Chapter 21: Fiercely Rebuking the Shrew

At that moment, the eldest aunt of the Zhou family barged in, shouting, “Why shouldn’t she send money? Isn’t she supposed to support you in your old age? Even if Jiao Jiao doesn’t, as a daughter-in-law, she’s still responsible for taking care of her elders, isn’t she?”

Grandma Zhou was so angry she glared right back and yelled, “Fine, if she’s paying for our care, then she gets half when we split the family assets. And all the money she’s sent over these past ten years—how much of it was actually spent on Jiao Jiao? Even a thankless wretch isn’t as heartless as you. You think you’re the only clever one around here? We raised your whole family and made your maiden family rich. Don’t you know you’re infamous throughout the county? I’m just waiting for the Lin family to show up and see how you all handle this mess…”

Grandpa Zhou quickly interrupted Grandma Zhou, shouting, “Eldest daughter-in-law, do you have any respect for your elders at all? Is this how you treat your elders? Get out of here right now!”

While Grandpa Zhou was speaking, Huang Zhaodi had already reached out and opened the cloth bag Zhang Guoqing had brought. She rummaged through the contents—formula, bottles, pig’s feet, diapers—and clicked her tongue as she went. She called out, “Xiao Wu, these must be from your mother-in-law, right? You can’t keep them all for yourself. Your child is so little, so let me use the formula and towels first. And these pig’s feet, give them to your grandparents for nourishment. Honestly, you have so much brown sugar from giving birth—how are you ever going to finish it all? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you had ten kids!”

Zhang Guoqing was so angry he almost laughed. How shameless could someone be to say such things? He didn’t bother being polite and pushed Huang Zhaodi aside as he packed up the items, saying, “Aunt, I went to the city early this morning, and my two sisters helped me get these. Don’t you dare try to take them. You know what my eldest sister is like—she doesn’t care if you’re Jiao Jiao’s aunt or not. If you show up at her door, you’re done for, seriously, I’m not joking. Do you know how many favors she had to call in for these things?”

Huang Zhaodi’s face turned pale at Zhang Guoqing’s words—she was genuinely frightened. She knew all too well how fierce Zhang Meili could be; not only did she curse people out, she’d even hit them, and then demand an apology afterward. And she was always in the right.

Zhang Guoqing figured that whether Grandpa Zhou truly didn’t know or was just pretending, there were some things Jiao Jiao couldn’t say herself, so he might as well lay it all out.

“And as for the things my mother-in-law and the Lin family sent, aren’t you the one who knows best? The two military coats and uniforms for the older cousins were sent by Jiao Jiao’s little aunt. The two watches for the older cousins—one was from Jiao Jiao’s grandfather, the other from her second uncle. The cashmere coat your eldest daughter wears was sent by my mother-in-law, and the new cotton-padded jacket and pants your eldest daughter’s son wears were meant for my son, also sent by my mother-in-law. The sewing machine and bicycle at your maiden family’s house were sent by Jiao Jiao’s grandfather. Should I go on? Do you really think everyone else is stupid?

Every time your husband goes to the post office, do you know what the staff say about him? You tell people outside that the packages are from Grandpa Zhou’s old army buddies, but the post office staff just laugh and say, ‘Funny, all of Grandpa Zhou’s old comrades are named Lin?’”

As Zhang Guoqing spoke, he kept an eye on the two elders, worried they might not be able to handle the truth. He was really tearing away the last shred of decency. If Huang Zhaodi hadn’t provoked him today, he wouldn’t have exposed everything.

Looking at the two elders, it was clear Grandma Zhou had truly been kept in the dark. As for Grandpa Zhou, Zhang Guoqing figured he was hardly any better than Huang Zhaodi.

“And do you know what military mail means? Go ask someone if you have time. If the Lin family ever decides to investigate, your Huang family won’t be able to hide behind your fence. Just think about how much you’ve pocketed. Not to mention the things sent when Jiao Jiao was in junior high, just from the time we got married—how many packages has the Lin family sent? And since Jiao Jiao got pregnant, how many more? From her pregnancy until now, there have been 24 registered mailings at the post office. Up to the day your eldest daughter wore that cashmere coat to mock Jiao Jiao, my mother-in-law and the Lin family in Beijing sent 18 packages, and the other 6 came from various military units. Figure out how much you’ve taken. Where did you get the nerve? You think Jiao Jiao doesn’t know? She just didn’t want to upset her grandparents.

