Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 474 - 361: The Zhou Family Moves Out

In the afternoon, as the work-ending broadcast sounded, Zhou Jiao loaded up a jug with braised pork and went to the old courtyard with Ping’an in her arms.

The three brothers, led by Xi Zi, who were returning from school with their backpacks, saw Zhou Jiao from a distance and happily ran over.

"Little Auntie, why did you go to the provincial city again? I missed you so much." Xi Zi complained as he took the jug.

Xiao You nodded repeatedly, "We went looking for you twice with Big Brother, but the door was locked."

"Little Auntie, where’s my Little Uncle?" Xiao Zuo looked around and, disappointed at not seeing Zhang Guoqing, asked.

Hearing the voices of his brothers, Ping’an struggled happily to get down.

"Little Auntie, let Brother down; I can take care of him." Xiao Zuo You grabbed Ping’an’s hand, refusing to let go, happily.

Listening to the children’s words, Zhou Jiao quickly shook her hand, "Let’s go in first. It’s not easy to unfasten Ping’an here."

After entering the main room, Zhou Jiao put down the child and handed him over to the three brothers, wiped off a little sweat, and returned to the kitchen.

Inside, Mother Zhang wasn’t there, only Huang Cuilan was around. Seeing Zhou Jiao, she smiled and said, "Xi Zi and the others must be overjoyed, right? In the county city, the three brothers sneaked to your house just to say their dad wasn’t lying. Stay a few more days this time, and I’ll cook your favorite dishes."

"Then I must thank, Big Sister-in-law. Where’s Mother?"

"What’s there to thank for? We are family. Just yesterday, eldest sister sent over a piece of tofu, and Mother went to the village to get fish. Said you love it. Wait a moment, she’ll be back soon."

Zhou Jiao smiled bashfully and went forward to sit by the stove to stoke the fire.

Not long after, Lin Juhua came in following Mother Zhang. Seeing Zhou Jiao, she happily urged Mother Zhang to go rest in the main room, insistently saying that she’d be cooking today and would show some skills.

The three sisters-in-law cooked in the kitchen, chatting about gossip, with the conversation turning to the neighboring Zhou Family Village.

Suddenly, Lin Juhua slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Jiao Jiao, did you know the Old Zhou Family moved away? I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I forgot this afternoon."

"Jiao Jiao just got back, so she probably doesn’t know. Not many in their village know either."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiao put down the firewood and looked at Lin Juhua.

"They moved away just a couple of days after you left. Old Man Zhou took the opportunity when the child’s father wasn’t at the unit to handle it. The very next day after things were done, the whole family left. A Brother Liu from his unit secretly told the child’s father right after it was too late — the Old Zhou Family had already escaped."

Zhou Jiao smiled and shook her head. She hadn’t planned to keep those eyesores around; moving was a good thing—this is indeed a great event.

"Their granddaughter-in-law’s family is all here, and their eldest grandson’s work is here too; how could they bear to leave? Where did they move, does the second brother know? Has he told you any inside info?"

Lin Juhua nodded with a smile. Her man had been investigating this for several days; how could he not know?

"They didn’t move far. Initially, the registration office people didn’t want to stamp the papers; they wanted to wait for the child’s father to return. But then Old Man Zhou claimed all the procedures were complete, and if they didn’t process it, he’d cause a ruckus in the provincial city. Fearing trouble, they complied. However, the child’s father said that Old Man Zhou had ticked off his colleagues, so there’d be a good show unless he doesn’t return."

Zhou Jiao smiled silently, quietly waiting for more of the story.

"The child’s father heard from Brother Liu that this time their relocation was closely tied to the eldest grandson, Zhou Lidong, transferring jobs. He went to Zhou Lidong’s unit to inquire. Many said Zhou Lidong applied to transfer to a remote location by himself, and the factory was thrilled, sending him to a small factory in SX County.

It’s said that factory is far from the county town, and no one wanted to go there. This time, three people were sent over, with Zhou Lidong among them. The address on the Old Zhou Family’s registration paper is in a village not far from the factory, called Sanmaji. Yes, Sanmaji Village!" finished Lin Juhua, giggling to herself.

