Free Web NovelChapter 1092: Chapter 965: Setting Out Again
Life will not remain unchanged; it has its joys and sorrows, its gatherings and separations.
The family had not been together for five days when Zhou Xiaozheng once again embarked on a conference trip. Unlike his colleagues, he still did not bring his wife along.
In Zhou Xiaozheng’s view, Miao Lishan’s nature was different from those wives, and he did not want his wife to interact too much with those women, lest it affect her temperament.
As a wife and mother, it’s best to stay at home. Look at Liang Shengnan, what happened to her? Always jumping up and down, yet she still fell into hell with just a turn by her husband.
What are fame and prestige worth if they rely on men? The wives who are still jumping around fervently now are nothing more than knives in the hands of men.
He would not use his woman as a knife, nor would he meddle in persuading outsiders. What you consider help may be seen as a nuisance by others.
Especially some female comrades, truly fanciful, he couldn’t wait to stay away from these troublemakers.
Zhou Xiaozheng, with a stern face, glanced around, his eyes flickering, slightly nodding in greeting to Mr. Dai, then leaning back in his chair to rest with his eyes closed.
The issues within the Dai Family were well-known far and wide; if the two families suddenly became close, it would attract attention, and the two children would inevitably draw attention again.
Fortunately, Mr. Dai was experienced enough to understand the balance.
Zhou Xiaozheng was gone, and the ensuing situation was already brewing; no one knew who this game would entangle. Zhang Guoqing began to heed his father-in-law’s instructions.
With fewer social engagements, he found he had more time on his hands. When reminded by his youngest son about making small stools, he suddenly remembered that the two bags of trash were still in the warehouse.
So on a weekend, he enthusiastically pulled his wife and children upstairs to play with the discarded items.
"Dad, won’t it be dirty?"
"Silly."
Zhou Jiao patted her two young sons, "Aunt Chen will be back soon, let’s talk upstairs."
"Brother?"
Ping’an glanced sideways at his brother, "Don’t you already know? A man shouldn’t be chattering like women."
May 1st tugged at Zhou Jiao, "Mom, brother looks down on you."
Zhou Jiao amusingly tapped his head, "Alright, you see your second brother is already upstairs."
May 1st rolled his eyes, watching Liu Yi’s figure on the stairs, and shouted, "Second~brother, wait for me."
Liu Yi immediately turned his head and rolled his eyes.
Zhang Guoqing burst into laughter.
He still remembered when Liu Yi was born, just a small lazy bundle sleeping all day; he thought this child would definitely prefer lying to sitting, and sitting to standing.
As the children grew, he never expected that the child who resembled Zhou Jiao the most in features would surprisingly take after him in personality.
In the lounge, Zhang Guoqing emptied the sack, raising a layer of dust, causing Zhou Jiao to frown and cover her nose.
Ping’an had already reached out to pick up a table leg resembling that of a bazhua table, tapped it, then nodded, making Zhou Jiao raise her eyebrows in surprise.
"Mom, you sit, we’ll handle it." Then, Ping’an handed it to Liu Yi beside him, "You have a look first, then it’s May 1st’s turn."
Liu Yi took it, mimicked Zhou Jiao’s raised eyebrows, then passed it to his brother, "Be careful."
"Hey, it’s quite heavy." May 1st brought it closer and tapped it with his fingers, "It should be gold. Brother, are the other legs the same?"
Ping’an chuckled and shook his head, "No way. Just this one’s weight is too different. I wonder what those who moved it were thinking?"
"What could they think? They can’t take them off one by one; it’s hard to distinguish in the middle." Liu Yi turned around and said, "I’m going downstairs to get some gasoline."
Zhang Guoqing didn’t stop him, as it was clearly a layer of paint as disguise. No one knew better than the kids how to prepare the cleaning solvent.
He placed the toolbox in front, and he and Zhou Jiao began wiping the dust from the items with damp cloths, happily watching the children busy themselves.
Liu Yi soon returned with a glass bottle of brine. Without prompting, he wet a rag and began to scrub back and forth on a small patch of wood.
Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing proudly nodded at Zhou Jiao, his eyes filled with pride for his clever son.
"It’s gold, but unfortunately not pure enough. Liu Yi, stop scrubbing, hand it over to Mom for safekeeping."
Upon hearing Ping’an, Liu Yi wiped it clean and placed it beside Zhou Jiao, "Mom, you can tidy up later. I bet there are other things to find."
Zhou Jiao laughed softly at his words, intentionally raising her eyebrows at Zhang Guoqing. Ha, no matter how proud you are, the son still hands it over to me!
Zhang Guoqing laughed quietly, clapped his hands, and seeing the children’s eyes on him, said with a smile, "Alright, kids, now the game begins...
Remember, while taking things apart, try recalling the knowledge Grandpa taught. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come to us, or note it down for when Grandpa returns."
May 1st casually picked up a dressing box from the pile.
What is a dressing box, commonly known as a "combing box" by the people?
Because dressing first requires a mirror, a dressing box is also called a "mirror box," and in ancient times, it was also known as a "mirror case." Moreover, as the mirror often needs to be propped up during dressing, people in the north are used to calling it a "mirror stand."
In the old days, when marrying off a daughter, the custom was to have "dowry," which included all the household items taken into the husband’s family along with the bride, among which a dressing box was indispensable.
This rectangular little dressing box was already in a state of disrepair, with the carved tassel panel on the mirror stand, mirror base, hinges, and all other accessories damaged as well.
Besides, a ’double happiness’ motif on the surface had been scratched several times with a sharp object, otherwise, this precious artifact made of redwood and adorned with exquisite craftsmanship would not have ended up at the scrap station.
Judging from the characteristics of this dressing box, it most likely belonged to a lady of an influential family of old. As a dressing box used to vent one’s anger, this family’s situation must have become rather dire.
"Brother, this was chosen by Liu Yi and me, do you think there’s a problem with it?"
Ping’an nodded and, after a thorough examination, found that it really had no collection value, so he roughly took it apart with his tools into pieces.
Liu Yi suddenly reached out for the bottom board, "Wait, what’s this?"
—Two layers of plywood laminated together.
As Liu Yi pulled it apart, two yellowed papers, one large and one small, fluttered down.
Instantly, the family’s eyes focused on the two pieces of paper, and Liu Yi reached out and handed them to Zhang Guoqing.
Zhang Guoqing took a look and immediately laughed heartily, passing the papers to Zhou Jiao, "All pre-liberation deposit slips, useless now."
"What was the amount?"
"No matter how much, it’s useless, they’ve all fled."
"Such a pity."
"Serves them right."
Zhou Jiao looked over the deposit slips, smiling and shaking her head, "Should have been held at a trading company, then maybe it could be retrieved."
These days, they’re just paper gold, which doesn’t even make a sound if you try to skim a stone. She couldn’t understand why the family kept them. Thinking about it would surely cause sleepless nights.
