On the highway in the famous development zone of W City, a young couple was whispering sweet nothings in the car. From time to time, the husband who was driving would glance at the belly of his wife who was sitting in the driver's seat.
Today is the weekend, and the two of them agreed to drive to Tao County, which is under W City. Zhou Jiao's parents are celebrating their 60th birthday tomorrow.
The couple had already filled the trunk of their car with gifts yesterday. Although Zhou Jiao was the second child and not particularly spoiled by her parents, she relied on compulsory education to complete junior high school, later working part-time to earn scholarships and other support to complete her studies, and even stayed on to teach at a key university after graduating.
But in the eyes of her parents, there were only the eldest daughter and the third son. The second child was neither here nor there. The eldest was born during a newlywed marriage, and they were newly married. They were happy that the first child was a girl, but they expected the second child to be a boy, just to complete the family name. It turned out to be a loss, so they naturally despised it. But since it was already born, they could only ignore it. A few years later, they finally conceived, but the family planning policy was implemented, costing them a fortune in fines and even losing their jobs. Fortunately, this time, it was a big, fat boy to carry on the family line.
But Zhou Jiao will also pay her due filial piety, which also makes her husband Zhang Guoqing, who grew up in an orphanage, feel that being filial to parents is a matter of course.
He was abandoned in an orphanage since birth, and that day happened to be National Day.
The director's surname is Zhang. Compared with other children in the welfare home, little Guoqing, who was born about one month ago, has normal development and is in good health. Everyone in the welfare home is wondering why healthy boys are still abandoned in this day and age, and they are very happy to see him.
Perhaps it was God's blessing that he grew up healthy under the loving care of his mother, the dean. When he was in his sophomore year, the dean's mother also passed away, leaving him a small 50-square-meter apartment that she had bought after becoming a widow.
He's even luckier than Zhou Jiao, who has all her family members, not just her parents' love. As they were about to graduate from their senior year, after two years of knowing each other and falling in love, they agreed to marry. Now, two years into their marriage, with a new member soon to join their family, Zhang Guoqing feels deeply satisfied and happy.
"Jiaojiao, move your seat back a bit and have a rest. I'll call you when we get to the county town. Be good and listen to me."
Zhou Jiao said in a gentle voice: "No, just drive carefully. I will talk to you so that you won't fall asleep."
Zhang Guoqing curled his lips, feeling very touched by his wife's concern, and said softly, "Then rest if you're tired! In two months, our baby will be born. Have you decided on a name?"
"You haven't decided yet? Why don't you pick one from the ones I've prepared?"
"But I want to think of another name to commemorate the relationship between us. I wonder if it should be a daughter? If it's a daughter, I will definitely name her Zhang Xinyue, which means I am happy with you, hehe."
"Haha, you're so cheesy, but I quite like it. What about boys?"
…
There was constant laughter in the car all the way. Summer had just passed and the shades of the trees on both sides of the road were turning yellow. Looking out, the fields were empty and the rice fields had been harvested.
Rice residue is everywhere in the fields, and if you go down, you can touch snails, loaches, and eels. However, the pollution is too serious nowadays. I remember seeing them often as a child, but now they are not easy to find.
As the sun set, the closer we got to the county town, the more people there were, and the more crowded the lanes became. There was nothing we could do but drive slowly.
Arriving in Tao County, the couple fell silent. Zhou Jiao said gloomily, "Brother, I don't even want to go back. He always calls to ask for money. I'm already married and still don't have a job, so I rely on my parents and borrow money every day. I guess this time he'll say he wants to buy a house in the county and ask my sister and us for financial support. He'll probably refuse to give us money like last time and won't let us stay. If that happens, we'll leave. We agreed to give what's due, and don't ask for anything that's not due to us. My parents just want you to talk to them."
"I know, don't be angry. You're still pregnant. I guess my brother-in-law will express his opinion soon, and I'll listen to him. It's really not easy for my eldest sister, and her family is not well off. Xiaokang is also going to elementary school, and I heard that the subsidy for attending a key elementary school is 50,000 yuan. We have only been working for a few years, and now we only have a hundred thousand yuan in our hands, except for the house given by Zhang's mother. But don't worry, my salary will be increased after the new year, and I guess my position will be promoted as well."
"Well, you have an idea in mind. I have already made a fixed transfer of money to my parents from my monthly salary. They don't have to spend much in the countryside. I have never spent their money since I was a child, and now it's almost the same. No other girl in the countryside is like us. In addition to the fixed amount of money we send to them every month, we also have to give them festival gifts. Add to that the 50,000 yuan betrothal gift you gave us when we got married, and although my eldest sister doesn't give as much as we do, she still gives 5,000 to 10,000 yuan a year. They are actually not short of money. You can tell which family's daughter is supporting their parents like us by looking at my aunts. It's up to you and your eldest brother-in-law to talk to them. Otherwise, why did they give birth to a younger brother? Do you mean they want a son to support them in their old age? They used to say that we were money-losing goods. They gave up their jobs and returned to the countryside to give birth to a younger brother. Now they still have to support him and his wife. When we have children, we will probably have to support the whole family."
