In August, Qin Hanshu received a telegram from his hometown in the northwest.

It is said that Zhou Ce was admitted to Jiangcheng Academy of Fine Arts, and Zhu Jingsu is coming to send his son to college.

Qin Hanshu's office had just installed a telephone, which could not make long-distance calls, but could make calls within the city. She dialed Zhou Weiguang's workplace, but after a transfer, the call was connected to Zhou Weiguang's office.

Ever since Zhou Weiguang was transferred to the Third Regiment, the two have been separated and Qin Hanshu has never called him.

When Zhou Weiguang got the call from his wife, he ignored the chief of staff who was sitting on the sofa beside him waiting to discuss something, and the corners of his drooping mouth curved up.

Calling him during work hours, could it be that I'm missing him like crazy? Counting it up, it's been fifty-eight days since we last met.

"Hello?" Zhou Weiguang was happy inside, but his face was serious. "What's the matter?"

Qin Hanshu was startled when he heard his tone. Was he disturbing his work?

She asked tentatively, "I'll call you back later?"

Zhou Weiguang hurriedly said: "Don't hang up, go ahead!"

Qin Hanshu said briefly, "Ce Ce from my second sister-in-law's family has been admitted to a university in Jiangcheng. My second sister-in-law will send him over in a few days. Do you have time to come back?"

Just this?

Zhou Weiguang said without thinking: "It depends on the situation. I can't give you a definite answer now."

Qin Hanshu said: "Okay, I'm just telling you something, I won't bother you anymore, I'll hang up first."

Zhou Weiguang wanted to ask, "How are you doing recently?", but before he could even utter the word "you", a busy tone came from the receiver.

The corners of his mouth that were raised suddenly drooped again.

Chief of Staff Shao Cheng, who was standing by, was guessing something in his mind.

Shao Cheng has been in the Third Regiment for several years, but Zhou Weiguang was transferred here this year.

He had heard of Zhou Weiguang's name a long time ago, but when the real conflict came, those rumors could not be taken seriously.

After more than half a year, he still couldn't say that he had figured out Zhou Weiguang's temper.

Shao Cheng wanted to get closer to Zhou Weiguang, so after thinking it over, he smiled and said, "If you have something else to do, I'll come over later."

Zhou Weiguang shook his head and said, "It's okay, it's a call from home."

It turned out to be the home phone...

But I heard that Zhou Weiguang and his wife had a good relationship, so why does it seem so different? Could the rumor be wrong again?

Shao Cheng wanted to find out something, but before he could open his mouth, Zhou Weiguang got down to business first, "I've seen this training plan..."

***

Zhu Jingsu and Zhou Ce came here at the end of August.

They didn't tell Qin Hanshu the arrival time of the train in advance, so when Qin Hanshu got off work one day and returned home, he saw Zhu Jingsu and Zhou Ce waiting for him at home.

"Second sister-in-law!" Qin Hanshu quickly put down her bag and went to meet her. "You should have sent a telegram in advance so that I could pick you up at the train station."

Zhu Jingsu smiled and said, "Why bother? It's very convenient for us to follow the address ourselves."

Qin Hanshu set his eyes on Zhou Ce and patted his shoulder, "Ce Ce looks like an adult now, almost as tall as his third father."

The Zhou family has a gene for tall stature, and Zhao Chunmiao is not short either. All the descendants of the Zhou family are big-framed and tall, except Zhou Qi.

I don’t know if it’s because Zhou Ce has been drawing since he was a child, but he seems to have a more quiet temperament.

He smiled at Qin Hanshu and shyly called out, "Third Mother."

Qin Hanshu nodded with his eyes curved. "Congratulations, you've been admitted to university. The Zhou family is going to produce a great painter."

Zhou Ce waved his hands and said, "No, no, I'm still far from being a painter..."

Zhu Jingsu looked at his son with pride, "It's very difficult to get into the Jiangcheng Oil Painting Department. There were only two people from our hometown in the whole province who were admitted, and he was one of them."

"Then Third Mom will definitely reward you well!" Qin Hanshu turned around and asked Gu Yan: "What dishes are there at home?"

Gu Yan said: "There is a pound of pork bought this morning, as well as celery and potatoes."

