Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 557 - 439: Cabbage Wall

As soon as school was out in the afternoon, Zhang Guoqing explained a few things to Yi Jiefang and immediately took Zhou Jiao away from the campus.

When to go to the hunting ground next, and how to arrange it, he absolutely refused to get involved. Anyway, he just needed to bring his wife along and let her have a great time.

These days, everyone was so hungry that they wished the school would cancel physical exercise. Zhang Guoqing dared not ride his bicycle around campus with his wife, all macho.

The couple sat on the bus, looking out of the window.

The stone-wall farmhouse in the suburbs, with tall trees behind the house, walls of cabbages at the foot of the mottled walls, old men leaning on walking sticks or carrying ropes on their shoulders, and children playing and frolicking.

Green tiles and red walls in the city, wide streets sparsely populated, old ladies pushing strollers at the alley entrance, wood utility poles painted with black asphalt halfway up, traffic police wearing white half-sleeves directing traffic, and buses in yellow and red.

Life slowed down, and they noticed many scenes that they had never paid attention to. Watching the world outside the window was a kind of enjoyment.

The annual household winter cabbage storage activity had also started vigorously. Along the way, they often saw truckloads of cabbages piled like mountains passing by, and in the city, many people were seen pulling carts loaded with cabbages.

After getting off the bus, Zhou Jiao felt leisurely. Having been in Beijing so long, she was either at school or in the big courtyard. She decided to look around all the way and slowly walk back home.

Zhang Guoqing had no objections; they were not far from home, so it was like taking a stroll.

By the time they got home, it was already late, and Zhou Xiaozheng and the others had just finished dinner. Sitting in the living room now, when he heard Zhou Jiao’s shout, he happily responded loudly.

Ping’an had already run to the door and was picked up by Zhang Guoqing with one hand, "Dad, what good food did you buy? Did you get my favorite meat?"

Zhang Guoqing nodded with a smile, greeted Zhou Xiaozheng and his wife, and handed the bag in his hand to Aunt Chen.

Lin Lishan said, "You can’t just eat meat, you need to eat vegetables too. A good child does not pick food."

Zhou Jiao took her father’s cup, drank some water, and asked, "Do we have enough cabbages at home? Should we buy more? Have the coals been delivered yet?"

"Dad has already asked Secretary Chen and the others to prepare. The logistics department will arrange it. Don’t worry about these trivial matters, just leave it to them. Eat dinner first; tell Dad later about how school is going."

Zhou Jiao stuck her tongue out at him, "Study is okay, just plain boiled cabbages every day."

Lin Lishan frowned and advised her, "Listen to Mom, this time make sure to bring cooked food back to school, don’t worry about any bad influences."

Zhou Jiao grinned at her dad.

"Mom, don’t worry. We come back every few days and aren’t afraid of not getting good food." Zhang Guoqing said with a laugh, then leaned in to tell her in a low voice, "Lately, Da Yong and the others have been sneaking cabbages to make soup; it’s quite interesting."

Zhou Xiaozheng listened with a smile in his eyes and shot a glance at him, "You should bring a small stove too, don’t learn bad habits from those wild kids."

Zhou Jiao chuckled, "Dad, it’s only him who leads others astray. If someone complains to you later, you’ll find out."

"Oh, why do you say that?"

Seeing his father-in-law’s interest, Zhang Guoqing explained with a smile, "This weekend everyone plans to go hunting at Mulan Hunting Ground. They’ll also discuss arrangements later at night."

Once Zhou Xiaozheng heard this, he knew it was his idea, "Go have fun and be safe. It’s not a big deal, just do what you want, nothing to worry about with Dad around."

"Dad, aren’t you worried about spoiling us?"

Zhou Xiaozheng heard his son-in-law’s words and shook his head with a smile. Anyone could be spoiled into arrogance, except his own children. He was worried they would be too cautious instead.

Lin Lishan reminded him from the side, "You’ll need to apply for a car in advance."

Zhang Guoqing chuckled softly, "Mom, several cadres’ children from the big courtyard are going, no need for me to step up. Just wait for me to bring back good stuff."

"No need to bring anything for me, just remember to be safe."

Zhou Xiaozheng saw Aunt Chen set the table and signaled for them to eat first before continuing the conversation.

Ping’an hadn’t seen his parents for two days and now stuck to them without a moment’s pause, babbling about what he had been doing these past two days.

