“Old man, now that you mention it, I do feel that the name sounds familiar, but I don’t know anyone so beautiful. If I did know her, I would never forget her,” Zhou’s mother murmured.
“That’s the director of the Revolutionary Committee,” Zhou’s father said, no longer keeping him in suspense.
Zhou's mother shuddered. "Old man, what did you say? Is it really that person inside?" Zhou's mother had only heard of that ruthless and heartless person's reputation before, but had never actually seen him.
Thinking back to Su Yu's gentle and polite demeanor just now, it's impossible to connect him with the director of the Revolutionary Committee.
The Zhou family all felt a deep sense of sympathy.
But the job with a secure job is still too tempting. Zhou Mingjiao couldn't help but say, "I think it's just that people who don't know him well have spread rumors that are too outrageous. He is such a gentle person."
"Alright, just pretend you didn't hear anything," Zhou's father said decisively.
Shen Banxia felt that there was still a gap between the script and reality.
Everyone says that Zhou's father favors his youngest daughter and is practically invisible at home, always trying to smooth things over when things go wrong. But judging from the current situation, his love for Zhou Mingjiao isn't without limits.
As for trying to smooth things over, that's utter nonsense. Despite how loud and assertive my mother-in-law is, and how she's nominally the head of the household, she's never objected to my father-in-law's words.
Shen Banxia gave herself a warning: she shouldn't rely too much on scripts in the future; real life is what truly matters.
Right now, the baby that was supposed to be lost in the script is still safely in her belly, so some things have already changed.
Zhou Mingjiao was dissatisfied, but she also knew that she would behave herself when her father was serious.
Zhou's mother, however, looked at her daughter with some unease.
When the night was deep and quiet, Zhou's mother came to her daughter's room and asked, "Jiaojiao, are you asleep?"
"No".
"Then I'll come in," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and stroking Zhou Mingjiao's hair. "Jiaojiao, does your face still hurt?"
Tears welled up in Zhou Mingjiao's eyes, and her voice was muffled, "It's my own fault that I don't feel pain."
It sounded like a complaint.
"Jiaojiao, you're an adult now. There are some things you can say and some things you can't say. You should know that. Do you want to kill your father?"
I didn't mean that.
“Jiaojiao, you know that some things can’t be made up just because you say they don’t exist. Not everyone is convinced that your father is the brigade leader,” Zhou’s mother said earnestly. The saying “a mother’s heart aches when her son is beaten” perfectly describes her situation.
"But, even if that's the case, you should explain it to me properly. I understand, but you hit me. Mother, you've never hit me before. Don't you like me anymore?" Zhou Mingjiao was truly heartbroken.
Zhou's mother hugged Zhou Mingjiao, "Daughter, your words are heartbreaking. Don't you know how I've treated you? None of your brothers can surpass you."
Zhou Mingjiao certainly knew.
"Mom, what do you need me for?" Zhou Mingjiao asked, feeling sleepy.
If she weren't planning something important, she would already be asleep by now.
"Jiaojiao, you should just give up on Zhao Zhiqing. He's not a good person."
Although she already had other ideas in mind, Zhou Mingjiao was still unhappy when she heard her mother say that. Wasn't that saying that she had bad taste?
"Jiaojiao, do you know Li Hua, that educated youth who returned to the city?"
"What's wrong? Wasn't she recommended to go to university?" Zhou Mingjiao couldn't help but complain, "Mom, you should also talk to Dad when you have time. Even if you want to promote good behavior, shouldn't you start with your own family? Didn't I also graduate from high school?"
Family members know their own situation. "Jiaojiao, if you don't go to the fields to earn work points, everyone in the village will know about it. It won't work if they report your name, and it will just cause unnecessary gossip."
"Mom, do you also think I've become lazy?" Zhou Mingjiao couldn't help but ask.
Zhou's mother hugged her daughter and said, "Jiaojiao, how could you think like that? A woman's life is about managing a household, having children, and raising them. You should relax a bit while you're at your parents' home. I wish you would never have to work."
Her delicate and sweet daughter, who has grown from such a tiny, cuddly little thing to this big girl, how could she bear to have to work in the fields with her back to the sky?
"Mom, you're so good," Zhou Mingjiao said, hugging her mother's arm.
Zhou's mother gently patted Zhou Mingjiao's back, "Jiaojiao, that educated youth Li Hua was ruined by Zhao Zhigao back then, otherwise your father would not have given her that recommendation spot."
Zhou Mingjiao didn't believe it and was puzzled. "Why? If it's as Mother said, shouldn't Brother Zhao be arrested? Why give Li Zhiqing a letter of recommendation instead?"
"That was Li Hua's request; she wanted to leave this heartbreaking place."
"That's not right, Mother. You said it yourself, Father only wrote the recommendation letter. There are so many communes under the county town, how come it was only Li, the educated youth, who went back to the city to go to university?"
"Zhao Zhigao helped him, otherwise do you think he could have escaped this time?"
“Mother, these are all your guesses. The Brother Zhao I know is not like that,” Zhou Mingjiao firmly believed.
Zhou's mother was so angry that her chest felt tight.
"Do you know that Li Hua, a former educated youth, had an abortion? Do you even understand?" If her daughter hadn't been so stubborn, she wouldn't have brought this up.
"Mother, you've got it wrong, haven't you? Besides, how do you know it's Brother Zhao's? What if it's someone else?" She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Someone as casual as Li Zhiqing, who knows whose child is in her belly?"
Zhou's mother was unaware of her daughter's terrifying idea and warned, "Zhou Mingjiao, I can let you have your way with other things, but not this."
"Mother, you really don't love me anymore?"
Zhou's mother felt exhausted and, for the first time, began to doubt herself, wondering if she had done something wrong.
Sons and daughters should be treated the same.
“If you dare to sneak off to see Zhao Zhigao, I’ll have your dad lock you in the house.”
Zhou's mother was truly at her wit's end.
If Zhao Zhigao were any good person, she wouldn't have done this.
“I understand, Mother,” Zhou Mingjiao said. She wasn’t stupid; she could hear the unchangeable tone in her mother’s words.
"Don't try to fool me. You'll start learning from your sister-in-law from now on."
Zhou Mingjiao was initially unwilling, but then she thought about it and asked, "Mom, what do you think about my sister-in-law's job?"
"If your father doesn't agree, then forget it."
"Mom, I don't want to go to work, please help me," Zhou Mingjiao knew who to turn to for help.
"But what about your father?" Zhou's mother still hesitated.
"Mother, isn't Father the one who listens to you the most?"
"Daughter, maybe we should just forget about it," Zhou's mother said, though she also wanted to work, she trusted her husband.
"Mom, please help me. I promise I will take good care of you in the future."
Zhou's mother was at her wits' end with Zhou Mingjiao. "Alright, alright, stop shaking her. I'll go talk to your father about it."
"Mother is the best."
When Shen Banxia returned from the outhouse, she was surprised to hear such a story. It turned out that the girl with glasses who was easily embarrassed had encountered such a terrible thing and left.
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