Chapter 571: Follow-up on borrowing a house, 1976, the Zhou family is about to be reunited
Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao came here today for two purposes. One was to see Zheng Juan and the children, and the other was the main purpose, which was for the house.
The conditions of Qiao Chunyan's family are actually not much different from those of the Zhou family, with their houses having two and a half rooms.
But Cao Debao's family situation was much worse. He and his parents lived in the same room, so when they got married, Qiao Chunyan didn't ask for anything. Instead, Cao Debao lived with Qiao Chunyan in Qiao's house.
In this day and age, this situation is equivalent to having a son-in-law come to your door.
When they first got married, Cao Debao didn't say anything, but after getting married, his heart became unbalanced. He felt that he was not a son-in-law who came to live in the house. He wanted to leave the Qiao family, but he didn't have the ability, so he could only live in the Qiao family in a "wrongful" way.
Not long ago, he heard that Xiao Guoqing and his wife moved into the Zhou family's house and would not move out until the next year. This immediately made him think.
Since Xiao Guoqing can borrow a house from Zhou Chen, can they also borrow a house from Zhou Chen?
So he persuaded Qiao Chunyan to borrow a house from Zhou Chen.
Qiao Chunyan didn't want to come at first, but Cao Debao was indeed very talkative and good at coaxing people. He convinced Qiao Chunyan in just a few words.
Although they live at home, living with their parents is not as comfortable as living by themselves. The house is so big. If they can move into the Zhou family's house, she and Cao Debao will have much more freedom.
Therefore, Qiao Chunyan's heart was moved, but she was smarter than Cao Debao and knew that it would be difficult to find Zhou Chen if she went to see Zhou Chen rashly, so she kept waiting.
Finally, after learning that Zheng Juan had given birth to a boy, she took action.
She felt that Zhou Chen must be in a very good mood after having a son. If she raised the matter at this time, maybe Zhou Chen would agree as soon as he was happy.
"Brother, you know that my dad is a smoker and a drinker. I heard people say that smoking and drinking have an impact on children, especially newborn babies. So I feel that after I gave birth to a baby, I finally
It's better that we can't live with my dad; brother, I want to ask you if you can lend us your house for a while?"
Zhou Chen looked at Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao with a half-smile, and asked, "You also want to borrow a house?"
Cao Debao was a little embarrassed, but Qiao Chunyan said with a smile: "Yes, brother, we also want to do it for the sake of our children, and we ask for your help."
Zhou Chen asked calmly: "Oh, how long do you want to stay?"
Hearing Zhou Chen's words, both Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao's eyes lit up. Cao Debao wanted to speak immediately, but Qiao Chunyan glared back.
Qiao Chunyan asked tentatively: "Brother, we want to wait until the child is a little older and then go back to live for one year. What do you think?"
"One year?"
Zhou Chen sighed in his heart, this Qiao Chunyan really dared to say that it took a year since she opened her mouth.
"Chunyan, if you want to say ten days and a half month, I can lend it to you, but if you want to live there for a year, I can't do it. You also know that my father built the house at home.
If you want to stay during the National Day, I only agreed to it because of my dad. If you want to stay for a year now, again, you have to ask my parents."
Qiao Chunyan said: "Is this necessary? Brother, can't you just make the decision directly?"
Zhou Chen said: "I don't have that much power. This house belongs to my father, and I am not the eldest son in the family. This house will definitely be left to my eldest brother in the future. Do you think I have the power to dispose of it? If
If I really have the power, I would definitely lend it to you, but it’s a pity that I don’t have the power.”
Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao looked at each other, and Qiao Chunyan asked: "How about asking your godmother?"
Zhou Chen said directly: "It's useless to ask her. My dad has always made the final decision on our family's affairs."
Cao Debao suddenly said: "Bingkun, how about if you look at this, instead of living in your house for free, we pay the rent?"
Qiao Chunyan agreed: "Yes, brother, we can pay the rent, and we will treat your house as if it were our own. You don't have to worry about this at all."
Zhou Chen's face was serious and he said in a deep voice: "If you say that, then I can tell you with certainty that the house will not be rented to you."
"Why?" Cao Debao couldn't understand.