Qin Hanshu thought for a moment and said, "You stay home and cook first. I'll go to Sister Hongxia's house and get a chicken."

Fan Hongxia's daughter is also repeating her senior year of high school. She raises a few chickens in her yard, and every week when her daughter comes home, she has to improve her meals.

Zhu Jingsu and his friends came suddenly, and the family didn't have any good food prepared, so they could only buy a chicken from Fan Hongxia first.

Zhu Jingsu hurriedly said: "Xiao Shu, don't bother! Just eat something casually, and don't be polite! Besides, it's so late now..."

Qin Hanshu ignored Zhu Jingsu's attempt to stop him and went downstairs.

I bought a little rooster and made some fried chicken, which added a decent dish.

"Ce Ce, don't complain about the simple food. Wait until your third father comes back and I will take you out for a good meal." Qin Hanshu said.

Zhou Ce quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "The meal is already very rich, Third Aunt, please don't say that."

Qin Hanshu asked: "When do you start school?"

Zhou Ce said: "Report on September 5th."

"Then you can stay at home for the next few days." Qin Hanshu said, "Although the house is a bit cramped, it is more convenient than the guesthouse."

Zhou Ce glanced at Zhu Jingsu with some longing in his eyes.

Although he hadn't seen his third parents for many years and had a very vague impression of them, Qin Hanshu's enthusiasm and thoughtfulness made him feel very cordial.

The Zhu family also has relatives in Jiangcheng. In the afternoon, Zhou Ce went to visit them with Zhu Jingsu. The relatives there did not give people the feeling of being family members like Qin Hanshu did.

Zhu Jingsu had always had a good impression of Qin Hanshu. After hearing what his son meant, he said without hesitation, "Sorry to bother you then."

Qin Hanshu laughed and said, "Why do we have to talk about different things when we are one family?"

Zhou Weiguang came back two days later. He took his family to Guangde Building for a meal and left that night. He was very busy.

Qin Hanshu took the time to buy Zhou Ce a set of imported paintbrushes as a gift to congratulate him on his admission to university.

After a few days, Qin Hanshu and Zhu Jingsu's relationship became even closer than before in the northwest.

During the chat, Qin Hanshu also asked many questions about family matters.

After Zhou Sheng was born, Zhou Changan and Zhao Chunmiao visited their grandson together once, and other than that they kept in touch through letters.

The old man is getting older day by day. If it weren’t for Zhou Weiguang’s work, Qin Hanshu would really like to go back with his family.

"My parents are in good health, but they are old and have some minor ailments."

Qin Hanshu asked: "Are mom and dad still living in the production team?"

Zhu Jingsu nodded: "We asked them to move to the city, but they didn't want to. They said they were still able to move and would be more comfortable living in the countryside. Wei Li and I didn't force them."

After a pause, Zhu Jingsu said, "At the end of last year, Lanhua also moved back with Lele."

Lele is the daughter of Zhou Ruilan. She is one month younger than Zhou Qie and is also nine years old.

Qin Hanshu was surprised: "Why?"

Zhu Jingsu sighed, "The couple had a quarrel. Did you send Lanhua a red woolen coat last winter?"

Qin Hanshu nodded: "That's right."

Zhu Jingsu said, "Lanhua liked that dress so much that she was reluctant to wear it herself, but her sister-in-law took a fancy to it and Yang Guangyu gave it to her as soon as she asked."

Qin Hanshu: "......After so many years, why are you still like this?"

Zhu Jingsu smiled bitterly and said, "There have been countless such incidents over the years. I even doubt that..."

I suspect that Yang Guangyu has some bad intentions towards his sister-in-law, that's why he is so supportive of her.

But this statement was too outrageous and there was no evidence, so Zhu Jingsu didn't want to speak carelessly and swallowed his words back.

"Alas, before getting married, I was busy thinking about the Yang family's parents-in-law. Who knew that in the end, the one who made Lanhua uncomfortable was the man she lived with."

"After Lanhua moved back home, Yang Guangyu came to her house a few times, and he was very humble, but Lanhua didn't even look at him. I guess she was thinking..."

Zhu Jingsu shook his head.

Having lived in her parents' home for more than half a year, this marriage is probably in jeopardy.