Chapter 18 Left and Right Neighbors Control Group 18
Zhang Xiaojia looked at him and said, "You used to be called Zhang Tianheng, right?"
Zhang Hao nodded and said, "That was the name I used before I joined the army."
Zhang Xiaojia looked at Zhou Moli and said, "Let's talk alone, or in front of your family. If we talk to your family, I don't want outsiders present."
Zhang Hao said to Zhou Moli: "Moli, go back first, we have something to do at home."
Zhou Rongying was about to speak, but was stopped by Zhang Hao's look.
Wait for Zhou Moli to leave.
Zhang Xiaojia took out two tablets from his crossbody military bag. The north direction of the living room was suitable for placing the tablets. This direction symbolizes stability and authority, and helps to enhance family cohesion.
After putting it away, Zhang Xiaojia said coldly, "Why don't you kneel down and kowtow?"
Zhou Rongxian looked at the name Zhang Zhiyuan on the tablet and knew it was his grandfather. His father had told him that his sister wanted to speak but he stopped her.
Zhang Hao said with red eyes, "Shufen, Xiaoxuan, Xiaoying, all of you come and kowtow to your grandfather and great-grandfather."
Zhang Hao immediately pulled Zhou Shufen down to her knees and kowtow. Zhang Xiaojia said coldly, "Don't ask your future wife, children, and grandchildren to kneel down yet. It won't be too late for them to kneel down later once we've reached an agreement."
Zhang Hao looked at her with a calm gaze, and the chill in his eyes made people's spines shiver.
Zhang Xiaojia said to himself in front of the tablet: "Grandpa, your son bullies me. Can I expel him from the Zhang family?"
Zhang Xiaojia looked at Zhang Hao with wide eyes and said, "Grandpa said, I am the head of the Zhang family, and I can kick you out of the Zhang family."
Zhang Hao was speechless for a moment, took a deep breath, and could only kneel down and kowtow three times.
Zhang Xiaojia said to Zhou Rongxuan without hesitation, "Stand up. This is the main seat. Are you the head of the family? Sit here."
Zhou Rongxuan looked at her. She had just called the tablet "great-grandfather," and he called it "grandfather." So according to seniority, he should be the uncle, right? But from her tone, he sounded like a grandson.
Zhang Xiaojia said coldly: "The head of the Zhang family is the most important. Even your father respects me."
Zhou Rongxian looked at his father and saw his father nodded. He had no choice but to get up.
Zhang Xiaojia sat down and said, "Why didn't you come back for my great-grandfather's funeral?"
Zhang Hao: "I was on a mission in Xiangcheng at the time, so it was inconvenient for me to come back."
Zhang Xiaojia looked at Zhang Hao with a determined gaze and said slowly, "It's often difficult to achieve both loyalty and filial piety between one's country and one's family. We understand and accept this reason. Now, I want to ask you a question: Do you accept Wang Erya as your wife?"
A trace of sadness flashed in Zhang Hao's eyes. He nodded heavily and replied in a slightly hoarse voice: "Of course, Wang Erya is my first wife! She unfortunately died in childbirth when she gave birth to my son... and your father is my eldest son. As for Shufen, she is my second wife." After saying this, Zhang Hao couldn't help but fall into memories of the past years.
Zhang Xiaojia nodded in understanding, then continued, "The Lord of Zhejiang Province wrote to you, but you never replied, nor did you return to Zhejiang Province. At that time, you led a group of brave men to fight the Japanese invaders, but only a dozen or so returned alive. You felt you owed them something and didn't dare to face it.
However, what I want to tell you is that in that year, our Zhang family resolutely donated all our family property to support the War of Resistance.
And for the next ten years, the Zhang family would only keep one tenth of the money they earned for the family's livelihood, and donate the rest without reservation.
Not only that, for those soldiers led by you, as long as our Zhang family learns that their families are in trouble, we will lend a helping hand without hesitation.
No one will harbor resentment towards you for this. You can rest assured to let go of this knot in your heart. Fighting against the Japanese invaders is the responsibility and obligation of every Chinese son and daughter. Even if it costs us our lives, it is a choice we make willingly.
Zhang Xiaojia took out another stack of bills and said, "This is the certificate that my great-grandfather donated all his property to the Kyushu Kingdom that year. Apart from the Zhang family's old house, our family was completely impoverished. Later, my father used my grandmother and my mother's dowries to open a factory and a store, so you have no share of the Zhang family's property."
