Chapter 868: Chapter 741: Telegram from the Northeast

The New Year bell rang, fireworks bloomed in the sky, and 1963 truly arrived.

Unlike previous years, this year, with Zhou Jiao being pregnant, the Zhou household started to gather more around the home, rarely going out unless necessary.

Zhang Guoqing was complained to several times by Yi Jiefang and the others. "Your wife is pregnant, but you don’t need to deal with childbirth. What are you doing home growing mushrooms?"

Zhang Guoqing just smiled without speaking, and graciously apologized to his friends, but his behavior remained unchanged. But there were more guests at home.

On the fifth day of the lunar month, Fang Fei came over to talk, saying that a group gathering was planned, and after the eighth, everyone would return to their own units, so Zhang must attend the evening gathering without fail.

Too much of anything isn’t good, so Zhang Guoqing agreed with a smile and promised to bring good wine over tonight.

Fang Fei looked at him with surprise, "Don’t ditch us, brother. If you don’t want to go, should I find an excuse to decline for you?"

"No need, it’s rare for them to come back once a year, unlike us who can often meet. But Brother Xiao Fei, you need to help me with the drinks."

Fang Fei rolled his eyes disdainfully, "Again worried your wife will smell the booze and feel nauseous? If Zhou Jiao were to have ten kids, you’d never plan to drink again in this life?"

Zhang Guoqing comically replied, "There isn’t much wine; if I save some, you all can drink more. Last time they clearly congratulated me, but got me so drunk I threw up twice and had a terrible headache the next day."

The two of them had a casual chat in the study, and after Fang Fei left, Zhou Jiao came out of the bedroom, giving Zhang Guoqing a sideways glance; great, now her reputation as a fierce wife had been established.

"Gatherings are always unpredictable, but hopefully all is well." Zhang Guoqing put down his brush and looked up at her, "Jiao Jiao, give me two bottles of good red wine."

Zhou Jiao looked at him with concern, then glanced at the calligraphy on the desk.

"Don’t overthink, just expressing a moment of emotion."

"Your mind is unsettled."

Zhang Guoqing nodded, "Yes, they are my good brothers. They have always been close to me. I can’t get over this hurdle in my heart, and maybe after this meeting..."

Zhou Jiao reached out and held his right hand tightly, and said calmly, "No! A smooth life isn’t necessarily good for a lot of people."

Zhang Guoqing circled the desk, walked in front of her, and hugged her tightly.

"Remember, we agreed to go with the flow. My good friend, everyone has their own life. Helping others when they face difficulties without adding insult to injury is already a good deed. Often, you need to remember that ’as long as the green hills are preserved, there’s no need to worry about firewood’. Only when we are safe can we have the ability to help others."

Zhang Guoqing softly patted her back, looking into the distance. He understood the reasoning, there was no problem logically, but he hated feeling indebted to others, especially when knowing certain outcomes in advance.

"Otherwise, I’ll give you a potion to wipe out some people."

Upon hearing his wife’s words, Zhang Guoqing shook his head with a wry smile. No matter if Zhang San is gone, there’s still Li Si. He’s just a small character; he can’t save the world.

Having said this herself, Zhou Jiao chuckled heartily.

"Be careful not to laugh too much, does your back hurt today? Do you want to come along tonight?"

Zhou Jiao shook her head, "I trust you in doing things very much. You can go by yourself. If I go too, people will be busy taking care of the pregnant woman, and everyone won’t be able to enjoy themselves."

"Maybe the weather is too cold."

After talking about serious matters, Zhou Jiao didn’t want to continue with these mood-affecting topics. She pointed at the calligraphy on the table, "You are making progress, this can be mounted." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Is that so? The meaning itself is not good, I’ll do it again." Zhang Guoqing also wanted to change the topic, and enthusiastically let her go, returning to the desk to lift the brush again.

