When Huang Cuilan and her two sisters-in-law got up in the Zhou family courtyard, Ping'an had already finished his horse stance in the courtyard. He greeted them with a smile and continued practicing boxing.
Zhou Jiao heard the noise from the east wing and hurried out. "Sister-in-law, are you awake? Why don't you lie down a little longer?"
Lin Juhua pointed at the child in the yard and said with a smile, "We can't let our Ping An be the laughing stock."
"Jiaojiao, Ping'an is still young." Huang Cuilan looked at the child with heartache, and finally uttered a word after wanting to say something but stopping herself.
Zhou Jiao understood the meaning of her words and smiled happily: "Sister-in-law, he is used to it."
"I thought the child would just practice back home. But a child's character is known from the age of three. Our family will surely have a bright future, but the child is exhausted."
"Don't praise him. Our children are all good. Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, wait for you to wash your faces, then we'll have breakfast."
Lin Juhua stretched her head to look around and asked doubtfully, "Where's Mom?"
"I heard from Ping An that his father went out with his grandmother early this morning and won't be back until the afternoon. Sister-in-law, where are you going today? I'll accompany you."
Huang Cuilan glanced at her belly and shook her head: "I've already gone shopping these past two days, so I'm still not going out."
"I don't want to go out either. The three of us can have a good chat. It's better than going out on the street."
Zhou Jiao nodded with a smile.
After breakfast, and seeing off Lin Lishan to work, Old Lady Cheng came over at the appointed time. When she learned that Zhang Guoqing had taken his mother shopping, she smiled and praised him a few words.
"Jiaojiao is not feeling well, so I'll take you to the street. Is there anywhere you want to go?"
"No, please sit still."
Old Madam Cheng recalled the day before yesterday when they went to Dong'an Market. The two of them were in high spirits and waved. "It's a rare trip to the capital. What's there to stay at home for? Come on, accompany me, an old woman, for a walk."
Zhou Jiao looked at Aunt Cheng and saw her pointing outside with a smile. She realized that the old lady had already contacted a car. She looked at her two sisters-in-law again and saw that they were also a little hesitant, so she urged them to follow.
"Ping An also comes with us, and we won't be back at noon."
"Okay, wait for me, I'll put some more clothes on the child."
With her son accompanying her, Zhou Jiao felt even more relieved. After taking Ping An back to her room, she stuffed the tickets into the child's pocket and whispered a few instructions.
Ping An saluted: "I promise to complete the task."
"Don't be too obvious, just follow your grandmother."
After seeing them off, Zhou Jiao returned to the bedroom, took out a package from the wooden box, placed it on the kang and opened it - it was full of tanned wolf fur and rabbit hair.
It’s not that she doesn’t have good stuff, but she is worried about causing trouble for Zhang’s father and mother.
Zhou Jiao took out three hundred yuan in brand new ten-yuan bills (the largest denomination at that time), and also took out a dark blue thick cloth with dark patterns and some cotton.
After cutting out a piece of cotton-padded vest fabric with scissors, she stuffed it with a thin layer of cotton, sewed a few stitches with needle and thread, and then attached wolf skin. She made two large secret pockets inside the two front lapels, placed the money separately in the bottom and sewed it shut, so that her mother-in-law could carry it with her without worrying about it being stolen.
With the sewing machine, it didn't take long for a finished product to be completed. Zhou Jiao looked at it and nodded with satisfaction. There was no inter-city withdrawal service now, which made it very inconvenient to go out.
With this in mind, Zhou Jiao took out the fabric she had bought abroad and made ten pairs of boxer shorts for her mother-in-law. Worried that she wouldn't be used to them, she made them loose and sewed secret pockets inside four of them for her to hide money.
Afterwards, to avoid embarrassment, Zhou Jiao cut another large piece of fabric and stuffed it into the bag—to save it for her mother-in-law to make shorts for her father-in-law. It wasn't that she treated them differently; after all, she was the daughter-in-law.
In this day and age, if word got out that her mother-in-law was still alive and making underwear for her father-in-law, it would be a joke at best, and a scandal at worst. She also doubted her conservative father-in-law would accept it.
