
But now Zhou Xiye is meticulous and quick-witted, so how could he not notice the abnormality in Bian Zhan?
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