Chapter 039 Probability Increase
Speaking of which, when Old Lady Cao first heard the term "marrying into a wife's family," she was so angry she nearly fainted. Her youngest son was her only child, so how could he marry into a wife's family?
Besides, Xiaoxing is a handsome man, and it's not like he can't find a wife, so why does he have to keep targeting Jiang Nan? The Jiang family is well-off, but their Zhou family is not bad either, so why should he marry into the family?
"Grandma, I know you love me." Zhou Zhixing lowered his eyebrows, his emotions invisible. He said, "You know, my uncle and his uncle's families are really hoping that I'll have a miserable life. You've heard what they've said these past two days. What are they afraid to say? If Jiang Nan and I can't be together, I'm sure they'll go to the Revolutionary Committee and report me for having an affair."
"How dare they!" Old Lady Cao glared, feeling a little uneasy, but she still said, "But you don't have to marry into the family. You can just marry the little girl from the Jiang family. You are the only child of Yuanfeng, you can't let Yuanfeng be without an heir."
"Grandma, this isn't marrying into the family. Think about it, my parents are gone. After I get married, Xiaonan and I both have jobs. Who will take care of the house?"
Seeing that Old Lady Cao was about to volunteer, Zhou Zhixing quickly said, "You're so old, I don't want you to be tired. Since Xiaonan's parents are here, wouldn't it be more convenient for the four of us to live together? Besides, I'll give one of the boys the surname Zhou, don't worry."
Zhou Zhixing raised his head, smiled, and continued to lobby, "Besides, if I continue to live in the building, I can better fulfill my filial duty to you. My uncle and my younger uncle will definitely stop targeting our family when they know I'm living with my father-in-law. They think it's shameful to marry into my family, and that's the only way to feel at peace."
"But you've been wronged, Xiaoxing. Don't be silly. It's not easy to be a son-in-law. You will be looked down upon. You're a veteran and a police officer. Why do you want to do that?" Old Mrs. Cao still disagreed.
Zhou Zhixing wasn't angry either. He had deliberately dismissed everyone else and spoken to Old Lady Cao alone, precisely because this matter only required Old Lady Cao's approval. Although Zhou Yuanqing was his uncle, he couldn't control his son-in-law's marriage. Only Old Lady Cao, as the original body's grandmother, had a say in the matter.
Zhou Zhixing thought for a moment and said firmly, "Grandma, I'm attracted to Jiang Nan. Please agree to my request. Look, the Jiang family has already agreed to let one of their children have the surname Zhou. How can this be considered marrying into the family? I'm just moving in. Think about it, Jiang Nan worked so hard to give birth to a child, and wanting a child to have her surname is nothing. As the great man said, women hold up half the sky. It's fair for each of us to have half of the child."
"What woman doesn't give birth to children..." Old Mrs. Cao was still uncomfortable, but under Zhou Zhixing's continuous brainwashing, when Jiang Nan and Director Shen and his group came to the Donghe Case Brigade to give a speech, Old Mrs. Cao had already confessed and agreed to Zhou Zhixing and Jiang Nan's marriage.
Jiang Nan was confused and speechless.
Zhou Zhixing was incredibly fast. He wasn't from ancient times, Jiang Nan was. Considering her, a 21st-century young woman, she'd met a few men before. Although she wasn't married, she had everything she needed. Even a scumbag couldn't be this fast.
[Host, they will return to the building tomorrow, and Zhou Zhixing will report to the police station the day after tomorrow.]
"Okay, okay, I get it. Why are you even more anxious than me?" Jiang Nan complained, "It's true that the eunuchs are anxious when the emperor isn't."
System: It’s innocent.
Sunday's lecture ended quickly, and by the time Jiang Nan got home, Jiang Mancheng and Chen Jinhua had already finished dinner. Hearing Zhou Zhixing's progress, even Jiang Mancheng, who was serving the rice, twitched his lips. He handed the rice porridge to Jiang Nan and gritted his teeth, "That little bastard, he's really impatient! You're only sixteen, and he's not even twenty yet. What's the rush? How about this? Let's get engaged first, and then get married when we're old enough."
