CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 21: SIGNS BEGIN TO EMERGE (PART 2)

"Indeed, it’s likely that our parents wouldn’t agree to us not working and just wandering around. We still need to think this over." Zhang Guoqing laughed heartily after hearing this. Jiao Jiao made sense; converting money into goods first was wise.

Zhou Jiao only now remembered that they hadn’t had the chance to sort out their private stash of money. "Let’s start by organizing our private stash. It’s all in the hidden compartment of the wardrobe; take everything out."

"There really is quite a lot, Jiao Jiao. Gather all the valuables from home. Keep loose change and leftover tickets in the hidden compartment. This compartment isn’t secure."

Zhou Jiao took two wooden boxes and opened one of them, dumping out its contents. There were stacks of ten-yuan notes, as well as loose change and tickets. Most of these tickets were given to her by Zhang Guoqing, like the numerous cloth tickets that would expire at the end of the year. That meant she’d need to exchange them for fabric, just in time to make clothes for herself. These were likely given by Mother Zhang at their wedding.

For her marriage, Grandma personally prepared a red dress and black pants for her. Other clothes were sent by mail, and her aunt also gifted her a few pieces. Since she never lacked clothing, she didn’t buy more.

There were also sugar tickets amounting to 2 jin, followed by a jumble of miscellaneous tickets. She handed over all tickets nearing expiration to Zhang Guoqing, indicating they should use them promptly before they became invalid. After counting, there were 2886 yuan, close to 2900 yuan, with 86 yuan in loose change placed in the wooden box. She inspected all the tickets and realized most would expire by the end of the year. Fortunately, she thought to organize them today.

She then opened a larger box. On the left were letters from her mother, Lin Lishan, which she had barely opened. To the right, there was Grandma’s small box, which, according to her memory, was secretly handed to her by Grandma on the night she got married. She hadn’t examined it carefully later, so the memory was a bit hazy.

Inside the small box, she unwrapped a pair of jade bracelets and a necklace made of round beads from yellow silk. The jade was a rich, vibrant green with a hint of blue, probably imperial green. Another embroidered handkerchief wrapped around a sapphire-studded diamond necklace and bracelet set. There was also a ring and a brooch. Finally, an embroidered handkerchief held two Mutton Fat Jade Pendants with dragon and phoenix motifs. Underneath three packages, the box was lined with two pieces of silk. Wrapped in the silk were two embroidered paintings: one of peonies symbolizing wealth and prosperity, and the other of twin lotuses. Their meanings were very auspicious. In the last layer of the small box, there was a 1952 property deed for a house in Shanghai signed by Zhou Jiao.

"Husband, I’ve never looked closely at this box; my memory of it is vague. Grandma clearly told me she had sold off all the valuables brought from home to scrape by, living on embroidery work, with even the family servants chopping wood to buy rice. Her personal maid, after getting married, occasionally helped financially. Luckily, she met Grandpa and didn’t starve.

Help me check if this property deed is for a place in Shanghai. Grandma came from Beijing and never visited Shanghai, so where did this 1952 deed come from? Five years ago, it was still in my name. Who filed it? Grandma never traveled far. In 1952, I was 11, so it must have been purchased when I was 10. It couldn’t have been bought by my mom since she had already prepared a property for me in Beijing."

From the moment Zhang Guoqing saw the deed, he furrowed his brows, hesitant to speak. With this wooden box, his thoughts became clear, and all doubts were verified. The question was that Grandma secretly handed this to Zhou Jiao, and no one else knew, not even Grandpa Zhou. So did Grandma know who sent this?

He picked up the box, pondered for a moment, and carefully pried it open with a small knife. Moments later, the box separated, and he removed a layer of paper from the bottom. Sure enough, there was a problem: two horizontal lines etched with a knife.

Zhou Jiao looked at him in surprise, wondering what happened and if any clues were found in the box. "Husband, how did you figure it out? Did you find who sent it? I’ve become your biggest fan. Could it be a suitor of my grandma’s? You should know even my grandpa wasn’t aware of this box."

"Jiao Jiao, take a look at these two deliberate knife marks. What do they look like? And why would a suitor of your grandma send you a property? If they sent it to your grandma, your grandpa would know, and if entrusted to him, it wouldn’t get into your hands. He knew you were the only one in the family whom your grandma truly cared for. It was given as your 10th birthday gift." Zhang Guoqing explained slowly, giving her time to process.

Zhou Jiao stared at the two knife marks, tears welling up in her eyes, "Husband, are you saying my father is still alive, and the two knife marks covered with paper is his way of indicating this without exposing his identity? The two marks represent equality, as in ’to wait.’ Five years have passed; is he still alive? Is he in danger? How can we find him and help him? Let’s go to Shanghai; we must find him at that house. He’s the only parent in my two lives who truly loved me."

Zhang Guoqing quickly wiped her tears, stood up, soaked a towel in hot water, and wiped her face, "You can’t cry while you’re in confinement! Your dad will be back, certainly before the end of the year. Your mom is also coming to our house in a few days. If you keep crying, I won’t tell you why I figured it out."

Zhou Jiao took the towel and wiped her face herself. This bad man! "Tell me how you guessed, and what else don’t I know? When you came back at noon, was it something they said at the Zhou Family during your confrontation with the shrew?"

"What I’m going to say next is quite troublesome and will have a significant impact on us, affecting how our family will proceed. I said at noon that we’d wait for my dad to come back and talk, right? That’s what this is about; before, it was just suspicion, but now it’s certain. Organize your things first; don’t mention the box secret and the property deed in front of our parents. If I’m right, your mom will rush here before your due date, to accompany you during childbirth so your dad can see his love for you through her. Your due date is eight days away. By calculation, in these two days, if she hurriedly arrives by the third day after giving birth, they won’t arrive immediately and will first inquire about our temperament and character. She’s running out of time, so she’ll rush to visit by the third postpartum day.

Once she arrives, I expect my parents to be shocked. We need to inform them of our conjectures first so they have a grasp of the situation and can discuss strategies for dealing with it. If she suggests going to Beijing, how will we handle it? It’s ultimately up to our parents. It’s not that simple. Uncharacteristically, the Lin family sent us 28 packages this year, as if they knew in advance your dad was returning. So why didn’t they tell you? That’s why the situation is so intriguing.

Put on your clothes; the baby is asleep; I’ll carry you to the little lounge, as my father doesn’t enter our bedroom. Once our parents arrive, I’ll explain in detail. As for the Shanghai house and those things, tell no one; only we should know. Ask your dad when you see him, but know that during a mission, the property belongs to the state, you understand?"

Zhou Jiao nodded; she wasn’t foolish. If others knew, it wouldn’t just be a property issue but an ideological one, one that could be exploited. She also needed to carefully read her mom’s letters to understand their implications.

After putting on her clothes, she wrapped herself tightly in a thick quilt, and he carried her to the small lounge outside. He then fetched the baby from their room and placed it next to her before finally feeling assured enough to go out.