After the first of August passed, another letter arrived from the Northeast hotown. At this ti, Zhou Jiao had given birth to twins on July 2nd, and it had been over a month since then.
The old daughter-in-law was about to finish her 45 days of postpartum confinent, leaving no more worries behind. With this, not only Mother Zhang but even Mr. Zhang couldn’t sit still.
——Besides the pregnant daughter-in-law and beloved daughter in the hotown, Old Zhang’s family’s eldest grandson Xi Zi had also been accepted into college.
"Jiao Jiao, mom really wants to go back this ti. Luckily, we have Sister Chen and Sister Sun here, so even if mom goes back, I won’t have to worry all the ti."
In the East Wing bedroom, Mother Zhang looked at the twins with reluctance.
"When you go back this ti, when will you co again? You won’t be like when you went back when Second Sister-in-law gave birth to Taozi, staying away for two or three years without coming ho, right?"
Mother Zhang pretended to be angry and lightly slapped Zhou Jiao: "When did mom ever go two or three years without coming over?" Saying this, she couldn’t help but laugh herself.
Wasn’t it two years without coming to Beijing? That ti there were even two trips back ho by the young couple. Now the twins were so small, probably it wouldn’t be possible to frequently go back and visit.
"This ti, it’s different than before; mom and your dad will often co to see you. Once you start working, if outsiders don’t care for the children carefully, send mom a letter, I will co over to lend a hand again."
Zhou Jiao nodded with a smile. But inwardly she knew, when that day ca, she wouldn’t let her in-laws have a hard ti over it. Since they were born, she hadn’t planned on letting the elders raise the kids like dealing with filth all day.
Especially since Zhang the Second and his wife also needed manpower.
Moreover, she had her little plans. Being filial to the elderly, reluctant to let them work hard, would also make Lin Juhua have so reservations, wouldn’t it?
"When our Liu Yiwu and May 1st grow up, it will be fine, then we can return to the hotown."
"It won’t be long; we can go back soon." Zhou Jiao reluctantly held her mother-in-law’s hand, "Mom, don’t be afraid to spend money when you go back, buy whatever you want to eat. When you get old and lose your teeth, you’ll want to eat but won’t have the chance.
If anyone gives you a hard ti in the hotown, don’t worry who it is, just fight back, and don’t ruin your health over it. When I co back, I’ll stand up for you.
If you get tired of staying at ho and miss us, let Xiao Mi buy a ticket for you to co over, our family’s courtyard is there, you won’t have to worry about staying anywhere and feeling uncomfortable."
With Zhou Jiao’s words, Mother Zhang’s eyes reddened.
Who was the most considerate? Besides this daughter-in-law, there really was no one else. That courtyard was said to be where Brother Hu lived, but the man wasn’t short of a courtyard; it was actually reserved for the old couple themselves.
On the day it was confird to depart for the weekend, except for the absent Zhou Jiao and the twins, Zhou Xiaozheng personally took the family to send the two in-laws to the station.
With Mr. Zhang and Mother Zhang gone, Zhang Guoqing finally returned to the bedroom, able to embrace his wife at night. Even if getting up every three hours to serve the two little ancestors, he was happy to do so.
Taking a deep breath of his wife’s scent, Zhang Guoqing grinned from ear to ear.
"Fool!"
"Only a fool in front of you. Jiao Jiao, is this person okay?"
Zhou Jiao understood he was referring to Aunt Sun, "So far, she seems fine; she’s experienced in caring for children, quite considerate. However, people are like tea and need to be tasted slowly."
Zhang Guoqing also knew it could only be like this. The candidate was assigned by the logistics departnt, and making her devoted like Aunt Chen would still require so tactics.
With his eyes narrowed, Zhang Guoqing most hoped for soone with heavy family burdens so he could use both kindness and authority. If it were a helpless widow, that would be even better, but alas, not everything goes as he says.
Zhou Jiao knew he was worried about the twins and smiled, "Just think about how children are raised in the countryside, and you’ll feel at ease. For the next year during internship, you’ll have half the ti rolling around in the army, working hard, but you can co ho at night to be with the kids. I’ll also try to co ho every day."
Zhang Guoqing tightened his arm around her, "Jiao Jiao, it’s hard for you!"
"Silly talk." Zhou Jiao comfortingly patted him, "And didn’t you forget we have Auntie here as the stabilizer? She cos four or five tis a day and likes the kids more than anyone."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoqing chuckled lightly.
"Alright, you should sleep early, I’ve had enough sleep during the day, at night you can rest assured and sleep, the babies wake up there’s still ."
"I’m feeling very energetic, better to chat with you. Wife, is it still sixteen days?" Saying this, Zhang Guoqing pinched her hand.
In the dim light, Zhou Jiao’s face suddenly flushed red, she glanced at him.
Zhang Guoqing brushed her face, speaking with a suppressed tone, let out a deep laugh.
After a while, seeing that she was about to pinch him in anger, he quickly countered, "Look, thinking too much, I’m talking about the end of the double confinent."
He said, lightly tapped her head, "No worries, say what you think boldly."
"..."
After teasing his wife, Zhang Guoqing tactfully switched the topic, "Jiao Jiao, we’ve really lost out this ti."
Zhou Jiao cocked her head, looking at him bewildered.
"Maternity leave, if postponed by a year, would have just right fifty-six days of leave."
Zhou Jiao chuckled, "Why not count having sumr vacation? Starting work, would I not have sumr and winter vacations? I thought you were talking about these expenses being too much this ti."
"You have to say! From moving into the Qian Family courtyard to now, about five months, it’s been spending money like water. Dad and them round trip fare, Second Aunt’s red envelope, plus these few months’ expenses, not counting what’s secretly purchased, it’s close to five hundred bucks. Five hundred, nearly a year and a half of my salary."
Zhou Jiao heard it and laughed straightforwardly.
Before, she hadn’t felt anything, taking whatever was missing directly from space. This ti, she was pregnant, always surrounded by people; if not her master and three people, then in-laws bringing the midwife, with them around, many items were purchased at high prices, wasn’t it just a big outlay?
"Actually, not much of this money was spent on you. Dad and mom brought second aunt over, besides the round-trip fare, those miscellaneous items, the grain bought intermittently from Captain Qian over these months has cost quite a lot. No wonder now no one wants to travel far without reason!"
Zhou Jiao teased, "This isn’t like you, with more sons, starting to be frugal? Didn’t you make a big profit before the New Year?"
"Silly wife!" Zhang Guoqing played with a lock of her falling hair. It was not bad, the yellow hair returned to the "silky smooth" state, "I’m doing accounts with you, to prevent you from thinking I’m subsidizing so little vixen."
"Hahaha... brother, you’re too funny."
"Keep your voice down." Zhang Guoqing laughingly patted her back, "Dad also saw we spent a lot, gave a thousand bucks before leaving, and I didn’t hesitate to accept it."
Zhou Jiao raised her head in surprise to look at him.
Zhang Guoqing smugly blinked, "Feeling shocked, aren’t you? Actually, I had a clear sense all along. A crying child gets cared for, it’s the truth!"
"No, I’m curious about your attitude, not about how much money dad gave. Why accept it?" Asked the question, Zhou Jiao furrowed her brow, did soone say sothing?
Zhang Guoqing didn’t know his wife’s mind wandered off, he proudly laughed, "You don’t understand this, do you?"
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