The next morning, Zhang Guoqing got up early, cleaned up the backyard, and ran to his own private plot.
Since their household registration had been relocated, the private plot should have been handed over to the village. Zhang Guoqing had always assumed that his family had no private plot after the family split up. Unexpectedly, Zhang's father had divided the entire private plot equally among his three sons, and had even helped them till the soil and plant the seeds for the spring planting season.
Now standing on his own private plot of land, looking at the rows of millet, soybeans and other crops on the ground, he couldn't help laughing - it was really an unexpected harvest.
When Father Zhang came over, he saw his eldest son working in the fields again early in the morning.
He looked up at the sky and said anxiously, "Xiaowu, why don't you go to work yet? Your eldest brother and the others thought you were gone. Daddy is here to take care of the farm work, so hurry up."
Zhang Guoqing looked up and smiled, "Dad, I'm on vacation and won't go back to work until tomorrow."
"You silly boy, why haven't I heard you mention it?" After hearing this, Father Zhang laughed and scolded a few words, then went to his eldest son's field to help.
Zhang Guoqing didn't admit to mentioning it, perhaps his father wasn't paying attention and didn't hear clearly. He smiled and answered Zhang's father's question while his hands kept busy.
After finishing his work on the private plot, Zhang Guoqing and his son returned home. He only then noticed the row of new houses at the entrance of the village. Zhangjia Village has become much more impressive. He had not noticed it before, but he turned around and took another look at the village.
Seeing this, Father Zhang smiled and said, "Are you surprised? Last month, your second uncle and his family were so happy that they cried when they warmed their houses. I see that after this busy period, many people want to build new houses again."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and changed the subject. It wouldn't be that easy to build it after two or three months.
In the kitchen, the couple had breakfast and discussed their plans for the day.
Zhang Guoqing drove his sidecar to the unit to say hello to everyone and submit his report.
Passing by his own door, he hesitated for a moment, then decided to clean up the house first and return to the village later. That way, the whole family could rest as soon as they got home.
After finishing his work, Zhang Guoqing stretched himself. Seeing that it was getting late, he was worried that Zhou Jiao would be anxious. He quickly locked the door and was about to start the car when he heard the postman on his bicycle calling his name in the distance.
He waited there for a while, chatted with the other party with a smile, took the letter, and watched the other party leave.
Zhang Guoqing looked down at the stack of letters in his hand and discovered that in addition to the letters from his father-in-law and a few of his buddies, there were unexpectedly two more letters.
He didn't have time to figure out why Liu Sanyuan from Province K and Lin Xuezhen from Lin Laoer's family had written to him, so he quickly started the car and returned to the village.
As soon as he entered his yard, Zhang Guoqing smelled the aroma of steamed buns and meat in the air, smiled and shook his head - his wife was working hard. Hearing the conversation in the kitchen, he raised an eyebrow.
"I just said that your man is back. Then I'll leave. Remember to come to my house when you have time." After saying that, a middle-aged aunt nodded to Zhang Guoqing and left.
"Is this the daughter-in-law of my second uncle's family?"
Facing Zhang Guoqing's doubts, Zhou Jiao smiled and nodded, "My aunt's family gave her some honey yesterday, and she brought it over and said it was for Ping An."
Zhang Guoqing nodded. "This family is very kind and feels bad for letting us stay in their yard. I'll send some buns over later."
As they were talking, Zhou Jiao blatantly collected a curtain of freshly wrapped buns. Zhang Guoqing was startled and forgot to mention the letter for a moment. He quickly ran to the yard and closed the door.
"Jiaojiao, don't do this next time. If the other car had come back, would you have had time to change? And did you see your son staring at you?"
Zhou Jiao glanced at him and smiled, "I'm not stupid. When you're not home, I wrap and steam as many as I want and collect them. Others just think I'm slow. When mom comes, I won't do it anymore."
Zhang Guoqing patted her head and said, "Be careful. I'll accompany you from now on. Don't do anything rash."