Zhang Hao nodded affirmatively and said, "Of course. Don't worry, we won't fight over the Zhang family's property."
He is pretending to be stupid on purpose!
Of course you have no right to fight for this property!
What about child support and alimony?
He's not going to deny it, is he?
Zhang Xiaojia said angrily, "Aren't you going to pay for child support and alimony, and the medical expenses for Great Grandfather's illness?"
Zhang Hao looked at the bill. He knew how much money this girl had! She had so much money every month! And she was still planning to ask him for money?
"Jia Jia, you have quite a bit of money, don't you?"
Zhang Xiaojia said as a matter of course, "Of course I have a lot of money! But who would complain about having too much money? You still have to pay what you owe. It's your responsibility. If you pay, I'll recognize you as my grandfather. If you don't pay, it's fine as long as I'm the only child in the Zhang family."
Zhang Hao's heart trembled. This must be a lot of money. He asked, "How much?"
Zhang Xiaojia asked again: "How much is your monthly salary?"
Zhang Hao said helplessly: "The basic salary is 360 yuan per month."
Zhang Xiaojia first said, "My father has two plans for child support: the first is 70 yuan a year, five months a month, for a total of 6,300 yuan until you turn 18; the second plan is to pay according to the standard that my great-grandfather raised you."
Zhou Rongying shouted, "5 yuan a month!!! When I was in school, it was only 5 yuan a month. Even a child needs 5 yuan. How much should I pay according to your great-grandfather's standard for supporting my father?"
Zhang Hao: "The standard payment of 5 yuan per month is 70 yuan per year."
Zhou Rongying: "Only 60 yuan a year! Zhang Xiaojia, you illiterate!!!"
Zhang Xiaojia's eyes lit up when he heard her words, but darkened again after hearing what the old man said.
Zhang Xiaojia completely ignored Zhou Rongying and turned his gaze directly to Zhang Hao. "Grandpa won't ask you for a single cent of his pension, nor will you bear all the medical expenses incurred by his illness. All he needs is a piece of wild century-old ginseng."
Zhang Hao stared at the stubborn little girl in front of him, knowing that she was venting her father's anger! Zhang Hao slowly took out a glittering gold pocket watch from his arms, and handed it to Zhang Xiaojia with reluctance in his eyes.
Zhang Xiaojia took the gold watch and examined it carefully. When she saw the words engraved on the back of the watch, she was slightly startled - it turned out that this gold watch was a precious gift from her grandmother to her grandfather.
Zhang Hao added, "I'll pay you an extra 5,000 yuan in cash." After hearing this, Zhang Xiaojia gladly accepted the money without saying a word.
Zhou Rongying, who was standing nearby, was furious when he saw this. He shouted at Zhang Xiaojia, "Dad, I absolutely disagree! That gold watch is your most cherished possession! How can you just give it to someone else like that?"
Facing Zhou Rongying's accusations and objections, Zhang Xiaojia simply glanced at her coldly and replied with disdain, "What qualifications do you have to disagree? Is this a lot of money? In my opinion, if you really calculate it based on the money your great-grandfather spent raising your father and pay it to me in full, I'm afraid even if you starve for thirty years and work hard, you still might not be able to pay off this debt!"
Zhang Hao quickly tried to persuade her, "Jia Jia, please don't blame your aunt! Before she was ten, I wasn't able to be with them. I didn't give the family a penny, and all the burdens of the family fell on Shufen's shoulders alone. Our childhoods were much better than your aunt and uncle's."
Zhang Xiaojia snorted coldly, "Who can I blame? It's not you! Why don't you send them back to their hometown? Why don't they both have the surname Zhang? Why take their mother's surname? Who can I blame for their difficult lives? Old man, these two children are your biological children, right? "
Zhang Xiaojia looked carefully at the old man, then looked carefully at Zhou Rongxian and Zhou Rongying; they still looked very similar.
Zhang Hao said affirmatively: "Of course they are my biological children."
Zhang Xiaojia took out a pair of gold bracelets and handed them to Zhou Shufen, saying respectfully: "This is a gift from your great grandfather. Thank you for expanding the Zhang family and thank you for your hard work in raising the children." The old man asked her to be nicer to his grandfather's second wife.
"Tell them to kowtow to Great Grandfather."
Zhang Xiaojia watched them kowtow, then put the tablet away, placed the gold watch in his hand and said, "I will take this watch after you die."
At this time, Zhang Xiaojia saw the little boy on the stairs, and he knew at first glance that he was from the Zhang family.
