Chapter 1195: 1068: Before the New Year

When Zhang Guoqing went upstairs at night, as soon as he entered, he saw his wife sitting on the bed, holding a pen, lowering her head writing and doodling in her notebook. "What are you writing?"When Zhou Jiao saw Zhang Guoqing return, she put down her pen and said, "Brother, I have something to tell you. Promise you won’t get mad, okay?"

Zhang Guoqing sat next to her and hugged her, saying, "Tell me, as long as it doesn’t hurt you, it’s fine."

Hearing his words, Zhou Jiao felt a bit guilty, "I have a holiday at the end of the year, but I don’t want to go back home."

For Huaxia people, New Year’s Eve is extremely important.

On this day, people prepare to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, and have a reunion dinner. In ancient Huaxia, some prison officials would even allow prisoners to go home to reunite with their families for the New Year, showing how important the reunion dinner was to the ancient Huaxia people.

Although on this day, parents and lovers might make a round trip on duty, for Zhou Jiao, a true reunion dinner meant having her closest ones with her.

And besides her parents-in-law, there wasn’t anyone back home worth her traveling a thousand miles for a so-called reunion. Especially with never-ending social obligations, it’ annoying...

Zhang Guoqing looked at his little wife, who was looking up at him timidly with apologetic, watery big eyes, and suddenly he felt a warmth in his heart, his breath quickening.

——His wife’s current adorable look was truly irresistible; without much thought, he pressed Zhou Jiao down on the bed, eagerly kissing her alluring red lips.

...

Afterward, Zhang Guoqing warmly patted the wife in his arms, "It’s so cold; I can’t bear to have you go back. Next year the kids will be starting school, so spend more time with them. As for my parents, if we go back now, it must be a mess. I’ll call them in a few days to see if they’re coming over..."

Zhou Jiao sleepily uttered a response.

Zhang Guoqing couldn’t help but chuckle. Shouldn’t pillow talk be most effective now with a beauty scheme? It looks like his wife has more spirit than she can manage.

Parents?

In the end, I still owe them a lot.

Giving them more money, giving them more things, is not as good as seeing them with my own eyes. Unfortunately, they still can’t let go of the other children.

This year, on the twenty-second of the twelfth lunar month.

Lei Tianming took his mother’s ashes and Zhou Jiao’s planning book, and under the farewell of Zhou Jiao and others, boarded the plane to reunite with his family abroad.

A few days later, according to Heizi, on this day, right after sending Lei Tianming off, a group of indignant friends visited the Lei Family.

Although he didn’t explain in detail how it went, Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao could more or less guess what kind of scene unfolded.

——But it’s too late, once some people turn away for their interests, they become unreachable. You can only say fate held no bond; in the end, we remain strangers.

Apart from the sadness of parting, this year turned out to be different.

It wasn’t just a harvest year for the Zhou Family; visibly, the market conditions were becoming more relaxed, and people on the streets looked vigorous rather than shrunken.

The most obvious thing: Doctor Hu never mentioned going far away after the Spring Festival.

And this was the thing that made Zhou Jiao the happiest.

Describing her master as an old child was not at all inappropriate—stubborn and fun.

Although today the old man seemed robust due to his healthy lifestyle, he was still old after all.

An elderly person over eighty is already regarded as a rare venerable age, only he wasn’t particular, always happily saying that the Book of Life and Death held by King Yan surely didn’t have his name.

Now it’s good, as long as the old man stays in Beijing. She can see him often, and her three sons can spend more time with him, and several senior brothers could come over with their families.

Time shows no mercy, urging one to age.

She only wished the old man would stay put, to accompany her for more years. Just like Old Mrs. Cheng, who suffered a lot when young, now she doesn’t dare to go out in the cold weather.

Due to the previous years’ circumstances, nobody mentioned the so-called birthday feast; they just ate a bowl of longevity noodles on that day.

This year, once the year-end arrived, the three Cheng Family brothers simultaneously gathered in Beijing.

On the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month, the Cheng Family feast.

Most of the third generation of the Cheng Family and Wen Family had already married and started families. A crowd of big and small children was swarming in the Cheng Family’s old house, making it bustling and lively.

For the Cheng Family and Wen Family, this year was also a fruitful one—what could be more gratifying than successful descendants?

This day naturally also included Zhou Xiaozheng bringing his family to the feast.

In such gatherings, it was inevitable that Zhang Guoqing, the most accomplished amongst the third generation of several families, would be pulled to accompany the elders at the main table.

As they drank, discussion naturally turned to Zhang Guoqing’s nephews back in his old home in the Northeast.

"Shouldn’t they know the results over there too?"

When Mr. Cheng asked this, Zhang Guoqing shook his head and laughed, "The admission letter hasn’t been received yet, but the list of those who passed has been released."

"Oh, how did it go?" Mr. Cheng asked with surprise and joy, almost blurting out whether they all passed.

"Not bad. Except for my eldest brother’s family, my second brother’s eldest son and daughter, my eldest sister’s three sons, and my second sister’s eldest all passed."

Mr. Cheng nodded continuously with a smile, praising, "Not bad. Let those who didn’t pass keep working hard, strive for a grand slam next time!"

At the adjacent female table, Liu Xiu, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Cheng Family who had just returned from the Southwest, blinked in confusion upon hearing this. She leaned over to her mother-in-law and whispered, "The college entrance exam this year doesn’t seem difficult, does it? Why do I always hear people in the family quarters complaining about the time being too rushed?"

Old Mrs. Cheng patted her daughter-in-law’s hand and gently shook her head, signaling her to speak later.

Everyone knew Zhou Jiao was low-key and disliked trouble. So the tutoring she provided for the children had been kept secret unconsciously.

Luckily it was hidden; otherwise, the Ping’an Brothers wouldn’t dare stay home, being overwhelmed by visiting guests. Whatever identity the elders had, their expectations for descendants were unspoken yet clear.

Mr. Cheng sighed, "If only all the kids were going to study here, your parents would feel at ease coming over."

Zhang Guoqing said nothing but poured wine for him with a smile.

This wish is good, but who knows. Ever since the three sons’ admission results came out, he didn’t bother to inquire about these things, but had heard Zhao Chuan Guang mention a few words.

It’s said that most candidates are admitted to universities within their province, and only a few exceptional ones could get into Beijing. Especially in his vast home province, renowned universities were plenty.

Moreover, this wasn’t the future; grades weren’t announced after the college entrance exam, and candidates filled out their preferences only after passing the physical examination and political review. The three preferences filled after passing these first three steps were still just suggestions in the actual admission process, which ultimately included the option of adjustment.

Unless it was someone like his family’s Wu Yi, who had outstanding scores and a robust family background. As for where those kids back home would get in, he wasn’t confident.

This matter is already left to fate.

At this point, as their uncle, he had fulfilled all responsibilities. Whether they turn into dragons or insects would be their own fate.

But parents, they were his real concern!

Knowing their temperament, even if all the kids studied in Beijing, it was unlikely they’d stay put. Especially with his older brother’s family, most likely the old couple was already worried at this moment.