Jiang Nan nodded. This was the only thing he could do.
Although she didn't have a weekend off, Jiang Nan had just started work on Tuesday and wasn't very tired, so she finished dinner quickly. In the living room, Jiang Mancheng was knitting while listening to the radio, her head swaying to the music, looking so relaxed. Chen Jinhua was mopping the floor, and when she saw her daughter had finished eating, she hurried over to clear the dishes and said, "Alright, go play! You're not allowed to rest on the weekend, aren't you tired?"
Jiang Nan yawned and shook her head: "I'm not tired, Mom, you're the best."
Seeing the bright red scarf her father was knitting halfway, she laughed and shouted, "Ah, Dad, is this for me? Isn't it?"
Jiang Mancheng frowned and said unhappily, "Don't be so nervous and interrupt my opera. Such a bright color, if it's not for you, then it's for me? Your mother has already knitted the dark red one."
"Oh, Dad, you're the best. I love you the most." Jiang Nan pulled Jiang Mancheng's arm and acted coquettishly.
Jiang Mancheng raised the corner of his mouth: "Alright, you ignorant little girl, you are so happy just because of a scarf."
Jiang Nan ignored her father's complaints. Knitting was so hard to come by these days, especially red yarn. She didn't know where her grandfather had bought it, but it arrived last month. It wasn't enough for a sweater, but it was enough for two scarves. Even Chen Jinhua was looking forward to the red scarf, mopping the floor with extra energy.
After mopping the floor, she sat on the wooden sofa, sewing shoe soles, making a clacking sound. Chen Jinhua had always been strong and skilled at delicate work, so she did all the sweeping and mopping at home. Sewing shoe soles was her most delicate craft. She would always collect a dozen pairs and take them to the Xihe'an Brigade, where her sister-in-law, Yin Wenjuan, would help her sew the uppers.
Jiang Nan looked at the thousand-layer soles in her mother's hands and marveled at her mother's adaptability. She had never worn shoes like these before, but once she put them on, they were incredibly comfortable. The soles were incredibly soft. While they weren't particularly beautiful, comfort was paramount.
Who says that in this day and age, it’s no longer possible to pay attention to aesthetics?
Finally, we had a weekend, and it wasn't too late, so the family decided to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. We'd almost finished our last apple purchase, so we had to see if there were any new fruits. We also needed to restock our peach cakes. All in all, there was a lot to buy.
The supply and marketing cooperative closed at 7:30, and the three of them hurried downstairs. When they reached the bottom floor, Granny Fang waved them aside. In front of several other elderly women, she softly asked, "Xiao Nan, when you first became a police officer, did you handle the case with Old Wu? Did he touch that girl Gaigai's butt in public?"
Jiang Nan immediately put on a serious face and said firmly in an unquestionable tone, "No, Old Wu touched Grandma Liu's butt. Grandma Fang, you can't talk nonsense. Spreading rumors will bring consequences. If you cause damage to someone's reputation, they can sue you for defamation."
Granny Fang secretly curled her lips, but nodded repeatedly on the surface. She said, "Oh, Xiaonan, you misunderstood. I heard it from outsiders. It's good that it's not true. It's good that it's not true. You young people should be careful of Old Wu. He's a piece of shit and won't even let such a young girl go." She covered her mouth and waved her hands repeatedly, "I was wrong. Don't mind it. I won't say anything more."
The old ladies all had mean expressions, their eyes gleaming with brilliance, and it was clear that they were having a lot of inner drama. Jiang Nan emphasized again: "Grandma Fang, you have to be careful about your words and actions, otherwise if you are taken to the police station, it will affect your eldest grandson's work."
However, Jiang Nan knew that these words were useless, as the gossip would eventually spread to the upper floors and even the entire family compound.
But at this time, Jiang Nan and her family were still on their way to the supply and marketing cooperative. She still felt a little strange: "Why do there seem to be fewer people in this courtyard? No one comes out for a walk after dinner?"
Jiang Mancheng squinted his eyes and said, "They all went out."