Zhou Chen said calmly: "If you ask me to borrow, my dad might agree, but if you ask me to rent, my dad will never agree. He has said this before."
He had never thought about renting out the Zhou family's old house. If he accepted money from Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao, given their personalities, he might not know what they would say about him behind their backs, and they might not even care about their house at all.
.
On the contrary, if they don't charge money and just borrow money, they will definitely have some scruples. Even if they damage the house unintentionally, they will find a way to repair it.
"Then, we just wait for godfather's reply?" Qiao Chunyan asked tentatively.
Zhou Chen could only nod. This kind of thing happened every day. He was very tired of it and just wanted to get rid of Cao Debao and Qiao Chunyan as soon as possible.
If he wasn't worried about his mother Li Suhua being sad, he would have rejected Qiao Chunyan directly, but after thinking about it, he held back. After all, they were neighbors for many years, and Chunyan's mother had indeed taken care of Li Suhua a lot in the past. There was no need to tear her apart just because of this.
fall out.
At the same time, Chunyan's mother, who was in the room, also mentioned the house to Li Suhua.
When she learned that Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao wanted to borrow a house, Li Suhua was not very willing. The last time Xiao Guoqing borrowed a house, she was actually not very willing either.
It's not that she was stingy, but that house meant a lot to their family, and she also thought that if she couldn't get used to staying here with her youngest son, she would go back to Guangzipian to live there for a few days.
But if she even rents out the house, she won't be able to go back even if she wants to.
Based on the previous experience, although Li Suhua did not agree, she did not reject it either. She told Zhou Chen the same reason and temporarily rejected Chunyan's mother.
Winter goes to spring, spring goes to winter...
Time flies and it’s the eve of the Spring Festival in 1976.
"Ruirui, come, come to mom."
In the small yard in front of Zhou's house, Zheng Juan pointed to the snowman that Zhou Chen had built and waved vigorously to Zhou Rui who was standing at the door.
Today, Zhou Rui is twenty months old, turning three years old during the Chinese New Year. He is a little man less than one meter tall, wearing a cotton-padded jacket, and looks like a little penguin. He is round and very cute.
Zhou Rui's appearance is more similar to Zheng Juan's, she is more delicate, her skin is white and tender, like a small porcelain doll, but the weather is a bit cold, and her face is red from the cold.
Hearing his mother's call, Zhou Rui walked out of the threshold cautiously, stepping on the snow, walking slowly and slowly towards Zheng Juan step by step. When he was almost in front of Zheng Juan, he pounced towards her, and Zheng Juan just hit her
Hold him in your arms.
"You kid, be careful. Come and see the snowman daddy built. Does it look good?"
More than a year later, Zheng Juan has recovered from the childbirth, her figure has become slimmer, she has become much more mature, and she looks more attractive.
"Good-looking, good-looking."
Zhou Rui clapped his hands and shouted happily.
Although Zhou Rui is less than two years old, Zhou Chen, who has rich parenting experience, has been teaching him since he was very young. Therefore, at twenty months old, Zhou Rui can already speak in small sentences and understand a lot.
talk.
Zhou Chen looked at his wife and children and felt very satisfied. In this world, he can be said to be very relaxed. He reads, writes and spends time with his wife and children every day, which is very leisurely.
In the past year or so, a lot of things have happened, some good and some bad.
Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao came to borrow a house before, and Zhou Zhigang finally agreed, but he also said that they would be allowed to live for half a year at most. If they were willing to live, they could live there. If they were not willing, just forget it. He did not explain more.
However, Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao naturally agreed. After moving there, they stayed there for half a year, and then delayed their move for another month.
It was because Li Suhua said she would go back to live for a few days that they had to move out. Later, Li Suhua did go back to live for two months. Before the Chinese New Year, she returned to Zhou Chen's place to help Zheng Juan take care of the children.
During the Spring Festival of 1975, Qiao Chunyan and Xiao Guoqing came to the house at the same time and wanted to rent a house temporarily because both of them had two sisters who would be back for the New Year.
The two families came to borrow a house together, which made Zhou Chen extremely annoyed. This time, he did not let go, and directly called the two families together and rejected them face to face.
