enjoyebooks Chapter 1291 - 1163: Reunion of Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law
Chapter 1291 - 1163: Reunion of Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law
In the kitchen, Mother Zhang was instructing her second daughter-in-law, Lin Juhua, and the mother-daughter duo, Mai Qing, to cook a few extra dishes. Upon seeing Zhou Jiao enter, she burst into laughter, "Why did you come in? Go take a rest.""Mom, I’m not tired." Zhou Jiao looked towards the busy Lin Juhua and her daughter, "Second sister-in-law, we’ve troubled you again as soon as we returned."
Lin Juhua gave her a playful glare, "If you’re polite with me, then you’re not treating me as family. I’ve troubled you a lot while I was in Beijing for half a year."
"Alright, alright. I won’t be polite with you, second sister-in-law." Zhou Jiao patted her niece, "Our little Mai Qing must be exhausted, huh? Go out and play."
"It’s warm here." Mai Qing smiled, "Aunt, sit down and accompany my grandma to rest for a while."
Mother Zhang watched their affection and couldn’t close her smiling mouth. She pulled Zhou Jiao to sit by the table, "Since you came back for the New Year, what about your parents?"
Zhou Jiao felt touched, as only her mother-in-law would think of her parents first.
She linked arms with her mother-in-law, smiling happily, "My dad said that this year my brother rarely gets time off at the end of the year, so he should come back and have a proper New Year with you and dad. My mom also said they’re busy enough, so they urged us to come back. Mom, why didn’t you and dad come to see us?"
Mother Zhang patted her, "Your parents are kind. How long can you stay this time?"
"This time we can stay until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month." By then, her parents should have returned from their visit, but of course, she can’t tell her mother-in-law that. It’s better to let her be happy.
Mother Zhang widened her eyes in surprise, "You can stay so long this time?"
"Yes, my brother has a vacation, and the kids return to school after the fifteenth." Zhou Jiao looked at her guiltily, "Mom, I’m sorry we haven’t come back to spend New Year with you before."
"Silly child! Mom knows that being a soldier leaves you with little choice. As long as you’re doing well, that’s what matters. Mom misses you and can still take a trip to Beijing to see you."
Lin Juhua put a lid on the pot. Seeing the atmosphere turn a bit sentimental, she interjected, "Jiao Jiao, what time did you arrive in the provincial city? Have you seen your godmother yet?"
"Not yet, as soon as I got off the bus, I rushed over here. I plan to visit the provincial city after the New Year to pay respects. What about my second brother and them? When do they start their vacation?"
"Elder brother and Xi Zi are on vacation and will be back tomorrow. Your second brother said he swapped shifts with someone and will come back with them. Sister-in-law, elder sister, and the younger sister said if you weren’t going to the county town today, they’ll come over to stay for a night tomorrow."
"Do you want me to drive to pick them up?"
Lin Juhua quickly shook her head, "Better not, too many people coming back, the car can’t fit everyone. Tomorrow, Lian Ziwen and others will be bringing their kids over."
Zhou Jiao suddenly remembered she hadn’t mentioned Shi Tou, "Second sister-in-law, I noticed Shi Tou is quite busy. Since the kids are small, there’s no rush for them to come back."
Lin Juhua laughed out loud, "Busy selling spring couplets, are they? Haven’t you noticed Zuo You hasn’t come back either? These kids went to sell spring couplets since their vacation started. They agreed to close up today and come back tomorrow."
Zhou Jiao smiled and nodded in understanding.
Mai Qing chimed in, "Aunt, my brother and the others will be back a day after you."
Zhou Jiao raised her eyebrows at this, "What’s the matter? Isn’t it good to come back together with us? May 1st even made a special trip to talk to Shi Tou."
Mai Qing put down the firewood, ran over to her, and whispered, "My dad said this year is Old Zhang’s big family reunion. Little Huzi is young, so he doesn’t need to come, but my brother and sister must come back."
Zhang the Second giving such orders was indeed possible! Zhou Jiao said regretfully, "Had I known, I would’ve brought them along. So what’s the situation now?"
"My brother already sent a telegraph saying everyone will rush back for New Year’s Eve."
Zhou Jiao praised, "Shi Tou is very filial, and the children are well taught by second sister-in-law."
Lin Juhua modestly laughed, "I can’t teach children well, it’s all thanks to dad and mom. As soon as Little Tao is on vacation, I leave him with our dad, and as for Mai Qing, I want her to be with mom for a few years."
Zhou Jiao winked at Mother Zhang.
She really didn’t know how to react to this. It seemed that Zhang the Second felt he couldn’t take care of his elderly parents in the provincial city and wanted the kids to keep them company more.
Mother Zhang lightly hit her, smiling and shaking her head, "After the New Year, Mai Qing will transfer to the provincial city to be with you, so your dad and I can have some peaceful days."
Zhou Jiao glanced at her thoughtfully. It seemed the house in the provincial city needed to be sorted out during this visit home, though she didn’t know why her godmother hadn’t found anything despite searching for so long.
Still, there was no rush. Since she was here, she had to arrange proper plans for her in-laws.
Leaving them both in the county, relying solely on their two daughters was impossible. Zhang Meili and her sister had elderly parents and young children to care for, making it inevitable there would be some oversight.
Moreover, deep down, she only had complete trust in Sister Zhang Meili regarding this matter. As for the sister-in-law, even if it were for that little bit missing in her responsibilities, her children were still quite young, making it more challenging to tend to their parents.
While the daughters-in-law chatted, from the yard came the voices of Old Captain, Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhang, Mr. Zhang, and Zhang Guoqing.
No wait, there was also Mr. Zhang’s laughter.
"It must be Xiao Wu inviting the village elders over for drinks." Mother Zhang immediately realized and then stood up, walking over to Lin Juhua, "Serve some dishes outside first, we’ll keep cooking here to keep it hot and prevent them from getting cold."
Zhou Jiao promptly opened the cupboard and took out a scoop of bowls and chopsticks. The bowls were ones she hadn’t managed to take with her back then, and she hadn’t expected them still to remain intact at the old home after so many years.
"Aunt, let me help you." Mai Qing, worry in her eyes as she looked at the bowls in Zhou Jiao’s hands, hurried forward to assist. Her aunt, after all, had servants at home and in the old house; what if she broke the bowls?
Though Zhou Jiao didn’t know what she meant, this child resembled Mai Sui in that she noticed things and was very diligent. From the bottom of her heart, she liked obedient girls.
The main hall already had a large round table set, and the heated kang under the windows was packed with elders, while Zhang Guoqing was busy refilling their tobacco and chatting.
On the other side, May 1st had already arranged accommodations for Xiao Zhu and the others, letting them choose among the four rooms in the East and West wings.
However, a large round table had also been set up inside the left-hand room of the East Wing.
Besides Xiao Zhu and Xiao Liu, whom the three brothers were quite familiar with, the remaining four were from the military district here to ensure their father’s safety.
Though given the family’s own capability, they wouldn’t necessarily need it, the Ping’an Brothers certainly wouldn’t show any disrespect. They stayed specifically to accompany them for dinner.
As they realized their mother seemed to have no place among the tables, they were suddenly at a loss. They couldn’t possibly let their mother squeeze in with the old guys smoking in the main house, could they?
But it wasn’t suitable here either. Even Xiao Zhu and the others might not feel at ease.
However, Zhou Jiao understood her sons well and subtly suggested that she would dine with their grandmother and second sister-in-law in the kitchen.
Her current concern was how to find an excuse to retrieve the blankets from storage space.