Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Chapter 21: Signs Begin to Emerge (Part 2)

"Indeed, it’s likely that our parents wouldn’t agree to us not working and just wandering around. We still need to think this over." Zhang Guoqing laughed heartily after hearing this. Jiao Jiao made sense; converting money into goods first was wise.

Zhou Jiao only now remembered that they hadn’t had the chance to sort out their private stash of money. "Let’s start by organizing our private stash. It’s all in the hidden compartment of the wardrobe; take everything out."

"There really is quite a lot, Jiao Jiao. Gather all the valuables from home. Keep loose change and leftover tickets in the hidden compartment. This compartment isn’t secure."

Zhou Jiao took two wooden boxes and opened one of them, dumping out its contents. There were stacks of ten-yuan notes, as well as loose change and tickets. Most of these tickets were given to her by Zhang Guoqing, like the numerous cloth tickets that would expire at the end of the year. That meant she’d need to exchange them for fabric, just in time to make clothes for herself. These were likely given by Mother Zhang at their wedding.

For her marriage, Grandma personally prepared a red dress and black pants for her. Other clothes were sent by mail, and her aunt also gifted her a few pieces. Since she never lacked clothing, she didn’t buy more.

There were also sugar tickets amounting to 2 jin, followed by a jumble of miscellaneous tickets. She handed over all tickets nearing expiration to Zhang Guoqing, indicating they should use them promptly before they became invalid. After counting, there were 2886 yuan, close to 2900 yuan, with 86 yuan in loose change placed in the wooden box. She inspected all the tickets and realized most would expire by the end of the year. Fortunately, she thought to organize them today.

She then opened a larger box. On the left were letters from her mother, Lin Lishan, which she had barely opened. To the right, there was Grandma’s small box, which, according to her memory, was secretly handed to her by Grandma on the night she got married. She hadn’t examined it carefully later, so the memory was a bit hazy.

Inside the small box, she unwrapped a pair of jade bracelets and a necklace made of round beads from yellow silk. The jade was a rich, vibrant green with a hint of blue, probably imperial green. Another embroidered handkerchief wrapped around a sapphire-studded diamond necklace and bracelet set. There was also a ring and a brooch. Finally, an embroidered handkerchief held two Mutton Fat Jade Pendants with dragon and phoenix motifs. Underneath three packages, the box was lined with two pieces of silk. Wrapped in the silk were two embroidered paintings: one of peonies symbolizing wealth and prosperity, and the other of twin lotuses. Their meanings were very auspicious. In the last layer of the small box, there was a 1952 property deed for a house in Shanghai signed by Zhou Jiao.

"Husband, I’ve never looked closely at this box; my memory of it is vague. Grandma clearly told me she had sold off all the valuables brought from home to scrape by, living on embroidery work, with even the family servants chopping wood to buy rice. Her personal maid, after getting married, occasionally helped financially. Luckily, she met Grandpa and didn’t starve.

Help me check if this property deed is for a place in Shanghai. Grandma came from Beijing and never visited Shanghai, so where did this 1952 deed come from? Five years ago, it was still in my name. Who filed it? Grandma never traveled far. In 1952, I was 11, so it must have been purchased when I was 10. It couldn’t have been bought by my mom since she had already prepared a property for me in Beijing."

From the moment Zhang Guoqing saw the deed, he furrowed his brows, hesitant to speak. With this wooden box, his thoughts became clear, and all doubts were verified. The question was that Grandma secretly handed this to Zhou Jiao, and no one else knew, not even Grandpa Zhou. So did Grandma know who sent this?

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