For this reason, the scene at that time was a bit ugly. Xiao Guoqing was okay, but Wu Qian, Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao all looked ugly.
Wu Qian and Xiao Guoqing looked on, but Qiao Chunyan's words were a bit harsh at that time, and she even wanted to ask Li Suhua for mercy, but Zhou Chen scolded her. Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao were so angry that they slammed the door and walked out.
That is to say, after that time, in the next year, neither Qiao Chunyan nor Cao Debao came to visit again, let alone contacted Zhou Chen.
Not only did Zhou Chen not pay attention to this situation, but he felt relieved. He had never wanted to have a close relationship with them in the first place. Now that they could retreat despite the difficulties, that would be the best.
As for Xiao Guoqing, she was not unfamiliar with him, but Wu Qian was a little unhappy every time she saw him, but Zhou Chen didn't bother to pay attention to her.
The bad thing is that Zheng Juan's mother, Aunt Zheng, did not survive last summer and died.
However, Aunt Zheng died relatively peacefully. Her daughter married into a good family, and her son-in-law also promised her that he would take good care of his daughter and son in the future.
Although Zheng Juan and Zheng Guangming were not her biological children, they were closer to her than her biological children, so seeing that they had support, she had no regrets in leaving.
Aunt Zheng's funeral was organized by Zhou Chen. During that time, Zheng Juan and Zheng Guangming cried heartbrokenly. They were both in low spirits for a period of time. Fortunately, Zhou Chen was there to comfort them, and their son Zhou Rui was also there.
, Zheng Juan became strong and recovered quickly.
After Aunt Zheng left, Zheng Juan was worried about Zheng Guangming, so Zhou Chen followed her wishes and took Guangming over. Now he is living with their family for half a year.
Although Guangming can't see clearly, he is a very sensible child and gets along well with Li Suhua. He often takes Zhou Rui to play with him.
Just last year, Sun Qianchao, one of the young people who made phototypes, also got married. The person he got married to was introduced by Qiao Chunyan, who also works in a public bathhouse and is Qiao Chunyan's apprentice, Yu Hong.
However, Xiao Guoqing and Wu Qian are not living well, not only in life, but also in terms of children. They don't know what's going on. They have been married for several years, but they are not pregnant yet. They don't know what's going on behind the scenes.
How many times has it been discussed?
Several times when Xiao Guoqing was drinking with Zhou Chen, he said that he was feeling aggrieved because people were gossiping about him behind his back. He also said that Wu Qian asked him to go to the hospital for a check-up. For this matter, the two of them got into trouble.
Even Zhou Chen, who has watched the TV series, doesn't know much about Xiao Guoqing and Wu Qian's children.
It was at the end of the plot that it was mentioned that their son seemed to have gone to work as a senior executive and was doing well in Pengcheng. In the end, the old couple was planning to go to Pengcheng to live with their son.
As for their son's name, how old he was, and when he was born, Zhou Chen really didn't know.
The family of three played in the snow for a while. Zhou Rui sweated. Zheng Juan was afraid that he would get sick, so she took him into the house.
"Bingkun, go check on Guangming and see if he's feeling better." Zheng Juan said to Zhou Chen.
Zhou Chen said: "I'll go take a look right now."
When he came to Guangming's room, he saw Guangming lying on the bed. Hearing Guangming's voice, he immediately sat up and asked, "Is he brother-in-law?"
"Well, it's me, Guangming. How do you feel now? Are you feeling better?"
Zhou Chen sat by the bed and asked with concern. Zheng Guangming took Zhou Rui to play outside two days ago. He caught a cold and caught a cold. He also had a fever for the past two days.
Guangming showed a smile and said: "Brother-in-law, the medicine you gave me really works. I feel much better now, I am not hot anymore, and I am still a little sweaty. I think I am almost healed."
Zhou Chen touched Guangming's forehead and found that his body temperature was indeed normal. He touched his heart and palms again. They were slightly warm, but it was not a big problem.
"It's indeed a lot better. If you take another day of rest today, you will be able to recover tomorrow. Let your sister get you some delicious tonic tomorrow."
