It was already past noon, and there was still no movement in the east wing. Aunt Chen gave up the idea of getting the young couple to get up and eat, so she picked up the cloth bag, went out of the yard, locked the door and left.
Zhang Guoqing was sleeping soundly on the kang in the bedroom. Under the quilt, he held Zhou Jiao tightly with his arms, his legs wrapped around hers, and occasionally mumbled a few words.
Zhou Jiao slowly opened her eyes, but her legs were restrained and she couldn't stretch them out. She smiled helplessly - this man was domineering in his bones.
Enduring the numbness all over her body, she lay motionless in his arms. It was a rare good day, the sun shining through the curtains. Zhou Jiao half-closed her eyes, considering whether to wake him up.
"Sweet... hehe... flowers..."
Zhou Jiao blushed when she heard that. She no longer had any sympathy in her heart and stretched out her hand to slap him on the forehead.
Zhang Guoqing was awakened, hugged her tightly again, and patted her back gently, "Be good, you must have been very tired last night, go back to sleep."
"Your son is calling you."
Zhang Guoqing lowered his head and kissed her, "Stop making trouble and go to sleep."
"My blood circulation is blocked and my legs are numb. I can't sleep. I need to get up."
Zhang Guoqing grabbed her legs and placed them on his waist, rubbing them gently. "Why are you getting up? Lie down with me and let's chat. Don't you think it would be nice to do this every day?"
"You are good, I am not good."
"A woman who says one thing and means another. Last night you were..."
Zhou Jiao quickly covered his mouth and glared at him, "If you keep saying you'll sleep in the study tonight."
"You're so bold! You're using this trick again. Let's see if you'll give in. Do you dare to let your man stay alone in the empty room next time?"
There was a commotion under the quilt...
This man succeeded again. Zhou Jiao was so angry that she pinched him and said, "You did it on purpose!"
Zhang Guoqing covered her mouth with a smug smile on his face.
Well, his wife is really smart.
…
Zhou Jiao woke up again, alone in the room, and pounded the quilt fiercely. She was determined to drug him next time.
Zhou Jiao picked up the neatly folded clothes on one side and put them on. After washing up, she took a bun from the space to fill her hungry stomach.
She stretched her head to listen carefully, but there was no sound in the yard. After hesitating for a while, Zhou Jiao left the room.
"Your father definitely can't go back, but I don't know what Jiaojiao will decide. I don't want to go to the funeral."
Zhou Jiao heard this as soon as she entered the living room and paused, "Grandma Zhou is gone?"
Lin Lishan subconsciously observed her expression, feeling a surge of frustration. Why were both father and daughter expressionless? What did this mean? Was it going or not?
Zhang Guoqing stood up and pulled her to sit down. "You must be starving. Talk to mom. I'll go to the kitchen to get something."
Zhou Jiao nodded, "Less."
Zhang Guoqing nodded in understanding.
"I received an urgent telegram from the Zhou family this afternoon, saying that the old lady passed away late at night." Lin Lishan handed the telegram to her.
Zhou Jiao unfolded it and calculated the time. She found that she had passed away the day before yesterday. It seemed that the Zhou family had hesitated for a long time whether to inform her. Thinking that the old lady had passed away like this, she was a little dazed.
"Jiaojiao, do you want to go back?"
Zhou Jiao shook her head. "When a person dies, all things end. Why go back? For what reason? It's better for her to go. I hope the old lady can be reborn into a good family soon."
Lin Lishan asked her uncertainly, "Are you really not going back? You know, if you leave now, you can still make it to the mountain to take the old man back. If you leave later, it will be too late to bury him."
Zhou Jiao shook her head again. To her, the fact that she hadn't visited Old Madam Zhou the last time she went to see her "uncle" Zhou Xiaocun meant their fate was over.
"I'm so conflicted. It's hard to decide whether to go or not. Your aunt is old, and it's hard to discuss it with her."
