Zhang Guoqing looked at his parents with amusement. If he hadn't been sure, he would have said it out loud. "What I'm going to say next is this. This is the most crucial thing. Those things the Zhou family returned, whether they were returned or not, are just personal possessions. I don't care at all. Now my husband and I are on the same page: we must not accept those things, no matter what anyone says."
If the Lin family comes, it won’t be a simple matter. Next, let me talk about my own thoughts. Later, when I was at the Zhou family, I was observing the two old people, and I kept thinking about the Lin family. As for the Lin family, I have never met them. Judging from my mother-in-law’s behavior over the years, they are the kind of children of high-ranking officials who are very willful. They only care about their own pleasure and don’t care about others. They have status and background, and they do whatever they want. If she doesn’t want to come back to see her daughter, then she won’t come back. If she has money, she keeps sending money and doesn’t care. I guess his family is also similarly willful and casual. But no matter how unreliable they are, they have been able to afford to raise Jiaojiao for 17 years, and the courtyard house in Beijing is directly registered under Jiaojiao’s name.
This means they're not short of money, or perhaps don't care about it. The fact they're willing to accept a farm boy like me suggests they're not planning to trade Jiaojiao for favors through a political marriage. My father-in-law is also from a poor farm family, so I'm certain that while the Lin family can be capricious and casual, they have their own way of doing things and a bottom line. Such a family isn't short of money, status, or political marriages, so why would they leave Jiaojiao alone in the countryside? Their family is busy, but they have orderly staff and workers. It doesn't make sense to not bring a child back to Beijing when her mother isn't around. If they truly intend to raise her with money, and my mother-in-law gets married and doesn't care about Jiaojiao anymore, how will they explain the Beijing hukou and courtyard house? Jiaojiao's last name is Zhou, and she's from the Zhou family. If they're not going to give her up, giving her a house is understandable, but why does that mean she needs to keep her hukou in Beijing? Furthermore, the Lin family doesn't care about money, sending gifts whenever they want. It seems their only requirement for Jiaojiao is that she live however she wants and doesn't have to worry about money or material things.
But why haven't I seen Jiaojiao for so many years? My mother-in-law has never been to Northeast China. Why doesn't she come to see her daughter after traveling all over the country? When they see Jiaojiao, Grandpa Zhou can't stop them even if he wants to. So why does the Lin family just go along with it? They can't let Zhou Jiao go to Beijing, and they don't take Jiaojiao back to the capital, but they have a big house there, and their household registration has not been moved back to their hometown. That's a question. Jiaojiao can't appear in the capital. Why can't she appear in the capital? Does it mean that the capital is dangerous or threatening to Jiaojiao? Her father is a soldier in the capital and has many acquaintances. His father is also a soldier who died on a mission and his body was never found.
Does this mean that it's unsafe for Zhou Jiao to go to Beijing now? She needs to wait until it's safe to go, which is why she hasn't transferred her household registration? This also explains the household registration and housing issues.
This year, they are not afraid of others knowing, and they send valuable packages very ostentatiously, which means that Jiaojiao is safe. The Lin family is not afraid of others finding out that so many packages have been sent, and it doesn't matter if they return to the capital at any time. What does that mean? The people related to Jiaojiao are the mother-in-law and father-in-law, a soldier who died and his body was never found. The mother-in-law cannot go back to the Northeast, and she has never seen Jiaojiao even once.
The key question is the missing father-in-law? Soldiers on secret missions. If that's the case, then the father-in-law is alive and coming home soon. Then Jiaojiao is safe, and they can send things without worrying about attracting attention. Before this year, the addresses of their packages were scattered across various military regions. This year, most of them were sent to Beijing. Mailed packages can be checked at the post office.
I thought about it from another perspective. If I had a daughter, and my wife was too spontaneous to guarantee her safety, fearing she would be implicated, it would be safer to leave her in my rural hometown, where any stranger would be instantly apparent. The rural environment is poor, so I'd give her plenty of money. I'm afraid she'd have ties to the military and lose them, which is why the Lin family wouldn't take her back to Beijing.
