Chapter 10: New Family Members in the New Home

Huang Yaoyong, the eldest brother of his sister-in-law, works at the county supply and marketing cooperative. Her second brother, Huang Yaoguo, drives for the county textile factory and often travels for business. He frequently brings home defective goods and snacks. If there’s ever a conflict, no one dares to mess with Lin Juhua—her mother-in-law always sides with the eldest sister-in-law, even if it means an argument. The only reason the eldest sister-in-law puts up with Lin Juhua is to avoid straining the relationship between her husband and his brothers.

His eldest sister-in-law, Huang Cuilan, has three sons and a daughter. In the countryside, that’s a real badge of honor. The two eldest brothers in the Huang family both live at their workplaces and have steady jobs. The Huang parents stubbornly refuse to move to the city, insisting it’s too crowded. The eldest brother’s three sons often stay at their maternal grandparents’ house. Even at a young age, the kids know where they’re loved, and they enjoy spending time with their cousins. The grandparents are happy to have some peace and quiet when the kids are away. All the children’s clothes are provided by their mother’s family, who always claim they’re just using up defective fabric from the textile factory. In these times, nothing is truly “extra”—materials are scarce everywhere, especially fabric.

Zhang Guoqing is twelve years younger than his eldest brother, who practically raised him. His big brother always says, as the eldest son, he must be steady and reliable. Thanks to his good character—and the fact that the Zhang family is blessed with good looks, both the men and the women—it’s no wonder his in-laws took a liking to him.

He’s always been close to his eldest brother, while his second brother has been hostile towards him since childhood. When their grandparents were alive, only the eldest cousin from the eldest uncle’s family and Zhang Guoqing himself were truly doted on. His parents, having him late in life, adored him even more. Fortunately, Zhang Guoqing grew up well-behaved and sensible.

On the day Zhang Guoqing was born, his grandfather returned from the county and heard the news of victory at the Battle of Taierzhuang. Everyone was celebrating, so his grandfather named him “Guoqing” (National Celebration), saying that this child was born under a lucky star.

His eldest brother is Zhang Guofu, his second brother is Zhang Guoqiang, and he himself is Zhang Guoqing. He also has two older sisters: the eldest, Zhang Meili (“Beautiful”), and the second, Zhang Meihao (“Goodness”). The two sisters were known as the village beauties and both married well.

The eldest sister married the youngest son of the village party secretary, someone she grew up with. Now, both husband and wife work at the county textile factory and have three children—two boys and a girl.

His second sister, four years older than him, has an interesting story. She often visited the eldest sister’s house to bring things over. Her husband apparently fell in love with her at first sight, but went through many twists and turns to get introduced—eventually, it was the eldest sister-in-law’s second brother, Huang Yaoguo, who played matchmaker. He was too embarrassed to ask the eldest sister directly. The truth only came out after they got married and he got drunk.

His second sister’s husband is an only child, and his parents also work at the textile factory. After marriage, his sister found an opportunity to join the factory as a temporary worker. Now the whole family works at the factory, and they have only one son. Luckily, it’s the 1950s—if it were the 1990s, they’d all be laid off together.

All in all, the Zhang family is doing quite well—one of the best-off families in the village. The only problem is the second brother, who insisted on marrying Lin Juhua. Lin Juhua is lazy, loves gossip, and has a loose tongue that often offends people. She’s always finding excuses to skip farm work, and her family frequently comes by to take advantage. Lin Juhua dotes on her own family, and she and her husband often argue over trivial matters, making the whole household uneasy.

The original plan was to split up the family after the youngest, Xiao Wu, got married. But then Zhou Jiao got pregnant right after the wedding, and Zhang’s mother was worried about the young couple. They decided to wait until after the baby’s hundred-day celebration, and then split the family at the start of the new year.

This is what Zhang Guoqing remembers about the Zhang family: open-minded parents, a harmonious family—except for the second brother and his wife. Growing up in an orphanage, he never experienced this kind of warmth. Now, thinking about having parents and siblings of his own, he feels quite happy. Aside from some memories, he also noticed that all his nephews are currently staying at his eldest brother’s in-laws’ house—they’ve been there for four or five days, even the second brother’s son, Little Shitou, who used to bully his cousins. There are still many things and people he needs to observe and get to know for himself. Maybe the old Zhang Guoqing was biased—after all, he used to secretly stash away his own money, so why judge his second brother for not handing his over?

