Chapter 1306 - 1178: Playing Favorites, Playing Favorites

Chapter 1306: Chapter 1178: Playing Favorites, Playing Favorites

This past month, who knows if it was that speech Miao Tianming gave at the family banquet that set off a whole chain reaction—anyway, one favorable policy after another has been coming out.

Or maybe that’s just how history was going to go in the first place.

At the year-end National People’s Congress they officially announced the country’s modernization drive: we must make use of two kinds of resources—domestic resources and foreign resources; open up two markets—our domestic market and the international market; and learn two sets of skills—the ability to organize domestic construction and the ability to develop foreign economic relations.

In short, reform and opening was picking up pace.

In the dead of the twelfth lunar month, not long after this news came out, the institutional downsizing meeting also stressed realizing a cadre team that is revolutionary, younger, more educated, and more professional.

These messages no doubt put everyone in a much better mood.

At the very least, Yi Jiefang and the others were over the moon.

Heaven knows, they’d just joined their buddy and his wife in stirring up a bit of fun—who could’ve guessed overseas returns would be this high? If this had been a few years earlier, the five brothers would’ve been thrown into the cowshed for sure!

Now it’s great, all aboveboard.

So even in the freezing twelfth month, Beijing still couldn’t lock in their jubilation; they insisted on clamoring to go out of the city for a spin.

"It’ll be New Year’s in a few days. You won’t have time to stay long over there, and it’d be inconvenient to take me along even if you wanted to—I’d just be cold. I’ll stay home and get the New Year supplies ready."

"Really not going?"

Zhou Jiao shot him a reproachful sideways glance. "I’m sure they’re not taking their wives along."

"Hahaha... How could those women compare to you?" Zhang Guoqing didn’t even bother denying he was biased toward his own wife. "Forget it, after the New Year we’ll go off by ourselves and have a little world of two."

He’d barely finished when May 1st shouted from the lounge next door, "Biased! Totally biased. Bro, hurry up and sing ’Little Cabbage.’"

"You dare sing it and I’ll smack you!" Ping’an’s voice rang out. "Right before New Year, don’t jinx it!"

"I was wrong, I was wrong—hurry up, go find Dad, he’s about to slip away."

Zhou Jiao pointed at the door, laughing. "Go on, or the kids are going to turn the place upside down in a minute."

"These little punks!" Zhang Guoqing cursed with a grin, brushed his wife’s cheek, and reluctantly walked to the door, looking headachey at his three sons.

Look at them, all tall and strapping, jammed into the hallway—and still such a bunch of rowdy clowns. Should he send them off on blind dates and hurry up and get them married?

Why is his life so hard?

A gruff father-in-law in front, troublesome sons behind, and his mother-in-law in the middle—just to get a proper hug in with his wife he has to pick his moment carefully, and if he slips up, his nemeses all show up at once.

"Dad, if you’re heading out, how could we as sons just sit around at home stuffing our faces? No way! We’ve got to provide close-up protection for our dear old dad."

"Idiot! Everyone knows Dad loves us three brothers the most—wherever he goes he likes to take us along, right, Dad?" Ping’an said, even blinking deliberately. "As sons, we definitely won’t be separated from you."

Liu Yi fished around in his pocket, pulled out a piece of chocolate, peeled it and stuffed it into Zhang Guoqing’s mouth. "See? Thoughtful, right? With your sons around, you don’t have a care in the world."

Listening to the grand-sounding reasons from the Ping An Brothers, Zhou Jiao’s eyes curved into crescents with laughter.

Chewing the chocolate, Zhang Guoqing squinted at his sons smilingly and just kept silent. Teasing his boys was the best fun.

Liu Yi rolled his eyes and laughed. "Dad, out in the jianghu I’ve got an elegant nickname: ’Living Map.’"

"Hey, what a coincidence. Friends in the jianghu gave me some face—they call me ’Know-it-all.’" May 1st quickly patted Ping’an, who was smiling silently beside him, on the shoulder. "Big Bro, what about you?"

