Zhang Guoqing came to the county town early in the morning, finished his business, and rode his bike past the textile factory. He hesitated for a while, and after thinking about it, he decided not to go in.
His mother had said, "Help in emergencies, not in poverty." Zhang Meili's family was doing well now, so there was no need for him to interfere. The flour he had just sent her a few days ago was enough for her family to get by.
He looked at the sun and since there was nothing wrong, he decided to go back and spend time with his wife and son.
After passing the post office, he called home. Aunt Chen happened to be at home. He asked about the current situation at home. Seeing that nothing was wrong, he felt relieved.
It's not easy to go back to Northeast China, so it's good to make more preparations. Aunt Chen asked Zhang Guoqing several times on the phone when he would be home. Zhang Guoqing estimated that he would be back before school started, so he gave a rough date and hung up in a hurry.
That's really cruel! The phone bill is enough for his family to eat cabbage for a year. I heard that my friends came to my house every day to ask when I would be home. I was planning to call them, but I finally gave up.
Zhang Guoqing suspected that if he made another phone call, he would probably be regarded as a lunatic, or a spendthrift psychopath!
When he returned to the village, he was lucky enough to meet Uncle Wang who was coming to his house. It turned out that the uncle came to repay his money after work and agreed on a time to go into the mountains.
Zhang Guoqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Isn't the old man tired?"
Uncle Wang was also helpless. His father said that they should leave after three days of rest, otherwise the boy would flee to the capital, and then he would not have such a reliable helper.
He shook his head: "If my uncle hadn't come over last night, he would have come to your house himself."
"How about the next morning? Uncle, you have to tell the old man that I can only stay in the mountains for one night at most. The child is too young and I feel uneasy. Besides, we have to go back after we come down the mountain."
Uncle Wang smiled and shook his head. "I'll tell you something. We'll talk about the rest after you two meet."
Zhang Guoqing knew he couldn't make decisions for the old man. Besides, he was just reminding him first, so that the old man wouldn't forget the time while having fun in the mountains.
After parting ways with Uncle Wang, Zhang Guoqing went directly to the village to find the old captain and handed him a note. From then on, when he was not at home, the old captain could take the note to find the other party.
When Zhou Jiao saw him come back in the kitchen of the courtyard, she hurriedly served the food.
"Why don't you eat first? Where's your son?"
"He went inside to take a nap after eating. He worked with Xizi and the others in the back all day this morning, and judging by how tired he was after running around, he must have been quite tired. When I went in just now, he was already asleep."
Zhang Guoqing nodded and handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Let's talk while we eat. I've taken care of everything that needed to be dealt with today. I've already dealt with the glass bottle for Third Grandpa. As for Old Man Wu, I'll go see him after the banquet tomorrow. I also called home and Aunt Chen answered. Nothing much happened at home."
Zhou Jiao had rice in her mouth and didn't know how to answer, so she nodded slightly.
"Uncle Wang just paid me back, and we agreed to go up the mountain the day after tomorrow morning. I'm going to take my son there to stay overnight. What are you going to do at home? Do you want someone to accompany you?"
After Zhou Jiao swallowed it, she quickly drank a mouthful of soup and said, "Then you must promise me that safety comes first."
"My son is with me, so needless to say, I'll be careful. I'm worried about you, though. Why don't you go to the provincial capital to visit your godmother? It's a pity that Zhao Yuanyuan is away on an internship, otherwise it would be perfect for her to accompany you. By the way, Linzi came to see us a few days ago. He asked Uncle Li to tell us that he would be returning to school to report first."
"Oh, let's finish eating first. Don't worry about me, I'll take care of Maimiao and the other two and just sleep at home." Going to the provincial capital? Are you kidding! Without Zhang Guoqing at home, she can move around freely.
After lunch, Zhang Guoqing took over the dishes and listened to Zhou Jiao telling him about the gifts his two sisters-in-law had prepared for his eldest nephew, as well as some arrangements made by his mother.
"...That's all. You can arrange the rest on your own."