Jiang Nan was puzzled: "Go out? Where to?"
Jiang Mancheng: "Where else can we go? The scrap yard. You guys found gold in the broken wood. The news has spread a long time ago, and everyone is going to the scrap yard to look for wood."
Jiang Nan was speechless. Although it was found in a scrap collection station, it was a traitor from the Revolutionary Committee who sneaked in deliberately. Such a good thing would never happen normally.
The wood thrown into the scrap collection station is so broken into pieces that it is impossible to hide anything there.
Jiang Mancheng shrugged. "There's gold out there, who wants to get it? You're all so excited! Don't you see that many people in the building are gone? They've all gone out to pick up the bargains."
Jiang Nan was speechless again. As expected, she knew too little about this world.
-
When the three of them returned to the family compound carrying a bag of peach cakes, Old Lady Liu and Grandma Fang were downstairs, pinching each other's waists and cursing at each other.
"You shameless old bastard. Are you attracted to Old Wu? You got so angry when Old Wu touched my butt and spread rumors about my granddaughter everywhere. Are you jealous that Old Wu didn't touch you? You shameless, despicable thing."
"Wow, wow, wow, I'm innocent. Sister Liu, I just heard some gossip, I didn't say anything. You can't talk like that. I'm a widow, how can you spread rumors like that? I'm innocent!"
Jiang Nan looked up at the Cheng family and vaguely heard sobbing sounds.
[Host, Old Cheng wants to sign up Cheng Gaigai to go to the countryside.]
"Just because of this rumor?"
Yes, he felt ashamed, thinking his granddaughter wouldn't be able to get married in the oil field, so he thought of leaving her in the countryside for a year or two and then seeing what would happen.
"Look at the explosion probability. Has it changed?"
[Host, it's now 94%, up another percentage point.]
The three members of the Jiang family sat together again.
Jiang Nan was a little embarrassed. There were so many things going on that he forgot about the increased probability of explosion.
Jiang Mancheng waved his hand and analyzed, "This is what I think. Cheng Gaigai went to the countryside. She will hate at least three people in her heart. The first is Old Wu. He is the instigator and deserves the most hatred. The second is Granny Fang. She helped spread the rumors and is not innocent. The third is probably Xiaonan. Gaigai wanted to marry Zhou Zhixing so that she wouldn't have to go to the countryside, but Xiaonan cut her off. She may also hate her family. Except for Aunt Liu, everyone else is wrong. She will feel that her father doesn't care about her, her grandfather is cold and selfish, and her eldest brother got her mother's job. If she encounters any injustice in the countryside, she may resent the people in the building. When she can return to the city, she may take action."
"Could the murderer be Gaigai?" asked Chen Jinhua.
Jiang Mancheng thought about it and shook his head. "Probably not. Think about it, it only went up one point, which means that the change didn't have much impact on the explosion. Fan Taohua and Wu Chunli might have had a chance, but that time they dropped eight points. I think the change is just a clue."
"Could it be Qiu Pan'er? She was stuck, but it rose three points."
"It's possible. Think about it, Qiu Pan'er has always been jealous of our Xiao Nan, and now she's been trapped by the Phoenix Man. There will be trouble with the family in the future. That Phoenix Man wants to hold Qiu Pan'er tightly. Who knows how many bad things he has said about the Zhou family boy in private to please that silly girl Pan'er. If you count it up, Qiu Pan'er probably hates quite a few people."
"In other words, only those who hate many people in the building would think of blowing it up. Those who only hate one or two people might take revenge privately and won't think of blowing up everyone." Jiang Nan immediately understood what Jiang Mancheng meant and answered quickly.
"Yes, I'm afraid that's the case." Jiang Mancheng nodded, "Otherwise, the murderer must be a simple psychopath, otherwise he wouldn't have killed someone so cruelly."
"What should we do? Fan Taohua, Wu Chunli, and Qiu Pan'er no longer live upstairs. How can we still watch them every day? It's so hard to get them back to good, but it's so easy to get them back to bad." Chen Jinhua was a little anxious. She wasn't very smart and got easily impatient when things got tough. She was a little flustered at this moment, not knowing where to put her hands. She said, "And there's also Gaigai. We can't relax. Can't we let him go to the countryside? But he's already signed up, can he cancel it?"
