Widow Remarries in Sixties

The next day, Jin Xiuzhu and Jiang Mingchuan got up early. The couple took out the dough that had risen overnight and made several kinds of pastries in the kitchen behind the guesthouse. After finishing, they carefully wrapped them in oil paper.

Originally, they planned to buy some, but after tasting the high-end pastries sent by Elder Zhang, the whole family agreed that Jin Xiuzhu’s pastries were better and homemade ones were cheaper.

While Jin Xiuzhu was making pastries, Jiang Mingchuan also prepared breakfast. They had noodles in meat soup with a few cabbage leaves.

Carrying the pot and a clean enamel mug, they returned to the third floor. Jiang Mingchuan divided half of the noodles and meat into the enamel mug for the two children to eat, while he and Jin Xiuzhu ate from the pot.

He Yan skillfully used chopsticks to twirl the noodles, taking turns with his sister and eating a few bites before sipping some hot soup. They ate with great satisfaction.

Jin Xiuzhu counted the number of pastries, then packed two extra portions to give to Jiang Mingchuan’s sister’s family.

Jiang Mingchuan blew on a spoonful of noodles to cool them before handing it to her. Jin Xiuzhu took it and asked, “Is it alright to go straight to the train station? Will there be tickets available?”

“There will be. It’s only the third day of the New Year, so the train station won’t be too crowded.”

Jin Xiuzhu nodded.

Jiang Mingchuan said, “After we finish eating, let’s stop by the Zhang family to say goodbye, then visit a few uncles and aunts. We’ll come back for the photos around noon and then head out.”

Jin Xiuzhu agreed, thinking about how Jiang Mingchuan had mentioned that Province S was also very prosperous and how the four of them could explore it together.

He Yan hesitantly asked, “Dad, aren’t we going to see the small western-style house?”

Jiang Mingchuan and Jin Xiuzhu both looked at him.

He Yan, a bit embarrassed, lowered his head.

Fu Yanyan teased him, “He’s thinking about Dad’s secret base.”

Jiang Mingchuan had promised to show them the place, but they had forgotten about it yesterday while they were occupied with visiting the big house.

Jiang Mingchuan smiled, “We’ll go after visiting the aunts and uncles since it’s nearby.”

He Yan smiled happily, “Yay! Dad is the best.”

Jin Xiuzhu playfully asked, “What about Mom?”

Without hesitation, He Yan replied, “Mom is the best of the best.”

Jin Xiuzhu gave him an approving look.

He Yan giggled. To him, Dad was great, but Mom was the best. Although he was usually carefree and forgetful, he could never forget how much Jin Xiuzhu had cared for him over the past year, cooking for him, sending him to school, making clothes for him… so many things, too many to list. His biological mother had never done any of that.

In his heart, he had long considered Jin Xiuzhu his true mother.

After breakfast, the family of four set out with their items. Jin Xiuzhu carried a few boxes of pastries, while Jiang Mingchuan carried a few bags of apples.

Their first stop was the Zhang family. Only Elder Zhang and their aunts were home, as First Uncle Zhang and Second Uncle Zhang had gone out to pay New Year visits.

Elder Zhang had intended to go visiting too, but stayed home thinking someone might come by.

Jiang Mingchuan put down the fruits and pastries and informed Elder Zhang about their departure in the afternoon.

Elder Zhang was surprised, “Leaving so soon?”

Yesterday, he had specifically gathered some old friends to visit the Pan family and gave those two a good scolding. Although he had let Jiang Mingchuan handle the matter himself, he still had to support him. Mingchuan was kind-hearted, but those two were not easy to deal with. They even wanted to take the house left to him by his grandmother. Such shamelessness!

Not to mention, if it hadn’t been for Pan Shenglin adopting Mingchuan, who knows where his family would be now.

“You’re leaving so quickly after coming back? Where did you go these past few days? Stay here at our place. We have plenty of empty rooms. You’re always too polite and considerate. Your dad and Third Son were like brothers, they studied together, went to war together, and even sacrificed their lives together. I grew up with your grandmother. You don’t need to be polite with us.”

Jiang Mingchuan knew his words were sincere. He smiled and explained, “Really, I’m not being polite. I only took a few days off to come back. I just wanted to bring Xiuzhu and the kids to visit you. For the remaining days, I plan to take them to see my sister.”

Hearing about his sister, Elder Zhang looked puzzled, then remembered who she was and sighed, “That girl must be seventeen or eighteen by now, right?”

Jiang Mingchuan nodded, “She’s nineteen this year.”

“What’s she doing?”

Jiang Mingchuan’s face showed pride, “She’s attending university, studying at Jiao Tong University.”

