Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 651 - 528: Foolish Man

After dinner, the Cheng Family was seen off, and it was already late at night. Ping’an quickly gave up his independent space, holding his small pillow and went to his parents’ room to climb onto the bed and sleep. The family didn’t have time to chat much and each went to wash up and rest.

Zhou Jiao returned to the room and saw her son lying sweetly asleep on the bed, unable to resist going forward to give him a kiss. Unexpectedly, she found a small note by his hand.

——It seemed it was intended to be handed to her, but he fell asleep and left it aside.

"I want to sleep in the middle. Good son, Ping’an."

Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but laugh silently. The "Good Son" signed at the end was particularly large, indicating how proud and confident he was. However, he truly was her good son.

"Every time we come home, he doesn’t want to sleep alone. It seems we’ve been negligent. We don’t know if he is afraid of sleeping alone at night." Zhang Guoqing touched the child’s cheek, his heart aching as he frowned.

Zhou Jiao sighed, "Dad said he waits until he falls asleep before returning to his room. He also worries that Ping’an will kick off the blankets and wake up scared in the middle of the night. I asked Ping’an, but this child is very stubborn and said he can sleep alone. He even asked Dad to prepare a spittoon for him, saying that sometimes he is scared to go out for a night-time pee."

"Dad has been working too hard. Aunt Chen offered to stay with Ping’an, but he wasn’t willing. At home, besides Dad, he won’t sleep with anyone at night. Mom sleeps too soundly, Ping’an complains she always pulls the blanket away, and he absolutely refuses to sleep with Grandma."

Zhang Guoqing shook his head with a smile. His mother-in-law? Better forget about it. Apart from trying hard to meet the child’s material needs, she woefully doesn’t know how to handle him.

If his father-in-law wasn’t at home, he wouldn’t want his son staying with her. He’s really worried he’d be raised poorly. Nowadays, there are many things Ping’an needs to remind his grandma about; intelligence truly is a barrier.

"After Ping’an finishes his school tasks during summer vacation, how about we take him to the South for a bit? We can also visit Grandma Jiang and them in Hai City. My dad mentioned that apparently, they were not in good health recently and are fussing about returning to their hometown."

Zhang Guoqing hesitated for a moment. According to his wishes, he would prefer to take the child back to their hometown. But since his wife wants to go South, it’s probably not just for a leisure trip; she plans to activate the other two Gu family secret rooms. These things are almost useless; it’s a pity to discard them, but keeping them takes up space.

"Is there enough time to go down South?"

Zhou Jiao looked at him closely, "We can go with Da Yi and pass by Hai City on the way back; the timing should work. If we don’t go this year, it won’t be convenient later."

Zhang Guoqing gave her a soft smile, "I’ll ask Da Yong if they’re going next week."

Zhou Jiao smiled slightly, giving him a thumbs up. How clever! Even though her father had observed peace over the past two years, caution is still best.

The two changed into sleepwear, lay on the bed with Ping’an between them, and Zhang Guoqing spoke softly, "You really have patience. Why didn’t you ask how my inquiries went?"

In the dim light, Zhou Jiao blinked, speaking with a smile in her voice, "Didn’t you say you’d handle it? I certainly have confidence in my husband."

"Wife, if you tempt me like this, I might really put our son on the little bed."

Zhou Jiao raised an eyebrow challengingly, "If you dare, I’ll wake Ping’an."

"Wife, that’s not right of you. Fine, I’ll get you back when we return to school." Not teasing her anymore, Zhang Guoqing recounted everything he saw and heard this afternoon.

It was really exhausting! Next time, he must make his wife act along and use it as a spring outing opportunity.

Zhou Jiao felt sleepy listening. As soon as he finished, she quickly said, "So it’s the woman who wants a divorce and the man who wants to go back to Beijing, right? Neither will succeed. We don’t even have to act; they’ll have to roll back to the Northwest themselves. Now there’s no possibility to transfer household registration back. City populations are saturated, and soon they’ll start expelling people; trying to get in is a joke!"

Thinking for a bit, Zhou Jiao continued, "The documents have already been drafted. In a couple of months, disaster victims should return home to produce, and temporary workers in the city should go back to focus on agriculture. This wave of food shortages scared many. Next, it’s time for everyone to actively prepare food storage.

Why didn’t I plan for you to return to the hometown this summer? It’s because of this point. If you go, you’d be hounded to death with a bunch of people asking for help. Can you help them all? Especially Huang Cuilan and Lin Juhua, it’s better not to go back.

Our eldest and second brothers really had luck in poop, especially the eldest; after returning to his unit upon completing further studies, all paths smoothed out. Besides, there are two others who are lucky, your two cousins. I heard the railway system needs to cooperate with transportation, and they don’t have to return to the village."

Zhang Guoqing chuckled, "They should be grateful to you. No wonder when I suggested placing one cousin in the factory, you advised me to listen to you. You’d considered this long ago, right?"

Zhou Jiao shot him a sidelong glance. Silly man. She would never admit to such words.

"Jiao Jiao, what about Lin Juhua? You’re quite fond of her now, aren’t you?" Zhang Guoqing didn’t even mention Huang Cuilan; he was too lazy to bother.

"The second sister-in-law isn’t afraid of having no work. She’s skillful, adept at sewing and craftwork; she can handle any task. Picking up some manual work from the street office to do at home can allow her to take care of the family and children well. Moreover, she’s quick-witted, and in a year or two, her culinary skills should let her easily enter a unit.

They have savings, and both elder and second brothers’ salaries can support their families without any worries for us. You can also be reassured."

Zhang Guoqing nodded. Suddenly remembering she couldn’t see it, he said, "I’m not worried. I still need to consider my own job assignment. Uncle at the dinner table tonight mentioned that I should think about it, and not wait until graduation to return to the Northeast. Counselor Wu suggests I stay on to teach, considering future circumstances; I refused."

"By this time next year, it will be time to start internships; it’s indeed time to consider. Initially, I thought five years would be long, but unexpectedly three years have flown by in a blink. Don’t hesitate on staying at school; last year I refused the professor. Some international students even advised me to continue studying abroad. Don’t say the timing isn’t right; even with you and our son at home, I wouldn’t bear to leave."

Zhang Guoqing didn’t mention that it’s now stipulated that children of high-ranking officials can’t study abroad. Moreover, tensions with the Old Russians and the start of foreign debt limits the countries available to go to. He didn’t believe she would go to those places either.

"There’s no rush with these matters. When there’s time, I’ll discuss it with Dad. I think he has been long prepared for our assignments. I still remember when I reported in, he said in his study, enjoy these few good years to the fullest. Once you’re in the workforce, you’ll have to be serious and can’t slack off."

Zhou Jiao patted him, "Such a filial son-in-law, well done!"

"I’m doing my best for you, you owe me."

Zhou Jiao pinched him, "Go to sleep. It’s getting late."

Zhang Guoqing saw her angry and embarrassed, and couldn’t help but laugh. However, indeed it was necessary to sleep early; tomorrow he still needed to check whether Zhou Xiaocun, that old guy, had connected with Lin Liyin and the others.

He wondered if Zhou Xiaocun had received news of Gu Ruyi’s stroke yet; he really wanted to see his expression, it would be quite a spectacle. If he further learned that Mr. Lin had retired, rendering the Zhou and Lin families’ relationship obsolete in name only, he wondered if he would feel like coughing up blood. Hmm, better yet, let him witness the prestige of his father-in-law Zhou Xiaozheng; that would be even more thrilling!