Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 345 - 265: Receiving the News and Paying Respects

As soon as it got dark, Zhou Jiao eagerly took out the wooden bucket, waiting for Zhang Guoqing to help fetch water. Just the thought of finally being able to take a good wash made her so happy she wanted to jump.

Zhang Guoqing waited outside, urging her at least a hundred times before he saw her come out with a big smile. If he hadn’t heard her respond, he would have burst in.

Zhou Jiao felt light all over; this month had been exhausting for her. She even found herself repulsive, and complained to him as soon as she opened her mouth, "Brother, why are you in such a hurry? I still have to go to the baths in a couple of days."

Zhang Guoqing ignored her, quickly pulling her to sit down to dry her hair. Did she really think everything would be fine after confinement? If she hadn’t clung to him all night, insisting on taking a bath early, he wouldn’t have reluctantly agreed. He had indeed planned to let her finish the full forty-five days of confinement.

He often heard the elderly say that if you don’t take care when you’re young, all kinds of ailments will come when you’re old. Seeing her break her promise to wash her hair at night, he was genuinely worried she’d have headaches in the future in such cold weather. It was a good thing his mother was busy with guests and didn’t see this. Otherwise, she would definitely have been reprimanded.

Seeing his stern face, Zhou Jiao dared not fuel the fire and forcefully changed the subject, "How many tables were set today? Why do I see that all the eggs Mom prepared are gone?"

Thinking of his mother-in-law’s several large baskets of red eggs, Zhang Guoqing couldn’t keep a straight face anymore, "If you didn’t mention the red eggs Mom brought, I almost forgot. I’ve never seen a family prepare hundreds of eggs for their grandson’s first-month celebration. Luckily they’re cooked; if they were raw, I guess they would have been crushed. Wow, it stunned everyone on the spot. Mom even said it was too much, but with people who came to watch the excitement taking one, kids taking one, plus returning gifts, was there really too much? This is after Mom and Second Sister-in-law packed up the return gifts first. Otherwise, there wouldn’t even be enough to give back.

We set twenty tables today, and besides the main room and the backyard, the few tables at the front yard gate were a mess by the end. The chef looked for me twice, once saying that many women and children from the village had come over and joined the table, and the five tables at the entrance became a running feast. After they finished eating, they served themselves, asking me what to do. There’s nothing that could be done; they came, how could we drive them away? The second time, the chef came to tell me that all the cornbreads were gone. His pot was empty by the time the banquet ended. Luckily, I listened to him, and the banquet dishes were coarse and simple, or else we’d be eaten into bankruptcy.

I noticed some women lack self-awareness, joining the table without giving a gift, and after eating, they sneak pieces of meat into their pockets—those were fatty, clearly visible—yet they laughed shamelessly at me, asking for two eggs to add some joy. Some gave only one dime as a gift, yet dragged three or four kids behind. As soon as they came over, they fixated on the red eggs, even covertly instructing the children to take them while not forgetting to stealthily grab one for themselves.

Actually, the village doesn’t have as many simple folks as you’d think. I don’t care about the money; I mind being treated like a fool. Especially some households didn’t give a gift, yet after eating and taking eggs with them, left muttering and cursing. With these people around, Mom should’ve bought less. Leaving them in the yard makes them too obvious, easy for them to grab without thinking."

"Don’t be angry, it’s not worth it. Next time, let’s wait until Ping’an gets married before hosting anything like this. My mom never really buys less of anything. It’s no wonder she stayed in the county town last night. The cost of so many eggs is minor; the favor owed to Aunt Cheng is significant. She helped buy them, and in the end, also had to cook and color them. I heard from Yuanyuan that she cried from washing the eggs yesterday. Uncle Dashan’s family gave too much, so it’s hard to reciprocate; just remember to instruct me to give a heavy gift when they celebrate their own occasion." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Zhang Guoqing, recalling issues with the old Zhou Family, reminded her, "How do we handle Grandma from the old Zhou Family? None of them came today. Should we send some eggs over? Not going seems bad, but going is uncomfortable too."

"I suspect Grandma didn’t want to come herself. Let it be; it’s better this way. The two families won’t have to interact in the future. Today, I’ve already asked Aunt Hua to take some pastries and eggs over to Grandma. We’ll send a cotton-padded jacket as a New Year’s gift to the elderly lady, and slip her some money in secret. That’s about all I can do, there’s a thorn in my heart, and that’s as much as I can manage."

Zhang Guoqing comfortingly patted her; he very much agreed with Zhou Jiao’s approach. The intentional concealment by Mrs. Zhou had hurt Zhou Jiao and her father. Seeing Zhou Jiao, who resembled Gu Mingzhu, every day, how could she not remember? The more you think about it, the more you suspect whether back when Old Man Zhou and his wife took Zhou Jiao back to their hometown, they might have already made some agreement with Mrs. Lin. At the time, the Gu Family’s property inexplicably disappeared; who knows if these people were involved in some plot. Mrs. Zhou holding onto the wooden box until Zhou Jiao got married and then secretly giving it to her—maybe she truly understood her husband’s little schemes.