Elder Zhang smiled with satisfaction, “That’s impressive. Your parents were both smart, and their children are smart too. Your father was a top student while working as a janitor and still had better grades than my Third Son. Later, your father joined the army, and when Third Son found out, he followed him.”

Jiang Mingchuan didn’t speak. This was the first time he heard someone tell him these things.

Old Master Zhang said, “Bring her back to visit us old folks when you have time.”

Jiang Mingchuan hesitated before shaking his head, “She doesn’t know that I’m her brother.”

Upon hearing this, both Jin Xiuzhu and Elder Zhang looked at him. Jiang Mingchuan pressed his lips together and explained, “Her adoptive parents treat her very well. I’m afraid telling her might affect her, so I always visit under the guise of a relative.”

Elder Zhang frowned but eventually sighed, “Maybe it’s better this way. Not knowing saves her from the worries.”

Jiang Mingchuan nodded. He only wished for his sister to be happy.

“Still, you should visit her. After all, she is your blood sister.”

“Okay.”

As they left the Zhang residence, Jin Xiuzhu couldn’t help but ask, “Is it that you don’t want to say, or her adoptive parents don’t want you to?”

Jiang Mingchuan didn’t expect her to still be thinking about this matter and replied, “It’s the same. Not telling her is truly the best.”

Jin Xiuzhu understood then. It was likely that her sister’s adoptive parents didn’t want him to say anything.

Jiang Mingchuan then took them to visit several other elders for New Year’s greetings. Some were his father’s comrades, others were friends of his mother. Without exception, they were all very remarkable people.

Each visit was met with great excitement from these elders, with some even embracing Jiang Mingchuan and crying, their eyes red with emotion, scolding him for being so heartless and not visiting them until now.

After delivering gifts, they left the house of an aunt surnamed Wang. Jiang Mingchuan’s eyes were also red. This aunt had shared many stories about his mother, some he knew, others he didn’t.

Jin Xiuzhu held his hand, thinking that, compared to these remarkable elders, Pan Shenglin seemed quite ordinary.

Jiang Mingchuan decided not to stay for dinner and told Jin Xiuzhu, “Let’s go to the small villa first, then we’ll go eat and pick up the photos.”

He hadn’t forgotten his promise to his son.

He Yan looked up at his father upon hearing this, his eyes curved with a smile. He had been worried that his father might forget.

The small villa was just two streets away, so the family of four decided to walk there. Once they arrived, Jiang Mingchuan went straight to his childhood secret base. He Yan was the happiest, eagerly following behind him.

It had been so long that Jiang Mingchuan almost forgot where he had hidden things. He opened the wardrobe and fumbled around inside for a while until he heard a “click.” He then pulled out a half-meter-high box.

The box seemed a bit heavy. He couldn’t lift it out in one go and had to kneel and use both hands to pull it out.

Once it was out, they saw that the box and the wardrobe’s wood were the same color, making it easy to see why it was his secret base. The box was embedded in the wardrobe wall, blending in perfectly so outsiders wouldn’t notice it.

Jiang Mingchuan then felt around the bottom of the box and found a thin key. He inserted it into a slit on top of the box and gently twisted it, releasing the lid.

Inside, the box was filled with various toys, including a wooden sword, small dolls, a rattle drum, a gold watch, and a gem-studded mini telephone.

He Yan exclaimed in awe, “Wow! So beautiful!”

He had never seen so many beautiful things.

Fu Yanyan squatted on the other side. When she saw the gold watch, her eyes lit up.

Jin Xiuzhu also noticed and raised an eyebrow, “Is that gold watch real?”

Jiang Mingchuan, hearing this, was unsure. He picked up the watch and looked at it, “I don’t know. Maybe it is?”

He then handed the watch to Jin Xiuzhu.

Jin Xiuzhu played with the watch for a moment. To avoid raising suspicion, she used an ambiguous tone, “It seems real.”

But in her heart, she was sure it was genuine.

She squatted down to take a closer look. Initially thinking they were just children’s toys, she had come with a casual attitude, but seeing these valuable toys, she realized some could even be considered heirlooms.

She reached in and pulled out a valuable toy. A gold spoon accidentally hit the wood, making a muffled sound. Jiang Mingchuan and the children didn’t react, but Jin Xiuzhu’s hand paused. She frowned and then knocked on the box’s wood with her knuckles. The sound was hollow, but when she knocked in the middle, it was muffled.

Jiang Mingchuan and the children looked at her in confusion.

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t explain. Instead, she felt around the box again, then looked up at Jiang Mingchuan and asked, “Can this box be opened?”

