Indeed, 1.6 yuan still had quite strong purchasing power in this era. It was enough for a dish with meat, a vegetable dish, and a soup—and there was even some change left. “Alright then, it’s basically like we had a free lunch today, though we still need food ration coupons,” He Qiutong comforted herself.
“Let’s eat while there aren’t many people. We’ll go wander around this afternoon—how about the department store? Is there anything you want to buy?” Zhao Huai’an suggested. The classic dating trio was eating, shopping, and watching movies.
Unfortunately, Zhao Huai’an had already checked and found there were no tickets available for the cinema today. Compared to those old films, he would rather take He Qiutong to watch a stage performance—ballet, ideally. But tickets were extremely hard to get. He would have to wait a bit longer, make more connections, and somehow get two ballet tickets so he could take his “wife” to experience something elegant.
Zhao Family
Zhao Huai’guo looked at his eldest son who had come to the house with gifts, then listened to the nonsense he was saying, and immediately understood why his third son had come last night to warn them. As expected, this one was unreliable—completely the type to drag his brothers down.
“Your third brother already told us about this last night. How could you make decisions for him?” Father Zhao said coldly.
Zhao Huai’guo’s mood immediately soured. He had come all the way here, not to be lectured by his father.
Seeing her husband’s expression darken, Zhou Cuicui quickly tugged at his sleeve. This was their last chance to persuade the third son.
“Dad, that’s not what we meant,” she quickly explained. “It’s just a friend of ours asking your third son to help bring something along. Look how this turned out—we’re caught in the middle and can’t explain ourselves.”
Mother Zhao let out a cold laugh from the side.
“Caught in the middle? I think you’ve always been the kind of people who cause trouble,” she snapped. “You sold out your own younger brother for a couple of cheap favors. Marrying you was the worst decision our Zhao family ever made. The second child is stuck in the countryside and can’t come back, and now the third finally has a stable job—you still want to interfere!”
The principle was clear: when someone suddenly shows excessive enthusiasm, there’s usually something wrong.
Father and Mother Zhao knew their eldest son and daughter-in-law too well. That was why they found their sudden visit—and the gifts—highly suspicious. They talked about “filial respect,” but if they truly cared, why didn’t they come earlier after moving out? Why show up only now?
“Dad, Mom, what do you mean? Second and third are your sons—am I not your son too? Was I picked up from the street?” Zhao Huai’guo said angrily, feeling deeply wronged.
Father Zhao looked at him and sighed. “You don’t even understand what your third brother is going to be involved in, yet you blindly agree to carry things for others. Do you even know what those people want? What if something goes wrong? You think being a middleman and making introductions will bring you benefits?”
He shook his head again. “There’s no point saying this to you. You don’t want to understand. Just take your things and leave.”
Zhao Huai’guo and Zhou Cuicui were unwilling to leave like this. Since the third brother refused to listen to them, they had hoped to pressure him through their parents. Unexpectedly, the old couple simply told them to get out.
At that moment, the fifth son, Zhao Huaiqiang, returned home. He pushed the door open loudly.
“Dad, Mom! Guess what I just saw?” he shouted.
Then he noticed his elder brother and sister-in-law and muttered, “Big brother… big sister-in-law.”
Hearing that tone, Zhao Huai’guo immediately felt even more frustrated. When he greeted his parents earlier, it had been loud and cheerful—but when it came to him, it sounded weak and unwilling, like someone on the verge of death. Just as his wife said, the family clearly had issues with him!
Zhao Huaiqiang also felt unlucky. The moment he came in, he saw the gloomy faces of his elder brother and sister-in-law. His brother had just lectured him about how the eldest should act like a father figure and not speak so arrogantly.
“Enough. I’m still alive!” Father Zhao slammed the table. “Who taught you to act so high and mighty toward your younger brothers?”
Mother Zhao stood up and closed the door. The walls were thin—any noise in the building could be heard by neighbors. Even if everyone already knew, they still needed to save face.
“Fifth, come tell Mom what you saw,” she said, ignoring the other two entirely.
“I saw Third Brother taking a girl to the state-run restaurant. They were talking and laughing,” he said.
Mother Zhao’s eyes lit up immediately. She confirmed again, “Really?”
“Oh wow, our third son really has potential!” she said excitedly. Not only did he get himself a stable job, he might even have found a wife. That was wonderful news.
It wasn’t that the Zhao family couldn’t afford a marriage alliance, but there were too many brothers, and the eldest son had married a troublesome woman. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the family relations were complicated, making it hard for good girls to consider them.
“It’s true,” the fifth son added. “That girl looked very kind.”
Though he was younger, there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone—clearly implying that Zhou Cuicui did not look kind at all.
“Hey! You little brat, have I ever treated you badly?” Zhou Cuicui snapped, furious.
Before she could continue, Father Zhao interrupted. “A child doesn’t understand anything. Alright, there’s nothing for you two here. Take your things and leave.”
This time, he was clearly forcing them out. “Did you hear that? Your third brother already has a girlfriend. He’s about to start a family. Don’t bring messy people and messy affairs around him.”
Watching their parents drive the couple out, the fifth son secretly made a face. Though young, he understood quite a lot. His fourth brother had told him that women like his sister-in-law—pretty on the outside—should never be chosen. The prettier the mushroom, the more likely it is poisonous. As for the eldest brother, he had already been completely fooled by that poisonous mushroom.
The neighbors outside the building were naturally listening to the commotion. When they saw Zhao Huai’guo and his wife being chased out, they immediately went quiet and pretended to be busy with their own things.
Zhao Huai’guo felt utterly humiliated. Fine—if the third brother wouldn’t let him help, he’d help someone else instead. He’d show them what real connections looked like. He didn’t believe his own introductions were worse. His younger brother was just too timid—he didn’t even know how to take advantage of opportunity when it came.
He glanced coldly at the neighbors gossiping behind their backs, grabbed Zhou Cuicui’s hand, and left. As he walked away, he silently encouraged himself: one day, he would make something of himself. Even if he couldn’t steam buns, he would still fight for dignity.