They usually relied on Old Mrs. Cheng to take care of the child, and just when Zhou Jiao had finished knitting the sweaters for the old couple, they had dinner, and Zhou Xiaozheng was about to take the family to visit the Cheng family.

Unexpectedly, Old Mrs. Cheng and her husband came to their house.

Old Mrs. Cheng always greeted Zhou Jiao and her father with a beaming smile whenever she saw them. Seeing Zhou Jiao back at this moment, she happily handed over a net bag of fruit.

Zhou Jiao quickly stopped her. These days, fruit was a scarce commodity, and she couldn’t fight with the old lady for it.

"Take it, and show filial respect to your elders," Zhou Xiaozheng advised her with a smile. He understood that refusing would not work. His Jiao Jiao had been quietly sending things to the Cheng family; reciprocating was just normal interaction.

Old Mrs. Cheng patted her hand, lamenting, "Our Jiao Jiao has been put through some hardship." With Aunt Chen present, there were certain things she couldn’t say aloud.

Zhou Jiao didn’t want the elderly to worry about her all the time. She smiled and said, "Just look at how rosy my cheeks are." As she said that, she playfully patted her own cheeks.

This made Old Mrs. Cheng laugh heartily.

"Young people like you have big appetites. If you’re hungry, go eat at a restaurant, don’t skimp on money and hurt your health. Especially Xiao Wu, don’t be stingy with yourself."

Zhang Guoqing nodded with a smile, "Don’t worry, Aunt Grandma, there’s an expensive store next to the school."

"Good... Do you have enough money? Aunt Grandma has a decent salary..."

Zhang Guoqing hurriedly waved his hand, "You always forget I have a salary. If I run out, I’ll come to you." Nowadays, Ping’an had already used a lot of the old lady’s private money, and he couldn’t thicken his face.

Zhou Xiaozheng, seeing that the two had only just returned and were already visiting again, looked at them curiously, "Why are you two out again this late at night?"

Mr. Cheng shook his head with a smile, "We were about to rest, but someone came by. It’s a whole mess, let your aunt explain."

Zhou Jiao had just poured tea and hurriedly handed it to them, then sat beside them. If it startled the old man, it must be something big. She was curious to know what it was, wasn’t it?

"It’s just that some relatives from the Old Jiang family have come again..."

Zhou Jiao suddenly lost interest. She thought it was something significant, just some out-of-the-ordinary people.

"...Their relatives wouldn’t leave the canteen door and had children crying out they were hungry there. It went on till dark, leaving a bad impression, and later Old Jiang came and took them away."

Zhou Xiaozheng frowned slightly, thinking deeply.

"Then why did they come to bother Aunt Grandfather? It’s not something you should handle, what’s the logistics department saying?"

Zhou Xiaozheng looked at his daughter approvingly. This child was quick to react!

Old Mrs. Cheng shook her head with a sigh, "It’s just that a few from logistics came to us, and your Aunt Grandfather and I went to the Jiang family. Oh dear, the whole living room was full of people, clamoring, giving us a headache."

Mr. Cheng, seeing Zhou Jiao looking at him, smiled and said, "It’s okay, just going through the motions. Old Jiang needs to handle this himself; if they intrude on the military base again, it won’t be so simple to let them go."

Zhou Xiaozheng let out a cold snort. Unable to help but pretending to be generous. If it were his soldiers, they’d have been driven off long ago; is the guesthouse just decoration?

Lin Lishan, caught up in the talk, furrowed her brows tightly, "Isn’t Aunt Jiang at home? Why let them act up? Their house is quite the chaos."

Zhou Jiao gave her a speechless glance. Does she need to summarize? It’s clear the Jiang family themselves are out of food. Army dependents have always relied on basic rations without work, now with a trailing slew of troubles, a bit of rations isn’t enough for anyone.

"Is the situation resolved now? So many of them managed to get train tickets to Beijing, yet they’re starving, the more I think about it, the more interesting it gets."

Hearing Zhou Jiao’s suspicion, Old Mrs. Cheng immediately turned to look at her husband.

Mr. Cheng hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and said, "They said black market food coupons in their hometown are fifty cents a pound, and a pack of biscuits costs eight yuan. Now they eat sweet potatoes and grain husks, even radish leaves and cabbage knots are two cents a pound and unaffordable."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiao didn’t comment further. However, in her heart, she contemplated having Aunt Chen guard the door and keep an eye on her son the next couple of days. Who knew if these people might use Jiang Jiangyu’s name to come knocking.