Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 376 - 288: Familiarity Breeds Disrespect

"... Raise a glass and wish for good people to have peace all their lives. Who can drink with me, familiar year after year, we’re bound together from such a short distance to a far horizon, this affection warms the world..." Zhang Guoqing hummed a song, smiling radiantly as he entered the kitchen.

"Oh my, my youngest son is so happy today. Did something good happen?" Mother Zhang remarked with a smile upon seeing him enter.

"It’s good news for them, should be good news for our family too, right? Jiao Jiao, Liu Zhang has been transferred back to the provincial city."

Mr. Zhang, seeing his youngest son back home, finished the remaining wine in his bowl and said, "Kids’ mom, let Xi Zi and the others come over for dinner. Their uncle is back."

"Dad, no need to call them. They’ll come right over after tidying up their books. Jiao Jiao, put the stuff on the bed. Check later if it’s the thing you’ve been looking for."

Zhou Jiao nodded, then said, "Has there been any good news from the village grain station in the past two years? How come I haven’t heard anything?"

"Originally, he was internally transferred over. Just happened to bump into him at the station today." After Zhang Guoqing spoke, he gave her a meaningful look. He believed his wife understood.

Zhou Jiao caught on and glanced back at Mother Zhang.

Earlier, she’d gone out and returned only to find her mother-in-law acting strange. Seeing her having bought a pile of goods, it shouldn’t be any trouble. But once she came back, her mother-in-law was whispering angrily to her father-in-law. Who offended her mother-in-law?

Anyone who could make her mother-in-law so angry must be a familiar face—considering her temper, once she’d ranted it would be over, not like showing an angry and dissatisfied face while complaining to her father-in-law.

Supply and marketing cooperative—Huang Yaozong—internal defective goods—elder sister might have come but didn’t find her, bumped into her mother-in-law instead—done for, definitely a familiar face offended her.

Zhang Guoqing curiously looked at Zhou Jiao, wondering why his wife kept sneaking glances at his mother. She looked contemplative, as if she suddenly understood something.

Facing his questioning gaze, Zhou Jiao silently mouthed three words and secretly pointed towards the main street.

Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing’s gaze darkened, and he gently shook his head. A feeling as disgusting as swallowing a green-headed fly welled up inside him.

Since his mother wasn’t telling them, it must be related to them or his eldest sister-in-law. If it were only about Huang Yaozong, his mother wouldn’t have remained silent. Listening to his mother evaluate the defective products from the supply cooperative alongside Jiao Jiao, what more could be unclear.

It was simply that his eldest sister-in-law had the chance to buy defective goods and didn’t inform Jiao Jiao, who lived only a few steps away. His mother got angry, especially since Huang Family’s eldest might have said a few unpleasant words at the time, she got furious.

Since his mother didn’t mention it, they acted as if they didn’t know. Originally, he helped his brother without expecting any benefits, not even hoping for any gratitude from his sister-in-law. He just did it for his parents, for his brother.

"Women and petty men are hard to care for; getting close makes them disrespectful, keeping distance makes them resentful"—Confucius’ words indeed hold true.

Zhang Guoqing increasingly felt relieved about his past actions. Clear accounts between true brothers, unnecessary to subsidize further. Like his father-in-law said, it’s time to start looking for an aunt.

He could already imagine that if there were future conflicts or altercations, the two sisters-in-law would inevitably say the parents have been helping their family ever since the separation. He preferred to support his parents rather than let them do the hard work.

Then looking at Jiao Jiao—she hasn’t stopped her busy feet all this time, constantly working. Parents came with a bunch of kids, causing chaos every day. He barely thought of a way to quieten them down, which inadvertently made his wife even busier. Why bother? He really was indulging unnecessarily.

With Jiao Jiao’s personality, she definitely must be fed up with the Huang Family these days, perhaps even scrutinizing his eldest sister-in-law’s behavior repeatedly, once again questioning human nature.

Knowing his wife, next time he wouldn’t even ask Zhou Jiao for help; she would be unwilling to engage with his eldest sister-in-law, doing the bare minimum for appearances, and even losing interest in several nieces and nephews.

Thinking about this, he had planned to let the children skip a grade, catching the last school train before the end of 1965. Now it seems better to forget it, otherwise, if anything goes wrong with the kids later, blame might fall upon him as their uncle.

Seeing Xi Zi and others coming in, Zhang Guoqing beamed and said, "Quickly, wash your hands and eat. Your aunt has made dishes you love. Do you want to stay over at your uncle’s house tonight?"

"Uncle, I’m taking my younger brothers to my elder uncle’s place tonight. He said he prepared something for us to come and get. I’ll come back tomorrow."

Zhang Guoqing nodded with a smile and said, "Seems you little ones have busy lives. Remember to be safe when going out and coming back. Inform the adults about your whereabouts and don’t let people at home worry."