Chapter 187 (Catching Bugs)
Zhou Jiani stayed in Qiu Zeming's room this time. The bed sheets had been changed and a brand new bamboo mat was laid out. There was an electric fan on the head of the bed.
The aunt at home brought her a cup of warm water and said with a smile, "Comrade Zhou, lie down and rest for a while. I'm going out to buy groceries. I'll call you when lunch is ready."
Zhou Jiani didn't hesitate: "Okay Aunt Fang, I want to take a shower first."
Although I tidied myself up on the train in the second half of the night, it was not as comfortable as taking a good shower.
The aunt hired by the Qiu family was named Fang, two years older than Du Yunxin. Zeming's parents called her Mrs. Fang, and Zhou Jiani followed Qiu Zeming in calling her "Auntie Fang."
Aunt Fang smiled and said, "Okay, take your time washing, and then go to sleep."
Zhou Jiani took her clean clothes and went downstairs to take a shower. She washed the clothes and hung them on the balcony, but she threw her own underwear into the dryer.
Her aunt went out to buy groceries. Zhou Jiani made sure that no one was at home before she took out the hair dryer to dry her hair, turned on the fan, and lay down to rest.
I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I fell asleep not long after I lay down. When I opened my eyes again, it was already 11:40.
She got up, changed into the dress she had bought the day before, gathered her hair into a bun, opened the door and went out. When she reached the stairs, she saw Du Yunxin helping Aunt Fang serve the dishes. She hurriedly called out, "Aunt Du!"
Du Yunxin heard the noise and looked up, smiling, "I'm up. Did I disturb you?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "No, I just woke up."
Du Yunxin smiled: "That's a good time to wash hands and eat."
There was a noise at the door. Qiu Dongshu opened the door and came in, greeting Zhou Jiani with a smile.
Zhou Jiani did not see Qiu Zeming's brother and sister-in-law during her trip to the capital. She did not ask, and Du Yunxin did not mention it either, as if the Qiu family did not have those two people at all.
This is just perfect, as it saves me from having to bother with social engagements.
Lunch consists of four dishes and a soup, ordinary home-cooked meals, but Aunt Fang is a good cook and can make ordinary home-cooked meals look good, smell good and taste good.
During the meal, Du Yunxin heard Zhou Jiani say that she wanted to go out for a walk in the afternoon, so she gave her a few words of advice and pushed the key to her women's bicycle to Zhou Jiani.
As for herself, she rode the 28-inch bicycle that was unused at home.
After lunch, Qiu Dongshu hurried back to the army. Du Yunxin could take a nap. Zhou Jiani said goodbye to Aunt Du and went out.
Du Yunxin didn't restrain her. Since she planned to treat Comrade Xiao Zhou as a family member, she could be as casual as possible. She could take a nap, and if the child wanted to go for a ride on the bike, she could go, as long as he paid attention to safety.
Even Zhou Jiani herself didn't want to be too polite in everything, as it would make her feel uncomfortable. Aunt Du knew the limits very well, so she hung her backpack on her shoulders, walked downstairs briskly, got on Aunt Du's bike and left the compound.
Where are we going? Zhou Jiani looks ahead with a determined gaze, holding the handlebars steady as she heads straight for her destination: Quanjude!
Please forgive her for her lack of ambition. Last time, she was really thinking about stocking a few roast ducks on the shelf, but she really didn't have the time, so of course she had to satisfy herself this time.
In later times, a set of Quanjude roast duck cost more than 200 yuan, but at that time, it only cost a dozen yuan. The price difference is huge, but whether in later times or now, the customer flow is the same.
Although it wasn't particularly late, it was past dinner time, but there were still customers who had just sat down and were about to order.
Zhou Jiani didn't dare to ask for too much, and ordered five ducks modestly, choosing to pack them up and take them away. She chose three servings of salt and pepper duck bones and two servings of duck bone soup. She specially brought an aluminum lunch box.
When you go out, find a place where no one is around and put the roast duck on the fresh-keeping shelf so that the taste will not be affected at all when you eat it.
After finishing what she hadn't finished last time, Zhou Jiani was in a very good mood and rode her bike aimlessly.
When she turned into Dazhalan on her bike, she didn't notice that a female comrade on the side of the road was stunned and stared at her back for a long time.
