Chapter 23: The First Discussion of Splitting the Family

At that moment, the eldest aunt of the Zhou family burst 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 your daughter-in-law she still has to, doesn’t she?”

Granny Zhou glared at her furiously and yelled, “Fine, if she’s going to pay for our old age, then she gets half when we split the family. And all the money she’s sent over the past ten years—how much of that was actually spent on Jiao Jiao? Not even a wolf could be as heartless as you. You think you’re so clever, don’t you? We raised your whole family and made your mother’s side rich. Don’t you know your reputation is known throughout the whole county? I’m just waiting for the Lin family to come and see how you’ll handle it then…”

Grandpa Zhou quickly interrupted her, shouting, “Eldest daughter-in-law, do you have any respect for your elders? Is this how you treat us? 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—milk powder, baby bottles, pig’s trotters, diapers—and clicked her tongue as she looked. She called out, “Xiao Wu, these must have been sent by your mother-in-law, right? You can’t keep them all to yourself. Your child is so little, let me use the milk powder and towels first. And these pig’s trotters, give them to your grandparents to nourish them. Honestly, you’ve got so much brown sugar just for having a baby—how are you ever going to finish it all? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were having ten babies, not just one!”

Zhang Guoqing was so angry he almost laughed—how shameless could someone be to say such things? He didn’t bother being polite and directly pushed Huang Zhaodi aside, tidying up as he spoke, “Aunt, I got these with the help of my two sisters in the city early this morning. Don’t even think about taking them. You know my eldest sister—she doesn’t care if you’re Jiao Jiao’s aunt or not. If you show up at her door, you’ll be in real trouble, I’m not kidding. Do you have any idea how many favors she had to call in for these things?”

Huang Zhaodi’s face went pale at Zhang Guoqing’s words—she was genuinely scared. She knew all too well how fierce Zhang Meili could be, not just with her words but with her fists too. And after hitting someone, she’d still make them apologize—there was no arguing with her.

Zhang Guoqing figured that whether Grandpa Zhou really 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 military coats and uniforms for the two 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 is wearing was sent by my mother-in-law; the new cotton-padded jacket and pants your grandson is wearing were meant for my son, also sent by my mother-in-law; and the sewing machine and bicycle your family has 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 these things are sent by Grandpa Zhou’s old army buddies, but the post office staff just laugh and say, ‘Funny how all those army buddies are named Lin, huh?’”

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 off the last fig leaf today. If Huang Zhaodi hadn’t provoked him, he wouldn’t have exposed everything.

One look at the two elders and it was clear Granny Zhou had truly been kept in the dark. As for Grandpa Zhou, Zhang Guoqing figured he wasn’t much better than Huang Zhaodi.

“And do you know what military mail means? Go ask around if you have time. If the Lin family ever decides to investigate, your Huang family won’t be able to hide even behind a fence. Just think about how much you’ve taken for yourself. Never mind what was sent when Jiao Jiao started middle school—just since our marriage, how many packages has the Lin family sent? And since they found out Jiao Jiao was pregnant, how much more did they send? In the past year alone, there are 24 registered mailings at the post office. Up until the day your eldest daughter mocked Jiao Jiao in her cashmere coat, my mother-in-law and the Lin family sent things from Beijing 18 times, and the other 6 times were from various military units. Do you realize how much you’ve pocketed? Where did you get the nerve? You think Jiao Jiao doesn’t know? She just didn’t want to upset her grandparents, that’s all.

This time, the package was registered under your husband’s name. You might not understand, but he does. Your eldest son’s job was arranged under the name of Lin Lishan from the Lin family—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 so many packages coming in such a short time, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone from the Lin family shows up soon.”

Zhang Guoqing bowed to the two elders, apologetic. “Grandpa, Grandma, I was planning 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. Every family has several kids and their own burdens. Seventeen years of this—do you really think no one else in their family minds? I just can’t believe it.

Jiao Jiao was a Zhou before she married into the Zhang family. The Lin family only had the responsibility to raise her to adulthood. I don’t want to see the Lin family break their backs for us. I wasn’t planning to expose all this today, but I’m angry that Aunt still doesn’t see her mistake. The packages didn’t used to come so often, but this past year it’s been non-stop. The attitude toward Jiao Jiao and this child is clearly different—just look at the expensive things they’ve sent. 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. Don’t wait until it’s too late to figure out what to do. I’m guessing someone from the Lin family will come after the New Year. I was hoping to write them a letter to see where they stand.”

Grandpa and Grandma Zhou exchanged glances and both lowered their heads in thought. Zhang Guoqing kept an eye on them, suspecting Grandpa Zhou was hiding something, while Granny Zhou seemed genuinely clueless.

He glanced at Huang Zhaodi, who had collapsed on the floor, a calculating look in his eyes. He was curious to see what she would do next—only then could he figure out Grandpa Zhou’s intentions and, from there, deduce what the Lin family might do.

He’d never met the Lin family, but judging from Lin Lishan’s behavior, they were typical willful children of high-ranking officials. Still, for them to support Jiao Jiao for 17 years, put a Beijing courtyard house in her name, and accept a country boy like him into the family, it was clear the Lin family had their own ways and didn’t care about money. Their only requirement for Jiao Jiao seemed to be that she could live however she liked, without worrying about money or material things.

But why hadn’t they visited for so many years? Even if Grandpa Zhou wanted to stop them, he couldn’t. So the Lin family just went along with it—why? They wouldn’t let Jiao Jiao go to Beijing, but there was a big house and her household registration was still there. Did that mean it wasn’t safe for her to go to Beijing now, and she had to wait until it was safe? That would explain the registration and house issues.

And this year, they weren’t afraid for others to know and sent expensive packages openly—did that mean Jiao Jiao was finally safe? If so, what did that imply? The only people connected to Jiao Jiao 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 must be her father—a soldier on a secret mission. If his guess was right, her father was still alive and about to come back.

Looking at it another way, if he had a daughter, he’d probably send her to the countryside for safety, too. In a village, any stranger would stand out. The environment might be tough, but he’d send as much money as possible. To avoid military connections, he’d cut off contact, which was probably why the Lin family didn’t bring her back to Beijing.

And sending so many packages would let her father see his family was okay, and also reveal how greedy the Zhou family was—though the Lin family probably hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.

If her father was coming back, the Lin family would probably send her mother first to get her daughter’s approval, then wait together for her father. That meant they’d be arriving soon—her due date was this week, so Lin Lishan would probably show up any day now, maybe even with some bigwigs from the Lin family.

After another ten days or so, her father could come home on leave. What a plan—his Jiao Jiao and his son had become props in someone else’s story.

The main room fell silent for a long time. Zhang Guoqing had no interest in staying with the Zhou family any longer—he’d figured out enough. Better to go home and be with his wife and son.

Next would be the Zhou family’s own drama, after more than a decade of estrangement between father and sons. What did that have to do with him? Looking at Grandpa Zhou, it was clear he still hadn’t realized what was really going on—blinded by greed, he was trapped and couldn’t get out. But Zhang Guoqing didn’t feel like explaining. After all, Jiao Jiao had suffered enough in this family—let them worry for once.

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, grabbed his bag, and rode his bicycle home."