CHAPTER 417: CHAPTER 314: PREPARING TO LEAVE

Time flies, and the family gathered together to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The day of departure was approaching, but Zhou Xiaozheng and his daughter did not mention this topic.

As they spent more and more time together, Zhou Jiao was reluctant to leave her family. However, there were many hurdles ahead that she had to overcome; she could only move forward and not backward.

Zhou Jiao took advantage of her parents being at work to start making dumplings and buns, and went out to buy cooked food, and brewed thick soup. She used every method she could think of to get her dad to eat a little more.

Standing in the storage room, looking at the jars of food leaning against the wall, she pondered her thoughts wistfully. The matters with the Gu Family in Beijing were resolved, and those who should go to hell had gone; her dad also had his brothers to assist him. It seemed like she had no further use staying.

Zhang Guoqing hugged her from behind, smiling as he told her that soon, very soon, they would be reunited and never part again. The journey to S City was inevitable—at the moment they had to forge their path.

Zhou Jiao turned around to embrace him, burying her head against his chest, taking a deep breath, and then looked up to give him a bright smile. The two of them held each other, silly smiles on their faces as they met each other’s gaze.

That evening, Zhou Jiao declined Aunt Chen’s help and personally prepared a table of dishes that her parents loved.

At the dining table, Zhou Xiaozheng tasted each dish with a smile, giving her a thumbs up, but throughout the meal, he didn’t utter a single word. He wanted to say, "Jiao Jiao, don’t go, Dad can’t bear to let you."

He had so much he wanted to say, but when he looked into her eyes, he held back—

This life, ultimately, is for oneself to navigate.

And his Jiao Jiao, even if the road ahead was uncertain, she would have to walk the path she wanted to take.

After an unspoken dinner, Lin Lishan ran back to the room crying.

Zhou Xiaozheng took Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing to the study room.

The study was silent.

The three sat quietly, looking at each other.

After a long time, Lin Lishan entered with red eyes.

Zhou Xiaozheng stood up, patted her, and let her sit down.

He uttered the first sentence of the night, his hoarse voice saying, "Dad knows, as long as you’re sure Dad is safe... you will be leaving soon."

After speaking, he looked upward and said the second sentence, "Dad will be at home waiting for you to come back. Don’t forget to come home, you and Xiao Wu."

Zhou Jiao’s façade of strength crumbled instantly, and tears silently streamed down her cheeks. She lowered her head, struggled to steady her breath, and said with a smile, "Dad, wait for me to come home, definitely wait for me to come home."

Zhang Guoqing handed her a handkerchief and said to his father-in-law, who was looking upward from his seat, "Dad, when the weather warms, Jiao Jiao will often bring Ping’an home. I’m already familiar with the station; it’s safe on the train, nothing to worry about. Didn’t you and Mom say our family isn’t short on money? We can take the train for trips."

After speaking, seeing Lin Lishan nodding incessantly, he forced a smile and said with a strong feeling of sadness, "Uncle Dashan is one of us; whenever I am free, I will take leave to visit, perhaps during May Day, National Day, or even on Children’s Day, Ping’an has to celebrate it, right?"

Lin Lishan was amused and laughed heartily.

The more Zhang Guoqing spoke, the more enthusiastic he became, "You don’t need to feel sad. I’ve got it all planned out. In the future, I’ll take all the business trips assigned through Uncle Dashan, and since traveling to the Northeast means passing through Beijing, I’ll leave Ping’an with you, and take Jiao Jiao for a business travel tour."

"How could you take your family on a business trip? Better she stays home. Be good and don’t cry, Dad’s thought it over, and for any meetings at the Northeast Military District I’ll take over."

Zhou Xiaozheng’s eyes lit up after hearing Zhang Guoqing’s words, realizing there were many ways he could go over. But he didn’t plan to inform his children, for fear that his naïve child would worry about him making mistakes.

Zhou Jiao nodded with a smile.

