“Thank you, Sister Qiao!” After all, this was not her first time receiving it, so the auntie received it happily without refusing. Where would she ever find such a generous employer with a good temper, was not petty, and did not make trouble for her?
She had expressed long ago that the money earned from working for the Zhai family was good, but most importantly, it was worry-free!
With this fat red packet, the auntie purchased some gifts for her son, elders, and her lover on the way home. The auntie even picked out a nice coat for herself. Since it was already the New Year, there were many clothes on sale. The auntie was exceptionally pleased, feeling that she had saved quite a lot of money this time!
So as to protect the environment, the government had banned the use of firecrackers and fireworks within the city for the fear of air pollution. Even still, the air was still thick with the smell of New Year’s celebrations.
As she watched the Spring Festival Gala being broadcast on television, Qiao Nan heard the sounds of firecrackers being set off across several provinces. Qiao Nan felt that this was no different from setting off firecrackers in her own home.
Zhai Yu felt that it was a pity. “Mom, have we ever done this to celebrate New Year at home?” It had been twenty-one years, but she had no impression of ever doing so.
“We’ve never set off firecrackers at home.” Qiao Nan answered with a smile.
When she first arrived in the capital, the ban on firecrackers had not yet been implemented. The problem was that Qiao Nan was all too clear about the air quality in the capital. She knew that the issue of haze in the capital would become a hot topic, and there would be no sense of security going out of the house without wearing a mask.
Even if it was just a small contribution, the Zhai family had never set off firecrackers under Qiao Nan’s subtle influence. Then, the state explicitly implemented a ban on this. It was even more impossible for the Zhai family to knowingly go against the law and the state.
“We can’t do that in the capital. Grandpa can bring you to our old home in the future. We can probably still do that back in my hometown.” Ping Cheng was not as developed as the capital. Such a ban was also implemented based on regions. Qiao Dongliang could not bear to see his granddaughter’s disappointed face and thus brought up such a suggestion to Zhai Yu.
Qiao Nan rolled her eyes at her daughter. “Do you think you’re a three-year-old child? Our family didn’t even set off firecrackers when you were younger. Why are you suddenly interested in it even though the government has explicitly banned it? You’re really regressing with age! You’re not as obedient as you were when you were younger.”
Return to Ping Cheng?
She had not yet returned to Ping Cheng, but all the troubles in Ping Cheng had come to find her instead! If she were really to return to Ping Cheng, there would only be more opportunities for ‘troubles’ to find her and her family in the future.
In recent years, even Ding Jiayi had stopped torturing her. But now that Qiao Zijin had left, it was Zhou Xing’s turn. Since her mother was gone, her daughter was now taking her place. It turned out that Qiao Zijin was her greatest creditor. Even after paying her back for two lifetimes, it was still insufficient! It seemed as though she owed her this debt for two whole generations!
Qiao Nan vaguely remembered that in her previous lifetime, Qiao Zijin had not given birth to a daughter after marrying Chen Jun. Instead, she had given birth to a son. But similarly, Qiao Zijin had handed over the custody of her son to Chen Jun after their divorce.
Perhaps it was because she was already too down and out at that time. Her life was nowhere as glamorous as this life had been. Apart from Qiao Zijin clinging to her like a leech and viciously picking at her blood vessels to suck her dry, she had never seen Qiao Zijin’s and Chen Jun’s son.
At that time, Chen Jun had successfully chased her and should have successfully completed the task set out by Wang Yang. With Wang Yang’s support, the Chen family did extremely well. As the only grandson of the Chen family, how would he ever remember that he had a younger auntie who was still unmarried at almost forty years old if he did not lead a hard life?
There was no way the Chen family could be bothered about small fry like her.
Zhai Yu made a face at Qiao Nan. “Mom, we’re celebrating New Year today, but you’re so fierce! I’m just joking. Why are you being so serious about it? Dad, I think you’ve spent too little time at home with Mom. That’s why Mom’s hormones are imbalanced and she’s getting angry so easily.”
He was not like Uncle Gao, who always stuck by Auntie Fang Fang’s side. Auntie Fang Fang always acted as though she disliked Uncle Gao. But at least, when Uncle Gao was not around, Auntie Fang Fang was extremely kind and gentle toward the few of them. Even if Gao Feng was naughty and got into trouble, Auntie Fang Fang would never fly into a rage.
No matter what, women who had men by their sides were always the gentlest.
In their family, her mom did not just hold up half a sky. She supported the whole Zhai family’s sky. Did her mom really think of herself as a man? She was too tough of a lady! “Dad, it’s the New Year. Let’s not go through all those outdated customs of visiting and all that. My mom has been married to you for twenty-three years, and we’re already twenty-two years old, going into our third year of university. But you probably haven’t even spent three years with my mom! It’s only because my mom is good-natured. Other military spouses follow their husbands, but my mom decided to stay at home to take care of your whole family. After coaxing one, she has to take care of another. Dad, when will you coax my mom too and properly spend some time with her?”
As she grew older and was about to face relationship problems herself, Zhai Yu suddenly realized that it had truly been hard on her mom all these years.
She was not denying that her birth father was good. But the problem was that her grandma had always said that the men in the Zhai family had never let their country, military, party, or the people down. The only people whom they let down were their own wives. This custom seemed to have been passed down from her great-grandma’s generation to her mother, who was the third generation.
At this time, Zhai Yu could not help but pity Zhai Yi’s and Zhai Xin’s future wives because these two young ladies would be the fourth generation of their Zhai family.
Zhai Yu felt a little regretful that she had not been able to join the military and don the military uniform. But unlike other children, she had grown up in the military. In that sense, she had grown up wearing the military uniform and had fulfilled her dreams of being a soldier.
As such, the first requirement she had for her future boyfriend was that he must not be a soldier. She had seen too many of those people. She felt that her mom and uncle were incredibly strong people. But she did not want to be so noble. She herself was not a soldier, so why would she find a soldier as her partner?
Unless the situation was like in the case of her godparents, where both of them were soldiers. That would, at least, be fair.
Since she could not join the military, neither should her partner be in the military. She was not her mother. She was truly afraid that she had not inherited her mother’s good nature and tolerance for being alone. She was even worried that she would not be able to take up the responsibility of caring for the whole family like her mother had.
After thinking about so much, Zhai Yu had finally formed her own opinions toward her father, Zhai Sheng. There was no choice since the one dearest to her was her own biological mom.