It was already afternoon when Zhou Jiao and her partner returned home. As soon as they entered the house, they saw Aunt Chen smiling and pointing at Ping An, who was soundly sleeping on the small bed in the living room.
"The child just came home from daycare at noon, and he was reluctant to leave. There are two nannies in a class with about 20 children. They still have steamed buns with vegetable and meat soup for lunch, and half an egg per person. The food is better than what you get at home. I'll pick you up from now on, so you can go to school without worry."
Zhang Guoqing nodded happily. If he was not at ease with these conditions, he would be crazy.
"Aunt Chen, thank you. We have been a burden to you since we came back." Zhou Jiao said gratefully.
"What's the burden? They're right here in the courtyard. With your parents and the others around, I probably wouldn't be able to catch up. You haven't eaten yet, right? Take a look and see what you like. I'll add some dishes for you."
Zhou Jiao quickly pulled her aside, "We'll be back after we eat. You should rest for a while. Is my aunt here?"
Aunt Chen waved her hand. "I'm not tired. I went to the nursery with the old lady this morning and didn't come back until noon. Your father made her eat before returning home. She should be resting now and will come back later."
Seeing her rush to leave after she finished speaking, Zhou Jiao followed her lead. She had wanted to ask Aunt Chen how her family was doing, but it seemed she had better wait a little longer.
"You rest at home first. I'm going to go for a walk and visit Dad's health care doctor."
Zhou Jiao looked at his legs with envy. What an iron man! She never wanted to go out again. "Go ahead. Come back and rest when you're tired. There's no rush if anything happens."
Zhang Guoqing nodded. It wasn't that some things weren't urgent, it was just that the sooner they were understood, the better. After a year away, he'd already noticed a few of his friends were missing. He didn't intend to worry her until things were confirmed.
After he left, Zhou Jiao quickly took down the newspaper. She slowly flipped through it, pondering it, nodding and shaking her head from time to time. Aunt Chen, who had been doing the housework, saw this and chuckled secretly.
"Auntie, is everything okay in your hometown? Why don't you go back while I'm home these two days?"
"No. I just got back a short time ago. My kids are grown up, so there's nothing to do. It would be troublesome to go back and forth."
Zhou Jiao smiled at this and didn't continue to persuade him.
"By the way, the child will start going to nursery school tomorrow. The chief left you a list and asked you to prepare it." Aunt Chen knocked her head hard when she remembered.
Zhou Jiao took a look at it and saw that the admission notice clearly stated what was allowed and what was not. She hesitated for a moment, deciding to bring her own bedding. Who knew if those children would pay attention to hygiene?
It has to be said that this father and daughter have the same nature. Zhou Xiaozheng really dislikes things that have been used by others, so he hurriedly took the child home.
"I saw several children in the front yard using military blankets to make small quilts. It's okay now that the weather is warm, but when winter comes, they should use good cotton to add a few more layers."
Zhou Jiao smiled and nodded. Besides blankets, the family also needed to start preparing warm clothing. Children's shoes, in particular, would get wet easily in the snow, so they needed to have extra pairs.
"Mother……"
Zhou Jiao immediately looked at the child after hearing the voice, "Are you awake? I heard Ping An was great today. What a great kid! Our Ping An has become a little man."
Ping An was praised so much that he giggled, "Mom, there are a lot of children. Auntie praised me for being a good child..."
Zhou Jiao carried him to wash up, listening to the child's childish voice as he described his experiences at the nursery. He responded to her, finally feeling somewhat reassured. It was a good opportunity to check on the child before school started, and if there were any problems, she planned to have him live in the compound. The department head's remarks today also indicated how busy the first semester would be.
In the bedroom, Zhou Jiao subconsciously glanced out the window. The last incident still left a shadow in her heart. Even though the window was protected, she still felt uneasy.
"Ping'an, do you remember what your mother said? How should you answer when outsiders ask about family matters?" Zhou Jiao asked the child softly.
Ping An imitated her and leaned over to her ear, "I was little, I didn't know. I would laugh and shake my head, and write it down to tell my parents and grandpa."
"You're so smart! Even if others don't praise you, Mommy knows you're the best. If you encounter problems and can't find Mommy and Daddy, remember to look for Grandpa."
Ping An nodded and continued, "If a kid bullies me, I hit him, but not on the head. If an auntie bullies me, I yell for grandpa and hit her with a stool."
Zhou Jiao patted his head lovingly. It's not easy for someone so young to think this way. A kind horse is ridden, and a kind person is bullied. As long as the child knows the difference between good and bad, that's all that matters.
"What should you do normally? Do you still remember what your father taught you?"
Ping An frowned and muttered, "You can't be stingy, you can't look down on others, you can't bully others, there are so many things you can't do."
Zhou Jiao laughed heartily. So many "can'ts," and the first one exposed his stingy nature. Fortunately, this kid knew the difference between inside and outside, and knew how to give and take.
"Don't laugh, Mom."
Seeing that the child was annoyed, Zhou Jiao quickly coaxed him, "Okay, I won't laugh."
"Some of what Dad said was wrong. Grandpa said I could keep it secret in my heart and not let anyone know. If I don't like it, I can just walk away. If I'm not happy, I can just ignore it."
Zhou Jiao was speechless. Would this child's values be distorted in the future? She hesitated, "Tell Daddy tonight what he did wrong and see what he says."
Ping An raised his chin proudly, "My grandpa is better than my dad. He told me to just smile and shake my head if I didn't want to answer. And if someone bullied me, he said he would take me to secretly avenge me without anyone knowing."
Seeing this, Zhou Jiao stuttered for a while and whispered, "What else did grandpa say to you? Don't tell anyone else, okay?"
"I won't tell anyone, it's a secret. Grandpa said we can't tell anyone except Mom and Dad."
Zhou Jiao mourned Zhang Guoqing's painstaking efforts, wondering how much of the thick black theory he still remembered. It seemed the father still had to work hard, otherwise he wouldn't be able to subdue his son.
In the evening, the family ate the dinner Zhou Jiao had carefully prepared. Zhou Xiaozheng, as usual, listened to the two people's report on the day in the study.
Upon learning that Zhang Guoqing was a transferred student enrolled on paid leave, Zhou Xiaozheng didn't bother to despise his son-in-law's stupidity and nodded happily.
He didn't care about the children's salary. Compared with the young boy Zhang Guoqing, he understood better the advantages and future of being a transferred student.
Lin Lishan was eager to confirm a date and pack up. However, Zhou Jiao still rejected her offer. It wasn't that Zhou Jiao didn't appreciate it, but the environment there was so bad that she had no intention of putting in the effort. Just a place to stay would be enough. She really wanted it to be like home. She really didn't want to live anymore.
Zhou Xiaozheng listened to the conversation between mother and daughter with a smile on his face. No one knew his own child better than he did, and sure enough, his wife was defeated in a short while.
He secretly didn't want his wife to decorate the house. With her personality, he didn't know what kind of a mess it would turn out to be. Besides, it was better if the conditions were worse. The kids would just run back home if they couldn't stay. Why bother?
In order to change the subject, Zhou Jiao finally mentioned Mr. Lin.
Mr. Lin has now moved to the retirement home, which is not far away, but there is an old lady Lin at home, and she is not willing to go there at all.
Zhou Jiao was relieved to learn that her mother had been busy with grassroots work and meetings and hadn't visited her parents' home for a long time. This was good. For her, the Lin family was finally over.
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