Zhao Chuangguang gently wiped the tears from his eyes and patted him. He felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He considered himself not a smart man, but definitely not stupid. Yet, he truly was the biggest fool in the world. He couldn't even protect his brother's only child. With the situation right before his eyes, he still ran to the capital year after year.
He didn't know how to comfort his brother. He knew he must be heartbroken. A father, a brother, a wife who had been with him for 17 years, his beloved, could do this to his daughter. That was Zheng Ge's precious child, Zheng Ge treated her like his lifeblood. How dare they do this?
With so many people in his father-in-law's family, they only gave him some money and supplies for 17 years, and no one even bothered to check on the child. Who cares? The most unacceptable thing is that Lin Lishan, the biological mother, hadn't shown up in 17 years. He wanted to say something about the Lin family, but when the words came to his lips, he thought of the words "real mother and daughter" and held them back.
Zhou Xiaozheng regained some of his composure and continued, "When I came back yesterday, she threw herself into my arms and cried loudly. She cried until she was unconscious. When she woke up, she asked me if I had finally found a job. She was worried that I would be a target for the Lin family in Beijing. She was also worried that I would have a rift with her mother, so she kept trying to persuade me. Ah Guang, my heart is filled with pride and heartache. Without me by her side, the child grew up like a weed, but fortunately, he has grown up."
Zhao Chuangguang nodded, took out a cigarette, threw it to Zhou Xiaozheng, lit it, and took a few deep puffs before saying, "Brother Zheng, what are you going to do with those people? Your own father can't do anything about it. Your eldest brother and sister-in-law will have to teach them a lesson. And do you want to bring Jiaojiao back to the capital to be with me, so you can feel at ease?"
Zhou Xiaozheng took a puff of his cigarette and asked, "Have you heard about the story of the golden doll in T County? It's spread all over the provincial capital."
"I've heard about it. It was quite a big incident. My brother-in-law who works in the province also talked about it. He said that a little girl intimidated one or two thousand people. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. Hey... wait a minute... It seemed that he said the crime involved spreading rumors and public opinion, and there was a 17-year-old girl. Could it be that the golden doll is our little princess?" Zhao Chuangguang took a breath when he saw Zhou Xiaozheng nodded, and looked at him in disbelief.
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded, "It's indeed Jiaojiao. The people in the county gave her the nickname Golden Baby."
"How did the incident get out? I heard they brought a crowd of one to two thousand people to Jinwawa's house to demand an explanation. It was Jinwawa who spoke the truth and calmed the crowd down."
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at him smugly but said nothing.
Zhao Chuangguang stared at him with gritted teeth. This guy was dishonest and kept people in suspense.
Zhou Xiaozheng, ready to quit, gave him a meaningful look and said, "My Jiaojiao and son-in-law figured out that I might be alive based on the fact that the Lin family suddenly sent 28 extra packages this year. What do you think? You wouldn't have guessed it, would you? They also figured out that the Lin family would come to see Jiaojiao after the baby was born, and they figured it would be on the third day of the baby's birth. Old Man Lin and her mother arrived a day early and happened to see what happened that day. Do you understand now why the old man brought my son-in-law to the provincial capital?"
Zhao Chuangguang stared at him intently, and when he realized he wasn't lying, he said in surprise, "Our little princess is only 17 years old, how could she be so amazing? I've met your son-in-law, he's certainly a great man, but how could a peasant family raise such a child? Damn, the world is moving so fast, I can't even keep up. No wonder, no wonder, I was wondering why the old man brought his grandson-in-law here. Did you warn them? Don't look at what's in front of you."
"Don't worry, they're both smart and have their own plans. I asked them to come back to Beijing with me, but they refused. They told me to wait for two years and then go after they got into university. They said they didn't want to rely on their grandfather and wanted to take things step by step. Besides, Zhang Guoqing doesn't plan to follow our path. Ordinary people can't calculate them. They have no desires, so how can they be calculated?"
"Our son-in-law is quite good. The old man said he was his grandson-in-law, so I thought he was from some rich family. He speaks and acts in a very proper way. My superiors all praise him highly. He is also very good at dealing with people and is neither servile nor overbearing. Now, it won't be just the couple taking the child to school, right? Will he be able to get into university? Do you want me to ask for help?"
Zhou Xiaozheng laughed heartily. "No need. They already had great grades. I suggested I go to Beijing with them to send them to university, but they refused, saying they'd take the exam first. I've already said if they don't pass in two years, they'll be sent back. Zhang Guoqing has already used his connections to get into the county armed forces department. The boss happens to be that idiot melon thief, remember him? The one with the red pepper. His name is Zhao Dashan, and I work under him. I'm learning how to get by in the government from him while studying with Jiaojiao. I plan to get grassroots experience first and then take the university entrance exam. It's a good plan, and I've been busy these past two years, so I agreed to wait two years."
Zhao Chuangguang nodded approvingly and said, "You're a smart young man, that's good. Let's see first. If you really don't pass the exam, I'll do my best to give you a push."
"Well, I'll just help them with logistics first. As soon as I arrived yesterday afternoon, I rushed out to buy a small courtyard for them to stay in temporarily for two years. This time, besides coming to see you, I also want you to find out who has overseas remittance vouchers? And also arrange a car for me to use for a week."
