Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander-Chapter 564 - 385: Is It Difficult?

Before dawn arrived.

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"Is that really Chuxia who’s back?" Lin Yanqiu’s face lit up with surprise as she descended the stairs, "I thought I heard your voice and wondered if I was mistaken, but it really is you!"

"Mom, what’s wrong?" Seeing Lin Yanqiu’s unsteady steps as she came downstairs, Chuxia hurried over, her gaze filled with concern as she inspected her mother’s legs and feet.

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing..." Lin Yanqiu said with an embarrassed smile, "The day before yesterday I had a gathering with some old friends, and I didn’t want to be laughed at for becoming increasingly sloppy as a housewife, so I wore high heels and ended up spraining my ankle."

Helping her sit down on the sofa, Chuxia removed her mother’s shoes and saw that the left ankle was swollen thicker than the calf itself, prompting her to involuntarily gasp, "Mom, how high were the heels on those shoes?"

"Just about this high." Lin Yanqiu estimated with her fingers, about a little over three centimeters high, and Chuxia was left speechless. In the future, people wore heels ten or more centimeters high without ending up twisting their feet like this, didn’t they?

Luo Xiaoqiong stepped forward to take a look and also gasped. The skin over the ankle was swollen to transparency. To twist a foot like that was truly a feat.

Lin Yanqiu had been wearing a pair of black cloth shoes, so Chuxia swiftly went upstairs to fetch the cotton slippers Aunt Liu had made from a pattern she drew, and helped her mother put them on, "This should be more comfortable."

Lin Yanqiu tried moving her foot and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, these shoes are comfortable. Chuxia, did your mother make these?"

Chuxia nodded, "Yeah, they’re convenient for slipping on in the winter." She said, followed by an embarrassed smile, "I’m not good with needlework, so I can’t make them."

Lin Yanqiu playfully tapped her forehead, "You are my precious daughter-in-law, how could I let you do such work?" She called for Aunt Liu and handed her the shoe on her other foot, "Look at this, later head to the Yang family’s shoe store to order a few pairs, just start with two pairs for each person."

"Yes, Madam," Aunt Liu quickly took some paper and a pen, traced the pattern with great speed, and put the shoes back on Lin Yanqiu’s feet.

What a pity, oh, what a pity... Watching the shoe pattern taken away by Aunt Liu, Chuxia’s face was a picture of lament. If it weren’t for the ban on commerce in those days, she really would like to open a factory that makes slippers. Such convenient items would surely sell well, and the money... with wings, it flew away~

"What’s the matter?" Noticing a strange expression on her younger daughter-in-law’s face, Lin Yanqiu asked with curiosity, "Did Aunt Liu draw it incorrectly?" Aunt Liu, upon hearing this, quickly handed over the pattern, "Third Young Lady, please take a look."

"No, no, no, you drew it just fine..." Chuxia said with an embarrassed smile, "I... I just regret that I’m not good at sewing. Otherwise, I could have made a pair for Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, and Mom."

"PU~!" Luo Xiaoqiong burst out laughing. She had not expected someone whose sewing was worse than a centipede’s legs to say something like that.

Chuxia glared at her, "Don’t you make fun of people!"

Luo Xiaoqiong quickly covered her mouth, pretending to zip it shut, and fell silent.

"I can’t sew either, so what’s there to be embarrassed about?" Lin Yanqiu, afraid her daughter-in-law might feel ashamed, put herself on the line to back her up.

"Cough cough cough..." Old Madam Zhou coughed "painfully". Daughter-in-law, for the sake of your daughter-in-law, you are truly doing your utmost. I can’t compare with you at all...

Aunt Liu’s mouth twitched in amusement. If the mistress of the house claimed she couldn’t do needlework, then who would dare to say they could? Her shoe-stitching was even better than those of the craftsmen at the Yang family’s shoe shop, and yet she claimed she couldn’t...

Chuxia wasn’t foolish; seeing everyone’s expressions, she knew what was going on and felt a pang of guilt for making her mother-in-law join her in telling such a grand lie.

But she also realized something. In this era, many people had problems just getting enough to eat; who would have spare money to buy slippers? Even if they were very cheap, ordinary families would probably be unwilling to buy them, right? After washing their feet at night, they would slip on shoes and dive right into bed. Who needed cotton slippers?

Lucky for her to have this self-awareness; otherwise, if she went into business, she would very likely suffer losses.

"Have Dad and my elder brother and sister-in-law all gone to work already?" Chuxia changed the subject.

"Yes, your father went back to the army base. He probably won’t be able to return for a month or two. Your elder brother and sister-in-law thought you’d be home tonight, so they went to work. I originally wanted your sister-in-law to take leave to rest at home, but she said staying idle for so long made her restless. I had to let her go back to work at the post office. Sigh..." Lin Yanqiu sighed helplessly, "I wanted to transfer her to an easier department, but she refused. She’s so stubborn."

