Today was an important day. Even Zhou’s father was home, and since it was Sunday, there was no need for him to take a special day off work.
Before ten o’clock, word came from the guardhouse at the entrance that someone had come looking for Secretary Zhou.
Zhou Shouan immediately realized that their guests had arrived, so the family went out to greet them.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Zhou was leading a group of people inside. The two groups met halfway.
Zhong Yi was carrying a basket of eggs and walking beside Zhong Huilan.
The first person she noticed was Gu Qingtang. The other woman was also looking her up and down, her eyes filled with unmistakable hostility. It was difficult to ignore such an obvious expression.
Only then did Zhong Yi turn her attention to the elderly woman beside Gu Qingtang. She was thin and wiry, with a shrewd air about her. On the way there, Grandpa Zhou had briefly explained the situation of his younger son’s family to Zhong Yi.
He had mentioned that his in-law, the grandmother, had been living with the Zhou family.
That meant this woman was most likely Zhou Shu’s maternal grandmother.
Naturally, the people walking at the front were Zhou Shu’s parents. They looked much as Zhong Yi had imagined intellectuals would look—capable, composed, and full of energy.
“Oh my! You really shouldn’t have brought so many things!”
Zhou Shouye said, “Sister-in-law, we really aren’t being overly polite this time. These things were all prepared by the Zhong family.”
There were hens, eggs, vegetables, bamboo shoots, and even a huge watermelon.
The family had certainly been generous.
Having grown up in the countryside, Grandma Guan knew exactly how much these things were worth.
As she looked at Zhong Huilan and her daughter, she thought to herself that the two women certainly knew how to conduct themselves properly. At the very least, they weren’t stingy or miserly.
“Come on, let’s head inside first. We can talk once we’re home.”
Zhong Yi smiled and nodded.
She knew that Zhou’s mother was also sizing her up, so she maintained a faint, polite smile. She neither tried to draw attention to herself nor appeared timid.
As for Zhou’s father, he was a man, and a single glance was enough. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to stare at a young woman.
Therefore, he spent the entire walk chatting with Grandpa Zhou and Zhou Shouye instead.
Guan Shujun naturally walked beside Zhong Huilan.
The apartment allocated to the Zhou family had four bedrooms and one living room. Although the layout seemed decent, the actual floor area wasn’t particularly large. The family simply had many members and needed plenty of rooms, so functionality had taken priority over spaciousness.
The house was spotlessly clean. A wooden sofa set stood near the entrance, with a television nearby. A fruit platter and tea had already been prepared on the coffee table.
“Come in, sit down!”
After welcoming everyone and getting them settled, Zhou’s father offered to prepare lunch himself.
Since the Zhong family guests were all women and he was a man with a rather blunt manner of speaking, he decided it would be better not to get involved in their conversation.
Zhou Shouye went to help him.
Grandpa Zhou stayed behind to keep an eye on the situation, making sure that Zhong Huilan and her daughter wouldn’t be treated unfairly.
Zhong Yi sat beside Zhou Yue, with Zhong Huilan next to her.
Across from them sat Grandma Guan and Zhou’s mother, while Gu Qingtang occupied another seat.
From the moment they sat down, Zhong Yi could feel someone’s gaze fixed on her. It was far from friendly.
“I heard your name is Zhong Yi,” Grandma Guan said.
“That’s right. I’m Zhong Yi.”
Grandma Guan continued, “I’ve never heard that you and my eldest grandson had much contact before. So why did he suddenly announce that he wanted to marry you?”
Zhong Yi smiled.
“You must be Zhou Shu’s maternal grandmother. I’ve heard him mention you. He said you raised him from childhood and went through a lot of hardship doing so. He’s very grateful to you.”
She paused before continuing, “As for your question, it’s not that I don’t want to answer you. I just think you’d be better off asking Zhou Shu himself.”
After all, Zhou Shu was the one who had said he wanted to marry her. It wasn’t as though she had insisted on marrying him.
Zhong Yi passed the question back to him without the slightest guilt.
A moment earlier, Grandma Guan had been quite pleased. Now, however, she found herself feeling considerably less satisfied.
