Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 357 - 272: Mr. Zhang Visits His Sister 1

Chapter 272: Mr. Zhang Visits His Sister 1

In the early morning, Mr. Zhang woke up and couldn’t fall back to sleep. He lay on the kang in the east room. Underneath was a soft mattress, and he was covered with a warm and fluffy cotton quilt, while beside him was the gentle snoring of his wife.

In the darkness, he seemed to see his elder sister, Zhang Dan Ni, curling up her frail body, trembling as she resisted the cold. Her head of white hair stood out starkly against the old dark cotton quilt.

Mr. Zhang had complex feelings towards this elder sister—pitying her misfortune, resenting her lack of ambition. A weak mother had raised timid children, which was the misfortune of that family and the consequence she brought upon herself.

How many times had he urged her to let her eldest son stay with their father, not to be hesitant, but she? It seemed she didn’t trust her own father; how many times had he advised her to choose a daughter-in-law carefully, not to believe every rumor, but she? She turned around and forgot all about it.

Mr. Zhang felt powerless about seeing his elder sister today. Foolish people doing foolish things while thinking themselves clever, mixing everything up in a muddle—how was he supposed to help out? At this moment, he was even more worried about whether something had happened to Zhang Dan Ni.

The world is unpredictable. These days, Mr. Zhang often thought of that Zhang Dan Ni in her floral jacket. Who would have thought that the cherished daughter raised in the palms of his parents’ hands would be so miserable in her old age?

There was a slight movement in the main room, and Mr. Zhang woke up from his half-asleep state. With a start, he immediately got up, dressed, and went outside. Sure enough, it was his younger son who had gotten up to sweep the yard early again.

Seeing him come out, National Day asked softly, "Dad, did we wake you? It’s still early, how about you rest a bit more?"

Mr. Zhang shook his head and said, "No, as you get older, you can’t sleep. I want to go out for a walk."

National Day followed right behind him as they left the main house. Mr. Zhang looked up at the sky, which was completely dark—what was there to see?

He could only advise, "Dad, don’t worry. First, see what is happening with Aunt. If something comes up, we’ll discuss it when you get back, and your son will help you handle it. There’s a solution to everything in this world."

Mr. Zhang patted his shoulder and smiled, "I know. You go and attend to your own business. I’m going to see if your Uncle has gotten up yet."

"Then be careful, and remember to call if you need anything. Jiao Jiao is already up, so remember to come back for breakfast early." National Day followed behind, worried, watching Mr. Zhang until he vanished into Uncle Zhang’s courtyard before he returned inside, reassured.

Shortly after breakfast, Mr. Zhang, together with Uncle Zhang and Uncle Zhang, the three brothers boarded a horse-drawn cart that they had arranged earlier and headed to Liujiatun, a village in the neighboring county.

Liujiatun is the village of Zhang Dan Ni’s husband’s family, a small village with about two hundred households. It’s close to the neighboring county’s town, making transportation very convenient. However, compared to more remote villages, there isn’t much farmland in the area.

Surrounded by neither mountains nor oceans, the entire village once relied mainly on small business, going from street to street to make a living. Now trapped in the village, they can only work the fields.

Zhang Dan Ni now lives with her eldest son’s family in the old house, situated at the village’s end. A fenced yard, five earth brick houses. This is the old house built by Zhang Dan Ni’s cook father-in-law after he returned to the village.

By the time Mr. Zhang and his brothers arrived, it was nearly noon.

Alighting from the cart at the entrance, they saw that, apart from a path, the entire yard, the ground, the woodpile, and the rooftop were all covered in snow, piled together without being cleared. The fence yard was also partly dilapidated and not properly repaired.

It had been too long since Mr. Zhang and his brothers last visited. In their memories, Zhang Dan Ni’s forever-tidy little yard was now in complete disarray.

The three brothers looked at each other, unable to hide the surprise on their faces, not understanding what had happened. They all knew their brother-in-law was an honest and diligent person.

Seeing this, Uncle Zhang was the first to push open the nearly collapsing gate, loudly calling for Sister Zhang. After several calls for "elder sister," realizing that no one responded, it suddenly dawned on him that everyone was likely at work at that hour.

The three brothers entered the yard and directly pushed open the outer house door. They went in and were livid to see that the eldest nephew’s wife was just emerging, disheveled, rubbing her eyes.

The moment she saw the three of them, her eyes widened, her eyes lit up staring at the packages they brought. Without much to say, after a casual greeting and pouring them three bowls of hot water, she hesitated as she glanced at the packages on the kang, reluctant to part, and then hastily went outside to find her in-laws.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhang and his brothers shook their heads. The way she ate was too unseemly, and her laziness too much; if she were a daughter-in-law of Old Zhang’s family, she would have been sent back to her parents long ago.

Uncle Zhang took another glance around the room, lifted the curtain of the east room, and upon seeing the kang neat and tidy inside, he felt quite relieved. His concern was about the health of Sister Zhang and her husband.

Before Sister Zhang and her husband even entered the yard, she was calling out the names of the three brothers. To her, the visit of her three brothers from her maternal family wasn’t surprising at all. She already had a premonition that they would come. Since she missed her youngest grandson’s full-month banquet, she was worried they would come over because of that. Besides, even if they didn’t come, she was definitely planning to go back to the family home the next day.

Once inside the east room, Sister Zhang pushed her three younger brothers onto the kang, instructing her husband, Liu Dazhu, to keep them company while she planned to go out early to prepare lunch and treat the family well.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhang quickly grabbed her, saying, "Sister, hold on. No need to rush with the food. Let’s sit and talk first." He came here specifically for this elder sister. If she left, how could the three brothers have a talk with her?

Listening to him, Sister Zhang turned to the eldest daughter-in-law who followed, saying, "Old family’s daughter-in-law, go and prepare. Remember to cook that cured meat we have."

Seeing the displeasure on the eldest niece-in-law’s face, Mr. Zhang realized they probably didn’t have much in store. He didn’t delay any further and pulled a package from the pile on the kang, handing it to Zhang Dan Ni, "These are all food items. Sister, see what you can make out of them. Let’s eat lunch first."

This time, Mr. Zhang wasn’t sure what his wife and Jiao Jiao had prepared. However, Jiao Jiao had handed him this package personally. His younger daughter-in-law was quite calculative, suggesting that this should be given to the elder maternal aunt-in-law and the rest handed over to her great-aunt.

Seeing the eldest niece-in-law happily carry away the package, Mr. Zhang looked at his two brothers, motioned toward the packages, and said, "Sister, you should put these away first and look at them later."

Uncle Zhang smilingly nodded, "Aside from these two prepared by your eldest sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law, the rest were brought by your second younger brother. Put them away first."

"Sister, there is fabric and cotton inside, all good stuff. Gather them up quickly." Uncle Zhang nudged Zhang Dan Ni to hurry along. He knew it wouldn’t be long before those granddaughters-in-law and nieces came over, and nothing would be left, without his elder sister needing to arrange.

Sister Zhang kept busy opening several packages, complaining, "Why bring so many things? I don’t lack food or clothes. We have so many people at home, why not keep the good stuff there instead of bringing it here? No one is visiting the village, so the gifts prepared can’t be taken. Even if you didn’t come this time, I was planning to go back tomorrow. I am doing well; don’t worry about me."