"Sister-in-law is probably afraid of people gossiping, right?" Chuxia was about to say that the post office couldn’t be that busy anyway, but she caught herself just in time and remained silent.

In an era that relied on letters and telegrams for communication, if the post office wasn’t busy, where would be?

"Yes, your eldest sister-in-law is strong-willed and cares a lot about face. When she married into our family, many people said she was after our happy days, and that just made her all the more determined to prove herself..." Worried that her younger daughter-in-law might adopt the same attitude, Lin Yanqiu hurriedly advised, "Chuxia, we mustn’t think that way. Becoming a family is a matter of fate; we can’t tire ourselves to death just to avoid gossip from others."

Chuxia felt a headache coming on; why was this topic suddenly about her? The problem was, if she didn’t work hard, how could her parents live here in peace? Just as she was entangled in how to answer, Jing Zhe came to her rescue.

The arrival of the whole Jing family took Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou by surprise. After politely rising to greet them, Chuxia arranged several items on the coffee table and then recounted her parents’ situation in detail.

At the end, she looked at everyone expectantly, hoping one of them could give her a clear answer. The people of this era held a strong notion about one’s roots—although her father said that having a daughter and a wife was enough for him, in his heart, he still minded not knowing where his roots lay.

The elders examined the items one by one; however, in the end, all of them shook their heads without exception, indicating they had never seen these things nor heard of any family’s son or daughter who had gone missing for nearly forty years.

Now, the only hope left was Jing Monian. Knowing Chuxia’s feelings, Old Madam Zhou asked Jing Zhe to take Chuxia to find Jing Monian, hoping he might remember something.

...

Jing Monian had just finished a surgery and was sitting in his office with his eyes closed, resting. Hearing noise, he opened his eyes quickly and, seeing his son and Chuxia Luo Xiaoqiong, revealed a faint smile: "You’re back early?"

"Dad, there’s something I need your help with," Jing Zhe said, cutting to the chase. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Chuxia quickly handed the items to Jing Monian and before she could speak, she saw him stroking the blood-red bracelet with some agitation, his expression trance-like...

Did he recognize it?! Chuxia couldn’t help but swallow hard. Although she felt it improper to interrupt, she still couldn’t resist asking, "Uncle Jing... do you... do you recognize the owner of these items?"

After regaining his composure, Jing Monian said, "I do not know the owner of these items, but I do know someone who wanted this piece. However, the one she got her hands on should be the other one."

"Dad, I remember Uncle Jiang has a pair of chopsticks like these, right?" Jing Zhe handed the chopsticks to Jing Monian, "These chopsticks and the bracelet should be from the same family, shouldn’t they?"

"Where did you get these from?" Instead of answering his son’s question, Jing Monian asked Chuxia excitedly.

Ever since she got to know Jing Monian, this was the first time Chuxia had seen him so out of sorts. She knew she must be on the right track and quickly recounted her own father’s story.

When she mentioned that the couple died trying to save the children of Old Man Lin and Old Lady Lin, Jing Monian’s body slumped in defeat. After a while, he raised his head, looking at Chuxia: "Child, give me some time to calm down before I discuss this with you, is that okay?"

"Okay," Chuxia replied eagerly. How could she refuse? No matter how urgent, she couldn’t rush this moment. Judging from Jing Monian’s expression, it was clear that the issue was related to his past. Generally, the kind of expression he had comes from unrequited, everlasting longing.

As time ticked by, Jing Monian remained in the same posture, statue-like, unmoving. Chuxia felt her breathing was becoming constrained, so she decided to pull Luo Xiaoqiong back and leave the office.

Stepping out the door and taking a deep breath, Luo Xiaoqiong whispered to Chuxia, "Hey, why do I feel like the father and son have gone through the same thing?"

"You think you’re smart?" Chuxia glared at her, too lazy to banter. Her eyes weren’t blind; did she need reminding?

"Actually, I meant to say that Dad isn’t as easygoing as Jing Zhe. Although Jing Zhe still has some vague romantic feelings for you, he’s already starting to view you more like a sister. I believe that one day he will fully see you as his sister.

But this Uncle Jing... I guess he might never get over it. Hey, do you think Aunt Zhu knows about this? If she knew, would she be able to handle it?"

Chuxia was startled; she hadn’t considered this. Did Zhu Xinqin know about Jing Monian’s past?

She then tried hard to recall Old Master Jing’s and Old Madam Jing’s reactions to seeing the objects. Could there be a possibility that the old couple recognized these things but kept quiet because of their daughter-in-law?

If that was the case, this matter could put Jing Monian in a difficult position.

But her father cared a great deal about this issue, so what should she do?

Amidst her dilemma, Jing Zhe came out of the office, gesturing to them to come in: "Come in."

Chuxia quickly said, "Brother, wait a moment." She stepped forward a few paces and whispered, "If this matter might trouble Uncle Jing, maybe you could talk to him first. Then I’ll write a letter to inform my parents of the situation, and we can deal with it when Zhou Mikang gets back, okay?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)

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