Zhang Guoqing carried his son into the Cheng family's house. When the aunt saw him, she immediately smiled and said, "Just now the old lady was wondering if you guys were back. Come in quickly."
In the living room, the old lady was wearing reading glasses, her arms stretched straight as she flipped through a book. When she heard the noise, she put down her hands and looked at the father and son coming in with a smile.
Ping An got down from his father's arms and ran forward with his little legs: "Grandma, I'll take you over for dinner. My dad said that today is a women's day, and he wants you to host it."
Old Mrs. Cheng laughed with joy and helped him sit next to her: "Are you happy to have you here, grandma?"
"I'm glad, but it's a pity my grandfather didn't come. When will my aunt come back?" Ping An was referring to the Cheng family's eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Xiu. He had decided on the title himself. Cheng Ruzhu was the aunt, so Liu Xiu was his aunt. Cheng Sijin, on the other hand, was his great-uncle.
Zhou Jiao didn't know what was right or wrong, and since the old lady didn't correct her, she continued to follow her son's wishes. For example, Ping An would call her uncles Wang and others in the order they were arranged, such as Fifth Grandpa and Sixth Grandpa.
For this matter, the elders used snacks to bribe Ping An, but just changed the order.
"She won't come back until she's off work."
The little man shrugged and spread his hands: "What a pity."
The old lady laughed so hard she fell backwards and laughed: "Where did you learn this?"
Ping An straightened his back proudly and said, "My grandfather took me to the reunion party, and I learned it from others. But my mother won't let me be so careless in front of outsiders."
"Oh? What did she ask of you again?"
Ping An raised his left hand and used his right hand to bend his fingers, bending them one by one, saying, "There are so many things. First, you can't make any noises when eating or drinking soup; second, you can't swear; third, you can't hunch over or shake your legs... There are so many more. My mom said I'm grown up and I need to pay attention to etiquette."
"You have to study hard. If you don't understand, just look at your grandpa and your dad."
"Aunt, you're praising me." Zhang Guoqing helped her up. "My mother said she wanted to visit you, but I stopped her. We're not that distant relatives, so why are you being so polite? Don't you think that makes sense?"
"Well, well said. I'm in good health. You hold the child and we'll go quickly." The old lady refused his support and pointed at Ping'an.
In order not to delay Huang Xiaomi's return to the train and team, Zhou Jiao specially prepared dinner earlier today.
In the kitchen, Aunt Chen was racking her brains over the dry goods that Zhang's mother had brought over. If it was too bad, she would be sorry for the three sacks. If it was too good, she would be hard to explain.
After much thought, she finally came up with four dishes and one soup: casserole with cabbage and tofu, stewed pork ribs with potatoes, stir-fried diced cucumbers, stir-fried snow mustard greens, and pickled cabbage.
Mrs. Cheng looked calm when she saw the dishes on the table. She glanced at Zhou Jiao deliberately, wondering in her heart, "It's just a meat dish. What's the fuss?"
She didn't believe that there was a shortage of food at home.
Zhou Jiao went forward to support her and gestured to Zhang's mother's side.
Mrs. Cheng was surprised to see her in-laws' genuine smiles, and then she looked at the pot of steamed buns made of two-grain flour that Aunt Chen brought out. She calmly communicated with Zhang's mother and the others, always paying attention to their words and actions.
"I heard that Brother Zuo's father is a high-ranking official, and his brother is also a high-ranking official. Where do they live now?"
"They live in the big yard outside."
"There are two high-ranking officials in their family. Are they higher-ranking than your father-in-law?"
Zhang Guoqing's hands trembled as he quickly replied to his mother, "Yes. Their family's yard is even bigger than this one, and they live at the foot of the Imperial City."
Zhang's mother was very satisfied with her son's answer and looked at him expectantly: "Then why can't your Uncle Zuo be transferred back?"