"No need, brother-in-law, I'm in good health. I'd better give Ruirui some supplements."
Zhou Chen smiled and said: "Don't be polite to your brother-in-law. That kid Ruirui is raising a baby like a calf. The one who needs to be replenished now is you. When you are well, in a few years, I will take you to the capital for treatment."
If your eyes are not good in the capital, my brother-in-law will take you abroad and he will definitely cure your eyes."
Zheng Guangming said quickly: "Brother-in-law, you don't have to worry about me. I haven't been able to see you for so many years. Even if you can't see me anymore, I'm fine. You don't have to do so much for me."
"Silly boy, what are you talking about?"
Zhou Chen touched Zheng Guangming's forehead. Although Guangming was already an uncle, he was actually only thirteen years old this year. He was still a child. How could he not be curious about the world? He just didn't want to cause trouble for them.
"You don't have to think so much. My brother-in-law will arrange everything. You can do whatever your brother-in-law asks you to do, you know?"
"oh."
Zheng Guangming responded. He had lived with Zhou Chen for so long and knew Zhou Chen's character.
Let Guangming continue to sleep, Zhou Chen came to the kitchen, Li Suhua was making cakes, Zheng Juan was helping next to him, and Zhou Rui was making trouble next to him.
"Mom, it's still more than a month before the Chinese New Year. Isn't it too early for you to start making cakes?"
"Not early, not early."
Li Suhua's face was full of joy and she was very happy: "This year your dad, your eldest brother and your sister are all coming back. It has been seven years since 1969 when your dad went to Shancheng, your eldest brother went to the Corps, and your sister went to Guizhou Province.
, we can finally be together, I have to make good preparations."
Listening to Li Suhua's words, Zhou Chen knew the pain in the old lady's heart. Her husband, eldest son and daughter had not seen each other for seven years, and she didn't know how much she was thinking about them.
There was still more than a month until they could meet each other. She was so excited that she couldn't take any time off for a moment. She just wanted to do something for them and do something for the family.
"Okay, then you prepare. If there is anything else you need, just tell me and I will buy it. If you can't buy it, I will ask someone to buy it."
Li Suhua glared at him and cursed with a smile: "I know you are capable, let's see what you can do. Kun'er, I have to warn you in advance. Your father is back. You can't quarrel with him. If he scolds you, you will be beaten."
If you give me two blows, let him scold you, let him hit you, don't talk back, do you hear me?"
Zhou Chen looked helpless: "Just do as you say, even if I am beaten to death, I will never fight back."
"You kid, what are you talking about? Ruirui is still here, can you act like a father?"
Zhou Chen laughed loudly, walked up to Zhou Rui, and picked him up: "Come on, Rui Rui, daddy will take you to your room and tell you a story."
"Dad is great. Dad, I want to listen to Bear Haunt, I want to listen to Bear Big Bear II."
"Okay, daddy will tell you."
The Bears was a cartoon produced decades later, but Zhou Chen turned it into a story and told it to his son. Unexpectedly, Zhou Rui still liked hearing this story.
A few days later, something big happened suddenly, and the whole country fell into grief.
It was also the first time for Zhou Chen to experience such a moment, but he was also an adult. He knew that this moment was special and he felt sad, but he did not show it too much and continued to commute to get off work normally every day.
One day, Lu Chuan and Tang Xiangyang invited him to visit Qu Shuji's home. He thought about it and agreed.
A few years later, although he didn't have much contact with Ma Shouchang and Qu Xiuzhen, they were very chatty with each other. However, after Ma Shouchang resumed work, he became much busier and rarely had time to talk to him.
.
But every Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival, he would take the initiative to visit us, and sometimes he would stay for dinner, which made the two people who always spent the holidays alone very happy.
Lu Chuan, Tang Xiangyang and Cao Debao from the soy sauce factory also go to Qu Shuji's house every year. They also invite Zhou Chen to come with them, but Zhou Chen does not come with them. Instead, he misses the time with them.
His friendship with Ma Shouchang and Qu Xiuzhen was based on pure respect and friendship. He never thought of currying favor with them, and he had no utilitarianism. He was completely different from Cao Debao and others, so naturally he would not join them.