Chapter 599: Meeting with in-laws? Qiao Chunyan comes to the door
In the winter of Jichun, the temperature is very low. Although the sun is still hanging in the sky, the warmth it emits still cannot offset the severe cold snow season.
Zhou Chen used to live in the south most of the time. There were only a handful of snowfalls in the south in winter, but there was really too much snow in the north, and the snow on the ground basically never dissipated.
Zhou Chen walked outside the door and saw Zhou Zhigang sweeping the snow with a big broom, and walked up.
"Dad, I'd better do it."
Zhou Zhigang stopped, wiped his sweat, and waved his hand: "No, I'm a hard-working person, so I have to find something to do."
Today is the 29th of the New Year, and there is no New Year’s Eve this year, so the 29th is New Year’s Eve.
As I was sweeping the floor, I saw Zhou Bingyi coming on a bicycle with Hao Dongmei.
"Bingyi, Dongmei, why did you come here so early?"
Zhou Bingyi parked the car and said, "Dad, I came here early because I have something to tell you. Dongmei's parents told her that they will come over this afternoon to sit down."
When Zhou Zhigang heard this, he quickly threw away the big broom in his hand and asked: "Then will they eat at home? I will ask your mother and Zheng Juan to prepare it right away."
"No, no need."
Zhou Bingyi grabbed his father and said, "Dad, Dongmei's parents have a lot of things to do at home and won't stay for dinner, so there won't be any trouble."
Hao Dongmei then said: "Dad, my parents are here this time. The main reason is to get to know you and mom, meet in person, and get to know each other by the way."
"By the way, Dad, my parents asked me to tell you thank you for the tea you gave them."
It turned out that after Jin Yueji had an argument with her daughter last night, she came back and told her husband about the matter. Finally, under Jin Yueji's persuasion, Hao Gaoguan reluctantly agreed to marry the in-laws.
After Zhou Zhigang heard this, a smile appeared on his face involuntarily. He was a high-ranking official from the province, and he actually took the initiative to visit him. This greatly satisfied his vanity.
"Afternoon, right? Afternoon."
While murmuring, Zhou Zhigang suddenly asked Zhou Chen: "Bingkun, your sister will be home in the afternoon too, right?"
"Well, they're on the afternoon train."
Zhou Zhigang pondered for a moment, and then said: "Well, Bingkun, you don't have to pick up your sister and the others in the afternoon. They can reach here anyway. From now on, let's tidy up the house, clean it, etc.
Dongmei’s parents are coming over this afternoon, so we can’t leave a bad impression on others.”
Zhou Chen was shocked by these words. It's okay. In order to entertain the relatives of high-ranking officials, he even ignored his most beloved daughter.
But this was exactly what he wanted. Anyway, he didn't want to pick up Zhou Rong and Feng Huacheng.
It is still unknown whether Hao Dongmei's parents will come over.
"Let's go, Bingkun, go back quickly and tell your mother and Zheng Juan, and then take action."
Zhou Bingyi quickly walked over and helped Zhou Zhigang: "Dad, I'm here to help you too."
He was very unhappy when he saw his mother-in-law's attitude last night, but this morning he heard that his parents-in-law were willing to come over to meet his parents. His unhappiness immediately disappeared.
In fact, his thoughts were similar to Zhou Zhigang's. He felt that he had surpassed the Hao family. Now that the Hao family's parents were willing to come over, not only for the sake of his wife Hao Dongmei, but also for his own sake, so he felt particularly happy, which meant that his parents-in-law were still
Value him.
Zhou Chen watched the father and son enter the house and shook his head. It was too early to be happy. It was really hard to say whether the Hao couple could come.
At Zhou Zhigang's urging, the family started cleaning again. From inside to outside, even the road outside the yard was shoveled clean.
At noon on New Year's Eve, they were supposed to have a sumptuous reunion dinner, but Zhou Zhigang insisted that it would smell like fireworks, so he asked Li Suhua and Zheng Juan to prepare fewer dishes.
Zhou Bingyi and Hao Dongmei both advised that there was no need to do this, but Zhou Zhigang was determined to do this, and there was nothing anyone could do.
Zhou Chen didn't want to persuade him, and the relationship between the two had eased slightly. At this time, there was no need to cause trouble for Zhou Zhigang.
