Widow Remarries in Sixties

This time, Jiang Mingchuan had specially obtained a letter of introduction from his superior, planning to take Jin Xiuzhu and the two children to stay elsewhere if things went badly with his family.

On the way, he explained to Jin Xiuzhu, “The small house hasn’t been lived in for many years, so it’s probably very dusty inside.”

Jin Xiuzhu nodded, “Having a house gives us some security. We can live there when we get old.”

Jiang Mingchuan felt a warm image in his mind and said, “I’ll take you to see it tomorrow. I lived there for a while as a child. I even had a secret base in my room with lots of toys.”

Those were all made by his grandfather, who always said his mother resembled his younger self the most.

Jin Xiuzhu said expectantly, “That sounds great.”

He Yan joined in excitedly, “I want to go too.”

Jiang Mingchuan laughed, “We’ll all go.”

They went to a nearby guesthouse, and when the staff asked, he said they were visiting family but had no room at home. This was a common situation. Few in the capital lived in big houses. Most families crammed into tiny 20-30 square meter rooms, some even smaller and partitioned by curtains.

After registering and paying, Jiang Mingchuan received the room number. The family went up to the third floor and found room 309. Jiang Mingchuan had spent extra for a four-person room, unlike the shared dormitories on the second floor.

Turning on the light, they found the room much larger than at the Pan family’s, with two beds on each side. Jiang Mingchuan made the beds and checked them, saying, “It’s not damp. I’ll sleep with Xiao Yan, and you can sleep with our daughter.”

The beds and quilts were too small for all four to sleep together. Jin Xiuzhu took out the necessary items from the bag and placed them on the table.

After making the beds, Jiang Mingchuan said, “I’ll go downstairs to get some hot water. You all rest for a while.”

He took the kettle and left, returning about ten minutes later. He told Jin Xiuzhu, “There’s a kitchen here. We can buy ingredients and cook tomorrow, though we’ll have to pay three cents for the seasoning. There’s also a bathhouse at the back where we can bathe.”

Jin Xiuzhu looked outside at the dark sky, “Let’s buy food and cook tomorrow.”

Jiang Mingchuan nodded, “Let’s eat something first and then go to the bathhouse for a wash.”

They hadn’t bathed properly for days, having only wiped themselves with hot water while on the train. They hadn’t bathed at his foster parents’ house last night either.

He Yan excitedly brought out the food given by the elders of the Zhang family before they left. He picked the prettiest box of pastries and said eagerly, “I want to eat this.”

Jin Xiuzhu generously replied, “Go ahead and open it.”

“Yay!” He Yan cheered.

He Yan excitedly opened the box. Inside were a dozen or so exquisitely crafted pastries, each separated by a small compartment. He first took one and ran to give it to Jin Xiuzhu, saying, “Mom, have a bite.”

Then he gave one to his sister, and finally to his dad and himself. The ranking of family members in his heart was clear as day.

The pastries resembled mooncakes, with a sticky filling that tasted very good. However, He Yan commented, “This is delicious, but Mom’s pastries are even better.”

His sweet talk made Jin Xiuzhu smile happily, “I’ll make some for you when we get back.”

“Great!” He Yan exclaimed.

Fu Yanyan glanced at him, thinking that anyone who didn’t know better might think they were really mother and son.

After the family of four had filled their bellies, they went downstairs to the bathhouse behind the guesthouse.

It was the first time for Jin Xiuzhu and the two kids, and they didn’t know what to do. The men’s and women’s bathhouses were separate. Jiang Mingchuan stood outside and carefully explained to the mother and daughter twice. Only when they had remembered everything did he watch them enter the door on the left.

Once inside, Jin Xiuzhu and her daughter turned a couple of corners and then saw a steamy room full of naked bodies, making Jin Xiuzhu quickly close her eyes in shock.

Fu Yanyan was also a bit scared. Although she had attended boarding school in her past life where there was a bathhouse, it was divided by partitions, and everyone would enter and leave wearing clothes. Here, everyone was bathing and scrubbing each other, fully exposed.

The mother and daughter stood still for a while before shyly finding a corner to wash. But once the hot water hit them, they both sighed in relief.

Jin Xiuzhu whispered to her daughter, “This is so convenient. It would be great if we had this at home.”

Fu Yanyan nodded, thinking to herself that it wouldn’t be long. In the future, even hospitals would have these, along with televisions, cell phones, and cars filling the streets…

It was a world unimaginable to people now, but it was only a few decades away.

***

That night, Pan Jun was taken to the hospital by Pan Shenglin and his wife. He had multiple fractures, and after treatment, the doctor advised him to rest in bed for a while.

Tao Qianyun was worried and wanted Pan Jun to stay in the hospital for a few more days, but Pan Shenglin, concerned about losing face if seen by acquaintances, had someone drive over and carry Pan Jun back home.

Once home, Pan Jun lay in bed, moaning in pain.

Zhong Xue felt nothing inside. She sat numbly on a stool not far away, staring at the floor without expression.