Huang Cuilan rolled her eyes at her, "What’s so strange about that? Both the Zhang Family and Wang Family’s Nest have it. Go on, continue."

Lin Juhua stopped laughing and continued, "The child’s father inquired. The Old Man Zhou and his wife aren’t working. His eldest son, aside from the eldest grandson, is all working in the fields. Even the youngest grandson, Zhou Linan, who was in high school, was sent back home by the school; he has to work."

Recently, Zhou Lidong’s wife was clamoring for separation. Old Man Zhou divided off both the grown-up grandsons and left the youngest, Zhou Linan, with them."

After hearing this, Zhou Jiao nodded. Planning to include this news in a letter to her dad. The two places aren’t far apart, so any windfall can be heard about; she wasn’t worried about the Old Zhou Family creating any public disturbances.

Old Man Zhou indeed was shrewd, relying on having money to know to escape farther, hoping fewer people knew the details of their family’s wealth, but how could that be possible? The whole provincial city was abuzz with their family’s exploits.

Not seeing Zhou Jiao’s cheerful response, Lin Juhua seemed disappointed. Why couldn’t she chat more? Shouldn’t she have gone on asking about how the Old Zhou Family was doing? Alas, she preferred chatting with Ye Zi and the others; they could really stretch a conversation.

Seeing she’d finished speaking, Huang Cuilan nudged her and quietly asked the two, "Do you think Old Man Zhou still has a lot of the gold he originally collected from Jiao Jiao’s grandparents? Otherwise, how could he dare to take so many people so far away and just separate the family like that? Oh, Juhua, did they separate but still live together?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Juhua gleefully slapped her thigh and laughed, "Finally, someone asked the critical question. There’s a funny story here. How can some people be so foolish? In Zhou Family Village, they’re like mice, bullied by everyone. How could they start feeling smug once they left? You know, in a new place, who would truly treat them well? Isn’t that the truth?"

Zhou Jiao knew that her second sister-in-law could chat endlessly, even skipping meals to do it. Outside, she could already hear her father-in-law’s voice; if she didn’t start working and just talked, the family wouldn’t be able to eat dinner.

Not wishing to come off as rude, she didn’t interrupt the conversation, instead, she got up and grabbed the spatula. Noticing Lin Juhua wanted to help, she quickly waved her hand, urging her to continue talking.

With tofu braised fish, a stir-fried vegetable dish, and a wild vegetable salad, the three dishes were finished. Only then did Zhou Jiao hear the end of what Lin Juhua claimed to be amusing.

Zhou Jiao truly didn’t expect Old Man Zhou to be so generous, actually planning to build five rooms for his eldest grandson and second grandson. Whether it was said by Zhou Lidong’s wife to be made of bricks and tiles or earthen walls, it would cost quite a bit either way. All of it was her family’s money; every penny and dime belonged to her family.

These fools! Spending others’ money without any heartache! Thankfully, nowadays, the locals all knew about their family’s scandals. That’s why being a good person matters! Look at that! Retribution has come, following the Old Zhou Family, wherever they go, the shame of owing things to her father and herself will follow their descendants.

With the dishes served, the children cheered joyfully, each thoughtfully taking a piece of pork belly and not eating more, saying it’s for Little Auntie to pay respects to Grandpa and Grandma.

Seeing this, Zhou Jiao’s heart softened again. Such understanding children!

Watching them, eyes squinting with delight as they took little sips of the meat, she realized that since Zhang Guoqing stopped hunting, Mother Zhang was saving on meat expenses. She didn’t come over for dinner tonight—guess there’s no tofu braised fish left. Tonight’s sweet potato rice meal was only slightly better with a little more white rice than before.

Who’s in charge here now? Either Huang Cuilan or her mother-in-law; Zhou Jiao felt too shy to ask. She planned to inquire privately with Lin Juhua. If Huang Cuilan was running things like this, she would have a real issue with it. She was providing quite a bit of rice and flour each month for her in-laws; why would they shortchange the elders?