After the family had finished dinner, Zhang Guoqing was exhausted and felt a bit weak. He said goodbye to everyone and went back to his room to lie down next to Zhou Jiao and finally fell asleep peacefully.
Zhou Jiao was awakened by the crying of a baby. She looked around the strange room in a daze. It took her a while to remember that they had traveled through time and later gave birth to a son. She looked at Zhang Guoqing lying on her right and smiled.
Mother Zhang saw Zhou Jiao wake up while holding the child. "Jiaojiao, don't move and lie down first. Let the child lie next to you first, and let Xiaowu sleep. His head injury hasn't healed yet. It's going to be cold outside all day. I'll go get you something to eat, and I'll take care of you and the child at night. It's just the two of us."
Zhou Jiao was very happy to hear what Zhang's mother said. There was a strong sense of doting in her words. Thinking back to her memory, Zhou Jiao regarded her as her own mother from the bottom of her heart.
Zhang's mother was quite partial to her youngest son. Normally, she would have sent him to sleep in the main room, where he could sleep comfortably. Zhou Jiao had just given birth to a son, and Zhang Guoqing had to go to his parents-in-law's house to announce the good news the next morning. She had no choice but to arrange for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to take care of him. Seeing that they hadn't been woken up by the commotion, she secretly cursed the scoundrels in Lin Village, forgetting that they hadn't gotten away with anything either. They were all bruised and battered, and two of them even had broken bones and were being held by the militia.
Zhou Jiao smiled sweetly and said, "Mom, it's all thanks to you, old lady. Otherwise, neither of us would know how to take care of the child. Look at how tiny it is, we don't even dare to hold it. Mom, look at how tiny it is, so red like a little monkey. It's so ugly, will it be hard to find a wife when it grows up?"
Mother Zhang pretended to pat Zhou Jiao's arm and said with a smile, "You child, babies grow up quickly. This kid weighed over 6 pounds when he was born, very honest and handsome. Don't worry, Xiaowu will go home tomorrow to announce the good news. Do you need to bring a message?"
When Zhou Jiao heard Zhang's mother mention her parents' home, she was a little confused for a moment and hurriedly searched for it in her memory.
The original identity is a bit embarrassing. How to say it, the original person grew up with her grandmother, and her father died on the battlefield when she was just born.
Her grandmother was the only daughter of an imperial physician in the early years of the capital. She grew up in a wealthy family, never having to worry about anything, and was betrothed to a well-matched family from a prestigious scholarly family. On her wedding day, before she could even have a wedding night, the Eight-Nation Alliance arrived in Beijing. The Japanese arrested all the men in her husband's family, accusing them of harboring the Boxer Rebellion, and massacred the entire family.
Her grandmother had to rely on the cleverness of her personal maid, who disguised herself and managed to escape from the small backyard kitchen during the chaos and return to her mother's home. Her mother's parents were helpless, and worried about being implicated. Kyoto was in turmoil at the time, and everyone was in danger. They packed up their belongings and hurriedly fled to a farm in the countryside south with their housekeeper and maid. They hid their identities and relied on their family's medical skills and the valuables they brought with them to survive in the countryside.
A few years passed, and my great-grandparents passed away, leaving behind a housekeeper and a maid, along with Grandma Zhou, who was already struggling financially. By chance, she reunited with her husband, with whom she had grown up. It turned out that the Boxers had rescued Grandpa Zhou, the only surviving member of the group who had been seriously injured. When Grandpa Zhou returned to find his surviving family, no one was there, and even their house in the city was deserted. Determined to seek revenge, he joined the army.
The couple then followed the troops, and after several twists and turns, they eventually joined the People's Liberation Army. The housekeeper remained in retirement, and the personal maid had married. Unburdened by worries, the couple continued fighting on the front lines. As their children grew older, the couple, along with Zhou Jiao's uncle and aunt, returned to the Zhou family's ancestral home, Zhoujia Village, in Northeast China. Grandpa Zhou still hoped that any of his family members would be able to return home to pay respects to their ancestors.
Later, the youngest son, Zhou Jiao's father, secretly signed up for the army. During his time in the army, he met Lin Lishan, the mother of Zhou Jiao, a cultural soldier, and fell in love and got married. Two years after their marriage, the couple gave birth to Zhou Jiao. Not long after, Zhou's father hid it from Zhou's mother who was in confinement, and after leaving a letter, he and Lin Lishan, the eldest brother of the Lin family, participated in a secret mission and died together. Lin Lishan could not accept it for a while. The two closest people were gone without even leaving behind their bodies. She was hit hard and could not take care of the newborn Jiaojiao, who was taken back from the army by her grandparents who rushed over after hearing the news to raise her.
Zhou's mother, Lin Lishan, remained single and never remarried, often insisting she'd see their bodies if they were dead, or their bodies if they were alive. She believed they were always here and would eventually return, refusing to accept reality. It's unclear what motivated Zhou's mother, but despite sending her child support year after year, she didn't even attend Zhou Jiao's wedding.
Zhou Jiao's original self had no memory of seeing her mother except in photos. She was said to be still single and had rejected many marriage proposals. Her grandparents often reassured her that her mother loved her, but she just couldn't accept her husband's death and needed time. But Zhou Jiao still resented her mother in her heart.
As a child, her friends could act like spoiled brats and throw tantrums with their mothers, but besides being pampered by her grandparents, she also depended on her eldest aunt's secret mood. While her eldest aunt, Chen Zhaodi, enjoyed the supplies and money frequently sent by the Lin family, she secretly felt both jealous and envious of her widowed sister-in-law. Zhou's mother's high-ranking official background and beauty had given rise to a self-esteem and arrogance. Out of the sight of her grandparents, she seemed to help the other children secretly bully little Zhou Jiao. Her cousin had to choose first from the gifts sent by her mother, and the government used the remitted child support.
After finally turning 10, she, now worldly-wise, expressed her desire to visit her mother. However, during the only phone call she received, her mother coldly retorted that she was busy performing and had no time to see her. She urged her to stay home and fulfill her filial duties for her father. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she was completely heartbroken. From then on, she never mentioned her mother again, even leaving her letters unopened, never opening or replying, as if she didn't miss her.
Zhoujia Village and Zhangjia Village are located one above the other, separated by a river and connected by a bluestone bridge. Zhoujia Village is located closer to the mountains. Grandpa Zhou is a veteran of the Eighth Route Army, and Grandma Zhou was a military doctor in her youth. They are highly respected in the local community.
Zhou Jiao, the daughter of the Zhou family, was beautiful. I heard her grandparents were soldiers, as were several of her uncles, and her mother was also a soldier. In those days, soldiers were very popular. Except for workers, soldiers' food, housing, and clothing were all provided by the state, and they also received monthly salaries. Military coupons were valid nationwide, and they had priority access to purchases at the supply and marketing cooperatives, without having to queue.
Aside from the fact that Zhou's father accidentally passed away, no one knew that since little Zhou Jiao was old enough to understand, she had never seen them except for receiving clothes from her grandfather's family and her mother's annual remittance. They claimed to love their child, but they had never seen them take her away.
I only heard my aunt mutter a few words occasionally, such as my eldest uncle and Zhang's father died together, my second uncle was stationed somewhere, my grandfather was a big shot and couldn't spare the time to visit his old comrade's grandfather, and her grandmother was seriously ill again, etc. My brother's wife was really weird. She was so beautiful and didn't remarry or raise a daughter, so she just abandoned her in her hometown. Yes, she was abandoned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
