Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 701 - 576: Old Mrs. Cheng

In the dead of night, Lin Lishan and Ping’an were already asleep, while Zhou Xiaozheng quietly listened to his son-in-law recount the trip to Hai City in the study.

"Dad, that’s how the situation is. I mentioned to the old man about adopting a child from the same lineage, but before I could finish, his face changed. Did I touch on something that saddened him?"

Zhou Xiaozheng nodded, "Something must have happened back then. When I met the old couple, they were already at the end of their rope and didn’t want to return to the village. I helped them out because they seemed genuine and kind. If he doesn’t want to, then let it be. He must have a reason he can’t speak of."

Zhang Guoqing nodded understandingly, "Then the old lady slipped me a small courtyard on the north side this afternoon, saying it was already transferred. How did I not know about this? Can it be done without me being there in person?"

"That old lady really is..."

After sighing, Zhou Xiaozheng looked at his son-in-law, "Back then, the Gu Family secretly acquired quite a few private assets. Besides the assets cleared in the old home, after Jiefang, many property deeds from other places were taken into the old lady’s hands. Even Old Mr. Cheng didn’t know about this, apart from the two courtyards in Beijing.

After recognizing me, she privately gave me several deeds, but I didn’t accept them. I used the excuse that it wasn’t suitable to add more properties under Jiao Jiao’s name to refuse her. Logically, she would have sent someone to retrieve them, so they should be hers.

However, last year she told me she had sold all the properties outside and converted them to gold, and now only the two courtyards in Beijing are left, which she can’t bear to sell. These two, the larger courtyard was originally intended by the Gu Family’s elders for their daughters to move to Beijing after marriage, and the smaller one was her dowry, with a different significance.

Last time she mentioned wanting to hand them to you, saying she was getting old. Apart from the large courtyard, which is currently not suitable to change, everything she strove to keep for the Gu Family is stored in the small courtyard."

Zhang Guoqing frowned deeply, "Dad, if it was her dowry, then it’s something from the Cheng Family. If we take it, the Cheng Family might have thoughts on this."

"Your elder cousin’s family is different from the Lin Family. They feel that nothing was left from the Gu Family, making Jiao Jiao suffer grievances. They’ve long told the old lady to leave her private assets to Jiao Jiao, saying that they rightfully belong to their grandmother and should be inherited by Jiao Jiao."

Zhou Xiaozheng finished speaking and smiled, shaking his head. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

People really can’t be compared to each other. He doesn’t mind material possessions; money nowadays is just a number to the Zhou Family, but such affection is indeed rare.

Zhou Xiaozheng glanced at his son-in-law, who was worried, and chuckled, "Alright, just accept it. We can forgo the larger one in the future."

What else could Zhang Guoqing say? The old lady was too good at leading people on, not thick-skinned at all. She tricked him into thinking everyone got something, only to realize it was just misdirection.

"And the old lady definitely wouldn’t register it under your real name. It’s probably some alias again. If anyone asks, just say it’s a relative’s house to brush them off."

Zhang Guoqing nodded understandingly. With a large family attracting attention, they already had several courtyards for just five people, and adding more would mean having to settle their own accounts first.

Zhou Xiaozheng took a sheet of paper from the drawer and handed it to him, "Tomorrow, return to work and report. This is homework. Go through some newspapers these days, and bring me the answers next time you return."

Zhang Guoqing took a look, then used a match to burn the paper, laughing, "No problem, then I’ll take my leave?"

"Go on, get some sleep. I need to review these documents and rest early too."

As Zhang Guoqing walked out laughing, he asked, "Dad, have you come up with a name for Mom?" As soon as he finished, he quickly ran outside and closed the door, hearing his father-in-law inside laughing and scolding him, calling him a brat, to which he laughed happily.

Every time he asked when his wife would return, his father-in-law would always mock him with a disdainful look. Finally, he seized the opportunity this time.

Zhang Guoqing returned to the room, turned on the lamp, and looked at his son sleeping soundly under the mosquito net. Standing by the bed for a moment, seeing no mosquitoes inside, he turned off the light and went to the small study next door.

He took out the letters from the family this time and opened them to read again.

Mr. Zhang’s letters now contained more and more content, describing trivial matters of the old home and ending by reminding them to live well and not to treat themselves poorly.

Zhang the Second’s letters detailed each family member’s life and some matters they encountered, particularly highlighting some things about Zuo Lin.

Regarding Zuo Lin’s plan to return to Beijing, Zhang Guoqing already knew. But nowadays, even having connections doesn’t necessarily grant entry. Even if there is a unit willing to accept him, a mere county chief arriving in Beijing doesn’t have any qualifications to speak of and would be reduced to an ordinary clerk. Would Zuo Lin be content with that?

Beyond these trivial matters, he continued to read the letters from his eldest sister’s husband, Zhang Chunming. Compared to other family letters, his eldest sister’s family’s letters were always the thickest.

Thinking of his eldest sister’s nature, Zhang Guoqing couldn’t help but smile. He truly didn’t know how his brother-in-law tolerated his sister’s constant chatter and still wrote it all down.

His eldest sister every time would start with, "Do you have enough money? Is anyone bullying you at school? Are you losing weight? You’re not arguing with Jiao Jiao, are you? Has Ping’an grown taller?"

Touching these family letters, Zhang Guoqing became lost in thought, wondering if they were reporting only the good news and not the bad, or if they were truly doing well.

Thinking of his parents far away in the north, Zhang Guoqing picked up a pen and first wrote a long letter to Mr. Zhang and the family. Recently, so much had happened: the Lin Family matters, those concerning his mother-in-law, coming one after another, and without Zhou Jiao by his side, he had many things he couldn’t tell others, often missing his family dearly.

The three long sheets of paper briefly mentioned his mother-in-law’s background, Mrs. Lin’s suicide, and the imprisonment of Zhou Xiaocun, who was once a big uncle.

Lastly, he emphasized inviting them to come over during the summer holidays, particularly mentioning Old Mrs. Cheng’s small courtyard. They really wouldn’t feel out of place this time when they came over.

Bereft of sleepiness, Zhang Guoqing continued writing responses to each letter.

By the time he finished writing, it was already late at night. He tidied up briefly, leaned back in the chair to rest his eyes, silently calculating Jiao Jiao’s return date.

Sitting there until Ping’an got up to use the toilet, Zhang Guoqing finally came back to his senses and quickly entered the bedroom.

Ping’an, half-squinting, urinated in the enamel spittoon, and upon hearing the sound, opened his eyes to glance at him, mumbling, "Dad, sleep."

Zhang Guoqing joyfully picked him up and walked towards the kang bed, "Alright. Go back to sleep, Dad will keep you company."

"Okay."

After resetting the mosquito net, Zhang Guoqing glanced at the photo on the bedside and softly wished goodnight to Zhou Jiao in the photo.

When he turned off the light, he was still thinking whether his wife, who was in a foreign country, was in daytime or nighttime, who was with her, and whether she was already flying back.

Zhang Guoqing was missing Zhou Jiao, but Zhou Jiao was also constantly thinking about him, her father, her children, and all her loved ones.