Chapter 23

Zhou Nan picked up the cloth shoes An ZhiXia had chosen and glanced at the size, saying, "ZhiXia, your shoe size is the same as your sister-in-law's. You might as well not buy cloth shoes. Go pick a pair of small leather shoes. Mom remembers your sister-in-law made several new pairs of shoes recently that she hasn't worn yet. When you get home, have her give you a pair to wear first."

Although the family was not short on money to spend, Zhou Nan was a practical person who believed in thrift where thrift was due.

An ZhiXia didn't have any objections, just worried, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for my sister-in-law?"

"It's no trouble. Your sister-in-law isn't a busybody either. Mom still has some old worn-out clothes at home. In a few days we'll paste them up to make new shoes and then return them to her. It'll be fine," Zhou Nan said casually, which showed she and her daughter-in-law got along well in daily life.

Of course, Liu Ling was a daughter-in-law handpicked by An JingZhi for his precious son, so she wouldn't have brought back someone fussy or petty to be the wife of his eldest son who held an important position in the family.

And Zhou Nan was someone Old Master An had noticed first and brought back for his grandson.

An ZhiXia picked out a pair of black leather shoes size 37. Zhou Nan took them to checkout, then bought some ordinary household items. After paying, they left the department store.

At the entrance, Zhou Nan told An ZhiAng to take An ZhiXia to buy some fried crullers while she went to the meat and vegetable stands across the way to buy ingredients.

There were also supply and marketing cooperatives and meat and vegetable stands near their home, but the selections weren't as plentiful as at the department store here. Plus they'd have to take a detour on the way home, so they might as well buy everything here before heading back.

An ZhiXia ate a 7-fen sesame seed fried cruller, breaking off a piece to give to An WenQing.

The little guy held a tambourine in one hand and ate the cruller in the other. An ZhiAng could only hold him with both hands to make sure he didn't fall off. But then he ended up with a forehead full of white sesame seeds, annoying him into taking An WenQing off and deliberately smacking his little bottom.

Zhou Nan came back carrying a pork belly, also holding green onions and bok choy in her hands. Seeing them, she said, "Anything else you need to buy? If not, let's head home. When your dad gets back tonight, he can take you to see your paternal grandparents. You should let them know you're back."

"I don't need anything else," An ZhiXia said.

Only then did Zhou Nan say, "Then let's go home."

Zhou Nan put all the purchased items into bags, leaving the fabrics and clothes loose. An ZhiXia still held An WenQing as she sat on the back of An ZhiAng's bike.

As soon as they entered the yard, they saw two bicycles still parked there.

An MeiYun walked out of the house looking unhappy. "Mom, Grandpa and Grandma came over, and JianGuo gege came too."

Old Madam An had never liked her granddaughter An MeiYun much. As a child she thought her unruly and mischievous; in recent years she disapproved of her improper fawning over certain people.

These certain people referred to those An MeiYun knew from her previous life would become more successful.

An JingZhi hadn't returned yet. When Zhou Nan heard the old master and madam had come, she panicked in an instant.

She was the granddaughter-in-law chosen by the old master for his grandson, but the old master and madam had looked down on her lowly background from the start. They were neither warm nor cool to her.

Later, after the founding of PRC, the An family donated their assets and declined greatly compared to before. Plus her own three generations of peasant background played a role, along with the birth of several children, so the old madam finally warmed up to her a bit.

But even now, she was still somewhat apprehensive about seeing the old madam.

"Auntie and ZhiAng are back?" Pei JianGuo also walked out from inside the house, greeting them with a smile. His gaze suddenly landed on An ZhiXia and his expression didn't change. "This must be the newly found ZhiXia sister they mentioned. She really does resemble Auntie."

Seeing Pei JianGuo there too, Zhou Nan relaxed somewhat.

Although strange things were happening in the family, with an outsider present, the old master and madam shouldn't scold her, right?

She just had to get through this moment. When the children's father got back, he could handle everything.

So Zhou Nan welcomed Pei JianGuo very warmly. An ZhiXia didn't speak. She recognized this Pei JianGuo. As a soul following An MeiYun those years, she had heard An MeiYun mention him more than once. In the life where neither of them had reincarnated yet, Pei JianGuo would become her husband later on.

Unlike the An family, the Pei family was grassroots. Old Pei relied on military achievements to establish a foothold in Jin City. Back when they were still fighting wars, he frequently went to the An family for grain and money.

Old Master An greatly admired Old Pei at the time, and the two addressed each other as nephews.

Thus the two families had been acquainted for generations.

Nowadays, Old Pei had retired and lived next door to Old Master An.

Come to think of it, when Old Master An first joined the army, Old Pei was the one who recommended him. The two were battle companions and great friends.

From An MeiYun's mouth, An ZhiXia knew Pei JianGuo himself had no great prospects. As the only grandson of his generation in the Pei family, he was doted on to the point of spoiling. Currently he just relied on his family connections to get an office job as a secretary.

But Pei JianGuo also had a young uncle, not many years older than him. When Old Pei took his two sons off to the revolution, he left his wife alone to serve the elders. So this youngest son was born much later after the couple reunited, and had a big age gap with the older two.

This young uncle of Pei JianGuo's was truly outstanding, having reached a high position in the army at a young age. Later he was discharged due to injury and became a factory director at a steel plant. When the reform and opening up came, he rose with the tide and became a prominent figure in economics.

Unfortunately, due to health reasons, he never married or had children his whole life. He passed away before fifty, leaving a large inheritance to his nephew Pei JianGuo.

Pei JianGuo had lived in obscurity his whole life, but suddenly inherited a fortune in his forties and became rich overnight. That kind of sudden wealth easily goes to one's head. Add in the openness of the times, and he kept several mistresses outside.

But he was too stupid to hold onto the wealth and ended up conned badly.

In An MeiYun's eyes, An ZhiXia was lucky because she had a good son who took over Pei JianGuo's businesses and turned the situation around when the opportunity arose.

After taking such a huge fall, Pei JianGuo also settled down and continued the obscure life he'd lived in the first half of his days, relying on his uncle in the early years and his son in later years.

An MeiYun thought An ZhiXia was weak because even after Pei JianGuo did such a thing, she could still tolerate staying married to him.

Indeed, it was weak of her; even An ZhiXia herself felt so.

But to be fair, as soon as An MeiYun reincarnated, she used her foreknowledge to bring about An ZhiXia's death, then strung Pei JianGuo along to become one of the fish in her pond, clearly envious of the wealthy madam life she'd had in her previous life.