I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 193: Real Tickets

"What did our mother... no, I should say our maternal grandmother's family do before?"

Before going to sleep, Yuan Xiu asked the question that had been buried in her heart.

"You noticed?" Jiang Zhou, who was about to turn off the light, withdrew his hand upon hearing this.

"Mmm." Yuan Xiu responded softly. Being able to attend a girls' middle school in that era and still have money to dress up, even after so many years, she still maintains the elegance and love of beauty in her bones. And the jewelry she gave herself, none of them were cheap.

No matter how you look at her, her mother-in-law doesn't seem like a working-class person at all.

I imagine her family must be quite well-off.

"Ninety percent of them are ordinary citizens."

Jiang Zhou said calmly, "My family used to be rich, but it declined before the founding of the People's Republic of China. Because no one in my family was in business and we didn't have any assets outside, we were lucky enough not to be labeled as capitalists."

"To be precise, my maternal grandfather was a scholar who repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, he made a living by selling his ancestral property. After the founding of the PRC, apart from the family house and some money, he had nothing left. He only had my mother as his daughter, and before he died, he arranged for my mother to marry my father."

Yuan Xiu turned to look at him; his tone sounded off.

"My dad was in the army at that time, and he was a battalion commander. My maternal grandfather thought that my mom could live a good life with him, and the family would be protected. Moreover, my dad was an upright person, and even if something happened to him in the future, he would not abandon my mom."

"So, Mom and Dad's marriage was arranged?"

Jiang Zhou nodded: "Yes, my mother was a young and beautiful female student. Naturally, she looked down on my father, a roughneck who couldn't even distinguish between 'foreign drama' and 'local opera.' She married him rather unwillingly, but she had no choice. After marriage, she treated their marriage negatively. My father, on the other hand, treated her with all his heart and wouldn't let her do anything around the house. So, even after many years of marriage, she still doesn't know how to cook very well. In my memory, she has only cooked a few times, unless my father was working overtime at the factory and couldn't come back in time."

Yuan Xiu finally understood why Jiang Zhou and his mother weren't as close as ordinary mothers and sons; she could tell from his words that he was indignant on behalf of his father.

A man who sacrificed a lot for his family returned home but received no care from his wife. This kind of family atmosphere permeated his entire childhood. He saw it all from a young age and naturally leaned towards his father.

"She likes to boss people around. At home, she's always ordering my dad around or me around. She's used to it. If she orders you around, don't listen to her and don't do anything like that."

"So, is this Uncle Chen that Mom married now?"

"She married him the year after my father passed away, and that's how she started living the life she wanted."

Jiang Zhou's tone was tinged with resentment, suggesting he was somewhat unhappy about his mother getting married the following year.

As children, whether it's our mother remarrying or our father remarrying, it's only natural to feel uncomfortable after a few years.

Another possibility is that he discovered his mother treated her marriage with his father differently than she treated her current marriage, which is why he said, "She's living the life she wanted to live."

Yuan Xiu didn't know what to say. She wasn't qualified to judge anything, and naturally, she couldn't say that her mother-in-law was wrong. Everyone has a different perspective, and marriage isn't something that can be explained in a few words.

Her mother-in-law, Ms. An Hui, is not a "virtuous wife and loving mother" in the traditional sense, but she lives a comfortable life, which probably makes many people complain but secretly envy her.

The conversation had already started, and Jiang Zhou talked a lot more. For example, after his mother remarried, the Chen family felt that he, as the stepson, had taken a huge advantage of the Chen family and would be able to rise to prominence by relying on the Chen family in the future.

It was because of these words that Jiang Zhou rarely contacted his remarried mother.

"How could they say such a thing?" Yuan Xiu was displeased. "I shouldn't have accepted those things they sent before."

Her huffy expression was so cute that Jiang Zhou couldn't help but laugh. "That was bought by my mom for her daughter-in-law. Why won't you accept it? She's a minor leader at the Cultural Palace, and her salary isn't low. She wouldn't be unable to afford something like that. At most, she just used her connections as the secretary's wife to get some rare items that others couldn't buy. If you don't accept it, it's someone else who benefits."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Besides, even if we don't want anything, we can't stop some people from gossiping. If I try to avoid getting too close to the Chen family to avoid suspicion, won't some people look at me differently because of Uncle Chen? Yes, they will. There's no way to avoid that."

Yuan Xiu nodded, gently patting her belly; this was indeed unavoidable.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. It's late, go to sleep."

Jiang Zhou picked up a thin blanket and draped it over her stomach. Yuan Xiu felt hot and tried to pull it away, but Jiang Zhou held her hand down. "I'll turn the fan around a bit, don't pull the blanket away."

Yuan Xiu: "Alright."

Jiang Zhou turned the fan slightly towards Yuan Xiu before turning off the light and lying down.

……

On the third day after An Hui arrived at the compound, she went to the city. She went there by bus and came back in a military jeep.

The jeep drove into the compound, and the young soldier driving it was the first to get out. After getting out, he carried large and small bags of things out of the vehicle.

In no time, the ground was covered with things.

This scene attracted a large crowd.

Shen's mother also came over with her child to watch the excitement. Among these people, she was the only one who had spoken and chatted with An Hui, so she naturally had to greet her and say hello when she saw her.

"Girl, you've come to the city? And you bought so much stuff, you probably took half the goods from the department store home!" she joked.

An Hui: "I'd like to, but unfortunately I didn't bring enough money and tickets, so this is the best I can do for now."

After she said that, Shen's mother didn't know what to say.

Judging from this, they've bought too little?

Not enough?

The expressions on the faces of the others were even more telling. What kind of background does Chief of Staff Jiang have? This is too much of a vote-getter!

The people living around here are all cadres at the regimental level or above. None of them are really short of money; they're just short of ration coupons.

This was the first time they had ever seen someone buy things so "aggressively".

If you didn't know better, you'd think this was a family getting married or having their daughter married off.

Shen's mother called on everyone to help carry everything inside. If they hadn't helped, it would have taken An Hui quite a while to carry it all by herself.

"This is baby formula! This baby formula is good, it's imported, and it's only sold at Friendship Store. Grandma Yuan, you've already prepared it for your grandson and granddaughter."

It's usually the mother who buys formula after giving birth and not having enough milk. It's rare for a mother-in-law to prepare formula for her child before the baby is even born.

Some families are harsh on their daughters-in-law. If a daughter-in-law doesn't have enough milk after giving birth, the mother-in-law can stand at the door and yell at her for two whole streets!

Looking at it this way, it seems that Xiao Yuan's mother-in-law is really a good person, willing to spend money on her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.