Zhang Guoqing joked, "Anything else? I’ll definitely make sure you get back home often. Otherwise, what if the house gets flooded?"

Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head at the young couple, feeling relieved with Zhang Guoqing, his son-in-law, by their side he had fewer concerns.

Zhou Jiao gave her father a radiant smile, "Dad, help me prepare tickets for S City. I’ll be back in three to five days, and back to Northeast by the end of the month. I’ll bring you a gift!"

Lin Lishan quickly said, "I’ll go too! Leave it to Mama to decide."

Zhou Jiao looked at her curiously, then why were you crying just now?

"Okay! You go with them. I’ll stay back this time, and next time we’ll go to the old house together," Zhou Xiaozheng nodded in agreement.

He had his concerns; some things seemed calm on the surface, but if he rushed toward Jiangnan, many forces would watch him.

The old house was relatively safe under Old Mrs. Cheng’s protection, but he still needed to consider meticulously concerning the hidden inheritance. Currently, they couldn’t go to the Gu Family’s old house.

After deciding on the journey knowing they had to return to Beijing, Lin Lishan excitedly ignored everything else, took out pen and paper, and started planning the route and purchasing gifts.

Zhou Xiaozheng picked up a pen and sketched a simple route of S City on the stationery, marking the house location and adding the contact address for his comrade Wang Dong. He instructed Zhou Jiao on how to handle things upon arrival and to seek help from him if any difficulties arose.

Upon learning that the person had transferred to a city bureau, Zhou Jiao realized that everything was already under her dad’s plan. She listened carefully and analyzed the person’s family background and preferences, earning praise and a smile from him, whereupon she beamed with happiness.

During this period, her dad would assign homework whenever he took Zhang Guoqing and her to visit others. Now whenever she encountered people or things, she would subconsciously analyze and comment. She remembered a few things he often said—talents abound across all walks of life, speak less and observe more; when dealing with people, treat equals with equality, learn to provide timely help, and avoid adding to others’ successes merely.

The next day Zhou Jiao privately informed Old Mrs. Cheng. For this trip to S City, the Zhou Family didn’t announce it externally, planning to tell outsiders they went out for a stroll once they’d left.

Old Mrs. Cheng, upon learning early in the morning that they were taking the child to S City, immediately instructed Aunt Chen to find Lin Lishan and told her not to buy tickets just yet. She speculated that Lin Lishan could only buy ordinary sleeper tickets. With the child being young, she must personally go over to take care of them and could also secure soft sleepers.

As for Zhou Jiao saying it was just a trip to S City, she smiled. If it were someone else, she might believe it, but her family’s Jiao Jiao? Impossible! It was just right for her to go and take care of the child, allowing the couple to handle things.

Zhou Jiao worriedly regretted informing her grandaunt, feeling her actions were not well-considered. Was the elderly lady physically up for this? After several failed attempts to dissuade her, seeing the old lady happily run home to arrange things, she and Zhang Guoqing exchanged a wry smile.

Old Mrs. Cheng ran into Cheng Ruzhu, who was visiting her maternal home. Upon learning that the Wen Family was going to entertain Zhou Xiaozheng and his family, she pulled her back to the bedroom.

When Cheng Ruzhu found out that they were all heading to S City for fun, she immediately objected and insisted on joining. Considering the elderly and the children, she absolutely needed to go. She worked at a commerce department and just so happened to be on a business trip to S City.

Upon hearing her various reasons, Old Mrs. Cheng nodded, instructing her to keep it confidential before departure. She feared the Lin Family would stir trouble. Those granddaughters of Old Lin were discourteous, and her family’s Jiao Jiao, with her thin face, was not to be offended.

After learning about Old Mrs. Cheng’s intention to accompany them post-work, Zhou Xiaozheng directly went over to the Cheng Family and afterward brought Zhou Jiao to the study room. The father and daughter conversed in the study room until shortly before dinner. Besides Zhang Guoqing, who was chatting idly with his mother-in-law, no one knew what they discussed.