After the family finished dinner, Zhang Guoqing also felt entirely exhausted, and his body couldn't sustain anymore. He informed everyone and returned to the room, lying down beside Zhou Jiao, and finally fell asleep peacefully.
Zhou Jiao was awakened by the sound of a child crying. In her sleepy confusion, she looked at the unfamiliar room, and after a while, she remembered they had traveled through time and later had a son. Glancing to her right at Zhang Guoqing lying there, she smiled.
Mother Zhang held the child and saw Zhou Jiao awake: "Jiao Jiao, don't move, just lie still. Let the child lie next to you for now, Xiao Wu should let him sleep, his head injury hasn't healed yet. He was out in the cold wind again today. I'll go get you something to eat, I'll take care of you and the child tonight. Just us two women can manage."
Zhou Jiao was quite happy to hear Mother Zhang's words, which carried a strong sense of pampering. Recalling Mother Zhang in her memories, Zhou Jiao sincerely considered her as her own mother.
The Mother Zhang doted quite a bit on her youngest son; usually, she'd have long allowed him to sleep in the main room for comfort. Zhou Jiao had just given birth to a son, and early tomorrow Zhang Guoqing would have to go to the Yue Family to report the good news, so she had no choice but to arrange for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to take care of things. Seeing all this movement didn't wake him, she quietly cursed the few rascals from Lin Village, but forgot that those guys hadn't gained any advantage either, all with bruised faces, and two even had fractures and were detained by the militia.
Zhou Jiao laughed softly, "Mother, thanks to you being here, otherwise neither of us would know how to take care of the child. Look at this little one; we don't dare hold him. Mother, look at how small he is, red like a little monkey, he looks so unattractive, will he be able to find a wife when he grows up?"
Mother Zhang pretended to smack Zhou Jiao's arm and laughed, "You child, little ones grow exposed to the wind, this boy was born over 6 jin, very substantial. He looks handsome. Don't worry, does Xiao Wu need to bring any messages when he reports the good news tomorrow?"
Zhou Jiao was momentarily stunned when Mother Zhang mentioned her mother's family, hurriedly searching through her memories.
The original identity was somewhat awkward. How do you say it, originally she grew up with her grandmother, her father died on the battlefield shortly after she was born.
Her grandmother was the only daughter of an Imperial Physician family in early Capital City, wealthy since childhood, grew up with untouched fingers, and had a marriage arranged with an equally suitable family. The counterpart was also a reputable literati family. Just after getting married, without even consummating the marriage, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded the Capital City, arresting male members of her husband's family under the pretext of sheltering the Yihe Tuan, leading to a massacre of the entire family.
Her grandmother barely managed to survive thanks to the cleverness of her personal maid; they disguised themselves and escaped through the chaos from the small kitchen in the backyard back to her maiden home. Her parents had no choice but to flee, fearing implicating others. The Capital City was in chaos, everyone was nervous, they packed their belongings and fled to the southern countryside villa with their family of three along with the housekeeper and maid, living under assumed names and relying on ancestral medicine skills and belongings to survive.
After a few years, her great-grandfather and great-grandmother passed away, leaving the housekeeper and maid with what was then Grandma Zhou, living a very tight life. By chance, she reencountered her husband she had grown up with; surprisingly, Grandpa Zhou was the only heavily injured survivor saved by the Yihe Tuan. By the time he returned to find any surviving family, there was no one left, even the city residence was abandoned, so he joined the military for revenge.
Afterward, the couple followed the army through several twists and turns, later entering the People's Army. The housekeeper stayed locally to retire, and the personal maid married. Free from worries, the couple constantly fought at the front lines, watching their children grow; they brought Zhou Jiao's uncle, aunt, and father back to the ancestral land of Northeast Zhou Family Village. Grandpa Zhou still hoped family members were alive to return home to pay respects to the ancestral tombs.
Later, Zhou Jiao's father secretly signed up for the military. During that period, he met and fell in love with the entertainment soldier Lin Lishan in the army, got married, and after two years, shortly after Zhou Jiao was born, Zhou Dad, without informing the convalescent Zhou Mom, left a letter and participated together with Lin Lishan's elder brother in a secret mission, both died without any remains left, Lin Lishan couldn't accept it, losing the two closest people just like that and failed to care for newborn Jiao Jiao. Grandpa and Grandma rushed from the army to bring her back to their care.
Mother Zhou, Lin Lishan, remained unmarried and always said she must see the corpse if dead, or the person if alive. She believed they were still in this world, would eventually return, and refused to accept reality. No one knew what reasoning Mother Zhou had, apart from sending yearly support money, not even attending Zhou Jiao's wedding.
In the original Zhou Jiao's memory, apart from pictures, she hadn't seen her mother. They heard she still remained single, refusing many proposals, Grandpa and Grandma always comforted Little Zhou Jiao, saying her mother loved her, just couldn't accept the reality of her husband's death, needed time. But Zhou Jiao buried some resentment towards her mother.
During childhood, little friends could act spoiled to their mothers, they could be willful, but she, apart from being pampered by her grandparents, had to be mindful of her male cousin's wife's subtle expressions. Her older cousin's wife, Chen Zhaodi, enjoyed the goods and money often sent by Lin Family while secretly holding grudges and envy towards her sister-in-law who lost a husband. Zhou Mom's high-ranking background and beauty caused insecurity and pride, occasionally finding ways to secretly bully Little Zhou Jiao in a way unseen by grandparents. The things sent by her mother were picked by her cousin first, the remitted support funds were used publicly.
When she finally grew to 10 years old, understanding the world, she expressed wanting to find her mom. The only result was her mother coldly said during a phone call that she was busy performing all around, had no time to see her, told her to stay peacefully at home honoring her father. Full of tears, she became completely heartbroken; since then, she never mentioned her mother again, leaving letters from her unopened, not responding as if not thinking about her.
Zhou Family Village and Zhang Family Village were just upper and lower villages, separated by a river, with a stone bridge connecting the two. Zhou Family Village was even closer to the mountains, Grandpa Zhou was an old revolutionary, Grandma Zhou had been a military doctor in her youth, the couple was highly respected locally.
The pretty Zhou Family girl, Zhou Jiao, grew up hearing her maternal grandparents had military backgrounds, along with several uncles, her mother was also a soldier, in this era soldiers were well regarded. Apart from workers, soldiers were provided food, living, and clothes by the state, received monthly wages, military coupons were universally used nationwide, they had priority without queuing at supply cooperatives.
Apart from her father's accidental martyrdom, no one knew since Little Zhou Jiao became aware, apart from receiving clothes sent by her maternal family and her mother's annual remittances, she hadn't met them. People said they cared for the child but never took her in.
Occasionally overhearing aunt's muttering, big uncle sacrificed alongside Mr. Zhang, second uncle stationed somewhere abroad, Grandpa was a big figure no time to visit old war friend her Grandpa, Grandma was ill again, etc. Sister-in-law was strange, so beautiful yet refused to remarry or raise her daughter, just left at home, yes left.