Grandpa Lin must have known about his son-in-law's return. What should he do? His daughter, as a mother, hasn't fulfilled her responsibilities. Will the couple not see each other in 17 years affect their relationship, or will his son-in-law be resentful? Jiaojiao's grandfather must also have a general idea of Zhou Jiao's situation. So, he mailed so many things. First, to show that he values his granddaughter and never wanted to abandon her. We were worried about her being pregnant. Second, to wait for his father-in-law to return to understand the situation and see his relatives clearly, and to take the opportunity to calculate the extent of the Zhou family's greed.
The father-in-law was angry that his wife didn't take Jiaojiao with her, but the Lin family also spent a lot of money to support Jiaojiao. He provided the money, and Grandpa Zhou provided the labor. Yet, the Zhou family didn't contribute and treated Jiaojiao harshly. How could the father-in-law have the nerve to blame the Lin family? His wife had known of his death for 17 years and hadn't remarried, always believing he was still alive, waiting for him, and even providing for her daughter with a large sum of money. Even if he felt unhappy, he couldn't blame the Lin family. The only scapegoat was the Zhou family and the old man's partiality, just to alienate the Zhou family and avoid future entanglements.
If the reasons I've suggested are true, then Jiaojiao, your father's value is immense, so great that Grandpa is making such a fuss. Your grandfather's family has no shortage of wealth or status, but maintaining that status requires a successor. He should be retiring soon. In the third generation, your cousins will grow up and carry the Lin family banner. In his mind, your father is the second generation of the Lin family. Is your eldest uncle still alive? If your eldest uncle were alive, with your father, the two forces would provide the Lin family with peace of mind. If your eldest uncle were gone, but your father were still alive, the Lin family, with your father as the second generation, could still lead the third generation to establish the Lin family's reputation. That's why they're going to put so much effort into this. Of course, this is my opinion. It all depends on when your mother shows up, how she behaves towards you, how she treats my family, who the Lin family members are, whether they'll continue to keep your father's life a secret from you, and if they do, where will the Lin family assign him a job? All of this will reveal how much the Lin family cares about you. Each of these holds various meanings, and we'll know when the time comes. If the Lin family shows up before the third day of the New Year's Eve, then my suspicions about your father's survival are confirmed. If your grandfather also comes to see you, then the situation is even more serious. Your father is alive and well. Don't trust anything before you see him. Wait until he returns to see how his work is going. Speaking of your father's work, if your grandfather simply wants to use you, he'll force you to return so that he can stay in Beijing and support the Lin family. If he truly loves you, he'll tell you directly that your father hasn't decided where to work yet and that he definitely wants to be with you. He'll consider wherever you are.
The Zhou family, including the Lin family, treat your mother normally. Their treatment of you a year ago reflected your value in their eyes, and now it's all fake. Only your father, you're his only daughter, a daughter in his 40s, truly cares about our family. If your father truly returns, he'll have to go through a 17-year process to assess his merits and investigate. He won't be able to leave the military for at least a year or so. I calculated that the unusual package was sent out about seven months ago. If we calculate it as a year, he'll be home before the New Year.
那林家姥爺肯定讓你媽俺岳母先回來，征求你這個女兒認同，陪着一起等你爸。那就很簡單了，這幾天估計就要來了，預産期也就這周，不管裏子、面子，這兩天你媽林麗珊就到了。還有你記住這是拿你作戲呢，你心裏有數。這一年裏已經知道消息了，你也沒危險，說明你媽也安全了，結婚說沒時間找不到人，那這一年她怎麽知道你懷孕郵寄東西？那之後的時間為什麽不來看你？現在急巴巴的來算計你。
爹娘，你們不要不相信，俺可以很肯定的告訴你們，洗三那天一定到，就是林家都有誰來不知道，還有俺們家沒收林家一絲一毫的，你們不用太熱情，一般親戚就可以了。俺還打算讓嬌嬌給周家人上上眼藥，借她媽的手斷了和她大伯娘關系，那無恥沒底線今天吓到俺啊。俺可不能有這號親戚。”
張母看着孩子爹在深思，她聽不懂，她就覺得他家小五說的都是對的，“小五，娘聽不懂。不過，你說嬌嬌她爸活着就一定活着。你說了這麽多，娘心裏有數呢。等晚上有人說情，俺就知道推了。他爸你說俺們家小五怎麽這麽聰明。”
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