She was about to say something else when Guan Shujun nudged her mother’s foot with hers, silently telling her to stop while she was ahead.
She was questioning the girl as though she were interrogating a criminal!
“Here, have some tea. Let’s drink some tea.”
Guan Shujun smoothly changed the subject, steering the conversation toward other matters.
Some topics concerned Zhong Yi, and she answered them politely and appropriately. Others had nothing to do with her, so she simply listened.
Zhou Yue also shared a few amusing stories, drawing laughter from everyone.
However, it wasn’t long before Grandma Guan couldn’t keep her mouth shut again.
This time, instead of questioning Zhong Yi, she turned to Zhong Huilan.
“I’d like to ask about your family circumstances. Is that all right?”
Hearing this, Grandpa Zhou frowned. He also felt that Grandma Guan was asking far too many questions.
But after thinking it over, he realized that if the two families were truly going to become in-laws, it was better to discuss certain matters sooner rather than later. Understanding each other’s circumstances now could prevent misunderstandings and unpleasant arguments in the future.
Besides, there was nothing shameful about Zhong Huilan’s experiences.
Considering everything she had endured, not many women could have borne it all.
Zhong Yi felt a little worried. Because of her marriage, her mother was now being subjected to all these questions.
Zhong Huilan gently squeezed her daughter’s hand, signaling that she was fine. Then she began explaining her family’s circumstances in broad terms.
She told them that her own mother had died when she was young and that her father had raised her single-handedly. Their family had a traditional tofu-making trade, so they had managed to get by.
She then spoke about her divorce from her husband, Ji Mingxuan.
“That’s more or less everything,” she concluded. “I don’t think there’s anything shameful about my past. Since you wanted to know, I’ve told you everything.”
“However, these are my affairs. They have nothing to do with our Xiaoyi. I’ll always be here to support her, and when she gets married, I’ll make sure she receives a generous dowry. There won’t be any trouble from her biological father’s side, either.”
After she finished speaking, the spacious living room fell silent for a brief moment.
Zhou Yue had already known about these matters, but hearing Zhong Huilan recount them in person still left her feeling a heaviness in her chest.
Guan Shujun was a Chinese language teacher by profession and a woman of deep feeling. Zhong Huilan’s experiences tugged painfully at her heartstrings.
Gu Qingtang, however, thought Zhong Huilan was deliberately trying to gain sympathy by sharing so much. She didn’t dare say it aloud, though. She merely lowered her head, the corners of her mouth lifting into a mocking smile.
Then, as something occurred to her, she glanced at Grandma Guan from the corner of her eye.
If Grandma Guan opposed this marriage, perhaps there would still be a chance to turn things around.
Everyone except Gu Qingtang was watching Grandma Guan’s reaction. After all, she had been the one to bring up the subject.
Zhong Yi was no exception.
If Grandma Guan said anything insulting about her mother, Zhong Yi was fully prepared to stand up and leave immediately.
When two families became connected through marriage, they might not interact much in private, but they should at least show one another basic respect in public. If even that was too much to expect, she would have to reconsider the marriage carefully.
Unexpectedly—
Grandma Guan remained stunned for a long moment before suddenly bursting into furious curses.
“What a worthless piece of trash! That bastard! They say even a dog knows how to repay the person who feeds it, but your ex-husband is worse than a dog!”
Everyone fell silent.
“…”
For the next several minutes, the entire living room echoed with Grandma Guan’s tirade. She went on and on without taking a single breath, cursing Ji Mingxuan and even dragging his ancestors into it.
Zhou Shouan heard the commotion from the kitchen and found it so strange that he poked his head out to see what was happening.
In the end, it was Guan Shujun who finally managed to stop her mother’s cursing.
Grandma Guan had practically cursed herself hoarse. After drinking more than half a cup of tea, she suddenly stood up, leaned across the coffee table, and took Zhong Huilan’s hand.
“Dear girl, you’ve really been through so much! But I have to say, you’re truly remarkable. After everything that happened to you, you still managed to hold your family together. I genuinely admire you!”
Everyone fell silent again.
“…”