Chapter 378: Chapter 289: What Does She Have to Do with It?

Zhang Guofu came to Huang Yaozong’s house after work, riding his bike and carrying some wine.

After the family finished dinner, seeing his father-in-law proposing to pick up the child, Father Huang took the opportunity to ask his son-in-law to take them to Zhang Guoqing’s house to visit the in-laws.

When the group arrived at Zhang Guoqing’s courtyard, Father Huang saw that the gate wasn’t locked, so he pushed it open and entered the yard, calling for Mr. and Mother Zhang.

In the kitchen, Zhou Jiao heard the noise, curiously stepped out for a look, and realized it was the sister-in-law’s family. Immediately, she understood they came to apologize and explain.

“Come on in, my dad is listening to the opera. It’s loud, so he definitely can’t hear anything from outside. Brother, dad, and mom are all in the living room, you take the in-laws inside quickly.”

Huang Cuilan quietly moved beside Zhou Jiao, seeing her family enter the living room. She pulled Zhou Jiao’s hand and said, “Jiao Jiao, big sister-in-law is done for, mom is angry. You must help your sister-in-law.”

Following her lead, Zhou Jiao went to the kitchen, puzzled, “Mom isn’t angry. What’s going on? Is big sister-in-law overthinking?”

Huang Cuilan whispered in her ear, “My big brother saw mom buying defective products and joked about how Xiao Wu let her buy those? Mom probably felt it was a jab at Xiao Wu and got angry.”

Zhou Jiao didn’t expect this development, her eyes squinted slightly, and she laughed, “You scared me, sister-in-law. I wondered what happened. Just a joke, why would mom get angry?

Do you still not know mom’s temper? She has a wide heart. It’s nothing. Don’t worry needlessly. She’s been all smiles since she got back. You’re overthinking it.”

Angry? Of course, angry! If it was just a light comment like that, her mother-in-law wouldn’t get angry. But the tone and attitude of speaking are key.

The most crucial point is probably that her mother-in-law feels her eldest daughter-in-law’s heart isn’t with the Zhang family. Not thinking about her own family even if there’s a benefit, that’s the most important.

She had no intention of getting involved in this in-law dispute. What does it have to do with her?

See, it’s easy to endure hardship together, but difficult to enjoy prosperity together. Making mistakes when doing more, she never dares to show her sincerity to others, see, this is reality.

Huang Cuilan felt much relieved after hearing Zhou Jiao’s words. Watching her open the pot, inside steaming a small bowl of pear soup, she curiously asked, “Jiao Jiao, who is this for?”

“Dad loves smoking, doesn’t he? I noticed he started coughing last night, so I’m testing to see if drinking this helps.”

Normally, she would have steamed a big pot, but she’s lost interest now. Especially since the other party came in without mentioning taking her to buy defective products. Zhou Jiao doesn’t care about external matters, but she considers herself a common person who values intentions.

“Oh, should I take it in? It’s too hot, I’ll carry it for you.” Without waiting for Zhou Jiao’s response, Huang Cuilan picked up the bowl on a plate and walked out ahead.

Zhou Jiao squinted her eyes slightly, smilingly following her into the living room.

“…It’s nothing, just a joke. If someone takes it seriously, that’s another matter. In-law, you should stay in the city for a few days this time. I’ll take you to meet some old fellows. Every morning they’re exercising not far in front. Those old men are quite interesting, they come from all walks of life.”

“I can’t get used to it, I’ll go back tomorrow. You’re still young, I’ve truly gotten old. The city is crowded and noisy, the countryside is still comfortable. My heart feels empty if I don’t take a walk around the village for a day.”

Zhou Jiao leaned against the heated brick bed in the bedroom, listening to their conversation outside. She dazed for a moment, sat up, took out a pack of embroidery threads, and spread it open on the kang.

Zhang Guoqing specially went to the provincial city to get Zhao Chuan Guang and his wife to help find these embroidery threads. If it weren’t for Huang Hui Min’s immense connections, she couldn’t have gathered them all.

Splitting threads might be a boring task for others, but Zhou Jiao enjoys the process.

Every time she feels troubled, she’ll sit there splitting threads, concentrating fully to forget everything. When she’s tired, she lies down to sleep, waking up to a fresh day.

In her childhood, when she felt sad or upset, she grabbed a small handful of threads, went back to the small room in the ancestral hall, and began splitting threads slowly. Watching the strands of thread appear felt like her sadness and pain were dispersed. She would keep splitting threads, and by nightfall, when her eyes were tired, her spirit relaxed, leaving no trace of sorrow.