Zhang Xiaojia turned to look at Zhang Hao, "Old man!!! Is this kid's last name Zhou or Zhang?"
Zhang Hao said, "My last name is Zhang Xiaoyan."
"Gui is near the creek bridge, east and then east again, is that the Gui?" Zhang Xiaojia asked
Zhang Hao nodded.
Zhang Xiaojia walked over, took out a handful of White Rabbit candies from her bag, and said, "Call me sister."
Zhang Xiaogui said in a baby voice, "Hello, sister!"
Zhang Xiaojia looked at him and continued, "Are you willing to help me observe the mourning period? If you are willing, I will give you candy and meat every day, and you can also play with many brothers and sisters."
Zhang Xiaogui's eyes were filled with sweetness, his mouth was watering, and he quickly said, "Yes, sister."
Zhang Xiaojia picked him up and said, "Old man, since his last name is Zhang, he belongs to me. I'm taking him away."
Zhang Hao also knew the rules of mourning, so he nodded immediately. Zhang Xiaojia picked up Zhang Xiaogui and left quickly.
Qian Mei had just been in the kitchen and heard them talking. She didn't care whether they paid or not; it was none of her business! Seeing her sister-in-law's angry expression, she was actually quite happy. She didn't know what to say about her sister-in-law. She wasn't a bad person, just a little clueless and couldn't figure out a lot of things.
But what was going on? Why was her son given away while she was talking?
She looked at her husband, and her husband looked at his father-in-law, waiting for his explanation.
Zhang Hao said cheerfully, "Your niece is the head of the Zhang family. Your son's surname is Zhang, so he's under her care. If she wants to take him away, I can't control her, so I have to listen to her."
"Dad, the standard payment is 5 yuan per month, so it should be only 60 yuan a year. How come it became 70 yuan?" Zhou Rongying frowned, still worried about the number.
Her bright big eyes stared at her father, as if she had to get a satisfactory answer.
Zhang Hao couldn't help but laugh at his daughter's insistence. He reached out and gently stroked Zhou Rongying's hair, explaining gently, "This has always been the custom in our hometown! Every year, we give extra money on birthdays and extra money on Chinese New Year. That's equivalent to 14 months in a year, so that's why there's that extra 10 yuan."
Zhou Rongxuan, standing by, didn't seem too concerned about the money. After all, whether it was five thousand or ten thousand, he wouldn't have to pay out of his own pocket. And just now, he'd witnessed Zhang Xiaojia gift his mother two large, gleaming gold bracelets inlaid with gemstones. The craftsmanship and material alone revealed their considerable value. His heart wasn't about the money, but about the son Zhang Xiaojia had taken away from him.
"Dad, Xiaogui was taken away. When will he be returned to me? You know Xiaogui has always been in poor health. What if something happens to him outside?" Zhou Rongxian's face was full of worry.
Zhang Hao, however, still had a smile on his face. He comforted his daughter and said, "Don't worry, this is perfect. Let Jia Jia help take good care of our son. Jia Jia is such an excellent doctor, she will definitely take good care of Xiao Gui."
Hearing this, Qian Mei, who was standing nearby, felt much more at ease. She knew her father-in-law too well. Even her own father had described him as a cunning old fox, but often, in times like these, his decisions were always right. Thinking of this, Qian Mei's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled back into her stomach.
Qian Mei asked curiously, "Dad, what kind of store did you run in your hometown?"
Zhang Hao recalled: "It used to be a pharmaceutical factory and a pharmacy. The Zhang family's most famous medicines were hemostatics and bone-setting ointments. The earliest penicillin in China was produced by the Zhang family pharmaceutical factory."
When Qian Mei heard this, the corners of her mouth twitched. She knew who it was! !
Old swan!!!
This big brother turned out to be her father’s savior!!!
Zhou Rongying said in surprise, "Dad, was it true that Grandpa raised you like Zhang Xiaojia said?"
Zhang Hao thought about it and said, "I went to the capital Yizhou to study when I was twelve, earning over a hundred dollars a month. When Jiuzhou was founded, your grandfather donated all his money. The current Zhang family foundation was built by your eldest brother himself."
In fact, if you want to calculate the money, you can still do so. After all, the Zhang family opened the factory relying on the prescriptions passed down from their ancestors. However, Zhang Hao directly donated it to their grandfather because he didn't want them to fight for it.
He left home at the age of twelve, so it was not his turn to inherit the money or the Zhang family's ancestral property.
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