As the sun set, the group boarded the train, seen off by local officials.
That night, I checked into the military district guesthouse.
As soon as Zhou Jiao entered the room, she felt relaxed and exhausted. After a quick wash, she took her child and went to bed immediately.
She slept through the night and woke up in the morning, still a little dazed. It was not until her son's voice rang in her ears that she woke up.
"Little rascal, where is your father?" Zhou Jiao picked up her son and took him to the bathroom. She found that Zhang Guoqing was not in the room, so she asked the child with a smile.
After she had settled the child, half an hour had passed. Curious, she opened the door and saw that the rooms to her left and right, as well as across from her, were all closed. She knew they had left the child there.
After changing her clothes, Zhou Jiao came to the lobby with her child in her arms. Before she could ask anything, the registrar handed her a slip of paper with a smile.
After thanking her, she saw a message from Zhang Guoqing: He and her father were out, and the old lady and her daughter were visiting an old friend. He asked her to stay at the guesthouse and wait for her mother, her eldest cousin, and Zhao Chuangguang and his wife to arrive that afternoon.
Zhou Jiao's eyes widened in disbelief. She wasn't mistaken. They were all here. Was this a group tour? Were they all off to work? No wonder her mother had grumbled to the old lady several times before coming, then fell silent again when she saw her. She had even expressed her pity to her mother several times. What a waste of expression!
After having breakfast with her son, Zhou Jiao didn't return to her room. She strolled all the way to the service center, intending to see if the products in each military district service center were the same.
"Jiaojiao, is it really you? Why are you here? I heard from my friends that you were going back to Beijing on May Day. Shouldn't you be in Beijing? Why didn't I get any news?"
Zhou Jiao was startled when someone patted her shoulder.
Before she could turn around, she heard a crackling sound. This girl was undoubtedly Ye Lin, Zhao Yuanyuan's daughter—Little Linzi from the compound. Big Linzi, then, was her annoying older cousin.
"Tell me slowly. My dad and I just arrived last night. Why didn't you go home on May Day? How many days will you stay here?" Zhou Jiao asked back quickly, otherwise she would have to face the other party's torture.
Hearing this, Ye Lin's smile immediately turned sad. She shook her head and pulled her to an empty corner.
Zhou Jiao hesitated when she saw this. She didn't really want to hear anyone talk about secrets, especially the troubles of the Ye family. But the other person's faint voice had already reached her ears.
"My mom asked me to come and keep my grandparents company. My grandma is so angry at my great-grandmother that she collapsed. All my uncles and aunts came over. What a sin! My grandparents' house is a mess now. I can't go home. My eldest uncle came over and asked me to take good care of him. What a sin! What my grandpa did is just a horrible thing."
Zhou Jiao couldn't help laughing before she could say anything. "Where did you learn the word 'sin'? Be careful or your mom will hear you and beat you up."
Ye Lin laughed heartily. "My great-grandmother always says 'you're committing a sin' as soon as she opens her mouth. I've gotten used to it these past few days. Not to mention my mom, even my great-grandmother would get beaten if she heard about it. You know, she hates the eldest wife the most."
Zhou Jiao saw that her gloomy face had disappeared in an instant, and she really admired this optimistic girl. If it were her, she would not care about these trivial matters of the elders.
"How is your grandma? I'll go see her tonight."
Ye Lin quickly shook her head, "Don't go, absolutely don't go. My grandma is very concerned about her reputation. If you go and see my great-grandmother, she will scold me to death. You pretend you don't know about this."
Zhou Jiao patted the child in her arms who was following her gestures, frowning and hesitant.
The original wife and the second wife were already sworn enemies, let alone the second wife who was the third party? Add to that the original wife's children and they were all there. This was definitely a case of internal strife. She was most afraid of such complicated family relationships. Wouldn't it be even more embarrassing if a visit was met with a quarrel?
"Don't even think about it. You really don't have to go. My cousin from my aunt's family came over a few days ago, but my mom wouldn't let him in. Sigh... They say family disgrace shouldn't be made public, but everyone knows about my family's problems."
Zhou Jiao nodded after hearing this, and couldn't help but ask, then regretted it a little, "Then why didn't your grandfather let your great grandmother go back to her hometown?"
"My great-grandmother made her conditions. She wanted to work, and she wanted her children to live with my grandfather. If she agreed to return to her hometown, no one would be able to live a good life.
Do you understand now? I really can't go back. I don't know when my eldest brother and his family will take their vacation. Sigh...even if they do, it's useless. Who makes me the one with the most free time? Why am I so unlucky? If I had known, I would never have gotten on the train."
Zhou Jiao suppressed her laughter and patted her. She was not sure what to say.
Seeing the child in Zhou Jiao's arms clamoring to leave, Ye Lin glanced at her watch, slapped her forehead and said, "My grandmother is still waiting for me to come and get some soy sauce. I'll come find you tonight. Are you in the guesthouse? I'll leave first then."
Zhou Jiao opened her mouth to respond, but she had already run away. She thought to herself that next time they met, she must pull the other person in beforehand, so that if something happened, she would not have time to talk.
Zhou Jiao didn't know at that moment that she would never see this beautiful and cheerful girl again. Many things in the world are so unexpected. Years later, she received the news of her death. She could never forget her red dress, her words of "what a sin!", and she couldn't imagine what kind of humiliation she had endured behind that bright smile that led her to commit suicide.
Back at the guesthouse, I ran into the old lady and Cheng Ruzhu. The three of them had lunch, and it wasn't until after 1:00 PM that Zhang Guoqing returned alone.
"Where's Dad? Where did he and my uncle go?"
Zhang Guoqing replied with a smile, "Dad and my uncle have to attend a meeting at two o'clock this afternoon. My cousin is out on business. I still have to go pick up my godfather and the others."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Cheng quickly let him go.
"Aunt, I want to take Jiaojiao with me. Can I leave Ping'an to you?" Zhang Guoqing said pitifully to the old lady.
"Don't be weird! Take Jiaojiao with you. Remember to bring money with you."
Cheng Ruzhu watched the couple leave, smiled and shook her head, "These two have such a good relationship. They don't want to be apart for a moment. Mom, you take a rest first. I'll take care of the child when he wakes up."
"Childhood sweethearts." The old lady nodded in agreement.
Zhou Jiao followed Zhang Guoqing out of the door and saw two cars parked not far away. She looked at him in surprise, only to see him smiling and nodding. She happily gave him a thumbs up.
After getting in the car, Zhang Guoqing whispered, "Weren't you upset about not collecting supplies yesterday? I specifically said I was going to the station to pick someone up when everyone was having lunch. Okay, someone send a ladder right away. My godfather's telegram said it would arrive around 4:00 PM. We can drive today without worrying about being followed. Think carefully about what you want to buy."
Zhou Jiao thought for a moment and decided to drive around. She didn't want to waste their time alone just to eat. Besides, before returning to Northeast China, she wouldn't use the space unless absolutely necessary. There was no need to waste time buying a lot of stuff.
Zhang Guoqing smiled and didn't object to Zhou Jiao's paranoia. Safety first, nothing was more important than his wife's safety. Besides, their family didn't need the postage.
Sitting in the car, I looked at the streets and the crowds, which hadn't been there for less than six months. While seemingly unchanged, they were actually different. Most of the small bookstores were gone, and the lines at the expensive restaurants were sparse. Everything had lost the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