Zhou Jiao patted her hands. "Now that he's gone, who are we going to pay our respects to? The old lady didn't want us to pay our respects to her, otherwise she would have been anxious to see my dad before she left. My dad was a substitute for her son who died young. Her dream of having a 'close old son' has been shattered. This so-called old son is no longer close to her."
"I don't know what your father is thinking. He said he couldn't leave and would go to pay his respects when he returns to his hometown. Do you think he'd be sad?"
"She'll definitely be sad. After all, I raised him and played the role of a mother for so many years. Even if I didn't fulfill my responsibilities, the feelings are still there. However, my father thinks the same way I do. Death is the end of everything. Besides, what identities would we, father and daughter, have when we go there? Asking him to wear mourning clothes as the eldest son of the Zhou family? What a joke!"
"Indeed."
"So, let's not discuss this in front of my dad. He didn't even wear mourning when my grandparents passed away, so don't poke holes in his wounds. And I don't like the fact that the old lady hid my dad's background, preventing my grandparents from seeing their own son pay homage for decades. Forget it, I don't want to talk about them anymore."
Zhang Guoqing stopped Aunt Chen and made a bowl of noodles himself. When he brought it over, he saw that Zhou Jiao and her mother had already finished their conversation and moved on to other topics.
"Eat something first."
"Xiao Wu, Jiaojiao is definitely not going back."
Zhang Guoqing nodded, understanding without surprise. Given his wife's temperament, it would be strange if she went back. It was because he knew her so well that he didn't wake Zhou Jiao the moment he received the telegram.
Zhou Jiao finished her noodles, checked the time, and stood up. "I'll pick up my dad from get off work first. I'll leave Ping An to you two."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and said, "Go ahead, sweet little girl. I'll go pick up my son, and Mom will be waiting for us at home."
"What a thoughtful girl! She hasn't come to pick me up at work yet."
Zhou Jiao laughed happily and said jokingly, "Mom, you are jealous."
"Yeah... go pick up your dad, he'll be so happy. He'd love to show you off."
Zhang Guoqing took off the coats of the mother and daughter and said with a smile: "Mom, we don't envy them. We will go to pick up Ping An and show off well."
"Yes, let's go for a walk too."
The three of them walked to the fork in the road. Zhou Jiao waved goodbye to them and turned to go to Zhou Xiaozheng's unit.
Zhou Jiao had been here once before and still had some impression of it. She stood at the gate and asked the guard on duty and found out that her father was not out, so she had no intention of going in.
After checking the time, she declined the other party's request to notify her. Zhou Jiao stood away from the main entrance, in an inconspicuous place, looking towards the door from time to time.
A few minutes later, Zhou Xiaozheng and a few others went out after get off work, and saw the guard pointing to where Zhou Jiao was standing.
When Zhou Jiao saw this, she jumped for joy and ran towards Zhou Xiaozheng.
"Slow down. Why don't you come inside when it's so cold?"
"I just got here. I didn't bother you because it was almost time to get off work." Zhou Jiao said, smiling at the soldiers standing nearby. "Uncles, it's been a while since we last met. Why don't you come to my house and visit me?"
A dark-skinned man said loudly, "Old Zhou, look how nice your daughter is. She even invited us to her house. What about you?"
A middle-aged man wearing glasses asked with a smile: "Has Xiaowu gone hunting with those guys recently?"
Zhou Jiao understood immediately that he was craving wild animals. She pretended to whisper to him, "Uncle, we don't need Xiaowu. Someone just came from our hometown and brought a lot of meat. How about a drink?"
"Really? That's great. We'll go to your house tonight, and you have to cook for me, girl."
"No problem. Let me tell you, my cousin Sijin has a bottle of good wine given by the Chairman. Don't accuse me of snitching. He treasures it, you see..." After saying that, he winked at them.
Everyone laughed at her.
Zhou Xiao was watching his daughter lovingly from the side. If his daughter wanted to maintain a good relationship with him, her methods would be no worse than those of her son-in-law.
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