In order to avoid showing favoritism and irritating the old man, she prepared two knee pads for Zhang Dad and a dark grey cotton vest for him.
When Zhang's mother and Zhang Guoqing came back, Old Lady Cheng and her group had not returned yet. Seeing this, Zhou Jiao took the opportunity to pull them back to the room and took out a cotton jacket and vest for her to put on.
"Why are you making new ones? Didn't you send a big package before the New Year? Jiaojiao, don't make new ones in the future. Mom and your dad can't wear them all, and we can't bear to give them away."
Zhou Jiao nodded with a smile, "Well, I won't do it anymore."
Mother Zhang rolled her eyes. She said this every day, yet she never missed a single piece. She was more distressed than her child's filial piety, because she didn't dare wear her new clothes out in public.
Zhang Guoqing, on the other hand, urged his mother to try the dress on to see if it fit. When Zhou Jiao hinted that there was money hidden inside, he nodded slightly. Both husband and wife understood that they couldn't reveal anything before getting in the car.
"Mom, just wear it. It's warm and you won't be cold when you get on the bus."
Zhang's mother hurriedly tried to take it off: "No, it will be ruined when riding in the car."
Zhang Guoqing hurriedly grabbed her, and the mother and daughter were busy arguing with each other for a while, which made Zhou Jiao, who was standing beside them, very happy.
"Mom, what you're wearing isn't a waste. You can wash it when you get home, and when the weather gets warmer, it'll look brand new and straight, just right."
After Zhou Jiao finished speaking, she saw that she was still hesitant, so she pulled her to sit down and casually threw the package to her, successfully diverting Zhang's mother's attention.
"What is this for?"
Zhang Guoqing saw her busy unpacking the package and noticed a stack of boxer shorts. He pretended to be unaware and immediately turned around to get the luggage bag from the wardrobe.
He had previously obtained a large stack of straw-yellow tarpaulin, which Zhou Jiao had pieced together into seven or eight large duffel bags. These were much more convenient to use than the military duffel bags issued by his father-in-law.
After Yi Jiefang asked for one, they were gradually borrowed by friends, leaving only three at home. To be honest, if it weren't for the good relationships with those people, Zhang Guoqing really wouldn't have been willing to part with them.
After the conversation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was over, Zhang Guoqing took a luggage bag and put it on the ground, stuffing some things he bought today into it.
Zhou Jiao took the opportunity to tie up the wrapping and handed it to him, saying to Zhang's mother, "Mom, please don't prepare any clothes for the child. Ping An's clothes are too small for the child."
Speaking of Ping'an's huge pile of clothes, Zhang's mother thought of Mr. Lin. Seeing that no one mentioned the Lin family this time, she didn't ask about it no matter how curious she was.
At this moment, she was alone with her family, and she couldn't help but ask the questions in her heart.
Zhang Guoqing packed his suitcase and put it aside. He glanced at Zhou Jiao and said with a smile, "I wrote about it in my letter to Dad before. Didn't he tell you?"
"No. Your father did, but you didn't say they moved away."
Zhang Guoqing suddenly realized that he hadn't mentioned what happened later. He smiled and sat down next to his mother and told her everything in detail.
As Zhou Jiao expected, Zhang's mother frowned and sighed after hearing this, but she still advised, "You should go visit the old man when you have time. In the eyes of outsiders, the culprit is dead and gone. But the living old man, after all, raised your mother. Your mother's good life today is inseparable from his support."
After Zhang's mother finished speaking, she clapped Zhou Jiao's hands and said, "My child, no matter how bad your grandfather is, at least you can rely on his reputation in the Zhou family to protect you from a lot of grievances."
Zhou Jiao understood the truth of her mother-in-law's words. "A man's reputation is like the shadow of a tree." Previously, thanks to her rumored grandfather, everyone gave her some respect in public.
"Let's not talk about whether he's related or not. Just because he's a hero, we common people who have survived and lived a stable life have to respect him. The old man is quite old, right?"
Zhou Jiao nodded slightly: "Okay, I'll consider it."
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