Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 545 - 428: The Road Ahead

Watching Zhou Jiao and the others leave, Zhang Guoqing made a new cup of hot tea and placed it on his desk, then returned to his position to wait for the continuation of the conversation.

"This time there was a little mix-up with Jiao Jiao’s college entrance exam results. Originally, she wanted to keep a low profile, but her individual subject scores seemed normal. However, when combined, the essential courses coincidentally were all perfect scores, while the less important ones were slightly lower, forming a consistent gradient. She calculated it correctly, but couldn’t help it when the grading teachers gave her high marks."

Zhang Guoqing was surprised to hear this.

"It’s already resolved. As soon as I knew the scores, I arranged everything in advance. However, there was a side effect. Last time, the senior officer specially mentioned you, and knowing you also got accepted, he was very pleased. This is good news for others, but... fortunately, there are a few years to talk about job assignments later."

Zhang Guoqing nodded understandingly. Actually, even being assigned to the military wasn’t a problem, as long as they didn’t separate the couple.

"Jiao Jiao is too thoughtful, you should be by her side to let her relax. It’s useless for her to hide. As long as I’m around, you’re living in the eyes of others. Do as other people’s children do; you don’t need to worry about causing trouble. In school, there’s no need to accommodate others too much, just get along well enough."

Zhang Guoqing laughed. When it came time to rely on one’s father, he wasn’t willing either.

Zhou Xiaozheng glanced over and smiled. His two kids weren’t the arrogant type. He just wanted them to live comfortably and freely, as they wished.

"Dad, will Jiao Jiao’s college entrance exam matter be brought up again in the future?"

Zhou Xiaozheng replied dismissively, "Someone tried to meddle before, but I stopped it. The senior officer personally said that the priorities Jiao Jiao should grasp were not at all weak. Who would be foolish enough to bring it up?"

Zhang Guoqing pondered for a moment and felt he should still talk to Zhou Jiao. Man proposes, God disposes, she should just follow her heart. Who could have expected someone to deliberately analyze her combined exam papers? It’s best that those who tried got dealt with, broken to the point of despair, enough to disgust anyone.

Zhou Xiaozheng took a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to him.

Zhang Guoqing glanced at it, "Dad, are these residential addresses near the school?"

"Yes. One is in town, the other in the village. Since Jiao Jiao doesn’t want me to negotiate with the school, I found these two places. Go check them out tomorrow. It’s better not to live on campus; it’s crowded and noisy, and even getting food is inconvenient.

There’s also the matter of the child. The kindergarten at the school is already registered for him; it doesn’t cost much money. Registered at both places, he can choose where he wants to go. We have few kids in the family, don’t let him suffer. The household registration should stay in the Big Courtyard, not at the school. I’ll have someone handle it tomorrow."

Zhang Guoqing nodded, "Okay, I’ll listen to you."

"Let’s keep it like this for now. If the child is used to being home and doesn’t cling to you, let him stay at home. The kindergarten is right in the Big Courtyard, and with your aunt coming by often, no one would dare mistreat our Ping’an. You should enjoy these few years of a relaxed life; once you start working, you’ll be constrained."

"Then I’ll first go to the school tomorrow to see how things are and then check out the houses and the kindergarten. I’ll come back and discuss it with you. Is that okay?"

"Do it this way: take Jiao Jiao to see the house first, and then go to the school."

Zhang Guoqing smiled knowingly.

The next morning, after finishing his morning exercise with his father-in-law and having breakfast, Zhang Guoqing took Zhou Jiao with him, riding his bike towards the school.

In the sweltering September weather, the couple, sweating profusely, took nearly forty minutes to finally reach the school gate.

Looking at the campus, Zhou Jiao resolved internally never to bike again in the severely hot or cold weather, opting instead to leave early each day to catch the bus. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

She hesitated for a moment, then took Zhang Guoqing to find the address on the note.

