Chapter 2: Brother and Sister-in-law

Just at this moment, a woman with a bob haircut poked half her body out from the door of the north room, casting an unkind look at Ning Weidong; it was his sister-in-law, Wang Yuzhen.

Seeing Ning Weidong turn his head, Wang Yuzhen glared at him, said nothing, and retreated back inside.

It wasn't that Wang Yuzhen had an issue with her brother-in-law, but rather that she didn't get along well with Bai Fengyu.

Inside the room.

The eldest brother, Ning Weiguo, finished folding the quilt and came out from the inner room.

Seeing his wife looking furious, he asked her, "What's wrong?" "What's wrong!" Wang Yuzhen glared at him crossly and said in a low voice, "It's all because of our third brother..."

She was not a reckless shrew; no matter how unhappy she was, she had to maintain some decorum and not let people outside hear.

Otherwise, it would only put her husband in a difficult position in the middle.

She tugged at Ning Weiguo and complained, "How many times have I told you to talk to the third brother and stay away from that Bai woman! Have you been treating my words as wind in your ears or what?"

Ning Weiguo felt somewhat helpless.

He was an old secondary technical school graduate from before '65 and had been classmates with Wang Yuzhen.

At first, Wang Yuzhen's family did not agree to them dating.

Wang Yuzhen was from a Cadre family; her father had participated in the Korean War, and their family conditions were top-notch.

By comparison, the Ning Family was lacking; at the time, Ning Fu had passed away not long before, and Ning Mu was in poor health while also raising Ning Weidong.

For Wang Yuzhen to marry in, she had to serve her mother-in-law above and deal with an ignorant brother-in-law below.

But the Ning Family had good genes; both sons were over 1.8 meters tall, fair-skinned, with thick eyebrows and big eyes—truly spirited.

At the time, Wang Yuzhen was set on Ning Weiguo and stood firm against her family.

Later, after Wang Yuzhen's father was implicated, the two of them finally got together.

Because of this, Ning Weiguo also suffered collateral damage.

It wasn't until later, when his father-in-law's job status was restored, that Ning Weiguo's fortunes turned, and he became a Deputy Section Chief.

Otherwise, the original owner wouldn't have been able to secure a job as soon as he returned.

Wang Yuzhen said, "The moment I opened my eyes this morning, the third brother had already gone to that woman's place again..."

Ning Weiguo frowned.

Wang Yuzhen warned, "Don't take this lightly; you know what their family situation is like. Getting involved is just trouble..."

Ning Weiguo said seriously, "I know, I'll find an opportunity to talk to the third brother."

This attitude finally satisfied Wang Yuzhen, and her tone softened as she reminded him in turn, "You also need to pay attention to your methods; he's a young man in his twenties, after all, not a child anymore."

Before Ning Weiguo could respond, Ning Weidong lifted the door curtain and walked in.

"Weidong, you're up~ Hurry and wash your face and brush your teeth; your sister-in-law has already made breakfast." Ning Weiguo hurriedly stopped and greeted him with a smile.

Wang Yuzhen stopped talking as well, untied her apron, and said, "I'm going to go check on Xiao Lei."

After saying this, she lifted the door curtain and went out, leaving only the two Ning brothers.

Ning Weidong called out "Eldest Brother"; having gained many memories, he didn't feel like a stranger. Ning Weiguo wanted to smooth things over: "Your sister-in-law..."

Before he could continue, Ning Weidong spoke first: "Eldest Brother, you don't need to say it; it was me who was ignorant before."

Ning Weiguo was stunned, not expecting his stubborn-as-a-mule brother to say such a thing.

Had the sun risen from the west?

Just now, when Wang Yuzhen said Ning Weiguo treated her words as wind, she was actually wronging him.

Regarding the matter of Bai Fengyu, Ning Weiguo had spoken to him more than once.

The original owner had been like someone possessed, refusing to listen to advice at all, and would even get angry if things were pressed too far.

"Eh?" Ning Weiguo had prepared many earnest words, but they were blocked in his throat, and he couldn't say them.

Ning Weidong was not just being perfunctory; the original owner might have been a blockhead, but he was not. In his memories, the interactions with Bai Fengyu, the subtle psychological manipulation, and the money issues all indicated that this woman was quite cunning.

After breakfast, the Ning Weiguo family hurried off to Wang Yuzhen's parents' home.

The Ning Family's food was considered quite good; they ate steamed buns made of a mix of cornmeal and wheat flour, with stewed cabbage and frozen tofu.

Wang Yuzhen's hometown was in Lu Province, and she had a family-inherited skill for steaming buns.

The only flaw was that too much cornmeal was mixed in, and in this day and age, cornmeal wasn't ground finely, so no matter how you chewed it, it felt scratchy in the throat.

After eating, Ning Weidong rushed to clear the table: "Sister-in-law, let me do it~ You hurry up and get ready."

Wang Yuzhen was stunned; it was the first time in history.

Over the years, she had practically raised this brother-in-law like a son; when she first married in, Ning Weidong was only eleven, and less than two years later, Ning Mu passed away.

The original owner's personality wasn't likable; he was stubborn, not good at expressing himself, and loved to say things that poked at people's sore spots.

To put it nicely, he was straightforward; to put it bluntly, he was dim-witted.

Ning Weidong was not that kind of fool.

A couple of years ago, washing dishes was still a troublesome affair, as one had to go to the courtyard to crowd around the water tap.

At that time, tap water was shared, and it wasn't until after '76 that each household got water meters and had pipes installed inside their rooms.

The Ning Family had two main rooms; the inner room was the bedroom for Ning Weiguo and his wife, while the outer room served as a living room and dining room, with a small kitchen partitioned off on the north side.

Ning Weidong shook his hands and went to the washbasin stand to dry them with a towel.

He planned to go out and walk around first to familiarize himself with the environment.

Although he had gained some of the original owner's memories, most were fragmented and illogical, requiring activation through related things, just like when he saw Bai Fengyu earlier.

Furthermore, since he was starting work tomorrow, he had to familiarize himself with the route in advance so he wouldn't be caught off guard.

Based on the current situation, maintaining the status quo and continuing to work was undoubtedly the safest path.

(End of this chapter)