Now, with the threads once again in hand, Zhou Jiao calmly closed her eyes to rest for a moment, then began acting swiftly. Perhaps habit became nature; her fingers moved intuitively.

Gradually, the embroidery threads in her hands, speeding up with her movements, transformed into strands of four, eight…

Zhang Guoqing, having seen the guests off, entered with the child and Mother Zhang only to witness this scene. The kang was filled with threads of various thickness and colors, with Zhou Jiao sitting in the middle like a monk in meditation, fingers swiftly gliding, her eyes half-squinted, focused entirely on the threads, oblivious to their arrival.

At this moment, he recalled how Zhou Jiao would stay in the study practicing calligraphy endlessly, from cursive script to small regular script after coming back from her parental home in the past. – She was really provoked this time.

Mother Zhang held her son back, not daring to make any noise. Although she couldn’t do Su Embroidery, she knew simple patterns. She understood not to interrupt now; this was what the elders call being in a trance.

As Zhou Jiao’s hands moved rapidly, Mother Zhang closed her eyes briefly, reopening them and deciding not to watch any longer. Now she realized why Zhou Jiao hid her skills.

If years ago she had done this in front of Huang Zhaodi, that woman would have made her embroider day and night to make money.

She didn’t even need to wait for Zhou Jiao to start embroidering designs; just this thread-splitting technique already revealed she wasn’t simply skilled but mastered it.

Zhang Guoqing, seeing the child hungry, tiptoed to the kang, seeing her unresponsive, started humming the tune she would often hum for their son.

Zhou Jiao came back to her senses, swiftly pulling out the last thread, exhaling slowly. She smiled relievedly, “Mom, why didn’t you call me? Did the guests leave?”

“They just left. Before they did, your sister-in-law came to see you. After going out, she said you were absorbed in splitting the threads, so she didn’t call you.”

Zhou Jiao didn’t bother tidying up, leapt off the kang, wiped her hands with a damp towel, and took her son, “Mom, there are buns in the stove, make sure you and dad eat. Did dad drink the pear soup? Check if he feels any better, continue it tomorrow.”

Mother Zhang, knowing her face was thin, watch her turn to feed/nurse, smiled kindly, “Got it. If you’re okay, mom’s heading back to the room. Remember to sleep early, stop working. Don’t split threads at night anymore, it’s bad for your eyes.”

Zhou Jiao turned and said, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Zhang Guoqing, too, didn’t dare organize the threads on the kang. He took the child after he finished eating, “I think embroidery wears too much, better forget it.”

Zhou Jiao chuckled and gave him a sideways glance. She’s even separated the threads, why worry about embroidering small pieces? She needed to consider the draft for this portrait carefully. Time was tight; the size had to be reduced, making the draft all the more crucial.

Zhang Guoqing, having checked the doors, windows, and kitchen, ensured no safety hazards, added firewood, and returned to the bedroom.

“Jiao Jiao, aren’t you curious about what Huang Yaozong said to make mom angry? Don’t you want to know the purpose of their visit tonight?”

Lying on the kang, Zhou Jiao already felt a bit sleepy. What did she have to do with the Huang family? Seeing his enthusiasm, she cooperated, saying, “Oh, big sister-in-law told me it was a joke. Their purpose was nothing more than to use you.”

“Huang Yaoguo has matured. Every word he says has implications. What else did sister-in-law say to you at night?”

Zhou Jiao looked at him, pondering how best to put it. With Zhang Guofu between them, some things she didn’t want to say outright.

Seeing how he was busy arranging things for others daily, she sincerely didn’t want to burst his bubble. Yet sometimes, it’s those closest who cause the deepest harm.

But looking at the man before her, she sighed inwardly.

“Here’s a suggestion for you; let the Zhang family affairs end here. Start closing your doors, cultivating yourself, apart from collecting large supplies, begin reducing interactions with people, no matter who.”

“Once mom and dad leave in a couple of days, we’ll shut the door. Starting tomorrow, I won’t go out anymore, aiming to catch up on the year I’ve fallen behind in this exam.”

Zhang Guoqing smiled warmly at her. Seems like Zhou Jiao finally got tired of these people and affairs. He’d been waiting for her to say this; she finally voiced it.

He already had a clue without her telling. With no hidden dangers in the village, healthy parents at home, and two brothers with savings still working.

He had done more than enough for the original owner. Apart from taking care of his parents until their end, the rest wasn’t his responsibility anymore.

That evening, Huang Yaoguo kept trying to build rapport, implying Zhang Guoqing should help. But why should he?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep