Early that morning, an old man and an old woman came to the gate of the Shilitun Guard Regiment. The old man and the old woman had gray hair, were wearing tattered clothes, and exuded a foul smell.
"Comrade, please help me find Zhou Zhixin. Tell him his parents are here to see him," Zhou Chunping pleaded, cheekily approaching the sentry. As for Wu Jinfeng, upon seeing the soldier with a gun, she quickly ducked. If Zhou Nianxin hadn't forced her into a corner, Zhou Chunping and his wife wouldn't have come to the barracks.
"What?" The sentry on duty today was a young soldier from Zhou Zhixin's camp, Liu Xiaobin. When he heard Zhou Chunping say they were Zhou Zhixin's parents, Liu Xiaobin couldn't help but open his eyes wide.
Everyone in the Guards Regiment knew by now that Zhou Zhixin was General Zhou's grandson. And Zhou Zhixin's parents? Aren't they General Zhou's son and daughter-in-law? These two, dressed like beggars, didn't look like General Zhou's family. Besides, their ages didn't match. The last time General Zhou visited the Guards Regiment, Liu Xiaobin had seen him. He had a ruddy complexion and jet-black hair, much younger than this old man before him. Everyone in China knew that General Zhou's son and daughter-in-law had all perished. What were these two men trying to achieve by pretending to be General Zhou's family?
Liu Xiaobin admired General Zhou the most and must have deeply resented the two old men and women who were trying to smear General Zhou's image. He quickly pulled the bolt of his rifle, pointed it at Zhou Chunping, and shouted, "Tell me your name, age, and occupation."
"Zhou... Zhou Chunping, sixty-one years old, I... I am a retired worker, young comrade, we are indeed Zhou Zhixin's parents, no... but we are not biological parents, we are adoptive parents." Zhou Chunping was frightened by Liu Xiaobin and took several steps back, speaking stutteringly.
"I told you that General Zhou's son and daughter-in-law wouldn't grow up like you." Liu Xiaobin lowered his gun, feeling somewhat proud of his piercing gaze. Liu Xiaobin was a new recruit who had enlisted last year. He was eighteen years old and still a bit childish.
"Little... little comrade, please go and inform them that we can't make ends meet in our hometown in the countryside, so we come to Zhixin for help." Zhou Chunping saw Liu Xiaobin lowering the gun, then he approached carefully and raised his sleeve to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Zhou Chunping couldn't help but burst into tears as he thought about the past ten days. A single misstep could lead to eternal regret! Zhou Nianxin, whom he had thought was his "benefactor," was actually a demonic force demanding his life. Old K had coerced Zhou Chunping and his entire family into coming to Kyoto, where they were imprisoned in the basement of Zhou Nianxin's villa. Each person was given only a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun a day, and even urinated and defecated in the basement.
Zhou Chunping's family had never suffered such hardship before. Back in Zhoujia Village, although they had to work in the fields, they had enough food and clothing. Although they didn't have rich food, they could always eat their fill. After arriving in Kyoto, they experienced hunger for the first time.
At this point, the Zhou family ignored the importance of seniority and rushed to grab the food as soon as it arrived. Zhou Jiajie was too small to grab any, and the little that Gu Dahua managed to grab was shared by her mother and daughter, but they still cried out in hunger. For her son's sake, Gu Dahua scolded the guards, and was then dragged out by Zhou Nianxin's orders to be fed to the wolfhounds.
Zhou Nianxin had long wanted to deal with Zhou Chunping's family, but he had spared their lives, thinking they might still be useful. Gu Dahua had suddenly emerged, and Zhou Nianxin was sure to make an example of her.
Gu Dahua's screams terrified Zhou Chunping's family. They realized they had fallen into a demonic den. Zhou Nianxin was so cruel, and they might as well die. Zhou Zhiqiang and Zhou Miaomiao crouched in silence. Even Zhou Jiajie's cries were silenced by Zhou Zhiqiang. With death so close to them, the Zhou Chunping family's desire to live grew stronger.
Just when the whole family was frightened, Old K gave Zhou Chunping and his wife a task: to make trouble at Zhou Zhixin's residence and find ways to ruin Zhou Zhixin's reputation.
Zhou Chunping and his wife finally walked out of the prison-like basement and arrived at Shilitun. If Zhou Zhigang and Zhou Zhiqiang hadn't been controlled by Zhou Nianxin, Zhou Chunping would have just run away.
After ten nightmarish days, Wu Jinfeng looked completely dazed, completely devoid of the agility she had in Zhoujia Village. Wu Jinfeng regretted it deeply. She had learned Zhou Zhixin's true identity from Old K this morning, and she regretted it to bits. If she and the old man had always been kind to Zhou Zhixin, would she be able to enjoy life with him now? General Zhou's grandson! The revered and respected General Zhou! If their family were related to General Zhou, how could that devil have dared to bring them to Kyoto? Even if their family stayed in Zhoujia Village and did nothing, their identities were there. Even if they didn't act arrogantly in Zhoujia Village, Zhou Hongming would still have to act according to their wishes.
In a split second, they lost General Zhou's support. Wu Jinfeng felt so upset that she didn't know how to express it. Following Zhou Chunping all the way to Shilitun, Wu Jinfeng felt a lump in her heart. She wanted to cry and scream. It was all because of this damn old man. Who had he provoked?
At this time, Wu Jinfeng selectively forgot that their whole family had happily spent the money given by Zhou Nianxin.
"Wait." Liu Xiaobin saw that Zhou Chunping looked a little miserable, and he also heard that Zhou Zhixin was adopted by a rural family. Liu Xiaobin's expression looked a little better. After giving Zhou Chunping an order, he walked towards the guard room.
There is a phone in the guard room that can be used to call Zhou Zhixin's office directly.
Zhou Zhixin was away from the base, having led the troops on a training exercise. After receiving the call, Regimental Commander Xu Dahai sent a communications officer to the dormitory to inform Zhao Yunxiang. Zhao Yunxiang naturally had to handle the Zhou family's relatives herself.
Zhao Yunxiang was learning embroidery from Hu Sanniang in the dormitory building. They had hit it off since they met on the train, and since Hu Sanniang's family was also in Shilitun, she'd been visiting whenever she could. Zhou Jiasheng was attending school in the city, Zhou Yuanyuan had stayed in Zhaojiagou and hadn't returned to Kyoto, and Zhou Zhixin was often away with the team training. Zhao Yunxiang felt a bit bored on her own, but with Hu Sanniang around, sometimes they'd make clothes together or chat, and time flew by.
Zhao Yunxiang envied Hu Sanniang's embroidery skills and joked that she wanted to learn embroidery from Hu Sanniang.
Zhao Yunxiang is Zhou Yuanyuan's mother, and Hu Sanniang is Zhou Yuanyuan's servant. How could they dare to let Zhao Yunxiang become her apprentice?
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