"Jiamei, what's wrong?" The female comrade with Xin Jiamei followed her gaze and asked, "Who is that? Do you know him?"
Xingamei looked away, his eyes still filled with shock, but he said, "It's okay, I recognized the wrong person, let's go over there quickly..."
The colleague walking with her said with a smile: "Don't worry, there are two of you now, so just take it easy."
Singame's thoughts wandered.
Mistakenly identifying the wrong person was just an excuse; she just didn't want to lose face in front of her colleagues.
——After all, her sister-in-law came to the capital, but she, as the sister-in-law, didn't know about it. It would not be good if her colleagues knew about it.
That's right, she recognized Zhou Jiani at a glance. After all, it's hard to forget Zhou Jiani's face once you've seen it. It's just that her stepmother-in-law didn't tell them about Zhou Jiani's visit to the capital, nor did she invite them. Considering the conflicts over the past year, this was undoubtedly a manifestation of her stepmother-in-law's rejection of them. This situation was like an invisible slap in her face, making her face flush with embarrassment.
Xingamei bit his lip, trying hard to suppress the dissatisfaction in his heart.
Two years ago, my brother-in-law joined the army quietly, which was like a thunderbolt in their minds.
Neither she nor Qiu Zexun heard anything about it because they were too busy to care at the time - Qiu Zeming actually asked someone to go to his grandfather to flatter Zexun, which resulted in a severe scolding for Zexun. He was busy repairing his relationship with his family every day and had no time to take care of himself.
In fact, if the news of Qiu Zeming's sudden joining the army had not spread later, they would not have thought that it was a smokescreen. But when the smoke finally cleared, Qiu Zeming had already joined the army.
Moreover, Qiu Zeming was able to leave the countryside without relying on his family connections, but achieved this through his own efforts.
Zexun was also smart. He realized that they seemed to have overlooked something, and quickly found a way to investigate Qiu Zeming's affairs in the countryside. It was really shocking.
According to normal logical thinking, Qiu Zeming would have needed a year or two to adapt to the countryside. Who would have thought that he adapted so quickly, not only adapting well but also achieving results.
I didn't realize some things before, but when I reviewed it, I realized that there were signs early on. After all, Zhou Jiani had participated in the Canton Fair.
However, when they heard about exports and the Canton Fair, neither of them considered this matter to be related to Zhou Jiani personally. They thought it was just a local business and didn't think much about it at all.
In addition, everyone naively thought that Qiu Zeming had a girlfriend and that he was so outstanding, so Zhou Jiani had to find a way to keep him company and quickly get married to tie him down.
In fact, they did get engaged very quickly. At this point, the two were certain that the second brother's marriage was a foregone conclusion. But who could have thought that not long after the engagement, Qiu Zeming left for the army, and stirred up a lot of trouble before leaving, leaving Ze Xun no time to pay attention to anything. How vicious!
Her induced abortion had already left a bad impression on her grandfather. It was later discovered that Qiu Zeming had made a report before going to the countryside at the instigation of Qiu Zexun. The old man of the Qiu family settled all the old and new scores and scolded Qiu Zexun harshly.
The stepmother-in-law seized the opportunity to make a big fuss about that incident, openly severing ties with the two. For so long, no matter how humble she and Zexun tried to be, their relationship with her mother-in-law remained lukewarm. And now, the second son's wife had come to the capital without even notifying them.
Xing Jiamei found it funny. Her stepmother-in-law's mind was really... not much bigger than the hole of a needle.
Now she is hoping that this time she will be pregnant with a boy so that she can be proud of herself.
Xingamei unconsciously stroked her belly with her hand, her eyes filled with anticipation.
The last induced abortion damaged her vitality, and her stomach was still quiet for a long time, which scared her a lot. She consulted an old Chinese doctor to prescribe some medicine for her to recuperate for a while. Her mother then prescribed two more prescriptions for her according to a folk remedy, and she finally got pregnant. It’s only been two months now, and she still doesn’t know if it’s a boy or a girl. But this time, even if it’s a girl, she doesn’t dare to abort it... Bah, bah, bah, it must be a boy. Her mother said that the folk remedy for giving birth to a boy is very effective, so she can have more confidence.
