CHAPTER 148: CHAPTER 118: LIN FAMILY OF BEIJING (PART 3)

"What do you think after hearing that? This is a 17-year-old rural girl who has never seen the world. She said one thing that’s true; she really doesn’t care about money.

When she got married, Zhang Guoqing’s family gave her a high-priced dowry of 800 yuan, and the Zhou Family didn’t provide any dowry. She used the dowry to buy a sewing machine and brought the rest into the Zhang Family. Zhang Guoqing wanted to buy her big items, but she refused, saying it wasn’t necessary. The family already had a bicycle, so the more low-key she could be, the better. Her cousin had just married out, and besides the "three turns and one ring," there were many other valuable items, but she didn’t even glance at them.

At 17, who wouldn’t want to marry into a family splendidly and with dignity? But how about her? In her in-laws’ family, she handles everything with utmost care. Her two sisters-in-law treat her like their own sister, and her mother-in-law and father-in-law are partial to her.

That was even when her household registration wasn’t local, she had no rations, and no dowry, yet the family protected her. At that time, those people surrounded the Zhang Family’s gate, and everyone in the Zhang Family stood behind her cautiously, afraid of any accidents. Zhang Guoqing protected her, didn’t say a word the whole time, just stood firmly next to her on her left side, while her two sisters-in-law were on her right side, blocking the Zhou Family girl from getting close.

Zhou Jiao knows how to conduct herself. When I saw it, I knew this family was kind-hearted. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have married in. And why did Zhou Jiao get married so early?

Her aunt intended to marry her off to a nephew from her maternal family, which Zhou Jiao found out about. Poor thing, she had no one to help her in the Zhou Family. She said she never thought of running to Beijing to find us. When she was upset about this, Zhang Guoqing received a military recruitment spot from an acquaintance. He immediately went to Zhou Jiao saying he didn’t want to join the army, fearing that if he went, he might end up like her father, leaving no one beside her, feeling heartache for her, so he refused. It was this sentence. Zhou Jiao told Zhang Guoqing, if he wouldn’t regret it, to propose for marriage. She gave him three days to consider before getting his parents’ consent and asking a matchmaker to formally visit.

After returning, Jiao Jiao feared that the Zhou Family wouldn’t let her marry and would scheme against her, so she went to her grandmother, telling her she wanted to marry Zhang Guoqing. If they disagreed, she would return to Beijing. As expected, Old Man Zhou couldn’t bear to lose her, so he agreed with a stern face.

I wondered, these two kids had top grades, always first and second in the county, how could they not go to school? Zhou Jiao always kept her aunt’s scheming about her to herself and hadn’t spoken about it until Shanshan asked. Even Zhang Guoqing didn’t know because she feared he might act impulsively. Shanshan asked her why she didn’t tell her grandmother. She smiled and said her grandmother also looked at the family members’ expressions; what was the use of telling?

She trusts no one, guarded deeply in her heart, cautious in all her actions, calculating every step. Aside from Zhang Guoqing, who has protected her since childhood, she has no close confidants. She’s warm and courteous to everyone, but they mean nothing in her eyes. To her, only Zhang Guoqing and her father, Zhou Xiaozheng, are in her heart.

Towards Shanshan, with her character and disposition, she treats her as her birth mother. But if they aren’t people she trusts, she’ll draw a line in her heart. She’ll protect her mother but can’t trust her.

At 10 years old, she couldn’t bear it and tried every way possible finally to talk to Shanshan on the phone. Shanshan flatly refused her coming over, and for six years after, she never opened a letter she received, didn’t even glance at things delivered. In her hardest moments, she never thought of us first, thought of her mother.

If it weren’t for being emotionally moved during childbirth this time, I guess she would have smiled as if nothing happened, but she would never have contacted Shanshan proactively. When Shanshan gets old, she’ll support her, as it’s her character.

Luckily, she read the letters, and she told Shanshan, Mom, don’t be sad. If I were you, I would also go to find Xiao Wu. I never blamed you; maybe I did before, but it didn’t matter later. After reading the letters, I understood your only belief in living was to find my father. You waited for my dad for so many years, that’s enough for me. When dad returns, live well together; as long as you’re good, even if you’re not with me, I’m happy.

Tell me, why did she endure for so many years only to have an incident occur the next day at her child’s washing ritual? Oh, I forgot to tell you, this is all a setup; I reckon it was Zhou Jiao who led Zhou Xue to cause trouble."