At the thought of this possibility, Zhong Yi felt a brief pang of disappointment.
However, she quickly comforted herself. She should respect Zhou Shu’s choice. If he decided not to marry her, there would be nothing wrong with that.
Grandpa Zhou, on the other hand, smiled cheerfully. “It’s nothing serious. Zhou Shu’s parents have heard that he wants to marry you, so they’ve invited you to their home for a visit.”
So this was basically a meeting with her future in-laws?
Zhong Yi pressed her lips together, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
Perhaps Zhou Shu had behaved so well that she had begun to look forward to this marriage. And now that she had developed expectations, it was only natural for her to feel nervous.
Besides, Zhou Shu’s family was indeed quite well-off.
His father was a government official, and his mother was a vice principal at a senior high school. With family circumstances like theirs, they certainly wouldn’t lack potential daughters-in-law.
“You don’t need to be nervous. My son and daughter-in-law are both reasonable people,” Grandpa Zhou said, noticing the young woman’s anxiety. He waved his hand and continued, “Bring your mother along. I’ll accompany you both as well. Zhou Yue and her father will come too. Just think of it as visiting relatives in the city.”
So many people were going together?
Zhong Yi had to admit that the Zhou family had considered things quite carefully.
They were probably worried that she and her mother would feel uncomfortable, so they had invited Zhou Shouye, the village chief, and Zhou Yue to come along. With more people around, the atmosphere would be less intimidating.
Of course, there was another possibility. As Zhou Shu’s parents, they wanted to assess her character, so they hadn’t made the occasion too formal.
They were calling it a visit to relatives.
If they weren’t satisfied with her, it would still be nothing more than a family visit. It wouldn’t officially involve their son’s romantic relationship, nor would it damage either party’s reputation.
Zhong Yi had to admit that Zhou Shu’s parents were quite tactful in handling things.
However, they probably couldn’t imagine, no matter how hard they tried, how her relationship with Zhou Shu had begun…
Well, it certainly hadn’t followed the usual course of events.
“Then I’ll go. What day have they arranged for the visit?”
“Tomorrow,” Grandpa Zhou replied. “There’s no need to leave too early. Around nine in the morning should be fine. My eldest son will be waiting for us at the entrance of the village with his tractor. We’ll all go together.”
“All right, I understand.”
When Zhong Huilan returned, Zhong Yi told her about the invitation.
Zhong Yi herself was no longer particularly nervous, but Zhong Huilan’s anxiety was plain to see.
She knew the Zhou family was well-off. She was also worried that her own background might cause her daughter to be looked down upon.
“Why don’t I just stay home?” she suggested.
Zhong Yi immediately refused. “Mom, what are you talking about? Of course you’re coming! You’re my mother. How could you be absent from something like this?”
“Then I’ll go.”
It made sense. Leaving her daughter to face the entire Zhou family alone would put her in a difficult position.
Since they were visiting the Zhou family the next day, Zhong Huilan immediately decided to take the day off from making tofu. Not only that, but she also began preparing gifts right away.
“You don’t need to worry about any of this. I’ll take care of the gifts. You should go pick out a nice outfit. If we don’t have anything suitable at home, go to the department store and buy a few things. No matter how the discussion turns out, this is basic courtesy.”
“I know.”
Zhong Yi was quite confident in her appearance. Her looks were about seventy to eighty percent similar to those of the original owner of this body, though the original owner was younger and had a gentler, more delicate air about her.
The next day, Zhong Yi wore a white blouse decorated with small reddish flowers, a pair of blue trousers, and a thin knitted cardigan over it.
All the clothes came from the original owner’s wardrobe. She hadn’t gone out of her way to buy anything new.
Before going to bed the previous night, she had braided her hair into three strands. After undoing the braids that morning, her hair had developed natural, soft waves. It fell over her shoulders, making her look gentle while giving her a subtle, fashionable charm.
Zhong Huilan had also changed into clean clothes and put on a pair of leather shoes.
When she saw her daughter emerge from the bedroom, her eyes lit up.
“You look lovely!”
Zhong Yi smiled.
Before long, Grandpa Zhou and Zhou Yue arrived. Zhou Shouye had gone to get the tractor, so he would meet them separately.
When Zhou Yue saw how Zhong Yi was dressed, she praised her appearance as well.
As for Grandpa Zhou, his attention wasn’t focused on the women at all.
“Mrs. Zhong, why have you prepared so many things?”
And there really were a lot of things.
