In the main hall of the old courtyard, Zhang Guoqing was sitting on the kang with Zhang Dad and others. When he saw Wuyi coming in, he directly handed the candied haws to Zhang Ziwen. His eyes flashed, and then he listened to Zhang Dad's speech happily.
If there were any conflicts among the younger generation, as long as his son was happy, that was enough. As for him, it was enough for him to remember the kindness of his parents.
Some things cannot be forced.
The next New Year, his father will be exactly seventy years old. Perhaps he should discuss the celebration arrangements with his two brothers.
And his mother was only a year younger than his father. He might not have a holiday for his parents' birthdays next year or the year after, so why not celebrate them together?
Unlike in the past, this time all of Zhang's three sons and two daughters were present.
In addition to the two tables in the main hall, the table on the kang was also filled with food and wine. Father Zhang, his three sons, his two sons-in-law, and a distinguished guest, his grandson-in-law, sat on the kang.
The remaining women and children sat at one table, and the next generation of grandchildren sat at another table.
Before starting to eat, Zhang's mother introduced the granddaughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law present to Zhou Jiao one by one. Normally, this should be Huang Cuilan's job.
But I don’t know what Huang Cuilan is thinking, she looks absent-minded.
Seeing this, Zhou Jiao didn't dare to get close to her, for she was worried that she might accidentally poke her and make the atmosphere awkward, which would be bad if she ended up ruining the place.
Another thing is that she found that her nieces and nephews seemed to be very afraid of her, which forced her to reflect on whether she had made any mistakes in her behavior.
As it was getting late, apart from Zhang Dad's table who were drinking and chatting, the rest were either busy serving their own little ancestors or filling their stomachs first.
After finishing the meal in a flash, Zhou Jiao, whose stomach ached from eating, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Anyone would be unable to bear the thought of someone stealing glances at them when they made a loud noise.
Zhou Jiao invited her two elder sisters-in-law to stay at her house for one night, but they laughed at her for wanting to sleep on the floor. She didn't get angry because her house really couldn't accommodate them.
She chatted with the two sisters for a while. In fact, they had already discussed some things just now. Seeing that they were busy taking care of the children, Zhou Jiao quickly squeezed her mother-in-law's hand and found an excuse to go home first.
When the three Ping'an brothers saw her leave on the pretext that the pot was still boiling in the backyard of her home, they sat for a while and then said goodbye on the grounds that they were tired from climbing the mountain this morning.
After the whole family left, only Zhang Guoqing was left. Zhang's mother looked at her granddaughters-in-law leaning on her shoulders and burst into laughter.
Father Zhang turned to look at his wife in surprise, "What makes you so happy?"
Zhang's mother smiled and shook her head silently. With her son-in-law and the others around, how could she say that the younger generation was actually afraid of her daughter Jiaojiao? No one would believe her even if she said it.
However, when Zhang Meili led her daughters-in-law to the west wing to rest, she pointed at them with dismay, "Why are you all so silent in front of your aunt?"
Zhang Ziwen's wife shrank her neck and said with a laugh, "Mom, I don't know why, but I'm just terrified standing in front of my aunt."
Zhang Ziwu's wife laughed and agreed, "Mom, sister-in-law is right. Whenever my aunt-in-law stares at me, my scalp tingles."
Zhang Zicong's wife looked at her two sisters-in-law, then at her mother-in-law, and hesitated, "Is that the kind of look that seems to see through you?"
The three sisters-in-law looked at each other and kept silent. If they continued talking, it would seem that they had bad intentions and were afraid of being seen through.
Seeing this, Zhang Meili didn't ask any more questions. That was because they had little contact with their aunt-in-law. Once they got to know her, they would know what a good person she was.
In order to help the daughters-in-law better understand her brother's wife, Zhang Meili then mentioned the care her younger brother and his wife had given to their family in previous years.
Just like the four people, mother-in-law and daughters-in-law in the west wing, Huang Cuilan and her two companions, who were washing dishes in the kitchen, were also talking about Zhou Jiao. The only difference was that it was Huang Cuilan who was answering.
"Mom, what kind of person is my aunt?"
Huang Cuilan quickly turned her head and looked towards the kitchen door. "Keep your voice down. Don't you see how much your grandma loves her daughter-in-law? She doesn't even love her own daughter as much as she does."
Zhang Mingzuo's wife, Wei Qiulian, immediately lowered her voice and said, "Grandma is with my aunt, she won't come out. Mom, why do I feel that what my aunt said is different from what the children's father said?"
Huang Cuilan glanced at her and said, "She is very kind to all the children. She used to give them all the good things she had. Yaya has caught a cold these past few days and she is afraid that she might infect her aunt. Otherwise, she would have come here a long time ago."
Wei Qiulian looked at her thoughtfully, "What about outsiders?"
"Do you know how many good sisters she has after staying in her hometown for so many years?" Huang Cuilan raised a finger. "Just one! Your Uncle Dashan's Zhao Yuanyuan, she's the only one."
Zhang Mingyou's wife Fang Xiaoxian opened her mouth wide when she heard this. "So weird?"
"It's not strange. She doesn't like to be in a crowd. She won't come unless someone asks her out. She's a bit cold, but she's a very nice person. Everyone who has interacted with her says she's a good person.
I don’t know how she is doing now. But when she was in my hometown, your uncle was there, and no one dared to look for her. Your uncle was afraid that she would be bullied.
Sisters-in-law Wei Qiulian and Fang Xiaoxian immediately covered their mouths and laughed.
Huang Cuilan shook her head when she saw this. "What's so funny about this? If you spend more time with them, you'll know how good your uncle is to her. Women can't compare."
Wei Qiulian knew that she was thinking about her sad story, so she quickly changed the subject, "Mom, you haven't told me how she treats outsiders yet?"
"Yes, mother, I see she smiled at us, but without much enthusiasm."
"That's just her nature."
Huang Cuilan finished speaking, sighed, and turned to leave. What about outsiders? She didn't want to say too much to her daughters-in-law, because they would naturally understand in the future.
"Sister-in-law, why haven't you spoken tonight? Haven't you been saying that you've never seen a real person? How about seeing one now?"
Gong Xiaoya watched her mother-in-law leave, stood up, patted her waist, smiled and shook her head, "It's just as I imagined. She's so beautiful and young. It's very stressful to stand in front of her. Fortunately, it's not my mother-in-law."
Wei Qiulian looked at her speechlessly. "Mother-in-law?" This was the Vice Chairman's daughter, their only daughter. How much virtue did you have to have accumulated in your past life?
Fang Xiaoxian nodded in agreement. "Sister-in-law is right. If this were my mother-in-law, I wouldn't dare marry Mingyou. I'd feel uncomfortable just thinking about having such a mother-in-law."
Wei Qiulian rolled her eyes at them and laughed, "That's enough."
"Aren't you afraid of her?"
Wei Qiulian smiled and said nothing more. This wasn't a question of fear or not, but a sense of distance.
Zhou Jiao, who was at home, naturally didn't know what the young wives in the old courtyard thought of her. Of course, even if she knew, she wouldn't care, because she wasn't her daughter-in-law.
What she was worried about now were her three sons: they were practicing calligraphy one by one, and then something like this happened in the middle of the night. Who made them unhappy?
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