In a small courtyard in the county town, Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao lived a carefree life with their child. Apart from Zhou Jiao's frequent thoughts about her father, Zhou Xiaozheng, everything else seemed to be going smoothly.
Zhang's mother came over every now and then, but she didn't get a chance to help. Besides the nourishing food simmering in the kitchen, Zhang Guoqing and his wife planned to bring back some food from the restaurant before the baby's full month. In these few days, Zhang's mother, no matter how distressed she was, had no objection. Once the baby was a month old, Zhou Jiao would naturally be at home to do the housework and take care of Zhang Guoqing's meals.
In just a few days, Zhang Guoqing rode his bike around during the day, bringing back things and putting them in Jiaojiao's space. The couple was as busy as little hamsters preparing for the winter.
In the blink of an eye, it was Zhang Meili's housewarming day. Zhang Guoqing got up early. They had been busy putting the things in the cellar into the space and tidying up the house last night. He walked around the yard a few times and was relieved to find no flaws.
Zhou Xiaozheng's telegram announced that Lin Lishan was coming with the Cheng and Lin families. Adding in guests from the provincial capital, the county seat, and even relatives, there would be quite a few guests. Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao knew things had gotten out of hand, and they had to discuss it with Zhang's father and the others, so they had no choice but to return to the village to prepare.
Zhang Guoqing looked up at the sky and shook his head. Today's morning run was ruined. It wouldn't be long before his father and his family arrived.
Standing in the yard, Zhang Guoqing did a set of boxing, and after relaxing his hands and feet, he busied himself with preparing porridge. After the meal was ready, he returned to the bedroom and saw Zhou Jiao had woken up, which surprised him greatly.
"Why are you awake so early? Go back to sleep. Wait until I buy some buns, then you can get up." Zhou Jiao had been taking care of the children in the early hours these past few days. Zhang Guoqing, with a distressed look on his face, pushed her onto the bed and covered her with a blanket.
Zhou Jiao looked at him speechlessly. It wasn't like she was safe, how could she lie down even if she woke up? "Okay, then I'll lie down. Go buy some breakfast. Buy some more buns. The kids must not have eaten enough this early in the morning. They'll be starving when they get to Big Sister's."
Zhang Guoqing hugged her and kissed her several times, which made Zhou Jiao slap him repeatedly before he let go and walked out.
Zhou Jiao waited a moment, figuring he'd already left. She gently got out of bed, relieved to see her son hadn't woken. After washing up, she returned to the bedroom and folded the quilt. She sat there watching her son. After a moment, seeing Ping'an wake up on time, Zhou Jiao burst into laughter and kissed him several times. This kid's schedule was even more accurate than an alarm clock.
Zhou Jiao changed his diaper and wiped him clean with a hot towel. She hummed a little tune while holding him and feeding him. Seeing that he looked relaxed, she waited until he finished eating. Then she quickly picked him up, patted his back, and said softly, "Son, today Mommy is taking you back to the village. Be good when your grandparents come."
Looking at her son, Zhou Jiao felt soft inside. She thought her father must have felt the same way when he looked at her, wanting to give his child all the best things in the world.
Zhou Jiao had just finished breakfast with Zhang Guoqing when Zhang's father arrived with the entire Zhang family. Zhang Guoqing quickly brought some steamed buns from the kitchen. "Dad, help yourselves. The porridge is in the pot, go get it if you want. I've prepared it for you. Go ahead. Don't wait for the eldest sister to start the meal, it's still early."
Father Zhang nodded and said, "You all should eat more. Mother, take the two daughters-in-law to the kitchen to check on them. They are new here and are not familiar with the place."
Zhou Jiao smiled apologetically at her two sisters-in-law. Seeing that they didn't take it seriously, she breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly glanced at Zhang Guoqing and saw him nod. Knowing they had enough to eat, she said goodbye to Zhang's father and carried Ping An back to her room.
After the Zhang family finished breakfast, Xizi came in with his younger brother and sister. Zhou Jiao asked him to help look after Ping'an, and brought out a basket of candies and roasted nuts for the children, then went to the living room.
Zhang's mother was touring the courtyard with her two daughters-in-law, Huang Cuilan and Lin Juhua. As soon as they entered the guest room, Zhou Jiao quickly pulled Zhang's mother to sit on the kang and asked her two sisters-in-law to sit down. "Mom, sisters-in-law, I've added two quilts as a housewarming gift. When you go over later, don't tell them I prepared them. Just tell them my family prepared them."
Zhang's mother and the other two burst into laughter when they heard this, but some were still afraid that the gift would be known to others.
Zhang Guoqing came in and saw Zhou Jiao facing his mother awkwardly. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Mom, Dad asked us to go to my eldest sister's old house early and move in at ten o'clock in the morning. Jiaojiao, I'll be back after I send them to the house at ten o'clock. You wait for me at home."
Zhou Jiao breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately he came in. "Hurry up and bring what we prepared last night and send it over, don't tell us we prepared it ourselves."
Zhang Guoqing nodded and turned to walk out. When he returned to the living room, he was holding two thick quilts with a bundle on top. He followed Zhang's father and the others out and put them on the oxcart at the door. After Zhang's mother and the others came out, he ran to the yard to greet Zhou Jiao, closed the gate, and followed them to Zhang Meili's house.
"Xiaowu, what's in your package? I've already given you a lot of gifts this time. Don't add any more." Mother Zhang sat on the ox cart, felt through the cloth outside, and found it was still cloth inside. She said worriedly.
The three Zhang Guoqing brothers were walking slowly behind the ox cart. When they heard this, they took a few quick steps forward and whispered, "Originally, we three brothers were planning to make a set of furniture for our eldest sister. The carpenter said he couldn't make it in time, so we didn't have the big pieces. I got some quilts. They're wrapped with three sets of cotton-padded clothes for the nephews to wear today. Didn't Jiaojiao promise to give each of the children a set of clothes a few days ago? They have everything. Did Mom bring the ones for Yaya?"
Mother Zhang was reluctant to say more because of the presence of her two daughters-in-law. She patted him in the face and said, "I gave it to your eldest sister a long time ago. Could the thing you're holding in your hand be from your second sister's family?"
Zhang Guoqing chuckled, but didn't answer. He simply stopped and waited for the car to drive away, then smiled at his older brothers behind him. He didn't want to do this, but Zhou Jiao had promised the children, so he couldn't favor one over the other. The fabric at home was too good, and he didn't want to use it for the children. He had spent days searching for fabric and cotton for these clothes. Even without his mother's advice, they wouldn't agree to this in the future.
Sitting on the oxcart, Zhang's mother opened the package with her two daughters-in-law. Seeing three sets of clothing inside, she sighed inwardly. Just preparing two large gifts would have cost a fortune. These two silly children, no wonder they say they belong to the family. They're afraid their eldest daughter will return the gift, and they're afraid of attracting attention.
The Zhang family was indeed quite eye-catching. The whole family, dressed in new clothes, attracted the attention of passersby. Zhang Guoqing quickly pulled his two brothers along and started to take the side road.
Zhang Guoqiang burst into laughter. "You only realized it now? When I left home this morning, many villagers, young and old, came out to watch. If I hadn't been afraid that my parents' car might be stolen, I would have run away long ago. Let's stay away from them and follow them."
The eldest son of the Zhang family patted the second son and told him to be more careful, not noticing that his father kept looking back at them.
He whispered to Zhang Guoqing, "Your second brother left in his uniform this morning, and Dad despised him. He said that we have a good life, and no one would want him to come home in this uniform."
After saying this, he couldn't help laughing out loud. The three brothers followed the ox cart from a distance, laughing loudly.
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