"No rush. This matter still has ten years to go. We can't push ourselves too hard." Jiang Mancheng held Chen Jinhua's hand, his face rarely serious. He said sternly, "This is what I want to emphasize, Jinhua, Xiaonan, although we have to complete the main mission, we can't just do nothing and focus on this. If we can't identify the murderer and prevent the bombing in ten years, the worst that can happen is that we find an opportunity to move out. Don't glare at us. No one and nothing is more important than us, understand? Don't be foolish just to save others."
"Dad, I'm not that stupid." Jiang Nan muttered.
"Why don't you have any?" Jiang Mancheng tapped the little girl's forehead and emphasized again, "Jinhua, Xiaonan, I know you two are kind-hearted, but we are a family. In my heart, no one is more important than you two, not even everyone in the building combined, understand?"
"Okay, I got it." Chen Jinhua's face turned red. Her husband was really something. He always said these nonsense. He even felt embarrassed when he didn't see the child.
Jiang Nan: She didn’t, she was just rubbing her forehead. Dad was too rough with her, and it hurts a little.
Seeing that the two had understood, Jiang Mancheng continued, "As for the changes, the Youth League Office will not agree."
An idea flashed through his mind, and he was stunned for a moment, but still said, "Let's take it one step at a time. There's still more than a month before going to the countryside, so there's no rush. We must do a good job of popularizing the law in the oil fields. I can only pray that nothing goes wrong when I go to the countryside."
With the increased probability of explosion, the three of them were feeling somewhat depressed. Jiang Mancheng had lost all interest in his carpentry work, and even when Zhou Zhixing and Old Lady Cao returned, the three of them had no time to pay attention, much to Old Lady Cao's chagrin. They had gotten this, yet they didn't know how to cherish her grandson. What kind of family were they?
To be honest, Zhou Yuanqing was quite surprised when he heard that his nephew was marrying into his family. But since his mother had agreed, he opened his mouth several times but didn't say anything against it.
Huang Yuxiu breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that her nephew would stay at home forever. Although her family had a large house of 68 square meters, it was not spacious. Her eldest son had moved out because it was too crowded when he got married. However, although the young couple were both working, they had only a short career and the house they were allocated was small, only 20 square meters. They didn't have children yet, and when they did, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to live there either, and they might even send the children here. She couldn't afford to have an outsider living in her house forever. Now that the outsider was going to marry into her family, she was actually relieved.
"Uncle, aunt, I'll have to bother you for a few more days. After I start work tomorrow, I'll ask if there's a dormitory. If there is, I'll move out then. If not, I might have to bother you for a while. But I'll pay for the rent and food. Ten dollars a month, do you think that's enough?"
Zhou Zhixing was used to being clear about what was meant and what was meant. Money matters had to be discussed clearly, otherwise any goodwill would slowly wear away. Ten yuan a month was already quite a bit in this day and age. After all, the average person might only make forty yuan a month, and ten yuan was a quarter of that.
As expected, after he said this, his aunt Huang Yuxiu's expression softened noticeably. His uncle Zhou Yuanqing was a little angry. He said, "What are you talking about? I'm your uncle. It's not like we don't have enough space at home. Why should I pay?"
Zhou Yuanqing's home consists of two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. For convenience, the main bedroom was divided into two smaller bedrooms. After his eldest son and daughter moved out, it was a perfect size for four people. Now that Zhou Zhixing had arrived, he and his youngest son, Zhou Zhidao, would have to sleep on bunk beds. Fortunately, the beds at home were bunk beds anyway, so there was plenty of room.
"Cousin, you stay here. I love listening to your stories about being a soldier. When you become a policeman in the future, tell me about catching thieves." Zhou Zhidao was a simple fifteen-year-old boy, and he said to Zhou Zhixing happily.
Zhou Zhixing’s smiling face: The goal of living in a tube-shaped building has been achieved!
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