"How about I ask someone to find a job that's suitable for my younger brother? He has to support the family after all," Zhang Guoqing said comfortingly with a frown.
"Don't do that. If you introduce him, given his personality, he'll probably quit within half a month. How are you going to explain that to others? My eldest brother-in-law also introduced him to a relative's job before. The salary was too high, over 5,000. But he worked there for less than a month and felt tired. He felt that he had graduated from college and needed to work in an office. Haha, my mother also felt that my eldest brother-in-law was incompetent and couldn't introduce good jobs. As a result, no relative dared to introduce him to a good job since then. It's not going to end well."
"Well, I'll do as you say. You're the boss in our house. We'll be there just across the street."
Nowadays, the countryside is actually not much worse than the city. The road leads to the doorstep. On both sides of the road are newly built small two-story houses. Most of the houses have white tiled exterior walls and fruit trees planted nearby.
Over the past few years, thanks to the betrothal gifts from the two sisters and Zhou Jiao's regular financial support, his father, Chow Tai Fook, has become much wealthier than his brothers' families. Their newly built, five-room, three-story villa in the countryside boasts a gleaming tiled exterior, not to mention the furnishings within. A village custom dictates that a daughter purchases the furnishings when she moves into a new house. This house, in effect, belonged to the two sisters. Compared to their two uncles' families, everyone who mentions it praises the Chow Tai Fook family's good fortune, with both daughters and their sons-in-law being filial.
Every New Year and every festival is a big deal. Look at my cousin from my uncle's family, who only moved to her husband's family. It's really incomparable. Of course, everyone also knows that my cousin has been spoiled since childhood, and she is spoiled and domineering, so she will be sweet-mouthed but vicious.
Their grandparents had always looked down on the eldest son, who had no family, and even after the family split up, they always stayed with the youngest son. Later, Zhou Dafu lost his job to have a son, and was even more troubled and blamed by his parents. Even when Zhou Jiao was admitted to university, they still tried to stop her. If Zhou Jiao hadn't been shrewd and secretly colluded with her homeroom teacher, Teacher Ma, to start school early, she would probably have been forced to marry early to earn the bride price.
So the whole village knows about some of the Zhou family's affairs. But there's nothing they can do about it, since their daughters are so filial. Look at Aunt Zhou's 60th birthday this year, and her two daughters drove over in advance, while their youngest son was still playing cards in the small supermarket at the entrance of the village.
Zhou Jiao didn't really want to come back, but if she didn't, her mother would go to the school and complain. The betrothal money was taken as a matter of course. You say she's a university lecturer, a role model, so why shouldn't she understand Chinese virtues? The office isn't without its ups and downs; behind the scenes, there's a lot of fuss. No one thinks you don't need to take care of your parents because they didn't raise you, or that you don't need to notify them when you get married.
Zhang Guoqing also thought that it would be better if there was less trouble, so he gave 50,000 yuan as a betrothal gift. As for the dowry of 150,000 yuan that the family just mentioned?
After getting off the bus and standing at the door of her home, Zhou Jiao kept thinking about these things. Her mother greeted Zhang Guoqing very warmly. There was nothing she could do about it. She was her own daughter, and she knew she was not soft-hearted. Fortunately, her son-in-law really treated her as his own mother. Deep down, she also liked her son-in-law, unlike the older one who only had a cold face. Every time she went to the city, her son-in-law would take her shopping, and sometimes he would drive her back when he was not busy at work. She was also happy to go to her daughter's place. It was good to not have parents-in-law. Besides, her son-in-law knew how to behave. For example, the benefits provided by the unit allowed them to go on a trip to Hainan for two last year, and they also gave them 5,000 yuan for expenses. Other things are needless to say.
Fortunately, his father was optimistic about the orphan's son-in-law. Otherwise, he would have married his daughter to a big boss in the county for 200,000 yuan. How could it be so good? I heard that he married three wives in three years. Besides, his father was right. The second girl was slow and gentle, and she knew what was going on. She couldn't be controlled. If he didn't agree, she might have gotten the marriage certificate on her own without the betrothal money. Who knew she would be admitted to university? While others were celebrating with banquets, she had secretly transferred her household registration to go to school and work to earn money. She knew how to make money since she was young. I don't know who she looks like. She never asked for tuition fees. She is more scheming than the eldest daughter.
If it weren't for the son-in-law, Erya would have been raised in vain. His father had said that Erya was the head of the family. If Erya was truly filial, she could buy a house in the city, not to mention the county town.
If Zhou Jiao knew what her parents were thinking, she'd probably be in tears. But even if she did, it wouldn't matter. Beyond what they'd agreed upon, they couldn't spend any more money. In a few months, the baby would be born, and the household expenses would be bigger. Besides, her parents had savings, a new house, and no worries about food and clothing. She felt that being their daughter was enough. Of course, she didn't know that last night, her family, including her grandparents and her eldest sister's family, had already agreed to buy a house for the two sisters. Otherwise, Zhou Jiao would have jumped on board.
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