The first place was a recently built apartment block for construction workers’ families. They were supposed to rent an apartment on the east-side second-floor, with two small rooms. The owners were an elderly couple whose children were not with them, and their youngest was conveniently in the military. They had a house in town and planned to rent this place out for five yuan a month.

After looking it over, Zhou Jiao said she would consider it for three days; if they didn’t come back, they wouldn’t rent it.

They bid farewell to the elderly couple and walked a distance. Zhang Guoqing couldn’t help but ask her, "What do you think?"

"It’s not suitable here. The distance is too far, and it’s too eye-catching. We shouldn’t create special situations; living luxuriously isn’t an option. Let’s check the house in the village."

Zhang Guoqing didn’t need to think; the village would definitely be more suitable. His father-in-law had put much thought into finding two places, already considering many factors.

Sure enough — the adobe house they saw was not far from the village entrance, and it wasn’t far walking through a small path to school. They just weren’t sure about the safety.

The landlord was an elderly woman living with her eldest son; this was her younger son’s yard. Since her younger son’s family lived on a military base, other than occasional overnight visits to see their mother, the yard was otherwise empty.

Zhang Guoqing chuckled silently. His father-in-law probably checked the military background thoroughly. Otherwise, why would both houses have military connections? He really went through a lot of effort for them.

With a rent of two yuan a month, he didn’t know if it was too expensive, but although there were only three rooms, the yard was large enough. Renting it and growing some vegetables would be nice.

"Grandma Jiang, we’ll go back and discuss it, and come back if it’s suitable. Is that alright?"

"No problem. You can visit my eldest son’s place when you come over; I’m usually home watching the kids when I’m not working."

Alright. There’s even a temporary babysitter arranged.

Zhang Guoqing smiled knowingly at Zhou Jiao. They both knew they were satisfied with the yard. What came next depended on the school’s response, as living off-campus would require coordination.

The school was very large, and after asking around, the couple finally found the Electrical Engineering Department. At that time, the new student registration point hadn’t started operating yet and would take a few days. In the office, they were received by a young counselor and a department head in his forties or fifties.

Zhou Jiao handed them two admission notices and two documents, which included their household registration transfer certificates, files, and other things.

The department head laughed when he saw this and asked the counselor to register them quickly. He didn’t expect the couple to come so early for the registration. The school was worried that they wouldn’t come to study.

Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing quickly stopped them and explained their current situation and difficulties, proposing to live off-campus. Luckily, when the household registration was moved to the county, he had added an extra year, so he wasn’t violating marriage laws now.

Neither Zhang Guoqing nor Zhou Jiao expected that the school leadership already knew about their family background, as well as the fact they had a son; they likely even knew their high school records thoroughly.

The department head took the couple inside and handed them a faculty and special personnel housing application form.

Zhang Guoqing wondered if it would violate any rules or give someone ammunition against them. He asked several questions, feeling a bit hesitant.

The department head, seeing him questioning, clarified.

He cheerfully took out one of Zhang Guoqing’s sealed files and opened it, pointing to the ’paid study’ section, and explained in detail to the confused couple what a ’special transferred cadre student’ was.

Zhang Guoqing had always believed that since he refused the recommendation, he wouldn’t receive the treatment of a special transferred cadre student. He didn’t expect Zhao Dashan to prepare so many things for him.

Indeed, he was studying with a salary, and he was the youngest special transferred cadre student in the school, relying on his abilities to pass the exam. All the problems were solved.

After listening to the department head, Zhang Guoqing understood even better that they couldn’t detach from collective life for now. Especially with evening self-studies and various activities, he couldn’t just leave as he pleased.

He looked at Zhou Jiao, saw her nodding in agreement, and smiled. His previous deep thoughts and considerations were in vain; things would go as they should. As for whether they would receive any special treatment, he believed no one would dare knowingly break the rules nowadays. Anyway, everyone would just follow the normal procedures.