Chapter 1045: Chapter 918: A Small Note
As the year turned, in March, Zhou Xiaozheng informed his daughter that things had been settled. Although there wasn’t a specific red document issued from the top, there were clear instructions given to the local Zhishi Youth Offices.
Similarly, Zhou Xiaozheng had more leisure time now, not because he was sidelined by the new leadership, but because he was avoiding factional disputes and focusing on his primary duties.
Amidst the external chaos, even Mr. Cheng officially retired, which was considered a blessing in misfortune. Among his old comrades, besides Old Yi, Mr. Wan, Mr. Fang, and Mr. Mo, even Elder Jiang was sent back to his hometown.
It’s worth mentioning Old Master Jiang here, a sadly unfortunate veteran. He dedicated everything to the country, neglected the education of his family and children, and in the end, got implicated by his youngest son.
His elder son, upon being brought back to Beijing by a high official’s father, abandoned his wife and daughter. The New Yue Family really did provide him with significant help, especially that brother-in-law with issues of promiscuity who had been sent down.
But as the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes," and indeed, sooner or later. The abandoned daughter had grown up, and with her biological mother’s severe illness and death, she angrily reported her biological father for having improper relationships.
Of course, the woman who only finished primary school intended to seek justice for her mother. The so-called improper relationships were simply her father getting involved with a stepmother during his marriage.
Normally, with the Jiang Family’s connections, this matter would have quietly blown over, but what time is it now? It’s just Jiang Family’s bad luck.
The letter of complaint happened to fall into the hands of a newly appointed deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee. This deputy named Qian Aiwu, also known as Qian Ergui, had his own history as a commoner.
According to Zhang Guoqing, this man in his thirties had some principles in dealing with people, but with one taboo: never let him see a man who abandons his wife and children, especially one who clings to the powerful.
It was because his eldest sister, who raised him, had been forced to death by her brother-in-law in the name of casting off a crummy wife and breaking the bonds of feudal marriage. Just after liberation, there were countless examples like this, but those who hadn’t personally gone through it couldn’t understand the pain.
During the war, his sister took care of her father and mother-in-law, raised her little brother and sister-in-law alone. Just when she finally heard news that her husband was still alive, a divorce paper arrived. Facing her in-laws the hypocrites, his sister, who was once praised in the village as a blossom of beauty, hanged herself.
Facing the mighty enemy, he couldn’t relieve his hatred, so he endured silently, went to technical school, joined a factory, and step by step became a factory leader.
He thought he would never have the chance to avenge his sister in his lifetime. Who knew the heavens would be so merciful, finally granting him the chance. He dragged down that once-fashionable beast who followed his sister everywhere with a fool’s face, along with those hypocrites.
This time, the Jiang family’s matter coincidentally landed in front of him. No matter how high an official your father is, besides his benefactor the chairman, even the Emperor himself has to step down.
Old Master Jiang was a good man, but that didn’t mean his two sons followed in his footsteps. Now, this letter of complaint stirred up a hornet’s nest. The Jiang Family couldn’t withstand an investigation; even the old matters of Jiang Jiangyu were included.
Time had changed; regardless of self-preservation or comradeship, Jiang Jiangyu narrowly escaped, but the two sons of the Jiang Family were not so lucky.
This deputy director was indeed as Zhang Guoqing said, and he behaved quite well. He didn’t press hard on Old Master Jiang, who had devoted his life to serving the country, but the old man voluntarily retired to his hometown.
In these couple of years, the old ones had aged further, the young ones were gone, left, or scattered. The Big Courtyard grew even quieter. If it weren’t for the familiar sounds of military trumpets and soldiers drilling, Zhou Jiao wouldn’t dare go out at night.
The surface waters of Beijing seemed calm, but the recurrent letters from home implied a broader impact. Fortunately, life was still stable for the few families Zhang Guoqing got along with.
There was also a pleasant surprise; Zhang the Second, Zhang Guoqiang, persevered from being a junior clerk and officially became a chief, just as he hoped, becoming a four-pocket cadre.
Of course, all of this couldn’t have been achieved without Zuo Lin’s gratitude to Zhang Guoqing for his warning, "Misfortune comes, fortune is relied upon; fortune comes, misfortune is hidden," and Zhang the Second’s diligent work.
Just when Zhou Jiao thought the days would pass peacefully, she suddenly received a small note with only the words "Be careful of the children" written on it.
She wouldn’t think it was a joke by someone, nor an attempt by someone to maliciously scare her. It could only mean someone was intending to target her three sons.
The anger surged within Zhou Jiao, but her face remained unchanged as she calmly dialed her father’s phone number. When the phone connected and she heard the familiar voice, she nearly lost control of her emotions.
"Jiao Jiao, it’s Dad."
Zhou Jiao softly replied, took a pause, and said, "Dad, I might be late from work today, could you pick up Ping’an and Liu Yi?"
On the other end, Zhou Xiaozheng’s breathing became rapid, "Do you need Dad to come pick you up?"
Zhou Jiao realized he misunderstood and hurriedly laughed, "I’m fine, I can take the bus, it’s just Ping’an and the others..."
Before she could finish, Zhou Xiaozheng immediately understood, "Alright, Dad doesn’t have any meetings this afternoon, I’ll go pick up Ping’an and the others early. Be careful on the bus."
Zhou Jiao hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and hesitated about whether to call Zhang Guoqing. She worried that there might be spies around, which would alert enemies.
In the face of danger, the last resort isn’t defense, but offense. Although she had already sensed that someone wanted to drag her father onto their side and had warned her three sons, she wouldn’t let it go easily.
After contemplating for a moment, Zhou Jiao left the office with her files and went next door to look for Wan Dayong.
Mirroring her work situation, Wan Dayong was idling around. Seeing her come over, he curiously peeked behind her.
"Don’t look, Xiao Wu didn’t come."
Wan Dayong pointed to a chair with a smile, "Have a seat, if there’s any instructions, feel free to let the leader know."
Zhou Jiao saw his playful expression and didn’t want to dwell on it. She directly asked, "About to get married, shouldn’t you treat us to some drinks?"
"Oh, just for this little thing, you graced us with your presence? Is that necessary!"
Zhou Jiao smiled, "Last night Xiao Wu planned to call and ask where you’re setting up the new house. Didn’t he find you today?"
"Not at all," Wan Dayong stood up immediately, "I’ll give Xiao Wu a call first. Do you and your husband want to have a few words?"
Zhou Jiao shook her hand and followed him out of the office, "No need, you two chat like brothers. If he asks, just say I came by and had to head back to work."
She believed Zhang Guoqing would understand something was up when he heard those words and would contact her dad. Perhaps during the time she traveled these few blocks, her dad might have already connected with Zhang Guoqing.
Indeed as she expected, just after Zhang Guoqing finished the call from his father-in-law, the phone rang again. He picked it up, heard Wan Dayong say that Zhou Jiao had just left, and immediately tensed up, distracted, and quickly ended the call.
At the same time, he also worried about spies around him, suppressing the urge to leave the unit forcibly, he took a deep breath and quickly organized his thoughts.