“Isn’t it already open? What’s wrong?”

“I mean the box itself. There should be something inside.”

Jin Xiuzhu was very sure. She was too familiar with that sound. When she was Concubine Jin in the marquis’s residence, she loved to take out her private treasury to look at and tap. Her private treasury was hidden within a seemingly ordinary box but with a secret compartment for gold bars and notes.

Her small storeroom had many valuable items given by the Marquis, which were all recorded and allowed for her use but could not leave the residence and did not entirely belong to her. 

This hollow, muffled sound was unmistakable.

Jiang Mingchuan was puzzled.

Jin Xiuzhu took the key from him, gently feeling around the box’s sides. Somehow, she managed to insert the thin key into the wood, and the left side of the box popped open, revealing a compartment. He Yan, curious, pulled at it, and a piece of wood came out, showing something golden inside.

Fu Yanyan’s eyes widened, recognizing the gold.

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t stop. She turned the box and found more compartments, opening all sides of the box.

Fu Yanyan and He Yan pulled out small gold ingots, with He Yan counting aloud, “One, two, three… six… ten… twenty… thirty…”

No need to count further. Each side held ten ingots.

Jiang Mingchuan was stunned, never expecting this plain, even peeling, wooden box to hold so much gold. No wonder it felt heavy.

He suddenly remembered his mother telling him something when he was a child, but he always thought she only left him the house.

Yes, as a child, he could drag the box out alone, but over the years, he needed both hands to pull it out.

His mother knew he loved this secret base and placed it there, knowing only he would find it and no one else would.

By the time they finished counting, both Fu Yanyan and He Yan were wide-eyed with amazement. Although He Yan didn’t fully understand the significance, when his sister explained that a single gold bar could ensure a lifetime without worrying about food and drink, he grasped the immense value of these items.

Ignoring Jiang Mingchuan’s stunned reaction, Jin Xiuzhu immediately took the gift boxes they had received from others during the New Year visits. She emptied out the pastries and other items, setting them aside on the floor. She then filled one box halfway with gold bars. After some thought, she took a few out, leaving only five bars inside.

Once done, she placed the remaining gold bars back into the wooden box, along with the toys and other items, and asked Jiang Mingchuan to return the box to its original place.

She then seriously instructed the two children, “You mustn’t tell anyone about this. If people find out, our family could be in trouble, and we might never see Mom and Dad again.”

This warning was primarily for He Yan, as she feared he might talk too much outside.

He Yan, who had been very happy moments before, immediately covered his mouth and shook his head vigorously, “I won’t tell anyone.”

Jin Xiuzhu nodded solemnly.

Jiang Mingchuan placed the box back in the cabinet. He looked at the pastries on the floor and then at the box in Jin Xiuzhu’s arms, hesitating before asking, “Should we take it with us?”

Jin Xiuzhu replied without hesitation, “Of course, these are valuable and might be needed someday.”

Jiang Mingchuan said nothing more. He knew these were valuable items, but what moved him more was the love and care his mother had once shown him.

Jin Xiuzhu handed him the gift box she was holding. She and the two children then picked up the pastries from the floor, each taking a few to eat.

He Yan couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Mom, how will we spend so much money?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to use it,” Jin Xiuzhu reassured him.

He Yan nodded, satisfied with the answer.

On their way back, they first picked up the photos they had taken the previous day. In the picture, the four of them stood side by side, with He Yan smiling the brightest.

Fu Yanyan, who had thought she would look the most indifferent, was surprised to see herself smiling as well. Unlike He Yan’s broad grin, her smile was subtle, with only the corners of her mouth slightly upturned and a hint of light in her dark eyes.

She had never seen herself like this before. She had seen photos of herself before, such as the graduation photo from her previous life, where she stood in the corner, her long bangs covering her eyes, her face devoid of any emotion, making her look eerie.

But the current her seemed to have gained something different.

She looked at Jin Xiuzhu in the photo, who had her right hand on her shoulder, covering her red, frozen ear. In another photo, Jin Xiuzhu was adjusting her slipping scarf.

These unintentional details reflected Jin Xiuzhu’s care for her.

Fu Yanyan felt a warm sensation in her heart.

After picking up the photos, the family of four went to a state-run restaurant and ordered dumplings and roast duck. They had initially planned to cook at home for lunch, but now that they had money, they didn’t mind splurging on this meal.

They returned home with their mouths oily from the food. The items in the guesthouse had already been packed. Jin Xiuzhu carefully placed the gold bars in her bag, wrapping them securely before zipping it up.

Finally, Jiang Mingchuan carried all the bags, and the family of four set off for S Province.