Zhao Chuangguang stood up quickly after hearing this. "Come on, I'll take you to the warehouse and pick out some things to take back. I'll drive you to find someone with the overseas remittance vouchers. I also have some tickets, so I'll give them all to you. Let's not sit here anymore. Let's go find a car and put the things we picked in it. Then we can go eat and I'll take you to exchange them for overseas remittance vouchers."
Zhou Xiaozheng hurriedly grabbed him and whispered, "You're a scoundrel, don't do what you shouldn't do. Watch your words, why haven't you changed your temper yet?"
Zhao Chuangguang put his arm around his shoulders and said with a cheerful smile, "Brother Zheng, I'm not stupid. It's okay. It's just consumables. Don't worry. You'll know when you go over and take a look."
Zhou Xiaozheng stared at him, and seeing that he didn't seem to be guilty, he just let him go. "You can't do things without starting or finishing. You have so many people watching you in this position. You're not a kid anymore, so don't let your guard down."
"Brother Zheng, when I see you, I see the backbone. There are a few other brothers. Do you want to go meet them? If you don't go to see them this time, you will have to pass by here when you return to Beijing. Otherwise, they will definitely blow up. Where do you live now? How can I find you?"
"Your sister-in-law and I are staying at my in-laws' house. I'll pack up in the next two days and take Jiaojiao to live in the county town. The small courtyard is right next to the county armed forces department. You can just look for Zhao Dashan. Don't go to the county town unless you have something to do. It's not easy for you to ask for leave. In a few days, I won't bring your sister-in-law with me and will come up to meet you."
Zhao Chuangguang went straight into a room, gave a few instructions, picked up a piece of paper and started writing on it. Zhou Xiaozheng took a look and quickly took out his ID and handed it to him, "Add it."
The two of them filled up the car with gas, and Zhao Chuangguang even took out a small bucket and put it in the back. These things are hard to buy, so he kept them to prevent the car from stalling due to lack of gas.
After arriving at the waste warehouse, Zhao Chuangguang spoke to the custodian, signed his name, and sent him away. When the two of them reached the innermost part, Zhou Xiaozheng rolled his eyes at him.
Zhao Chuangguang moved several quilts twice in a row, and he wanted to move more. Zhou Xiaozheng hurriedly stopped him. Military uniforms and boots weren't a big deal; they took up less space. But the quilts were too conspicuous. Zhao Chuangguang chuckled, and while he was turning to leave, he secretly packed up a pile and threw it into the back of the car.
After leaving the warehouse, the two picked up Lin Lishan and drove directly to the provincial capital hotel.
Inside the car, Lin Lishan looked at the pile of things nearby and asked curiously, "Why are there so many? Where did you two find them? They're all new. You must be indebted to me."
Zhao Chuangguang was driving the car and laughed, "Sister-in-law, didn't you notice that there are many holes in the quilt? They are all discarded. You can fix them when you get home. Just use it as is."
Lin Lishan understood what he meant immediately. "Alright. If anything happens, just tell them I asked you to take out some discarded items for the art troupe to use."
"Oh, sister-in-law, that's great. You're a smart person and you know what to do. Now that you've been promoted, you and your wife should move forward, move forward..."
Zhou Xiaozheng watched him angrily with amusement. His temperament hadn't changed in all these years, so it seemed he was living a good life. Of all his friends, he was the only one who had a smooth life.
"A Guang, how many children do you have now? Do you want to call them out for a get-together? You haven't changed your wife, have you? Will your wife still make you kneel on the washboard?"
Zhao Chuangguang yelled in frustration, "Brother Zheng, you're amazing. You've remembered this for all these years. You're the only one with a good memory, okay? Now I tell her to go east, and she doesn't dare go west. Why should we get together? Who knows if you'll come up with some tricks to mess with me again? And my wife is here, and you can still eat? Your tears will drown us. When the news came that you were finished, she cried until her eyes were swollen. Oh, not only her, many female soldiers cried, and some even fainted. Do you want to take your sister-in-law to see Yizhihua? She's retired and living in the province now."
Zhou Xiaozheng slowly and methodically continued his words, "I know, she still cares about me. She was the first one to spread the news of my death to the provincial capital. I also know that she got married and had a child. Look at your sister-in-law, she's so unmoved. It's useless. It doesn't excite me. Seeing Hong La Jiao yesterday was really exciting. This guy didn't even want Zhao Dashan. He just held my hand, crying and cursing. My son-in-law was still there at the time. Fortunately, Zhao Dashan was also there, otherwise he wouldn't be able to wash away his guilt even if he jumped into the Yellow River. Hong La Jiao is still the same as before. I don't know why she fell for that stupid melon thief."
"Haha, fools have their own luck. That kid used to be so simple and honest, but is he better now? Think about those melons, they're so delicious. Oh, and where's that big bull? These two are really the two generals."
"I heard from Zhao Dashan that he left that year and never came back. I guess he must have been reincarnated twice. Many of our brothers also passed away in such a hurry. It's really not easy to survive."
"Well, we have to live well for our brothers. Brother Zheng, you have to be well in the future. There are only five of us left in the Northeast now. Some will leave, some will disperse. If there are fewer of us, I won't want to live anymore."
"Okay, let's all live well and live to be seventy or eighty years old. We will support each other and go together. When the time comes, we will go down to visit our brothers." After saying this, everyone felt a little sad and no one spoke for a while.
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