But when Qiu Zexun came home from work that evening, Xin Jiamei said, "I saw Lao Er's girlfriend at Dashilar today."
A bright face flashed through Qiu Zexun's mind, and he said in surprise, "Second brother's girlfriend is coming to the capital? Mom didn't tell me..."
Seeing that Xin Jiamei looked unhappy, Qiu Zexun also frowned. His stepmother was really hard to coax.
Back then, he was worried that his family would leave Qiu Zeming in the capital and send him to the countryside, so he did resort to some dishonorable means. Although he was severely scolded by his grandfather for this, he did not regret it.
As for how to excuse it...haha, that's too easy.
When his grandfather questioned him, he immediately pinched himself, played the sympathy card with tears in his eyes, and did not try to argue for himself. Instead, he said frankly that he was jealous of his younger brother. He was jealous that his younger brother could grow up with their parents and with his grandfather. He had only been there for a short time and had no sense of belonging to this family. He was worried that his stepmother would squeeze him out and that his grandfather would not like him and would demote him and abandon him, so he was confused for a moment.
Now that he's grown up and sensible, he realizes how foolish his actions were back then. He often feels guilty but doesn't dare confess to his family. Now that his grandfather knows, he feels relieved and accepts the punishment, hoping his grandfather won't get too angry and ruin his health...
He thought he handled it well. During that period, apart from work, he would come home every day to admit his mistakes, apologize, and seek forgiveness from his family. His father's expression gradually softened, but his grandfather, except when he scolded him, would get furious. He usually didn't seem to calm down and it was difficult to figure out what the old man was thinking, and his stepmother still didn't even smile at him.
Just as he was about to unleash his punches and kicks again, there was a sudden thunderclap that stunned him.
——Qiu Zeming actually left to join the army!
Only then did Qiu Zexun discover that the revelation of his past affairs was actually the work of his good brother, and he also realized that Qiu Zeming was not an ordinary person.
Now that things have become a foregone conclusion, and Qiu Zeming has no family connections, there is nothing he can do. Over the past year or so, he has only been trying to find ways to turn the situation around. Now he desperately wants to make a name for himself.
By the way, when he was checking Qiu Zeming’s contributions in the countryside, he found that his sister-in-law was not simple either, and was even better than Qiu Zeming.
It can be said that the plastic greenhouse that helped Qiu Zeming achieve success was originally Zhou Jiani's idea. However, she was busy leading the weaving industry and was too busy to do anything else, so she gave the plastic greenhouse to Qiu Zeming.
Zhou Jiani acted like a fool in front of Jia Mei at that time. She was actually pretending. She was really careless.
Qiu Zexun took a deep breath, raised his hand and gently stroked his lover's belly, saying, "Although Qiu Zeming has joined the army and the old man favors him, as far as I know, the family has no connections to use for the second son."
He was really surprised when he discovered this. The strange thing was that Qiu Zeming himself did not mention his family when he was in the army.
Qiu Zexun didn't know whether he was stupid or not, but he felt that the second brother was a little conceited. He might think that he could make a name for himself in the army without relying on the Qiu family's connections. It was simply ridiculous.
I heard that he even went to the front line. Qiu Zexun didn't think that Qiu Zeming, who grew up in peace, could achieve any results on the battlefield.
But no matter whether Qiu Zeming can achieve results or not, since he has joined the army, the family's resources will definitely be tilted towards the second child in the future. Thinking of this, he feels extremely uncomfortable.
Qiu Zexun took a deep breath. He had to achieve some results as soon as possible.
While investigating Qiu Zeming's development in the countryside, he unexpectedly learned about Zhou Jiani's career path, which gave him great inspiration. However, despite the inspiration, he still hadn't found the right direction.
Zhou Jiani had no idea that she had also inspired Qiu Zexun.
She didn't care even after knowing it. She felt that Qiu Zexun had a small brain capacity, was not sharp enough, and had a narrow vision; his vision was as small as a needle hole, and he only focused on things like love, marriage and starting a family. At that time, he underestimated the abilities of both her and Qiu Zeming, and they really could not achieve great things. At most, they would jump around and be a little disgusting, but would not cause any substantial harm.
She was enjoying the welcoming banquet prepared for her at the Qiu family.
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