Chapter 851: Chapter 724: The Issue of Adoption

"And remember, everything in this world is ownerless. What’s yours today might belong to someone else tomorrow. The only thing that really belongs to you is the skills you learn, which no one can take away."

Ping’an tilted his head, his little face showing deep thought as he looked at her.

"For example: if you learn martial arts. Can anyone take that away from you? No, right? But a weapon used for self-defense is ownerless, and anyone could own it."

"Another example: if Mom gives you a lot of money, but you do nothing and just eat every day, won’t it decrease day by day? But once you can earn money, these worries will disappear."

Zhou Jiao spoke in a gentle tone with a soft attitude, slowly conveying her message. She needed to instill the right life values in her child, that a gentleman values wealth but acquires it properly.

There are no children who cannot succeed, only neglectful parents. She had stumbled her way forward, taking many wrong paths, and she only hoped to provide some helpful advice for her child.

Zhang Guoqing stood by, smiling without saying a word, quietly listening to their conversation.

"Alright, I need to go report to your grandpa about this trip to the South. Your dad loves you more than anything, so have a good chat with him."

Leaving the big bundle behind, Zhou Jiao quickly took off.

"Dad, I love you more than anything, too."

Zhang Guoqing was delighted and laughed heartily: "Your mom has so many expectations for you, but I have only one request—Ping’an is enough. As long as you’re happy, it’s good."

"I’m very happy now."

Zhang Guoqing picked up his son and sat him on his lap, resting his chin on the child’s head, murmuring, "Even if there are more kids in the future, no one can replace you." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Ping’an hugged him tightly, his face beaming with a bright smile. In other families, there’s a strict father and a loving mother, but his dad spoiled him the most. Whatever he wanted, he could always turn to his dad for it!

Standing outside the study door, Zhou Jiao entered with a smile. As soon as she saw her father’s red eyes, her expression immediately tightened, and she ran to his side, concerned.

Zhou Xiaozheng looked at her worried face, "Dad’s fine."

Zhou Jiao moved her gaze to the letters and the open family tree on the desk, glanced thoughtfully at her dad, and then squatted down to hug his neck.

"Dad, you still have me."

Zhou Xiaozheng smiled and patted her arm, "Yes, Dad has you."

Noticing a few names at the top, Zhou Jiao suddenly understood why he was feeling down, "This seems to be recorded in my grandfather’s handwriting. Should I make another copy?"

"No need, pick a good day, and we’ll add our names, just the two of us."

"Okay, and we’ll add Mom and Brother, too." Zhou Jiao’s gaze shifted into the distance, "Dad, should we add Ping’an too?"

Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head and patted her, "Bring a chair over. I’ve already talked to your father-in-law about some things, and Xiao Wu should have an idea too, so I’ll let you in on it now."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiao rushed over to get a chair, sat down, and waited for him to continue.

"You might have guessed, right?"

Zhou Jiao nodded slightly. On this trip back home, her mother-in-law mentioned that Ping’an was five years old and asked if he needed to have a son to continue the family bloodline since schooling was soon.

"Your father-in-law is a good person!"

Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but chuckle. This ’nice person card,’ her in-laws truly deserved. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have sent packages back to the Northeast even from the South.

Zhou Xiaozheng continued with a smile, "When I went back to the Northeast to find you, Brother Zhang said that in the future, you could choose one of your children to have the Zhou surname. If they are all daughters, then Ping’an can fulfill both family obligations."

Zhou Jiao was genuinely surprised this time. Mr. Zhang in her mind was already a magnanimous elder, but she didn’t expect him to be willing to give half of the responsibility of his eldest grandson; such generosity was beyond measure.

Zhou Xiaozheng fondly ruffled her hair, "Since he has shown goodwill, we can’t be ungrateful. We can talk about these things in the future. I don’t want you to exhaust yourself having children just to continue the family line. Giving birth is always risky; let nature take its course. Even if it’s just Ping’an, so what?"

Zhou Jiao looked at him seriously, "Dad, if you have another grandson, do you want Ping’an to fulfill both obligations, or would you prefer the younger one to have the Zhou surname?"

"We’ll see in the future and let them choose for themselves. After all, they’re my grandchildren. Just because they don’t have the Zhou surname, does that mean they’re outsiders? Why, do you have any ideas?"

Zhou Jiao nodded, "The child who shoulders the Zhou family’s obligations needs to be outstanding. Although we don’t know yet about future children, there’s no harm in assuming one. If he or they don’t measure up to Ping’an, shouldn’t we just let Ping’an fulfill both family obligations?"

Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head, "Any child you or Xiao Wu have will be excellent, and with proper nurturing, there’s no need to worry about them measuring up. Even if they are mediocre, would we shun our own children? Our family is small; even an idiot is a treasure."

Zhou Jiao smiled at this. Yes, being concerned often leads to chaos; why should she worry about future problems so early on? In twenty years, who won’t be an only child?

Zhou Xiaozheng saw that his daughter had let it go and smiled, "Honestly, these family line issues should vary from person to person. Take your Aunt Gu, for example. If preserving the family line was truly that important, would she not have sought a husband on the mountain?"

Zhou Jiao did not refute.

Indeed, these matters vary from person to person, but the continuation of the Zhou and Gu family bloodlines should not break with her generation. Whether or not future descendants continue it is their concern, as she won’t be around to manage it.

"Is Xiao Wu keeping the child company?"

Zhou Jiao chuckled and nodded, "He’s worrying unnecessarily."

"Oh?"

Zhou Jiao saw his interest and continued, "He’s worried that if we have more children, the inheritance will be hard to divide, and it might cause discord among siblings."

After saying this, she laughed out loud.

Zhou Xiaozheng laughingly scolded, "That silly boy! It seems he’s too idle; I’ve decided to find an opportunity to throw him into the army."

Father and daughter continued chatting about unrelated topics. They both had an idea about the issue of succession, so they didn’t bring it up again.

When Zhang Guoqing came in with his son, he saw the father and daughter happy and chatting away, and he felt relieved. Earlier, if he hadn’t misunderstood, his father-in-law was breathing rapidly, as if his emotions were unstable.

Zhou Xiaozheng saw that his daughter had put away the things, turned his head towards the father and son, "Where’s your mom? She’s been gone a while with no sign."

"Aunt Wen next door was looking for her. I saw her handing something to my mom, but after Mom refused, they were still at the front door."

Ping’an immediately raised his hand, "I know. Grandma told me she introduced an aunt from her troupe to Uncle Xiao Wei as a matchmaker."

The child referred to Uncle Xiao Wei as Aunt Wen’s youngest son next door. With that explanation, everyone understood she was matchmaking.

Sure enough, not long after, Lin Lishan came in with a beaming smile and said, "There are always happy events at the end of the year, and this month, there’s going to be quite a few gifts to give."

"Social niceties, aren’t they?" Zhou Jiao suddenly remembered she had other matters, stood up, "I still need to visit the Fang family."

Lin Lishan nodded, "You should. Dress warmly."

Zhang Guoqing glanced at his son, "You stay with your grandparents, and I’ll go with your mom. We’ll be back soon."

Zhou Xiaozheng took the child, "Go early and come back early; it gets too cold if you’re late."

"Yes, just a quick visit. This time when we visited the South, Xiao Min’s brother treated us and even sent a parcel to Brother, so I’m returning the gesture."

As soon as Zhang Guoqing thought of Yi Zhe, especially his letter, it stung his heart.

What nonsense about a marriage alliance! They didn’t even know if the child in his wife’s belly had grown any feathers, yet they wanted to establish some gentlemen’s agreement. He was certainly no gentleman!