Time ticked by, and in the blink of an eye, the first snow arrived.
Some of the students lacking adequate clothing and food received school notifications to pick up quilts, cotton-padded jackets, and pants at designated locations. Besides this, daily life seemed unchanged.
The campus still teemed with crowds rushing to various classrooms during breaks, accompanied by the broadcaster blaring the sports march and radio calisthenics.
Laboratory classes, public lectures, ideology courses, and voluntary labor remained as they were.
If anything had changed, what struck Zhou Jiao most was the decline in food quality, the dwindling number of students participating in physical exercise, and the fact she couldn’t always return home.
Zhang Guoqing fetched the meal, declined his classmates’ invitation for a dinner gathering downstairs, and upon returning to his room, he found Zhou Jiao engrossed in her books again. He was curious how Zhou Jiao managed to maintain good eyesight.
"Jiao Jiao, let’s eat first."
Hearing his voice, Zhou Jiao looked at him blankly for a while before snapping back to reality, "When did you get back? Is everything alright at home? Did you see Ping’an?"
Zhang Guoqing had taken advantage of going into the city with classmates in the afternoon to come home. Having checked on his son, he hurried back, worried she wasn’t eating on time.
"Let’s talk while eating." He handed her chopsticks, "I went to the daycare and saw our son. He’s doing well and was playing happily. I even stayed for a chat with him. The auntie there said he’s fine and told me not to worry."
"What did you talk about?"
"Haha... Yesterday, Mom took him to Dong An for lamb hotpot. The little guy is living even better than us. He proudly asked me to tell you that his grandpa let him touch the real thing."
Zhou Jiao laughed and nodded, "That’s good. I was worried he might not adapt to the weather. Did you hand over the stuff to Auntie?"
Zhang Guoqing gestured for her to eat, watching her take a bite, and nodded with satisfaction, "Yes, I gave it to her. I also asked her to use the nutritional supplements. Ping’an’s clothes were handed over to Aunt Chen in her presence."
Zhou Jiao told him to eat first and talk later. If there were no meetings or teaching sessions in the evenings these days, she’d decide to go home once.
After dinner, seeing that he stopped her from doing the dishes and made two cups of tea on the table, Zhou Jiao wondered if he wanted a long talk.
"The Lin Family moved back to the Big Courtyard the day before yesterday, and Lin Laoyao also returned from the South. According to Auntie’s report, Lin Lao’er seems to want to retire before the New Year and return to Beijing. These past two days, Mr. Lin has been seeking people for the procedures."
Zhou Jiao never had a good impression of the Lin Family, as long as they stayed out of her way it was fine.
"You see, there’s always a distinction between who is favored and who isn’t. As long as their last name is Lin, Mr. Lin gives it his all."
Zhang Guoqing chuckled and nodded. He understood Zhou Jiao meant that simply because her last name was Zhou, she wasn’t under Mr. Lin’s protection. Many things can’t be compared; human nature is inherently selfish.
"That useless Lin Lao’er can sure pick a family! I thought he’d stay at least another three to five years, but he couldn’t hold out. Where’s the integrity? He’s even a Party member."
Zhang Guoqing secretly contemplated whether to interfere. Didn’t Gu Ruyi always dote on her youngest son? If her precious boy couldn’t return, would it worsen her condition till she breathed her last? That wouldn’t do; he wanted the old woman to live well to see this wonderful world.
Zhou Jiao glanced at his expression and quietly advised him, "Watch from the sidelines, don’t intervene. What’s the Lin Family to us? We should stay far away. Now they still want to play tricks, but who in Beijing is foolish? Let’s see if they settle accounts after Autumn."
While Zhou Jiao was advising Zhang Guoqing, at the same moment, Mr. Lin was also advising his old partner.
In the bedroom, Mr. Lin was secretly glad his partner’s hearing was normal. He whispered in Gu Ruyi’s ear, "The better the unit, the more people are envious. My plan isn’t wrong. Let Lao’er’s family live in the suburbs for a few years first, and then slowly plan."



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