CHAPTER 134: CHAPTER 106: RETURNING HOME AT NIGHT

The car returned to Zhang Family Village from the provincial city as night fell, with only a few scattered lights in the village.

Zhang Guoqing and his mother got off the car. Zhang Guoqing carried the things inside with his mother. His father, who was already anxiously pacing around, very unusually ran out to meet them. Apart from books and tapes, he let them move everything into the East Wing of the main house, where they could organize themselves.

Zhang Guoqing didn’t have time to say much to his parents. He carried a few stacks of old books and tapes into the small living room, then quickly ran back to bring the rest of the things down, parked the car properly, and finally waited for his father. After helping with the last bag, he swiftly brought in the last of the books, jogging back to the room.

Without minding organizing the books, he piled them up in the small living room and entered the room with the bag of tapes. As he entered, he saw Jiao Jiao leaning there waiting for him, and he was immediately greeted with a bright smile on her face.

"Jiao Jiao, what did you eat for dinner? Were you waiting impatiently?"

"Brother, did you eat? Did my mom get a sleeper ticket? Is she in Beijing now?"

The two of them said in unison and then burst into laughter.

Zhang Guoqing looked at his son, who was still awake and hadn’t slept, "Ping’an, why aren’t you asleep yet? Baby, your daddy is back. Honey, I bought a lot of tapes, you won’t be bored in the future. There are songs, storytelling, opera; they’re all in the bag. I’ll put them aside for now, you can look at them later. Son, daddy will play some music for you."

Zhang Guoqing arranged the tapes, turned down the volume a bit, kissed Zhou Jiao on the cheek while holding her in his arms, "What did you have for dinner? Were they impatient with you? Did anyone make snide remarks? You weren’t wronged, were you?"

Zhou Jiao wriggled comfortably against him, "No, sister-in-law brought it over. At noon, it was noodles with chicken soup and drumsticks on the stove. In the evening, she also brought rice with drumsticks and chicken soup from the stove. Can you smell it? The room is full of chicken soup and a stinky smell."

Zhang Guoqing pressed his chin against her head and took a deep breath, "No stinky smell on your body, it smells quite nice. The whole room smells like chicken soup but it’s a meaty aroma. Jiao Jiao, I’m craving some meat." He finished with a double entendre, smacking his lips together.

Zhou Jiao burst into laughter, trembling with mirth in his arms. Zhang Guoqing found it amusing too and started teasing her, making her laugh even more.

Finally stopping his teasing, Zhou Jiao stopped laughing, "There happens to be a lot of meat at home these days, eat to your heart’s content. Hehe, brother, go eat first, come back early to chat with me after dinner."

"Alright, I’ll be back as soon as I finish eating, even if nine horses can’t pull me away. I’ll brew some white fungus and red jujube soup for your late-night snack in the stove. You’ve probably had enough of the old hen soup every day. Tomorrow I’ll change your taste, we’ll eat something else. With a stove now, we don’t have to avoid them, at most just leaving them a bowl or two."

Zhang Guoqing released her, found white fungus, red dates, and sugar blocks from the box, washed them, and put them in a small pot on the charcoal stove, closing its vent to let it simmer slowly.

"How’s that Ah Jiao intake going? If it’s still tolerable, continue treating it as medicine. Your mom’s way of brewing is not good. I think we should find a doctor to make it into Ah Jiao paste with some walnuts, red dates, and honey, just like before. This way, you can have it as a nutritional supplement even after confinement."

"No need to find someone, I learned from Grandma, I can make it better myself. Bring me some black sesame seeds, look at my hair, it’s all dry and ugly. I have the rest of the ingredients here."

Zhang Guoqing looked at her with disbelief.

Zhou Jiao rolled her eyes at him, "What kind of look was that? I really do know medicine, I’m an inherited Imperial Physician, specialized in gynecology and pediatrics. You have to have confidence in me. I’ll make a small batch to show you."

"I don’t doubt you being unattractive, you’re the prettiest in my eyes, your smile is very captivating. Honey, really. Look into my eyes, do you see the sincerity? How about letting Doctor Zhou brew you just one or two bottles first, then after your confinement, you can brew more."

Zhou Jiao shook her head proudly, raising her chin, "No need to be so troublesome, I’m already 7-8 days in and can get out of bed. I’ll brew it myself, if I use rock sugar, I know how it tastes, too sweet isn’t good."

Zhang Guoqing adored her demeanor, embraced her, and gave her a bite, "Alright, as you say, I’ll fetch some black sesame seeds, and you direct me on what to do."

"Then go eat first, you’ve got everything sorted here." After saying that, Zhou Jiao dismissively waved her hand for him to go eat, before his mother started calling him.