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

After listening to these things, Zhou Jiao no longer felt like shopping. Right now, the only option was to go back and tell her dad about these matters; there were many things that needed reconsideration.

As soon as she pushed open her own door, Aunt Chen came out of the kitchen, pointed towards the living room, and whispered, "Someone from the Miao family is here, your mom is entertaining him."

"Miao family? Who’s that? Isn’t my mom supposed to be working today?"

Zhang Guoqing laughed softly, suddenly recalling his mother-in-law’s "maiden family"—the Miao family. Someone really did come knocking, how could they explain sending the newborn away secretly back then?

And now his mother-in-law might cry, right? This false is real, real is false. With his mother-in-law’s mental capacity, it really is quite a dilemma!

Zhou Jiao, seeing him laugh, suddenly remembered which Miao family it was.

"You remembered? This guy, as it turns out, is your cousin. Quite an honest young man! This pair—his aunt and nephew—didn’t say anything, just sat stupidly; I was getting anxious for them. You guys should go in and have a look. Your mom has asked about when you would come back dozens of times."

Zhang Guoqing rolled his eyes and muttered, "Most annoying thing ever, cousins and the like. Honey, from now on, no matter the relationship, just call them comrade."

Zhou Jiao glanced at him with a smile, "What nonsense are you talking."

Aunt Chen watched them bantering happily and sensibly retreated into the kitchen. Better to avoid going back to the Northeast, home is so much better, so much more lively!

Indeed, there was a young man around twenty sitting in the living room. Seeing Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing come in, he quickly stood up and awkwardly looked at the couple.

Zhang Guoqing promptly greeted him, "No need to be formal, please take a seat."

The young man laughed a little awkwardly, scratched his head, and obediently sat down.

Seeing this, Zhou Jiao looked at her mom in surprise.

Lin Lishan pulled her over to sit and introduced, "This is your cousin Miao Zhicheng, he’s a year older than Xiao Wu. This time he was recommended by his unit to come to Beijing for studies."

"Xiao San, this is your brother-in-law Zhang Guoqing, his nickname is Xiao Wu. This is your sister Zhou Jiao. They also have a son named Ping’an, who’s five years old now and attending kindergarten; he’ll be back in the evening."

Lin Lishan’s introduction really delighted Zhou Jiao. Xiao San, Xiao Wu, and there’s a Da Yi; wonder when they can gather all these numbers?

Zhang Guoqing laughed and said, "Brother Zhicheng, just call me Xiao Wu from now on. When did you arrive in Beijing? Why didn’t you send a telegram in advance so we could pick you up."

"Little Wu, my brother-in-law, hehe..." Miao Zhicheng looked at him and smiled embarrassedly, "My mom said not to bother you on my first visit, just wanted to see how auntie is doing, later I have to go to school."

Regarding this person, Zhang Guoqing had a pretty good impression. Very rural and rustic, but his gaze was honest; when talking to people, his eyes were clear. When he saw Zhang Guoqing come in, he was restrained but not envious.

Being recommended to study here, besides having an officer aunt, he must have his strengths in terms of character. Moreover, if he weren’t timid, just anyone entering the Big Courtyard for the first time would be quite nervous after passing through the two gate checkpoints.

Just like what his father said, the Big Courtyard has its pros and cons; entering and exiting with registration is too troublesome, bumping into an old man who is a high-ranking official could intimidate those who are timid to live here.

"Which school are you attending? Does the notice specify the latest registration date?" Zhang Guoqing tried to steer the conversation towards familiar topics.

Miao Zhicheng carefully pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to him.

This is truly sincere! Zhang Guoqing reluctantly took it and pulled out the letter with a red seal inside. He gave a joyful smile to the other party, "Brother Zhicheng, stay here tonight, tomorrow morning we can go together, the two schools aren’t far apart."

"No need, I’ll stay at the hostel..."

Lin Lishan interrupted before he finished, her face stern, "Since you’re already here, how could we let you stay at a hostel? You’re new to Beijing and unfamiliar with the roads, it’d be quick to go with Xiao Wu tomorrow to get everything done."

"Brother Zhicheng, my mom’s right. You should stay here peacefully today, we can go together tomorrow. You haven’t met my dad yet, right? You should at least meet him once."

Looking at Zhang Guoqing’s smiling face, Miao Zhicheng hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Lin Lishan playfully scolded, "This kid, why are you being so polite? If you don’t understand something, just go find Xiao Wu from our family. He knows this area in Beijing very well."

Zhou Jiao remained silent the whole time, quietly observing the other party. Hearing Lin Lishan’s words, she realized her mom had a pretty good impression of him. That’s good, as long as she likes him, it doesn’t matter what the blood relationship is, Zhou Jiao didn’t care. Just don’t bring any trouble into the family, or don’t blame me for not giving face.

"Brother Zhicheng, why didn’t you bring sister-in-law this time? How’s the family doing now? My mom initially wanted to visit after learning about her heritage, but many things happened at once, and military personnel find it hard to take leave, so it’s been impossible until now. Honestly, it’s a bit regrettable!"

Zhou Jiao appreciated her husband’s words with a smile.

"Ever since we found out about auntie’s whereabouts, my dad stayed up all night burning paper money for my grandparents, fearing they’d worry in the afterlife. I haven’t settled down yet; when I was little, I had a grandma who read my fortune saying I’d become rich and noble in the future. She was worried that after my dad was adopted into the family, he wouldn’t be close to her, so she arranged a childhood betrothal for me with a child from her hometown.

One year, I fell seriously ill, nearly didn’t make it. That girl happened to fancy a soldier and came home to break off the engagement, coinciding with the passing of my grandma. After these two matters were resolved, my illness mysteriously got better. Funny enough, that day a classmate came to visit me, and I managed to qualify for an agricultural technician role in the county.

My mom is quite superstitious and feels the previous fortune-teller was accurate, suggesting I delay marriage, claiming luck gets suppressed by these women. Now that I’m in Beijing for school, she even told me not to rush, wait till graduation to find someone. Because of this, my dad argued with her. Can’t blame him, though, I’m the only male in the family, he’s worried I might not find a wife." At this point, Miao Zhicheng smiled sheepishly.

Zhang Guoqing listened and laughed, "You know, some things are really like that. It’s better to believe in their existence than their non-existence. A real man never worries about finding a wife."

After the conversation, Miao Zhicheng relaxed a lot. He agreed with his new brother-in-law’s remarks.

"When you came over, was the family busy? Is the household expenditure big?"

Miao Zhicheng shook his head and smiled, "In our village, even if adopted, you’d still have to pay money for elder care. The grandma who birthed my father was somewhat biased, the house and its foundation were left by my grandparents for the marriage, and the event was supported by several family elders from the village.

Since that grandma passed, the household burden eased a lot. I have a salary, barely spent. Now, in our family, two sisters are married — one in the village, one in the neighboring village, their conditions are pretty good. I work in the county and usually, the brother-in-laws take care of the parents."

Listening to this, Zhang Guoqing understood. This was the outcome of favoritism. No wonder he kept mentioning that grandma, my grandparents. You could hear the underlying gap from the tone.

Miao Zhicheng suddenly slapped his leg; how did he forget his mom’s instructions?

"Auntie, good thing you didn’t go back first. Before I came over, mom told me to talk about family matters with you, so you wouldn’t be deceived if you went back."