After he finished speaking, he saw her blinking her big eyes and nodding her head obediently, which made him laugh.
"Okay, now put out all the dough. I'll wrap it, and you just start steaming it on two stoves." Before Zhang Guoqing finished speaking, he wanted to slap himself in the face as piles of dough and several plates of stuffing appeared in front of him.
Zhou Jiao laughed heartily at this. Seeing him helplessly go to wash his hands, she smiled at Ping An who was grinning beside her, "Baby, what are you laughing at? Be good, and mommy will steam lots of delicious food for you."
Zhang Guoqing looked at the mother and her son talking at cross purposes, smiled and shook his head.
He tried his best to make his wife happy. He could only console himself that it was just making dumplings, not a difficult task.
The couple was working hard.
It was already past two in the afternoon when Zhang's mother returned from her parents' home. She went back to the old courtyard, packed up, and walked towards her eldest son's house. She found the gate was locked, so she knocked on the door.
After a while, she saw her eldest son come to open the door. She smiled and said, "I knew you guys weren't gone yet. Why did you lock the door?"
As Zhang Guoqing entered the yard and smelled the fragrance in the air, Zhang's mother smiled and said, "Are you steaming buns today? We have to close the door. Otherwise, if someone comes, it would be embarrassing not to give them to them."
Zhang Guoqing listened to his mother talking to herself and could only smile and nod.
The couple took Zhang's mother to eat steamed buns and talked about the recent situation of her uncle's family. Zhang's mother asked if her eldest son had visited his family in the county town.
His mother didn't mention it, so he really forgot about it.
Zhang Guoqing quickly stood up, took off the hanging bag, took out the letter from it and handed it to Zhou Jiao.
"Besides the letters from Dad and a few of the guys in the compound, there are also letters from Liu Sanyuan and the youngest of the Lin family. Liu Sanyuan's letter isn't surprising, but why would the youngest Lin write to you?"
Seeing that they had important matters to discuss, Zhang's mother asked them to go back to their room and wait while she took her grandson for a walk in the village.
After seeing off Zhang's mother and her grandchildren, the couple returned to their room.
After reading a few letters in their hands, the two looked at each other and smiled.
Zhou Xiaozheng was still very good in his letter, saying that he was working while on vacation, and his only regret was that his baby couldn't be with him. He asked Zhang Guoqing to take Jiaojiao and Ping'an to cool down when he has a vacation.
In the letter, Lin Lishan told the couple not to be afraid of spending money and to never go up the mountain.
Several buddies in the compound were all describing the leisurely vacation at the beach and the delicious food they tasted, and asked their families to hurry over.
Liu Sanyuan's letter invited Zhang Guoqing to take some time to visit K Province with his wife and son, to visit an orchard and a fishing village. Two of the three pages were devoted to delicious food.
The only surprise was Lin Xuezhen.
After letting Zhou Jiao keep the letter, Zhang Guoqing smiled and said, "Everywhere is beautiful nowadays, it's really tempting. We can't go to Dad's place, but we can still make time to go to Province K. Tonight, we'll go to Uncle Dashan's house to see Aunt Cheng and Zhao Yuanyuan."
Zhou Jiao laughed when she heard that and gave him a thumbs up in agreement.
Seeing that she didn't mention Lin Xuezhen, Zhang Guoqing thought for a moment and said, "My parents didn't mention the Lin family in their letter. I guess they haven't fulfilled their promise yet. That troublemaker Lin Xuelin hasn't left for the Northwest yet, so it's best to have less contact with the Lin family."
Lin Xuezhen's letter was an apology, a statement that she had decided to atone for her parents' sins and go south alone. It was credible, but it came from the capital. Who knows if she was trying to soften your heart?
Let's wait and see what happens! Don't write back to her, but you can mention it in your reply to Dad."
Zhou Jiao suppressed her smile and nodded.
How could she not notice the problem mentioned by Zhang Guoqing?
She really didn't want to have any more contact with the Lin family.
For some people, let time prove whether their feelings are true or false.
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