Whatever the reason they ended up here, being alive is enough. They have no real regrets about their previous lives—apart from the fortune they left behind, and with his grandfather gone, the Zhang family no longer means much to him, except for the old housekeeper he sometimes thinks of.

As for Zhou Jiao’s family, there’s even less to miss. In the end, they only cried and made a scene for money, and even secretly got 500,000 yuan out of her, with a promise that she’d no longer be responsible for their care. It’s a relief they ended up here—otherwise, Zhou Jiao would have been heartbroken if she ever found out.

At this moment, Zhang Guoqing still doesn’t know that after their deaths, Zhou Jiao’s family actually filed a lawsuit. But even if he did, there’s nothing he could do—there’s no going back.

As night falls, Zhou Jiao has been in labor for two hours. There’s been no shouting or noise, and Zhang Guoqing is getting anxious, afraid something might have happened. In this strange new world, if he lost Zhou Jiao and the baby, he’d have no will to go on. The more he thinks about it, the more panicked he becomes. “Jiaojiao, are you okay? Why aren’t you calling out? Say something to me!”

Zhou Jiao is in so much pain that she doesn’t dare waste energy answering. Following the midwife’s instructions, she takes a deep breath and pushes with all her might.

“Come on, push! I can see the head! Just a little more and the baby will be out!”

Zhou Jiao feels completely numb, running on instinct. As the baby slips out, a loud cry fills the room. Relieved, she passes out, swearing she’ll never go through this again—it hurts like hell.

The midwife wraps up the baby and comes out to announce the good news: “Brother Zhang, your Xiao Wu has a son! A big, healthy boy—over six jin (about 3 kg)!”

Zhang Guoqing doesn’t even stop to look at his son—he rushes into the room and sees Zhou Jiao drenched in sweat, her face pale and waxy. She doesn’t respond when he calls her, and he panics.

“It’s okay, Xiao Wu. Don’t wake her—she’s just exhausted. Let her sleep, she’ll wake up when she’s rested. Make sure she eats something when she wakes, and help her recover well. If you’re not sure about anything, ask your mother—she’s raised all her children just fine.” The midwife gives her instructions, pockets her big red envelope, and leaves happily. The Zhang family is known for their generosity—whether it’s a boy or a girl, the red envelope is always the same.

“Xiao Wu, look at your son—he looks just like you did as a baby! Oh, my precious little one, grow up strong and healthy!” Zhang’s mother can’t stop smiling, finding her grandson perfect in every way.

“Mom, look at Jiaojiao—she’s soaked in sweat. I want to help her change her clothes, but even the bedding is wet. What should I do?” Zhang Guoqing knows Zhou Jiao is a bit of a neat freak, so he wants everything tidy before she wakes up. Otherwise, she won’t recover well, and she already looks so thin.

His mother gives him a look. “Silly boy, just help her change into clean clothes and wipe her down with hot water—make sure it’s hot, and do it quickly. Then change all the bedding. I’ll wash the dirty stuff tomorrow.”

Zhang Guoqing quickly follows her instructions, then gently moves Zhou Jiao to the bed, kisses her forehead, and feels a wave of gratitude for her suffering. Zhang’s mother brings in the baby and lays him on Zhou Jiao’s left side, then sends her son off to eat—his head is still swollen from the birth, and he needs to rest, too. Zhang Guoqing feels a little embarrassed—he’ll be joining his wife in the postpartum recovery.

Now, finally, he can take a good look at his son. Dinner can wait—his son comes first. Sure enough, he’s better-looking than any other baby, and much more well-behaved. Having grown up in an orphanage, Zhang Guoqing has seen plenty of kids—most of them cried all the time and were skinny. But his own son is handsome. He’ll have to discuss with Jiaojiao to pick a good name worthy of their child.

At this moment, Zhang Guoqing is in full-on doting dad mode."