She said she would cook less, but Li Suhua still prepared several dishes. The adults don't have to eat them, but there are three children at home. Those who are older during the Chinese New Year have to eat them.
Because his in-laws were coming over in the afternoon, Zhou Zhigang didn't bring out any wine at noon, he just ate food.
"Bingkun, it's a good thing you bought this house, otherwise if you were to entertain your in-laws in Guangzi Film, there wouldn't even be a place to entertain them."
Zhou Zhigang used to feel very dissatisfied that his younger son had to buy a new house because he couldn't live in it, but now that he thinks about it, this place is much more decent than the one in Guangzhou.
His in-laws were high-ranking provincial officials, and their family lived in a provincial compound, while they lived in a Guangzi film house.
But fortunately, the younger son bought this house. Although it is not as good as the provincial compound, it still looks very decent. At least it will not bring down the Zhou family's face.
Hao Dongmei smiled and said: "Dad, my parents are not that particular. They also came from poor times and don't care about these things."
Zhou Zhigang said: "If your parents don't care, that's your parents' business. It's the first time you come to visit us. Our old Zhou family must not let the in-laws not even have a place to stay."
Hao Dongmei was actually quite happy with Zhou Zhigang's attitude, which showed that her father-in-law valued her parents.
On the other hand, Zhou Bingyi said to Zhou Chen with some shame: "Bingkun, I am an incompetent elder brother, yet I still use your house to entertain my father-in-law and mother-in-law."
"Brother, what you said is wrong. We are brothers. This is my house and your house."
Zhou Chen really didn't pay attention to this house, let alone worry about such a thing.
"Brother, did my sister-in-law's parents tell me when she can come?"
Zhou Bingyi really didn't know yet, so he looked at Hao Dongmei.
Hao Dongmei explained: "My mother said that my father will visit two factories in the afternoon, and he should be free after finishing his work. The specific time depends on the schedule."
Zhou Zhigang waved his hands indifferently: "Okay, no matter what time it is, we just need to be ready and waiting."
As long as the Hao family and his wife can come, he doesn't mind waiting as long as it takes.
Zhou Chen sighed secretly in his heart. Both Zhou Zhigang and Zhou Bingyi put themselves in a very low position. This was not a normal relationship.
He understood what these two people were thinking, but he just felt that they were going too far. In fact, the Zhou family had never asked the Hao family for any help until now, and they never thought of asking for it in the future. They really wouldn't put themselves in such a high position.
Low.
After eating, Zhou Zhigang couldn't sit still anymore and started cleaning up everywhere in the house, this time even the three children were not spared.
"Ruirui, Yueyue, take your brother out to play, don't run around at home, you will make a mess."
Seeing Zhou Zhigang looking for trouble and restless, Zhou Chen felt helpless and could only let Zheng Guangming take his three children out to play.
"Dad, please stop wiping. You will wipe off the paint on the chair."
Zhou Zhigang's face suddenly turned red, and he shouted angrily at Zhou Chen: "I'll pay you if you scratch it."
"Okay, okay, you can wipe it as you like."
"Ha ha……"
The conversation between the two caused everyone in the room to laugh.
The waiting time was long, and soon after four o'clock in the afternoon, Hao Dongmei's parents still did not come, which made both Zhou Bingyi and Hao Dongmei a little anxious. On the contrary, Zhou Zhigang did not show any anxiety.
However, Zhou Chen could see through Zhou Zhigang's thoughts at a glance. He seemed calm on the surface, but in fact, he was no less anxious than Zhou Bingyi.
Although he is an eighth-level worker, he is still a working class person in the final analysis. Compared with the feudal officials like Hao Gaoguan, he is far behind. Therefore, he believes from the bottom of his heart that being able to marry the Hao family will make the old Zhou family more powerful.
glory.
Hao Gaoguan and his wife didn't wait, but an unexpected person did.
Provincial compound!
After Jin Yueji had lunch, she went to the home of her old friends Ma Shouchang and Qu Xiuzhen.
Today she was going to meet the Zhou family. Although she had been a cadre, this was her first time meeting her in-laws. She didn't know much about the Zhou family's situation, so she came to Ma Shouchang and Qu Xiuzhen to inquire.
After learning the purpose of the elder sister's visit, Qu Xiuzhen of course told the truth.
"Sister Jin, when it comes to your in-laws, Lao Ma and I are really unfamiliar with each other, but we are very familiar with that boy Bingkun."