Zhong Huilan had been busy preparing gifts since the previous day. There was a basket containing what looked like more than ten pounds of eggs, two plump hens, half a sack of vegetables, and another half-sack of bamboo shoots that were in season. On top of that, there were two large watermelons with dark green rinds.
These were generous gifts indeed.
When they carried everything to the village entrance to board the tractor, Zhou Shouye was astonished too.
“No wonder everyone says the Zhong family is so generous. These things must have cost quite a bit of money!”
Even when a young woman visited her prospective husband’s family, she rarely brought gifts this substantial. In fact, even some families who were formally visiting a prospective bride’s household didn’t bring such lavish gifts.
Only someone with Zhong Huilan’s generosity would do something like this.
They loaded everything into the tractor’s trailer and took their seats one after another. With a series of sputtering noises, the tractor set off toward the county town, carrying the group along.
Meanwhile, at the government residential compound…
Gu Qingtang had barely slept all night and had awakened very early that morning.
Today, Zhong Yi was coming to the Zhou family.
In fact, Gu Qingtang had been the one encouraging this arrangement. Zhou Shu’s parents were respectable people. After learning that their son had taken an interest in a young woman from the countryside and making a few simple inquiries into the Zhong family’s background, they had said they would respect Zhou Shu’s wishes.
As for Zhong Yi’s family circumstances, they were fairly open-minded about it.
Zhou Shu received a salary from the military, and his work kept him extremely busy. Even if Zhong Yi didn’t have a job, that would be fine. She could move to the military family compound after marrying him and take care of him there. As for money, his parents had enough savings of their own and could provide some financial assistance if necessary.
However, there was one other person living in the Zhou household: Zhou Shu’s maternal grandmother, Grandma Guan, the mother of his mother, Guan Shujun.
Back when Zhou Shu’s parents were both busy with work, they had found it difficult to care for their children after they were born. Guan Shujun had therefore invited her own mother to come and help raise them.
After all, Grandma Guan had helped raise the children. Now that she was old, it wouldn’t be right to send her back to live elsewhere. The other siblings in the family would likely object as well.
And so Grandma Guan had continued living with her daughter and son-in-law.
All three of Zhou Shu’s siblings had practically been raised by Grandma Guan, so naturally, they shared a close bond with her.
When she heard that Zhou Shu had taken a fancy to a woman in the countryside, Grandma Guan became even more concerned about the matter than her daughter and son-in-law. She insisted on personally evaluating her grandson’s prospective wife.
Naturally, Gu Qingtang had also been encouraging her behind the scenes.
The Zhou family had three children. Zhou Nan had married long ago and moved out. Even before getting married, she had been much like her father in temperament. Although she was a woman, she was bold, straightforward, and energetic, with none of the usual gentleness people expected of a woman.
Zhou Shu and Zhou Duo, meanwhile, were both boys.
Grandma Guan had always wanted a sweet, considerate little girl to dote on. That wish was finally fulfilled when Zhou Shu’s father adopted Gu Qingtang.
Gu Qingtang was fair-skinned and delicate, spoke softly, and had lost both her parents. She grew up alongside the Zhou family’s three children, calling Grandma Guan “Grandma” just as they did.
Everyone in the Zhou family was busy with work, leaving Gu Qingtang as the only one who regularly stayed with the old woman and chatted with her. As time went by, Grandma Guan grew deeply fond of her.
As Gu Qingtang grew older, Grandma Guan also noticed her feelings for her grandson, Zhou Shu. She was more than willing to help bring the two of them together.
Who would have thought that when Zhou Shu returned home on leave this time, he would develop an interest in a young woman from the countryside?
Grandma Guan wasn’t particularly pleased about it.
“Mom, let’s agree on this beforehand,” Guan Shujun said. “The guests will be arriving soon. Don’t give them a cold reception or make that young woman feel unwelcome.”
Guan Shujun had agreed to her mother’s wishes because she also wanted to see for herself the woman her son had chosen. She certainly hadn’t intended to embarrass the girl.
Grandma Guan pursed her lips. “What do you take me for? Some unreasonable old country woman?”
Guan Shujun smiled. Although her mother could be stubborn and set in her ways at times, she was, for the most part, a reasonable person.
After finishing her sentence, Guan Shujun turned around and, seemingly without thinking much of it, glanced at Gu Qingtang, who was standing nearby.
Gu Qingtang felt a chill run down her spine. She was suddenly overwhelmed by the awkward feeling that her thoughts had been seen through.
However, when she looked back, Guan Shujun was already walking toward the living room, as though that brief glance had been nothing more than Gu Qingtang’s imagination.
Even so, tiny beads of sweat continued to form on Gu Qingtang’s forehead.