This time, the package was registered under Uncle Zhou’s name. Don’t tell me you and your husband don’t understand what that means. Your eldest son’s job was secured under Lin Lishan’s name—think about what you’re doing, or you’ll drag your son down with you.

You’d better start thinking about how to clean up this mess. With 24 packages sent in such a short time, I bet the Lin family will be back soon.”

Zhang Guoqing bowed to the two elders and said apologetically, “Grandpa, Grandma, I originally wanted to get their address and send some local specialties as thanks, and ask them not to send money or things anymore. Times are tough for everyone. No matter how high their positions, they’re still on fixed salaries, and who doesn’t have several kids and a family to support? It’s been 17 years—do you think the rest of their family has no complaints? I really can’t believe that.

Jiao Jiao is first a member of the Zhou family, then the Zhang family. The Lin family’s only responsibility was for my mother-in-law to raise her to adulthood. I don’t want to see the Lin family break their backs for us. I didn’t plan to expose all this today, but I’m angry that Aunt still doesn’t see her mistake. They never sent things this frequently before—only this past year has it been nonstop.

Their attitude toward Jiao Jiao and the baby is clearly different. Look at these expensive items. I don’t know what the Lin family is thinking, but you’ve spent time with them and should know their character. We need to think carefully about all this, not wait until things blow up before scrambling for solutions. I estimate the Lin family will come after the New Year. I just wanted to find time to write and see what their attitude is.”

Grandpa and Grandma Zhou exchanged a look and both lowered their heads in thought. Zhang Guoqing kept observing them, suspecting Grandpa Zhou was hiding something, while Grandma Zhou seemed genuinely clueless.

He glanced at Huang Zhaodi, who had collapsed on the floor, a sharp glint in his eyes.

He was curious to see what she would do next. Only when she made a move could he deduce Grandpa Zhou’s intentions, and from there, infer the Lin family’s plans.

He’d never met the Lin family, but judging by Lin Lishan’s behavior, she was a willful child of high-ranking officials, and her family was probably the same. No matter how unreliable they seemed, they’d supported Jiao Jiao for 17 years, put a Beijing courtyard house in her name, and even accepted him, a farm boy, into the family. Clearly, the Lin family was strong-willed and unconcerned about money. Their only requirement for Jiao Jiao seemed to be that she live as she pleased, without worrying about money or supplies.

But why hadn’t they visited for so many years? Even if Grandpa Zhou wanted to stop them, the Lin family could have forced the issue. So why go along with it? Was it unsafe for Jiao Jiao to go to Beijing? The house and household registration hadn’t been moved back to the countryside, so maybe it really wasn’t safe for her to go to Beijing until things changed.

And this year, they weren’t afraid of people knowing and sent expensive packages openly—did that mean Jiao Jiao was finally safe? If so, the only people closely connected to her were her mother and father—her father, a soldier whose body was never found, and her mother, who couldn’t return to the northeast.

So the key was her father? If he was on a secret mission and, as he suspected, was still alive and about to return, then everything made sense.

If he put himself in their shoes, he’d do the same—send his daughter to the countryside for safety, shower her with money to make up for the hardship, and cut off contact with the military to avoid suspicion. That’s why the Lin family never brought her back to Beijing. Sending so many packages now would let her father see his family’s true colors, and also test the Zhou family’s greed. The Lin family probably never expected things to turn out this way.

If her father was coming back, her mother would definitely return first to get her daughter’s approval and wait together for him. It was simple—her due date was this week, so Lin Lishan would probably arrive any day now, maybe even with some bigwigs from the Lin family. Then, in another week or two, her father would come home on leave. What a plan! His Jiao Jiao and their son had become mere props.

For a long while, the main room was silent. Zhang Guoqing had no interest in staying with the Zhou family any longer—he’d already figured things out and would rather go home to his wife and son.

Next would be the Zhou family’s father-son drama after more than a decade of estrangement. What did that have to do with him? Looking at Grandpa Zhou, it seemed he still hadn’t realized the truth—blinded by greed and unable to extricate himself. But Zhang Guoqing didn’t bother explaining. After all, Jiao Jiao had suffered enough in the Zhou family; it was time for them to worry for a change.

Zhang Guoqing coughed a few times, snapping Grandpa Zhou out of his thoughts, and took the initiative to say goodbye. Otherwise, he’d never get home today.

As he was leaving, Grandpa Zhou looked like he wanted to say something but held back—clearly still reluctant to part with those things. Zhang Guoqing pretended not to notice, picked up his bag, and rode his bicycle home."