"Me? I’ve got too many, really can’t list them all in a moment. I’ve been mixing it up in the jianghu a bit less lately, but nicknames like ’Jade-faced God’ and ’First in the Palace’ still come up a lot."

May 1st squeezed his eyes and teased, "No ’Beijing’s Number One Flower-Thief,’ huh?"

"Get lost!" Ping’an swore jokingly, then looked at Zhou Jiao, who was laughing so hard she was bent over. "Mom, you’ve got to believe your son here is a proper gentleman, through and through."

"Oh my stomach, I’m dying of laughter. Bro, hurry up and agree to take them. If you don’t, the next line out of their mouths is going to be something totally outrageous."

"Fine." Zhang Guoqing propped up his wife, who was laughing herself silly. "For making your mother laugh, tomorrow at three in the morning we’ll set off."

Once they’d agreed on the time and shooed the boys away, Zhang Guoqing scooped her up and carried her into the room, kicked the door shut behind them and sighed, "When the kids are home, the house is a lot more lively."

Zhou Jiao nodded repeatedly. After calming her laughter she asked, "Do you need to bring rations?"

"I already had Aunt Chen prepare them after dinner. You just rest."

Zhang Guoqing removed the wooden hairpin from her head; her long hair cascaded down, and he couldn’t stop fondling it lovingly. "We’ll prep the New Year goods together when I get back. We’re only staying out one night; we’ll be back in no time."

"Okay."

After a night’s sleep, at two in the morning, Zhang Guoqing woke right on time, reached out an arm to turn on the bedside lamp, then immediately drew it back.

Looking at the sleeping Zhou Jiao in the lamplight, he silently sighed: why on earth had he lost his mind and agreed to go hunting with the guys? In weather this cold, holding his soft wife in his arms would’ve been perfect!

Especially with his wife lying in his arms stark naked...

"Bro, I’m sleepy."

"Baby, you just keep sleeping."

Soon enough it was two forty. Zhang Guoqing regretfully took one last bite of his wife, then reluctantly got out of bed and tucked the quilt snugly around her.

"I’ll walk you out."

"It’s not time yet, it’s only twelve o’clock." Zhang Guoqing tapped her nose, amused; she couldn’t even open her eyes and still wanted to get up?

He was afraid if she stood up her legs would go weak and she’d get mad at him.

"...Then call me a bit later..."

Zhang Guoqing was so tickled by her groggy muddle-headedness that he almost burst out laughing. His wife really was his treasure! How could she be this adorable? He honestly wished he could shrink her down and keep her in his pocket to carry around.

Yi Jiefang stamped his feet in front of a truck. Damn it was cold! The wind knifing into his face made his skin ache, and every time he spoke, white breath billowed out.

"How come Xiao Wu’s still not out?" Wan Dayong puffed warm air into his hands and moved around to loosen up. "I kept saying you guys were in too much of a rush."

"Why don’t you go back and grab another hug from your wife?"

"You think I’m Xiao Wu? It’s nearly three and he’s still not out—must be reluctant to leave home. I’ve never seen a guy cling to his wife like that."

"You talk like you left early yourself."

"Can I compare to you? Don’t think I don’t know your wife’s been working overtime these days—yesterday my wife said yours was scheduled all the way to the twenty‑ninth..."

Wan Dayong hadn’t finished when he suddenly started laughing. "Damn! No wonder something feels off—so we got played? Dato, you’re not being very brotherly. No wife to hug yourself, so you drag us out here to freeze with you!"

Once Wan Dayong said that, everyone burst out laughing.

"Xiao Wu’s here, get in the truck." It was still Yi Jiefang who had the sharpest eyes; he caught sight of a figure coming toward them, shouted once, and hurried to climb onboard.

There’s a kind of friendship that’s like wine—the longer it ages, the richer it gets.

Zhang Guoqing led his three sons over. Watching them wave and scramble into the truck one by one, he couldn’t help but break into a smile.