Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space

Zhou Jiao, who turned to leave, didn’t see Mrs. Hu looking at her back with a sigh of relief.

Ever since she got some information about the Zhou Family from Lin Xuelin, her granddaughter-in-law, Mrs. Hu has been most afraid of encountering the Zhou Family.

Having seen so much of the filth in big families, how did the Gu Family fall?

Mrs. Hu guessed that the Zhou Family had probably had a hand in it from behind the scenes. As a small figure, she realized that to these people, dealing with her was as easy as squashing an ant, and she was indeed afraid of being implicated.

Especially just now, she had truly thought she saw Miss Gu. That smile at the corner of her mouth really looked too much alike!

She finally understood why the young lady would choose to commit suicide. With such a person around, wouldn’t it be better to die and reincarnate early!

"Jiao Jiao, be careful."

Mrs. Hu, watching at the door, reminded her daughter-in-law, who should be the son-in-law of the Zhou Family, to watch her step while he carefully helped his wife and kept others at a distance to avoid anyone bumping into her.

——How similar! It’s really too similar!

Back in those days, wasn’t Mr. Yu also so treasured and pampering toward Miss Gu!

"A match made in heaven."

Her daughter-in-law, unable to hear what her mother-in-law was muttering, supported her and asked softly, "Mother, what’s wrong?"

Mrs. Hu snapped back to her senses, straightened her back, relaxed, and patted her daughter-in-law’s hand, "Nothing, let’s go home first!"

Over there, Zhang Guoqing noticed someone watching them, turned his head, and happened to look at Mrs. Hu, giving her a meaningful smile before leaving with Zhou Jiao. He wouldn’t be mistaken about this Mrs. Hu!

This world is truly small; I wonder if her good grandson can hold up in the Northwest? Hmm, with a lush green prairie growing on his head, congratulations are in order!

That vile woman!

Thinking of the intelligence he had received, Zhang Guoqing found it both amusing and frustrating. A brainless character like that almost cost his wife her life and forced Lin Aiguo to hide outside the capital. Truly, no one should be underestimated! I wonder if the explosive news from the Northwest has reached Beijing, and whether the Lin Family would first sever ties or rescue people?

Syphilis, what a disease! It’s a pity the term AIDS hasn’t come up yet; otherwise, it would be even more exciting. Just thinking about it made Zhang Guoqing laugh heartily.

He had promised Zhou Jiao not to dirty his own hands, but he hadn’t promised not to seek revenge! Since Heaven hadn’t acted for years, why not let him do it instead?

From targeting them to making that pair of adulterers roll in bed together, it took quite a bit of effort. In fact, this could be considered repayment to Mr. Lin. Otherwise, with an escaped traitor granddaughter, the Lin Family would be truly trampled into the dust!

"There’s a cause for every grievance, and a debtor for every debt." Zhang Guoqing never implicated unrelated people, but to let his enemies escape his grasp and live brightly, is it possible?

Mrs. Hu, frightened by Zhang Guoqing’s smile, clutched her chest. Indeed... indeed, the Zhou Family knew her background! The main character had died; was it now her turn as a minor character?

But she really didn’t know much about what happened between the two families back then, aside from some gossip. Men wouldn’t talk to her about these things!

Seeing Zhou Jiao and her husband about to leave, Mrs. Hu hurriedly shook off her daughter-in-law’s hand and ran forward in small steps, "Wait, wait for me, I have something to say."

The noise in the department store was exceptionally loud, and if Zhang Guoqing wasn’t sharp-eared, he might have missed it. Hearing her, he looked down and said, "That old servant is calling us."

Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but laugh softly, giving him a sideways glance. How could he say such a thing, calling her an old servant? Didn’t he worry about the negative impact if outsiders heard?

Mrs. Hu stood in front of them, panting, and after taking a few breaths, said, "Let’s find somewhere to talk."

Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao exchanged a glance and didn’t refuse, nodding and leading Mrs. Hu and her daughter-in-law to a nearby small park. Since it wasn’t late at night, there wasn’t anyone there cooling off or meeting up, making it a good place for a conversation.

Mrs. Hu signaled her daughter-in-law, who, despite her age, obediently went to stand watch in the distance.

Zhou Jiao squinted, realizing this old woman was indeed quite shrewd. It was said that up until now, she hadn’t revealed her private stash of money; she was indeed smarter than Gu Ruyi! No wonder she could hold on to two generations of the head of the Gu Si Fang Family.

After sitting on the stone bench, Mrs. Hu saw that Zhou Jiao and her husband were waiting silently for her to speak. She laughed awkwardly, "You look very much like your grandmother. I had heard it said before, and now I finally see it with my own eyes; it’s really true."

Zhou Jiao had heard many people say so and understood from many people’s shocked expressions how similar she was. Seeing how those old men and women abroad behaved, she could guess. She wasn’t interested in listening to idle chatter!

Zhang Guoqing reminded her from the side, "Madam, we have other matters to attend to."

"Oh, well, I’ll be brief. Just now, it seemed like you might have misunderstood something; I just want to clear my name a bit. You should know, I was said to be Gu Ruyi’s close maid, but I wasn’t by her side for long. The dead are at peace, so I won’t speak of her. I spent so many years in the Gu Family in my youth and only heard some gossip; I don’t know if it’s true or not."

Zhou Jiao understood from her words that she was claiming innocence, saying she never interfered in the grievances within the Gu Family. But due to her age, she had heard many inside stories, though their truth was uncertain.

She wanted to hear what Mrs. Hu had to say: would she betray or defend her master? Or were there any convoluted matters?

Facing Zhou Jiao’s penetrating gaze, Mrs. Hu shifted uncomfortably. She had the feeling that Gu Mingzhu herself was staring at her.

She recalled when she first entered Gu Si Fang, there was a time she followed her young mistress to the elder branch; how old was Miss Gu then? She remembered looking at her lady boasting about her brothers.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Hu’s spirits lifted. She decided to speak frankly. These intelligent people were not easily fooled, and she didn’t want them to notice any deceit and redirect their wrath toward her.

"Let me start with the rumors about your grandmother’s family. Some say the elder branch wife was meddled with when she was giving birth to her daughter, which is why there was only your grandmother as a biological child. It’s rumored her mother’s sister did it."

Zhou Jiao blinked, feeling a bit puzzled. Were there still people left in the Liu Family? Why hadn’t Aunt mentioned it? And what about this sister, what was that all about? Sneaking around behind her own sister’s back, indeed a skill that only those ladies from prominent families would have.

"Because after having the daughter, the elder branch cut off relations with the Yue Family, which made everyone certain of it."

Ah, deep is the conspiracy. See, this is the harm of women not being liberated, shut in the small backyard, not venturing past the second door; lacking men to see, they start eating their neighbor’s grass!

"...There were also some rumors that since the elder branch was worried a daughter couldn’t inherit the family business, they began transferring family assets early. Several of the Gu Family’s auxiliary branches got anxious and sent people to Beijing to check on the Zhou Family, to see if any assets were moved there. I know about this; at the time, the Gu Family patriarch was worried the elder branch would get wind of it, so he had five allied branches send their respective relatives, a total of twelve people.

Within less than a year, they all died in Beijing. That night, Mr. Gu Si shattered several vases in his study after receiving the news, shouting about how Zhou Family dared! Not long after, Mr. Gu demanded the branches repay the funds lent a few years back. The branches often gathered at Mr. Gu Si’s place in the evenings to discuss. That old guy, fearing Mr. Gu would find out, dragged his cousins to the Gu Family patriarch to consult."