It turned out to be the third son of the Qiao family! Zhao Yunxiang suddenly realized.
Old Qiao and Zhao Qingshan, who worked at the purchasing station, had a good relationship. Even after retirement, the two old men often shared a drink together. The children of the two families had known each other since childhood, playing together and even fighting together. Zhao Yunxiang remembered how her younger brother, Zhao Guohui, would often beat Qiao Xiaosan until he burst into tears.
After Zhao Yunxiang grew up, Zhao Qingshan returned to Zhaojiagou, and the two families had less contact.
Qiao Aiguo is very different from when he was a child. When he was a child, Qiao Aiguo was thin and small, but suddenly he turned into a burly man of about 1.8 meters tall. When he stood in front of Zhao Yunxiang, Zhao Yunxiang really didn't recognize him.
Wu Jinfeng stood in the corridor of the east wing, tiptoeing and looking over here. After waiting for a while and not hearing the expected crying and shouting, she couldn't help but walk a few steps towards the backyard, and finally stood by the door leading to the backyard, waiting to see Zhao Yunxiang's joke.
"Brother Qiao, what brings you here?" Zhao Yunxiang saw that he was an acquaintance and didn't pay much attention to him. She continued to busy herself with deboning and taking meat from the fish while asking.
"Sister Yunxiang, your mother-in-law reported you for speculation and profiteering, and I'm here because of that." Qiao Aiguo felt embarrassed, but he still explained his purpose. Are you kidding me? He brought a bunch of police officers to someone's house so early in the morning. Even if he said he was fine, no one would believe him!
"What?"
"What?"
Two voices, a man and a woman, rang out in surprise at the same time.
The female voice belonged to Zhao Yunxiang. She hadn't expected Wu Jinfeng to be so cruel as to report her to the town for speculation and profiteering. Was Wu Jinfeng trying to destroy her and her family?
Zhao Yunxiang knew that if she were accused of "speculation and profiteering," the impact would extend beyond her. Her husband, Zhou Zhixin, would be forced to leave the army. How could a husband continue serving as an officer in the army if his wife lacked awareness? He would definitely end up returning to farming.
Next, Zhao Yunxiang’s two children were affected. In this era, if someone in the family is a “bad person”, his (her) children will be discriminated against. Whether it is studying or working, there is no place for the children of bad people.
Qiao Aiguo and Zhao Yunxiang heard the man's voice and it sounded very familiar. They looked up and saw a weather-beaten man standing behind Wu Jinfeng outside the door. Who else could it be but Zhou Zhixin?
"Zhi Xin." Zhao Yunxiang murmured, her voice so soft that only she could hear it.
Ten meters away, Zhou Zhixin seemed to have heard something, his eyes blazing as he stared at Zhao Yunxiang. His wife, his beloved, was thinner and more haggard than when he last left. No wonder, with such an in-law family, Yunxiang must have had a tough time at home with two children.
Wu Jinfeng saw that everyone in the yard was staring at her back. She turned around and saw her third son Zhou Zhixin standing behind her. His eyes were full of sadness that he couldn't hide.
"Third brother? Why are you back?" After Wu Jinfeng blurted out this sentence, she realized that there was some guilt in her tone.
Yes, Wu Jinfeng felt guilty.
From childhood to adulthood, Zhou Zhixin was a sensible and filial child. Whenever he had something delicious, he would give it to Zhou Chunping and his wife first. Whenever he made money, he would think of Zhou Chunping and his wife first.
In order to earn the money and gifts Zhou Zhixin gave her, Wu Jinfeng would always put on a loving mother's face and show great "care" to Zhao Yunxiang and Zhou Zhixin's two children whenever Zhou Zhixin returned home to visit his family in previous years.
I didn't expect that Zhou Zhixin would run into me just after I called the police to arrest Zhao Yunxiang. Now, I don't know how I'm going to explain this to Zhou Zhixin. Wu Jinfeng was secretly making plans.
Zhou Zhixin's joy at returning home was extinguished by sadness when he heard Qiao Aiguo say that Wu Jinfeng had reported Zhao Yunxiang. He truly couldn't understand why, over all these years, no matter how well he'd done, no matter how promising he'd been, he'd never seen a single ray of affection in Wu Jinfeng's face. As a child, Zhou Zhixin went hungry, yet he'd see Wu Jinfeng secretly feeding his eldest and second brothers white flour buns.
"Mom, are you my real mother? Is there any real mother like you who betrays her son and daughter-in-law?" Zhou Zhixin shouted in his heart. His head was buzzing and he didn't know whether he had said this out loud or not.
"Third brother, you are a heartless man. Do you want to deny your own mother for a woman?" Wu Jinfeng glared and cursed fiercely.
So, I actually asked this question out loud? Wasn't it just in my head? Zhou Zhixin felt a sense of relief. He'd been holding this question in his heart for years, and today he finally asked it out loud. Growing up, Zhou Zhixin had often suspected he wasn't Wu Jinfeng's child. Otherwise, why would his mother be so partial? She'd look at him with disgust, as if he were a fly or a mosquito, but then turn around and look at his eldest and second brothers with a face full of affection.
This thought had been lingering in Zhou Zhixin's mind since he received the letter from Zhao Yunxiang and Zhao Guohui over a month ago. It didn't make sense that children born to the same parents would receive such disparate treatment. Not only him, but even his wife and children were disliked by the elders in his family? Yuanyuan was pushed into the pond by his second brother's child, and not a single parent in his family spoke up for justice?
No matter how much Yunxiang and his brother-in-law had said in their letters, nothing could have shocked him as much as the scene before him. Was this how his wife and children, his parents, "looked after" him when he was away? Over these years, out of his sight, how much suffering had Yunxiang and the children endured? How much pain had they endured?
He wasn't a good husband or a good father. He didn't provide shelter for Yunxiang and the children. His family was wantonly harming the kind-hearted Yunxiang. Report? Wu Jinfeng actually used such means to suppress Yunxiang. Is this something a mother, grandmother, or mother-in-law would do?
In rural areas, people in a family believe in "prosperity is shared by all." If a family member does something wrong, they won't even be able to help cover it up, so who would take the initiative to expose it to others?
Zhou Zhixin's thoughts were swirling, but he couldn't say a word to blame his mother out of filial piety. For a moment, he felt as if his heart was being roasted on a fire, or immersed in ice water...
The moment she saw Zhou Zhixin, tears of grievance flowed from Zhao Yunxiang's eyes. She opened her mouth and wanted to say, "You're back?", but there seemed to be a lump in her throat and she couldn't make a sound.
Zhou Zhixin glanced at the tearful Zhao Yunxiang and felt heartbroken. His Yunxiang had always been cheerful and strong. This was the first time Zhou Zhixin saw Zhao Yunxiang cry in front of him since he met her.
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