"Hehe, it might really be possible. She’s good to me, always advising me to take the rent deposit to Beijing for my own use. She doesn’t lack money, yet she dares to say she doesn’t lack money with just a thousand bucks." Zhou Xiaozheng patted her back, "She knows what she’s doing. She’s probably worried about you spending a lot in Beijing. You should be happy; she only cares about us and Xiao Wu and Ping’an. Others, including your dad, she doesn’t care about. She’s very guarded and doesn’t easily let people into her heart. Think about it carefully, and you’ll see." "Let me think, she is respectful to my dad, but only mentions him occasionally. She respects and is grateful to her mother-in-law, and is friendly but not close to her sisters-in-law. She listens more and says less during conversations and rarely shares her opinions. But she’s very close to the kids at home, willing to give milk powder and malted milk." Zhou Xiaozheng remembered what Zhang Guoqing said, and a vision of Jiao Jiao silently smiling appeared in his mind—a very standard expression. He chuckled quietly; he had maintained a stern face since childhood, not letting anyone see his inner thoughts. He didn’t expect his daughter to understand emotional disguise without being taught. He’d tell her tomorrow that if she doesn’t want to smile, she shouldn’t; he has her back. "Brother Zheng, you don’t know my mom was amazed that the child didn’t resent or blame me; it wasn’t until my dad explained that she believed it. She kept saying the child is not an ordinary person." Zhou Xiaozheng sneered silently; this old lady is overly suspicious, fearing Jiao Jiao is scheming, worried Jiao Jiao’s silent grudge against her, not noticing what Jiao Jiao actually cares about. All the family savings were in her hands, and she didn’t follow them back to Beijing, thinking everyone in the Lin Family was rare. Didn’t consider that Xiao Wu and Jiao Jiao both worried about him becoming a target for the Lin Family, hoping he would stay away from them. Regarding the little possessions in that old lady’s hands, they didn’t matter to him, nor to his Jiao Jiao. Didn’t she see Jiao Jiao casually put diamonds and bankbooks in her pocket, and when overturning the box, casually toss aside the invaluable jewelry? Even coming from a wealthy family, don’t think just because he didn’t complain, he doesn’t mind her indifference to his precious daughter, thinking sending some things would earn their gratitude. His Jiao Jiao never cared about these things, only bought a sewing machine for their wedding, not considering the details. "Your mom just says stuff, but she doesn’t truly believe. She doesn’t know our daughter is broad-minded and understanding. Jiao Jiao even told me she was resentful of you at first. For six whole years, she didn’t open your letters. Later, after giving birth to Ping’an, she read your letters and understood. She said your sole reason for living back then was to find me, so she didn’t blame you: she knew you wanted to find me, for the family to reunite. In the end, it was my fault toward you two." Lin Lishan covered his mouth, anxiously said, "Didn’t we agree not to say sorry to each other? I was willing to wait for you, willing to look for you. No matter how good other men are, none are as good as you. I always knew you would come back. Jiao Jiao said if she were me, she’d also look for Xiao Wu’s whereabouts and entrust Ping’an to her mother-in-law. Hehe, Brother Zheng, I’m happy, she’s always comforting me, telling me not to overthink, that as long as the two of us are fine, it doesn’t matter if we’re not by her side, as long as the family is safe and sound, she’s grateful. I told my dad he kept saying I’d have future blessings, even if you didn’t want me, Jiao Jiao would still protect me, with Jiao Jiao and Xiao Wu around, I’d have no worries for a lifetime, saying I’d never have to worry anymore." Zhou Xiaozheng hugged her tightly, laughing, "How could I not want you? You and Jiao Jiao are my life. For you two, I’d even break out of Yama Hall." Lin Lishan, blushing deeply, laughed softly. After a moment, she suggested, "Brother Zheng, once I’m done tidying up the courtyard in the county these two days, how about we take Jiao Jiao and Ping’an to stay for a few days? I heard from Jiao Jiao that their family usually eats cornmeal buns, wild vegetable buns, with no oil in the vegetables, and the buns are so dry they’re hard to swallow. After we leave, they’ll live there. We’ll come back to stay for a few days in December before returning to Beijing at the end of the year, come back after the New Year, then Xiao Wu will start working. They won’t need to live together and eat with us, they can self-cater at the county directly." Zhou Xiaozheng thought for a while and said, "That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to Brother Zhang and say while the two of us are here, we’ll take Xiao Wu and Jiao Jiao to the county, visit some old friends, and let people know about the young couple’s background, so they won’t be bullied." "Brother Zheng, you’re so cunning. Saying it like that will definitely get approval. I won’t tell Jiao Jiao. Once everything’s arranged, and we have a car, we’ll just directly take her to the county. Follow current novels on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩 Otherwise, she’ll say, ’Mom, please save your money, don’t act like a nouveau riche. I have everything; don’t buy conspicuous stuff, let’s stay low-key.’ Oh, the way her little face wrinkles, and her small mouth chattering." Lin Lishan said, mimicking Zhou Jiao’s expression, lightly frowning and speaking in a slow, gentle tone. Zhou Xiaozheng couldn’t help but burst out laughing, "You’ve met your match. What will you do in the future? However, we really don’t need to buy big items; we’ll return to Beijing in two years. Just buy more food; it’s tricky, I’ll find a way. You just give someone some money to tidy things up. Bedding, blankets, pots, bowls, chopsticks—those need to be bought. Once used, don’t keep them; Jiao Jiao has the same cleanliness obsession as you. Keep the used old stuff to give as favors later." "Alright, I’ll take care of it. Tomorrow, let’s go to the county together, jot down some notes, then you can handle your own matters, and I’ll take over from there." Zhou Xiaozheng gently patted her back, "Mm, let’s sleep first. Tomorrow, when we wake up, we’ll get things done. If there’s anything while I’m not around, you can find that Xiao Wu kid or Jiao Jiao."