Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 862

Chapter 862: Chapter 735: Prepared and Preventive

After a busy spell, the bedroom in the East Wing is as warm as spring.

Two baskets have been used as fruit trays on the kang, piled high with golden-yellow oranges, red apples, and dark purple grapes, wafting a faint, fresh fragrance.

Little Ping’an lay at the head of the kang, dreaming away, his little mouth slightly open as he smacked his lips a few times, smiled, turned over, and continued to sleep. In the study, separated by a wall, Zhou Jiao leaned against the back of a chair, flipping through letters.

Zhang Guoqing lifted the cotton curtain and entered with a plate of frozen pears and persimmons on the table, saying, "Just a little treat; eating too much isn’t good for your health."

Zhou Jiao nodded noncommittally and waved the letter paper in her hand at him, "Don’t rush over to read the mail just yet."

"No hurry, help me gather all the parcel slips together, and I’ll collect them all before dinner," Zhang Guoqing picked up the aluminum pot and checked the flame, "Calculate who hasn’t sent theirs yet, or we can wait a couple more days and gather them all."

Zhou Jiao chuckled and glanced at him, "Sounds like they owe you something."

"They do owe me," Zhang Guoqing shrugged with a smile, "Previously, we sent so many New Year gifts, there’s got to be some reciprocity."

At this point, Zhang Guoqing wiped his hands and hung the towel on the basin rack by the door, quickly returning to sit at the desk, flipping through a stack of letters.

After a moment, he tapped his fingers on the desk and pointed at the pulled-out parcel slips, "Reciprocity, from now on, New Year gifts will be prepared according to these, and forget about others."

"What, has your son influenced you?"

Zhang Guoqing shook his head, "While you’re pregnant with the second child, our expenses have increased, so it’s the right time to set rules. Outwardly, high-end items need to be put away soon."

Zhou Jiao found the reciprocity among people uninteresting. She intended to handle others according to the closeness of their relationship, except for Grandpa Jiang in Hai City and her parents-in-law.

But listening now seemed to imply something else. She recalled Yi Jiefang’s visit earlier, where they whispered outside the door for a good while.

Zhang Guoqing knew her nature to be sensitive and suspicious, worrying she might overthink, so he softly said, "Anyone from the Yi Family who is outside has received notice from Old Yi to stay out of Beijing and, if possible, join the military rather than politics."

Zhou Jiao looked up at him in shock.

Zhang Guoqing glanced at her with an unreadable expression and nodded. Yi Jiefang had come to inform him that some friends had moved their families to cadre schools last month.

However, he didn’t plan to mention this to Zhou Jiao, considering her pregnancy was stressful enough; why worry her more unnecessarily? Let her think it’s not time yet.

Zhou Jiao furrowed her brows, pondering, then immediately pulled out Zuo Lin’s letter and re-read its contents carefully.

Zhang Guoqing sat silently beside her, watching and waiting for her to speak.

After a while, Zhou Jiao sighed, "What’s Aunt’s Uncle planning? Aunt’s family is also at risk; it’s time to take action."

Zhang Guoqing hadn’t read the letter but, upon hearing this, took it from her hand. Zuo Lin’s tone was normal, as usual, except this time he mentioned the whole family planned to stay in their hometown county for a few years, asking the couple to look after the elderly relatives.

He got up and patted her, "Don’t worry, I’m going out for a bit to see if Dad’s absence this month hints at anything outside."

Zhou Jiao shook her head, "Don’t move unless necessary; don’t go out to investigate. Let’s find some newspapers from this period to analyze ourselves, and take our son to visit Fang Fei this evening."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoqing laughed, "Perfect, let’s go see nursing Dad."

Zhou Jiao hesitated, "Tomorrow, let’s take some New Year’s goods to Uncle Wang’s house. See if he knows when Dad is coming back? Logically, he should be back by now."

"Don’t worry, Dad will be fine! Our family is small, so we’re not a big target." Zhang Guoqing’s eyes gleamed, "Tomorrow we’ll announce your pregnancy, claiming your symptoms are strong and you need peace."

Zhou Jiao quickly added, "And ask how to contact Dad so we can report the good news first."

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