Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space

After finishing the banquet for her eldest nephew, Zhou Jiao didn’t pay much attention to Zhang Meili’s family. However, looking at Zhang Meili’s expression, she seemed to have listened to her younger brother’s advice.

At this moment, Zhou Jiao wasn’t in the mood to deal with other people’s trivial matters. The empty room felt so desolate without her husband and son around!

Thinking of her son’s advice not to sneak out alone before he left, Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but laugh. Her son really knows her well!

While Zhang Guoqing and his son walked behind Mr. Wang and his grandsons, Zhou Jiao, in disguise, set out on a journey driving a car.

Zhou Jiao couldn’t possibly say she wasn’t worried about the father and son entering the mountains. It was precisely because she was worried that she wanted to leave to relax. Without a destination, she drove along the main road, avoiding the military area, as if doing so would let her worries drift away with the wind.

Stopping and starting along the way, she finally entered a city before dusk and found a guesthouse. She had lost interest in the black market, and the mall’s commodities failed to attract her. Besides, it seemed she had left the province, and without vouchers, even if you put a sack of cash on the counter, no one would care.

Wrong! You might just end up in the police station.

In the dark of night, Zhou Jiao closed her eyes and struggled to sleep, but her husband and son’s smiling faces kept flashing in her mind.

She struggled until nearly dawn before finally falling asleep. When she woke again, Zhou Jiao could no longer suppress her urgent desire to return home. She checked out and immediately set out for the village.

If her departure was aimless, then at this moment, with her hands gripping the steering wheel, Zhou Jiao could be said to be eager to return home. To hell with the idea that a walk could relax her!

Countless assumptions filled her mind throughout the night. It’s true that scaring oneself is worse than anything else, especially when you’re doing it to yourself. It would be more comforting to be closer to them.

By the time she arrived home, it was already evening. According to the agreement, Zhang Guoqing would bring their son home before dark. But Zhou Jiao understood better than anyone else. Given the provisions, weapons, and medicinal powders Zhang Guoqing took, they wouldn’t come back so soon. If they could return by tomorrow afternoon, it would already be a blessing.

Zhou Jiao returned home and closed the courtyard gate.

Mother Zhang and Mr. Zhang stayed in the county town after drinking at the banquet two nights ago. Since they heard from Zhang Guoqing that he might go out, they definitely wouldn’t return to the village beforehand. So they should still be at the small courtyard in the county town.

Standing alone in the courtyard, gazing toward Daqing Mountain, she shook her head vigorously. A piece of uncut jade cannot become a useful vessel. Her son must excel above others to have the ability to protect himself in case of unforeseen events.

To calm her mind, Zhou Jiao began to take out embroidery threads and split them. When dusk fell, she came to realize that today they hadn’t come back.

To avoid her mind wandering, she rubbed her eyes, lit the kerosene lamp, and brought it to the kitchen, trying to keep herself busy. When people are occupied and tired, they have no energy to overthink.

In the first half of the night, afraid of the aroma from the stew spreading, she put on gloves and started dealing with the wild chickens and rabbits in the space. Plucking feathers, skinning, chopping into small pieces, and washing — as she became more adept, her speed gradually increased.

It was only when the kerosene lamp flickered and went out that Zhou Jiao suddenly came to her senses. Her mind was calm — this method really worked! She took out a flashlight, refilled it with kerosene, and lit the wick again.

Seeing that it was getting late, she didn’t care about her physical fatigue. Taking advantage of the hot pots and stoves, she started to stew meat and vegetables in two large pots, unconsciously preparing everything to her son’s taste and preference.

Soon, steam rose, exuding a burst of fragrance. Zhou Jiao left the kitchen, standing in the courtyard and sniffing, gazing at Zhang the Second’s courtyard next door, and then farther to those courtyards that were engulfed in darkness...

From such a distance, no one should be able to smell the aroma. With her mind eased, Zhou Jiao looked once more at Daqing Mountain in the distance, wondering if the child was asleep now.

Busy until nearly dawn, Zhou Jiao yawned, cleaned the bloodstains off the ground. The splash of cold water relieved some of her drowsiness. She packed the last pot of shrimp patties into a bamboo basket and put it into the space.

She also used chopped red peppers to fry a bowl of spicy chili oil. The pungent, nose-stinging smell covered the kitchen’s food fragrance. Zhou Jiao opened the kitchen door, washed quickly, and tumbled onto the kang to sleep.

This nap wasn’t restful either. Half-awake, she was disturbed by the sound of a horn and pig slaughtering. Who was slaughtering pigs so far from the New Year? The key issue seemed to be that the pig’s wailing sounded too mournful, and what was with the cursing on the loudspeaker?

With a start, Zhou Jiao sprang from the kang. Could the aroma from last night have drawn a wild boar down the mountain? She quickly took a wet towel from the space and wiped her face, then rushed out.

Qingshan’s wife was standing at her door when she saw Zhou Jiao approaching from afar and greeted her in surprise, "Were you guys in the village last night? So quiet? I thought you all went to the county town."

Zhou Jiao looked toward the distant crowd, ignoring the question, "What’s going on here?"

Qingshan’s wife chuckled and whispered, "Uncle Tiezhu’s youngest son is getting married tomorrow. You know how stingy Aunt Tiezhu is. Not willing to pay the butcher, she got Uncle Tiezhu and the sons to do it themselves. Somehow, the pig escaped, running from the village toward our side, and Aunt Tiezhu is crying her heart out over the spilled blood."

Zhou Jiao stifled her laughter, and the two shared a knowing smile.

A few days ago, there was gossip in the village about Aunt Tiezhu’s stinginess. Wasn’t it always the tradition to marry during the idle winter days?

In a hurry to hold the wedding, she must be planning to make the new bride earn work points during the busy farming season, and with the abundance of vegetables now, unlike the dead cold of winter, without the pig blood to serve as meat dishes, wouldn’t she be heartbroken?

The Old Captain held up a loudspeaker: "Alright, disperse quickly. Have your lunch early, there’s lots of work to do in the afternoon, don’t linger here causing trouble. Tiezhu’s family, go back and boil the water."

At the Old Captain’s words, everyone scattered, and Zhang Tiezhu and his three sons tied up the dying pig and carried it back.

Some villagers jokingly offered, "Need help? If it escapes again, there might not even be meat left."

Someone beside him patted him, "Say less."

Indeed! Didn’t you see Aunt Tiezhu’s wife’s face turning blue? Can’t everyone read the situation?

Qingshan’s wife slapped her thigh, eager to head home. Just as she lifted her foot, she remembered Zhou Jiao beside her and hurriedly whispered, "Go get the money."

Zhou Jiao watched her run off, and then noticed a few other aunties also cheerfully running home, she smiled helplessly. With Aunt Tiezhu’s personality, who knows if the remaining meat from that pig could even make up a few tables of meat dishes.

Usually, when a family in the village hosts a wedding, they apply to the team to keep at least half the pig. In addition to the banquet, they need to cure it for the New Year. Some families don’t want to sell it because they lack meat coupons and will cure all of it into bacon for the entire year.

Qingshan’s wife ran off in a flash, pulling Zhou Jiao along as they went out, "Just in time for the busy farming season, buy more now. Hurry, or you won’t get any."

Zhou Jiao had already seen that the pig was at most a hundred or so jins. Never mind how many people are in the village, just Zhang Guoqing’s cousins with one cut each wouldn’t be enough, and they’re thinking of buying more — how is that possible?