Pan Jun called out again, saying he was thirsty.

Zhong Xue didn’t respond.

Pan Jun glared at her venomously, “What, still thinking about that other guy? Think just because he stood up for you that you can boss me around? How long do you think he can stay here? You’re my woman. I’ll do what I want with you. Even your parents can’t interfere, so who does Jiang Mingchuan think he is!”

He spoke with a lisp, his tongue hurting, and the words coming out unclear.

Zhong Xue’s body stiffened. She thought about her parents, whose whereabouts were unknown, and about Jiang Mingchuan, who had exposed her in-laws’ hypocrisy.

She had once harbored a glimmer of hope that her father-in-law might help her parents out of pity for her hard work. But now, she wasn’t sure. If they could treat an adopted son of twenty years like this, what hope was there for her?

In fact, even without Jiang Mingchuan’s recent actions, Zhong Xue had known for a while that the Pan family trio was no good.

Before her parents’ accident, she had believed her in-laws loved her more than her own parents did. She truly thought her in-laws liked daughters and believed Pan Jun’s words that they favored Jiang Mingchuan more because they had higher expectations for him.

She had even foolishly felt sorry for Pan Jun.

After her parents’ accident, she realized everything had changed. To outsiders, it seemed kind of the Pan family not to abandon her, but only she knew how miserable her life had become.

She deeply regretted it. Whenever she thought of the past in the last two years, she hated her own naivety and stupidity.

Pan Jun continued to spew venomous words, “Look at you, so ugly. I can’t even muster any interest. There are women out there a hundred times better looking than you. How dare you even think of them?”

Zhong Xue’s eyes reddened, and she clenched her fists tightly.

He knew that she had once devoted her heart to him, yet he still said these things to humiliate her.

The next morning, Jiang Mingchuan took Jin Xiuzhu and the two kids to a small Western-style house.

With the property deed and identification, getting in was easy. This area had been home to wealthy and influential people before the founding of the country. Jiang Mingchuan’s grandmother’s family had once been very prosperous. Although they had declined during the Republic of China era. Still, even a dead camel was bigger than a horse, and she had married the richest man in the province at the time.

Upon entering, they found that quite a few people lived here. Jiang Mingchuan explained that half of the original homeowners had emigrated, leaving their houses empty and allowing the government to allocate them to those in need, with several households living in one building. Some homeowners, however, still lived on their properties.

Jin Xiuzhu was worried that Tao Qianyun might have lent the house to someone else since the surrounding small Western-style houses were all in a mess from renovations.

But her concern was unnecessary—Tao Qianyun always took good care of her belongings and had long considered this house her own.

Even the flowers and plants in the small courtyard were well-trimmed.

Inside, the house wasn’t very dirty, indicating that someone frequently came to clean. The white marble floor with patterns, the crystal chandelier overhead, and the intricate designs on the banister, though showing some signs of wear, still exuded a sense of elegance. The second floor had four rooms: the south-facing ones were the master bedroom and a secondary bedroom, both quite large. The north-facing rooms were a study and a guest room. The third floor had been for servants and storage.

Jiang Mingchuan had once stayed in the secondary bedroom. He took Jin Xiuzhu and the two children there to have a look.

Jin Xiuzhu opened the patterned glass window and, seeing the northern scenery outside, remarked, “Having a house is really comforting. These past few days, I’ve felt uneasy. But now, knowing this house belongs to us, I feel at peace.”

She turned to Jiang Mingchuan and said, “We should save up and buy a house in the city too.”

Jiang Mingchuan didn’t react much. “I won’t be staying there for long. In a few years, I might be transferred.”

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t understand the military system here, so she just nodded. “I hope we can move to a big city, and then we can buy a house there.”

Jiang Mingchuan smiled, “Why buy so many houses? We can’t live in them all.”

Jin Xiuzhu gave him a look that said he didn’t understand. “Can you ever have too many houses? Look at our place—it’s small and noisy. We can even hear people arguing on the top floor. How can it be as comfortable as this house? Besides, it’s not that many—a house for you, one for me, and one for each of the two kids. That’s just the beginning.”

Jiang Mingchuan thought she was being overly optimistic. Buying houses wasn’t just about having money. It involved other complications too.

Only Fu Yanyan, listening nearby, was getting excited. She knew that in the future, houses would become extremely expensive.

After exploring the house, the family of four took the bus to the Forbidden City. Jiang Mingchuan saw some people taking photos nearby and asked about it. Then, he paid to have four family photos taken, with a promise to pick them up the next day.

On the way back, they bought roast duck and candied haws. Jin Xiuzhu and the two kids each had a stick of candied haws. Jin Xiuzhu fed one to Jiang Mingchuan, who initially refused but eventually took a bite, finding it sweet and delicious.

By the time they returned to the guesthouse, it was already eleven o’clock. Jiang Mingchuan went to a nearby vegetable market to buy groceries, then cooked a warm meal in the guesthouse kitchen.