Jin Yueji said with great interest: "Really? Then tell me about Zhou Bingkun. I have heard Dongmei mention him at home. Every time Dongmei talks about Zhou Bingkun, she admires him very much and talks about him."
unusual."
Qu Xiuzhen smiled and said: "Dongmei has a good taste. This boy Zhou Bingkun is indeed extraordinary. Lao Ma and I are both well-informed people, but we don't meet many young and promising young men like Zhou Bingkun."
,He..."
Speaking of Zhou Bingkun, Qu Xiuzhen really talked endlessly. Ma Shouchang sat aside and added a few words from time to time, allowing Jin Yueji to get to know her daughter's brother-in-law in a more three-dimensional way.
She felt that the young man who Ma Shouchang and Qu Xiuzhen valued so much and often talked about was not simple, but he just didn't know how to compare with his son-in-law Zhou Bingyi?
When the three of them said this, they suddenly received a phone call, and Jin Yueji's face suddenly changed.
"Godmother..."
The person who came to the door turned out to be Qiao Chunyan. She took Li Suhua's arm and walked in with a familiar face. When she saw several people in the room, she greeted them with a smile.
"Godfather, brother, brother Bingyi, sister-in-law Dongmei, and Juan'er, you are all here. It seems I came at the right time."
Facing the smiling and enthusiastic Qiao Chunyan, Zhou Zhigang laughed twice.
"It's Chunyan. I heard that you are now the women's director of the district and a national cadre. Yes, yes, you have brought glory to your parents, and also to our photo album."
When Qiao Chunyan heard this, she immediately said humbly: "Godfather, how can I be as good as you said? Compared with my brother, Brother Bingyi and Sister Zhou Rong, I am far behind. The three of them are just like us."
We are the only three college students in the film. Who doesn’t know that they are the role models of our optical type film? It’s glorious.”
Zhou Zhigang, who was not very interested at first, burst into laughter when he heard Qiao Chunyan spoke so nicely.
"You're not bad either. The three of them are still in school. You are already a national cadre and you have a bright future."
"I am just a woman with no education. I have no future. If I can maintain the status quo, I am already content."
"You young people are chatting while I go out for a walk."
Zhou Zhigang walked out of the house with his hands behind his back. He had no intention of talking to Qiao Chunyan, a junior.
After Zhou Zhigang left, Qiao Chunyan immediately sat down next to Zhou Chen enthusiastically.
"Brother, Juan'er, why didn't you tell me that you were back? If I hadn't heard Yu Hong and Wu Qian talk about it, I wouldn't have known you were back."
Zhou Chen didn't say anything, and Zheng Juan replied gently: "We just came back a few days ago. We have been busy cleaning the house recently, so we didn't go to the photo studio."
Qiao Chunyan looked at Zhou Chen and suddenly pulled up his arm: "Brother, why are you ignoring me? Are you still blaming me and Debao for what happened back then? Brother, so many years have passed. Debao and I
We already know we were wrong, can't you forgive us?"
Zhou Chen: "No, Chunyan, you are right, there is no need to forgive, and don't think too much."
Qiao Chunyan said happily: "Brother, what do you mean, are you willing to make peace with us and stop blaming us?"
Zhou Chen said calmly: "You didn't do anything wrong. Why should I blame you? Don't talk about the past anymore. Let the past go by."
Qiao Chunyan was a good person, and she understood Zhou Chen's meaning. Although she said it was not strange, her tone was very cold, and she had an attitude of rejecting her thousands of miles away.
She was only thinking about resuming her relationship with Zhou Chen, so even though Zhou Chen's tone was not very good, she still didn't show anything strange.
"Okay, brother, you are my godbrother. I will listen to you no matter what you say. That is, that arrogant guy from Debao in our family. I have been worried that you are still blaming him, so you dare not come with me. You
Don’t worry, I will talk to him carefully when I get back. How can I still be angry when my brother is so grand?"
Hey, what I said is that Zhou Chen feels that Qiao Chunyan's abilities have improved again. It seems that these years of ups and downs have indeed given her a different kind of training.
"Brother, in the third grade of junior high school, Debao and I called for catching up and National Day and they came to our house for dinner. If you and Juan'er are okay, you can come too. We are a few young people who have not been together for a long time.