"The capital has the most officials. If a brick falls and hits ten people, nine of them are officials. The more officials there are, the less likely they are to act casually. No matter how high his family's official positions are, he wouldn't dare to use his connections casually."
Lin Juhua paused with her chopsticks raised. She asked hesitantly, "Xiao Wu, why did I hear your Aunt Zuo say that Uncle Zhou is more powerful than their family?"
Zhang Guoqing always felt that his whole body was getting hotter and hotter. He wondered if Zuo Lin would be angry with him if he knew about it?
He smiled and shook his head: "That's Aunt Zuo being modest. Second sister-in-law, think about it, if someone asked who is better, Second Brother or Brother Liu, would you definitely say Brother Liu?"
"That's right. I never thought their family was so powerful. I thought Uncle Zhou held a higher official position than them, so Uncle Zuo was helping your second brother."
What do you mean?
Zhang Guoqing suppressed his smile in disapproval. "Don't ever say anything like that again, not even a thought. Otherwise, we'll be so sorry to Uncle Zuo. I've known Uncle Zuo since junior high. When we learned about the internal recruitment, my second brother and I both prepared. Later, my second brother got first place in the written exam. How could Uncle Zuo not value him?"
Lin Juhua smiled sheepishly and said, "Your second brother never told me these things, so I really didn't know. Don't worry, your second sister-in-law is not a fool. She will thank Aunt Zuo and her husband later."
Since the topic had come to this, Zhang Guoqing continued, "I guess my second brother doesn't want to talk about it either. He and my eldest brother feel quite aggrieved. Not to mention you, even our uncle thinks I was the one who got in through connections. In fact, they both passed the written test to get in, otherwise, they would have returned to the village long ago due to the staff reduction."
Huang Xiaomi glanced at him, then at Zhou Jiao, then lowered her head to drink her soup. These things were too complicated for her to understand. Seeing her third cousin's serious expression, she and her sister would also pass the interview in the future.
No! We were indeed having an “interview”.
Mother Zhang didn't expect the conversation to be interrupted in the blink of an eye. She was stunned for a moment, then continued: "Xiaowu, your Uncle Zuo is so kind, is there any way you can help him?"
Zhang Guoqing was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
He glanced at the old lady, his mother-in-law, and his wife, and shook his head: "Mom, the two high-ranking officials of the Zuo family can't do anything, who am I? Uncle Zuo's eldest nephew is still serving in the army in the south. If he is such a powerful official and can do whatever he wants, wouldn't his family bring their eldest grandson here first?"
Mother Zhang sighed, "It seems this position is not easy to hold."
"That's right. Look, Linzi's father is our boss, pretty powerful, isn't he? But when Linzi goes to college, he has to go through the same difficulties as us country kids. Uncle Li's family gets the same food supply as everyone else. I sent some meat to Linzi, but Aunt Li didn't dare to take it, for fear that outsiders would report her family."
After Zhang Guoqing finished speaking, he saw that everyone had put down their chopsticks and told them to eat quickly.
Ping An, unwilling to be left out, chimed in in a childish voice, "I know. If you're different, you'll be put in the cowshed. Xiao Hui's grandfather is different. He eats high-end food and doesn't buy his own things. That's why his whole family was locked up in the cowshed last year."
And Shuanzi's grandmother also took away a lot of things without telling his grandfather, and their family was expelled from the compound and locked up in the cowshed. And Sanniu's mother made a mistake, and she had a big sign hung around her neck and her hair shaved. Now her father doesn't want her mother to return to the village after she retired from the army..."
Mother Zhang looked at her grandson with shining eyes. "Oh, our Ping'an is so smart and knows so much. Tell grandma what's going on."
"Grandma, let me tell you, there are so many things..."
“…”
Zhang Guoqing glanced at his two sisters-in-law who were so engrossed in listening that they forgot to pick up their dishes, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With the divine bow, he was finally able to escape from the sea of suffering.
Now that his mother has these topics, she has enough time to express herself freely.
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