"There's nothing much to prepare. We have some extra army blankets at home, so we can wrap them up in homespun cloth and bring him a complete set of bedding. We can also give him a set of old white shirts and Liberation shoes that Huaihai bought. Nothing too fancy would be suitable for him. That should be enough, right?"
Zhou Jiao looked at him with a half-smile. "More than almost? Very good, okay?"
"Wife, don't look at me like that. It's scary. Why don't you come and see what's suitable?"
"My parents prepared a fountain pen for me. If you keep going through all this, you'll definitely look like a rich kid. It's not that I can't bear to part with all these things, but it's not a good thing for a child."
Zhang Guoqing became interested and bowed with a smile: "I'd like to hear more about it."
Zhou Jiao put aside the topic and asked something else: "What do you think of Accountant Zhang?"
Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows.
"He suggested that my eldest sister hold a banquet, invite the old captain and his men over for drinks, and have all the sons come to celebrate. What are they celebrating? Celebrating that my eldest sister's family will have enough food to eat?"
Zhang Guoqing narrowed his eyes.
"He's lived to this age, with so many bills coming in and out of the production team every year, and he feeds thousands of people in the village. How could he not know how precious food is? Then what do you think he's after? Even my mother knows there's no need for such extravagance, so how could he not know? Face? How much is face worth?"
Zhou Jiao finished speaking and knocked on the table. "You should remind my eldest sister not to flaunt all our wealth in front of him! This is the kind of person who forgets the pain after the wound has healed! He even asked his sons to celebrate together. Haha, what a fool! If it was a more powerful daughter-in-law, would Accountant Zhang dare to ask for a wedding banquet? Whose wealth is he spending? He already eats for free and still wants to be the boss?
She is your elder sister, I cannot say these things to her. Tell her to be careful and not to be foolish enough to fall into her trap! You have to pretend to be poor even if you have to! Don’t let people think that our kind family is stupid and easy to bully.
Zhang Guoqing nodded repeatedly in agreement as she spoke. Being filial to one's parents was a matter of course, but if the elderly were still stubborn and refused to change, there was no need to treat them with sincerity.
After hearing what Zhou Jiao said, he didn't plan to hand over the yard to his brother-in-law. He also had to remind his parents to be on guard against Accountant Zhang.
"There's a saying that goes, 'It's better to be prepared than to act prematurely.' Don't think I'm speculating maliciously about human nature. I don't bother paying attention to other people, but my eldest sister is different. You must tell her what you need to say! If she doesn't believe you, just ask her: if Ziwen lives a good life, while Zicong and his brother are so poor that they can't even afford to eat, what would she, as a mother, think?"
Zhang Guoqing nodded. "I'll find a chance to talk to my eldest sister tomorrow, and then have my second brother keep an eye on her. My eldest sister has suffered all her life, and now she can finally breathe a sigh of relief. She can't let herself be sucked by these leeches."
"That's all. When you have time, talk to your eldest brother about these things. Don't let him feel left out. Letting him, the eldest brother, take on responsibilities will help him grow."
Zhang Guoqing grinned at this remark. The cold-hearted Zhou Jiao had also begun to adopt a warmer approach. Did this mean that his wife's inner resistance to outsiders had also weakened?
I can only say that you think too beautifully!
This isn't...
"Zhang Lao Da is the eldest son, so he should shoulder the responsibilities of the eldest brother. If he can grow up and stand on his own, you won't have to worry about getting involved in all the trivial matters in the future."
Zhou Jiao finished speaking, unwilling to dwell on topics that had nothing to do with her. "You should have an idea of how to arrange Ziwen's gifts next, right? This is a good opportunity to show Accountant Zhang that you are the uncle, and you can only be the uncle. You can't be a parent, and you can't afford so many nephews!"
Wife-slave Zhang Guoqing immediately decided to listen to his wife.
There was no need to prepare anything, just follow his mother's arrangements. As for Accountant Zhang and the others, they could just go wherever was cooler, since he wasn't his son!
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