Just as Ping'an guessed, not long after getting off work, his parents and Yi Jiefang and the other three began to arrive at the old house one after another.
Just as Wuyi expected, the extra food Aunt Lu cooked was put to good use.
Later, an eight-immortal table was added to the stone table in the main courtyard. After finishing the dinner carefully prepared by Aunt Lu, the group of people started to "divide the spoils" after eating and drinking their fill.
Yi Jiefang wasn't particularly interested in these things; he was rather intrigued by Zhou Jiao's description of the province. "Hey, what do you think, should we find time to go to the northwest?"
Geng Dazhi shook his head. "It's too far, and the vacation time is not enough."
Yi Jiefang sighed, "Why were we so stupid when we were in school? What's so fun about hanging out at the beach every summer vacation? What a shame, what a fucking shame."
Wan Dayong kicked him and said, "Your daughter is here."
Yi Jiefang dodged to the side, avoiding his legs, and waved his hand nonchalantly, "I just want to summarize my experience, so that my little Tang won't become stupid at school. With my IQ, if my daughter only inherits half of mine, she won't have to spend time studying seriously."
"Just blow, blow hard."
"What? You don't believe me? I just can't beat my sister on the test. It's not an IQ issue, it's just that I can't concentrate. Otherwise, I'd definitely be number one in every department."
Zhang Guoqing shook his head in amusement. Since his daughter Tang was present, he didn't want to expose Lao Tie's shameless behavior.
Several older men were just chatting and fighting with each other from time to time, which made the three Ping'an brothers and the little girl laugh happily.
It's called dividing the spoils, but in fact there's nothing good in it.
Ninety percent of the sacks Zhou Jiao brought back this time were filled with stones. After throwing away some local medicinal herbs, the rest were Hami melons and fragrant pears that took up some space.
Fortunately, when Zhou Jiao prepared these things, she marked each sack and filled them with local specialties such as cantaloupe, raisins, red dates, nuts, etc., which were clearly classified.
So they pulled their salted eggs, jokingly picking some and putting them in their bags, which didn't take much time. After all, they couldn't really take them all home.
On the way home, Zhou Jiao delivered the gifts to the Cheng and Wen families. Her master and senior brothers had to wait until the next day to give the rest.
It seems like there's a lot of stuff, but if we really divide it up, there's not much left between you and me.
Fresh fruits like cantaloupe, though not worth much locally, took up a lot of space and were expensive to ship. Therefore, she had already stuffed most of them into the space.
Zhang Guoqing, who was familiar with her hobby of hamsters, looked at her generous expression and was afraid that he would laugh accidentally, so he pinched his thigh to hold back his laughter.
"When I have time, I'll spend some money to hire someone to move the two batches of rocks to the garden. Whether it's for a rockery or something else, I'll move them all. It's not a nice sight to have them sitting in the warehouse and in the front yard."
"Okay, whatever you say is what it is."
After discussing trivial matters, Zhou Jiao started talking about serious matters.
The two of them exchanged a few words in a hurry at noon, and then he rushed to work. When he got off work, Yi Jiefang was in the car, and she didn't have time to ask him many questions.
"I'm sending a package to my parents tomorrow. Do you have anything to send to them?"
Zhang Guoqing shook his head. "Let's not send it yet. My second sister-in-law is leaving in the next two days. Let's see if my parents can come."
Zhou Jiao suddenly realized: "Yu'er should be giving birth soon, right?"
Zhang Guoqing glanced at her. Why would a grown man like him care about his niece's childbirth?
Zhou Jiao smiled awkwardly, lowered her head, and picked up the teacup: "If I remember correctly, her due date is mid-November. It's August now, and it's time for my second sister-in-law to come.
I'll go submit my report tomorrow. After I come back and give my Master and my brothers gifts, I'll go to Yue'er's place. I wonder if Aunt Zuo will have any objections to me not visiting for so long?"
"Aunt Zuo knows you're on a business trip, so that won't happen. I've already asked Xiao Zhu to go on my behalf a few times, and the children also went a few times during the summer vacation. It's not a big deal."
Zhang Guoqing thought for a moment before continuing, "I'll take you to Master and the others tomorrow after get off work, and have Ping An go to Shitou. As for you, you finally have a few days off, so you should rest at home first."
"Okay, you arrange it."
Zhang Guoqinghu touched her head and said, "You are so good."
Zhou Jiao turned her head away and gave him a reproachful look. She was just a child!
Zhang Guoqing was so happy to see this that he smiled. He took the teacup from her hand with one hand and lifted her into his arms with the other. If he didn't have a daughter, it wouldn't be bad to have a wife. He would treat her like a daughter.
"Wife, the price of gold has increased."
Zhou Jiao casually replied disapprovingly, "Isn't that what I should do?"
"Hahahaha...yes, you're right."
The next day, Ping An rode a motorcycle to Shitou and came back with a series of news for Zhou Jiao.
His second aunt, Lin Juhua, and Mai Qing, who was on summer vacation, had already boarded the bus today. Xiao Tao didn't come this time because he had college entrance exams next year.
As for his grandparents, it is said that the grandchildren of his great-grandfather, third-grandfather and great-aunt have been holding weddings one after another since the New Year, so they can't leave.
Zhou Jiao nodded without saying anything. Perhaps the biggest reason wasn't attending the weddings of her nephews and grandchildren. Once Lin Juhua left, her mother-in-law would definitely be worried about Zhang Laoer and his father.
There is also Zhang Lao Da. She hasn't heard from him for a long time, which is probably one of the reasons why her parents-in-law are worried.
"Mom, the three of us brothers are planning to go back to our hometown if grandpa and grandma don't come."
Zhou Jiao looked at her son with admiration. "You're welcome. It's rare that you won't be going to the military camp for internship this summer. Ask your dad if he has time. He should have saved up enough vacation time."
"What about you?"
Zhou Jiao shook her head helplessly. "I can't go. I took my vacation before the New Year. I can only take three days off after this business trip. There's not enough time to go back and forth."
"Ask Grandpa Shi for some leniency."
Zhou Jiao had no interest in returning home and being squeezed onto a train in the scorching heat. Besides, returning home would inevitably lead to a host of other problems, which would be very annoying.
But she wouldn't tell her son this.
Filial piety is the first of all virtues.
Filial piety is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation and a noble quality that must be possessed in all human relationships. Only those who understand filial piety are truly human.
Whether she went or not didn't mean much to her parents-in-law, but it was different for the four of them. No matter how many packages they sent or how much money they sent, it was nothing compared to them visiting the elderly in person.
Once the topic of returning home was brought up, the three Ping'an brothers moved very quickly. After the family had dinner in the evening, they gathered in the living room to discuss it.
Zhang Guoqing didn't say anything this time. He knew his son had grown up and was no longer the spoiled brat he used to be. But he was still quite relieved.
He decided on the spot to book tickets for the children.
And himself,
I really can't leave. Saving up vacation time doesn't mean I can get what I want, and the defense battle in southern Xinjiang is over, but that doesn't mean there will be less friction.
Before Lin Juhua arrived in Beijing, the three Ping'an brothers packed their bags and boarded the train.
After sending the children away, the Zhou family became deserted again.
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