Outside in the yard, Aunt Chen quickly walked in with a telegram, knocking on the window, "Is Xiao Wu here? A telegram for you, from the Northeast."

Zhang Guoqing quickly put down the brush and came out to open the door and lift the curtain, "Aunt, come inside and chat."

Aunt Chen handed him the telegram, "Earlier, Xiao Wang met me, your father asked him to bring it back. No need, I’ll make some noodles to give Jiao Jiao as a snack; she didn’t eat much at noon."

Zhang Guoqing didn’t say much, thanked her while watching her leave, then turned back into the house.

"Are dad and mom coming over? Look at what it says inside."

Zhang Guoqing nodded, eagerly opening it: "Mother and two sisters-in-law arriving in Beijing on the tenth."

He raised an eyebrow and handed it to Zhou Jiao, signaling her to read for herself.

"What’s this about? Why isn’t dad coming along?"

Zhang Guoqing shook his head with a smile, "You’ll probably get a letter in a few days, dad will explain the situation in detail in it. Shall I send a telegram asking dad to come?"

Zhou Jiao shook her head, "Let it be, better wait for dad’s letter, maybe he has arrangements. But whose idea is it to let the two sisters-in-law come? Can the house manage without them?"

Zhang Guoqing shook his head, "Not really clear, maybe in this period the two sisters-in-law performed well, and mom gave them a reward by sending them out to see the world."

"Strange! Really strange! The travel cost isn’t small, doesn’t seem like mom’s idea." Zhou Jiao shook her head. No one knows her mother-in-law better than she does, someone so frugal. It seems highly unlikely she would call them over just because of her pregnancy. The sister-in-law relationship isn’t close enough for that.

"You forgot they would definitely choose seats, so it wouldn’t cost much. Mom is really something, can her body handle it? I better send a telegram telling her not to come now, but wait until summer."

Zhou Jiao laughed and cried, pulling him, "Don’t be in such a hurry to go. If you send a telegram now, outsiders might misunderstand that you don’t want mom and dad to come."

"Nah, I’ll just say to come over when you’re due, because now the weather’s too cold."

Zhou Jiao raised her eyebrows, "Sit down!"

Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing lifted her up to sit, patting her butt, "Getting bold, dare to command your man."

Zhou Jiao gave him a side-eye, "Have you considered the feelings of the two sisters-in-law? The telegram can’t be sent, absolutely can’t! With Second Sister-in-law’s nature, I estimate she’s already spread the news far and wide; probably even the whole county knows I’m pregnant."

"Didn’t your parents just create trouble by this? Why are they coming over now, making you busy with taking care of them? If they hadn’t come, I could’ve asked Brother Liu to move a sleeper for mom, but now with them coming, how can I ask?"

It’s indeed troublesome, but Zhou Jiao didn’t want to say it out loud. Her parents-in-law have always been reasonable, they must have a purpose. Could it be they are worried she’ll feel distant from her sisters-in-law?

Zhang Guoqing was also frowning in thought. Spending some money to take the sisters-in-law out to have fun is no big deal, but he could not let his pregnant wife in the icy weather accompany them out.

Also, the household conditions are something the two sisters-in-law would see; would they have different thoughts? These are all unexpected situations, and he doesn’t like surprises that deviate from control.

Mr. Zhang, far away in the Northeast, thought his youngest son would guess his intentions, but unfortunately, Zhang Guoqing really didn’t know what medicine his father was selling in the gourd.

Pregnancy might make one a bit silly for three years; although Zhang Guoqing himself wasn’t pregnant, he felt somewhat infected. Besides, in his heart, sisters-in-law were still sisters-in-law, simply outsiders married to his brothers, certainly not comparable to Zhang Meili.

"If dad can’t walk away, mom could absolutely bring Big Sister instead. Why are two sisters-in-law accompanying her? What’s this drama?"

Zhou Jiao nodded, confused. Right, she had been thinking of Zhang Meili, why not bring the eldest sister-in-law?