Now that we’re together, let’s take this opportunity to have a good gathering and have some fun, how about it?”
Zhou Chen excused himself: "It's the third year of junior high school, so I'm not necessarily free."
"Brother, don't come. You have to give me this face. If you don't come, our dinner party will be meaningless. You must come. Otherwise, I will come over again on the third day of junior high school. It will be too late.
I want to drag you and Juaner over."
Seeing that Zhou Chen didn't agree, Qiao Chunyan acted coquettishly and said to Zhou Chen like a rogue.
Zhou Chen didn't want to quarrel with Qiao Chunyan anymore, so he stood up and said, "Chunyan, you sit down first, I want to go out to discuss something with my dad."
Using this reason, Zhou Chen hurriedly escaped. The main reason was that today, New Year's Eve, Qiao Chunyan also came with something. Even if he had an opinion in his heart, he couldn't just drive them away, so he had to leave by himself.
As soon as Zhou Chen went out, Zhou Bingyi followed him closely, leaving only three women in the room talking.
"Bingkun, this Qiao Chunyan is really different now than before."
Zhou Bingyi is naturally not a stranger to Qiao Chunyan. Although he has not seen her for many years, he has seen her many times when he was a child, so he has a certain understanding of her.
"If it weren't for Zheng Juan, given the relationship between our mother and Aunt Qiao, you and Qiao Chunyan might not have become a couple."
Zhou Chen glanced at him and said, "You still have time to laugh at me now?"
Zhou Bingyi's face suddenly darkened. Of course he knew what Zhou Chen meant by what he said. It was really about not opening the pot but picking up the pot.
"Wait a minute. Dongmei's parents are the kind of people who stick to their word. Since they have agreed to come, they will definitely not break their promise."
"I hope so."
Zhou Chen did not hit him, but just said: "Brother, listen to my advice and be mentally prepared. If they don't come, you have to think about how to persuade our dad. He is more active than you in this matter today."
.”
Zhou Bingyi remained silent. Of course he understood his father's thoughts, but it was not his son-in-law who could make the final decision about Hao Dongmei's parents. He could not decide whether they would come or not.
"It will come, it will definitely come."
I said this not only to Zhou Chen, but also to myself.
It’s just that what is supposed to come will still come.
Qiao Chunyan didn't stay at Zhou's house for long. In the end, she was persuaded to leave by Li Suhua who said that there was something going on at home. But before leaving, she pulled Zhou Chen to talk pitifully, but Zhou Chen just dealt with the matter and did not give any affirmation.
answer.
Zhou Chen didn't want to have too much interaction with Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao. Today, Qiao Chunyan took the initiative to come to the door and her attitude was very enthusiastic. For the sake of the friendship between the two families, he didn't be too indifferent.
But if Qiao Chunyan wanted to take advantage of her past friendship and ask him to attend the party, he would definitely not agree.
The sky was getting dark, but Zhou Bingyi was still standing outside the yard waiting, and Hao Dongmei was walking back and forth anxiously.
Today she has already spoken out. If her parents don't come, how will she behave in front of her father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, brother-in-law, so she is no less anxious than Zhou Bingyi.
Zheng Juan arrived at Zhou Chen and motioned for him to look at his father.
I saw Zhou Zhigang's face was not very good, he was restless, and he picked up his cigarette bag and rolling paper from time to time, but after thinking about it, he finally put it down.
"Bingkun, what time is it now?"
"It's five twenty."
Zhou Zhigang said in a hoarse voice: "It's past five o'clock. When should your sister's train arrive?"
"It's said to be in the afternoon, I don't know the exact time, but it should be in time for the New Year's Eve dinner."
"As long as you can catch up, that's good. As long as you can catch up, that's good."
Zhou Zhigang kept mumbling, and Zhou Chen didn't know how to persuade him. At this time, he knew that the Hao family would no longer come.
"Didi."
Suddenly, a whistle sounded outside the yard, which made Zhou Zhigang, who was restless, stand up instantly.
"Are Dongmei's parents here?"
With that said, he immediately walked out the door. Halfway there, he saw Zhou Chen still sitting on the sofa and immediately urged him with dissatisfaction.
"Bingkun, why are you still sitting there? Come here quickly."
Zhou Chen had no choice but to get up and follow Zhou Zhigang, while Zheng Juan followed him step by step and walked out of the house together.