Chapter 72: Grandparents 2.0

Zhang Ping'an did not expect the outcome to be so dramatic. Now, as he sized up Wang Weiguo, he realized that although his face looked slightly weathered, one could still tell he had been quite a handsome man in his youth.

"Why are you staring at me like that, kid?"

"Ahem, I'm just a bit curious. My mother never told me about her history with you."

"Since your mother didn't say anything, you should just act like you don't know. Nearly twenty years have passed; some things are better left unmentioned."

Zhang Ping'an nodded to show he understood. He couldn't let his own curiosity affect two families.

"Alright, go back now. When your grandfather returns, I will bring him to find you."

"Okay." Zhang Ping'an left the still-wriggling sack behind and prepared to leave.

"Ping'an, take these things back for Zhen. Use them to nourish your mother."

"Uncle Wang, this is a token of my respect for you. You know what I'm capable of, and besides, we aren't lacking these things at home." After saying this, Zhang Ping'an didn't linger; he opened the door and ran off.

"This kid, who does he take after?"

In Wang Weiguo's impression, Dong Dani was still a simple, innocent, and lively young girl. He didn't know Zhang Laohan well; he had only seen his back at the Police Station—he seemed honest and simple, not the type to be slick.

This kid had only been in the city for two years and was already so worldly-wise. At such a young age, his future would surely be limitless.

Zhang Ping'an didn't rush to tell his parents, mainly because his grandparents were still out of town. He would wait a week until they returned to talk about it.

Once this period of busyness was over, Zhang Ping'an returned to his dull studies. As for his current achievements, aside from pulse-taking, he had already surpassed his two senior fellow apprentices in everything else.

Zhang Ping'an didn't show off and continued to study in a low-key manner. In the Siheyuan, only He Daqing knew he was apprenticed to the Divine Doctor Wang; everyone else, including Yan Bugui, thought he was just working part-time at the Pharmacy and picking up a few tricks along the way.

Time flew by to December. The Clothing Shop now had a stable flow of customers, with a net profit of nearly 100,000 almost every day.

In their spare time, Xiaoqing and Xiaomei would learn how to use the Sewing Machine from Lanhua. However, they were still too young, and Zhang Ping'an didn't want them to get hurt, so he mostly let them spend their free time learning to read and write.

His third sister, Zhang Xiaohua, and Tan Cuicui would also come over to work for three or four hours every day. The four children were left in the shop, looked after by Xiaoqing and the others, and because of this, Jiabao and his sister became close with them.

If Zhang Ping'an happened to run into them when he came over, the two children would greet him politely.

"Uncle Zhang."

"Mm, good children. Here, have some candy."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

Zhang Ping'an had a good impression of these two children. They were two very polite little ones, only three or four years old, yet so sensible it made one's heart ache. So, whenever he came over, he would bring them something tasty. Of course, he wouldn't neglect his own children either.

Zhang Ping'an took a quick look at the notebook that recorded the daily sales. It recorded everything in meticulous detail. It was a pity there was no professional Accountant, but for now, this was the only way.

In the evening, the seven of them returned to the Siheyuan. Tan Cuicui went straight home to cook, while Zhang Ping'an took the two babies back to his own courtyard to find food. Two-year-old children could already eat some supplemental food.

"Uncle, eat." Every time he scooped up a bit of applesauce, the two children would clap their hands in delight, calling out "Uncle" in their slurred speech.

"Hehe, children really are the most fun when they're little." Zhang Ping'an felt a sense of accomplishment every time he successfully fed them.

Of course, for everything Zhang Ping'an fed them, he let them only have a taste—just enough to get a flavor. He would be able to let them eat more once they were a bit older.

"Ping'an, come over and eat."

"Oh, okay."

Zhang Ping'an picked them up, one in each arm, and went to the Jia Family. Zhang Xiaohua took them directly and started feeding the two babies millet porridge. Jia Dongxu also came over with Qin Huairu.

It had been a while since Zhang Ping'an had eaten at Lao Jia's place. This room and a half really was a bit crowded.

"Brother-in-law, do you want to tidy up the room in the spring, just like Dongxu did?"

"Yeah, Dad."

"Hmm... that works."

The two children were still ignorant now, but in three or five years when they grew up, it wouldn't be good for them to sleep on the same kang. It was best to do it while they still had some spare money.

The Yi Zhonghai family was also discussing room renovations; they all planned to tidy up their place come spring.

When the weather was warm, the Deaf Old Lady used to eat with Yi Zhonghai's family, but at the time, she only felt out of place with this family of four.

Now that it was cold and inconvenient, Yi Zhonghai or Tan Cuicui would bring her meals. Tan Cuicui rarely went to chat with her to relieve her boredom, and she became increasingly lonely. This caused her to gradually lose her mental balance, and her gaze toward the two children became increasingly unkind.

Of course, the Yi Zhonghai couple knew nothing of this, but the little girl, Yi Jiabei, was very afraid of this foster grandmother and never dared to get close to her.

In fact, although children are ignorant, they know in their hearts who is good to them and who is bad. Often, by seeing who a child is closer to, most things become clear at a glance.

Soon, the students were on winter break. He had originally wanted to invite Yan Bugui to come over and teach his nieces to read and write, but the shop was quite busy every day, and there really wasn't much time.

Yan Bugui also discovered the notebook on the counter. Seeing that it was written in a messy way, his fingers itched, and he gave the notebook a thorough organization.

"Ping'an, you can't keep records like this. I've tidied it up for you simply."

"Teacher Yan, you even know accounting?"

"Look at what you're saying. What did my family do in the past? Is accounting that hard?"

Yo, this old guy was really putting on a show. And don't say, this old fellow really was a treasure of a man; he knew everything.

"Ahem, well, Teacher Yan, since you've discovered it, why don't you teach the little ones?"

"Fine, anyway, you've already paid, so it's all the same what I teach."

"Classy." Zhang Ping'an gave a thumbs up without hesitation. These old guys all had to be flattered; once they got carried away, they would spit out some real knowledge.

"Hahaha." Yan Bugui was indeed happy, agreeing to everything, and his rib-cage chest slapped with a loud thud.

"Teacher Yan, after the teaching ends before the New Year, I'll pick out a new outfit for each of the children." Since Yan Bugui was willing to teach extra things, Zhang Ping'an couldn't be stingy.

"Ping'an, this..."

"Eh, we're all brothers, aren't your children my nephews?" With the Clothing Shop, the thing Zhang Ping'an lacked least now was clothes.

"Hahaha, deal."

With Yan Bugui sitting in the shop, the accounts were cleared up easily, which also saved a lot of trouble for the later Public-Private Partnership.

Of course, they wouldn't learn it all in one winter break, but in the future, he could spend a little money to have Yan Bugui come over to tidy things up from time to time. Anyway, this old fellow had plenty of free time.

December 23rd, 1951, by the lunar calendar, the Northern Little New Year. Early in the morning, a Jeep stopped in front of the Siheyuan, its massive engine roar attracting the attention of the residents.

"I wonder who you are looking for?" Yan Bugui was the closest and noticed the group of six.

"We've come to find Zhang Ping'an. We are, um, his relatives." This group of six was none other than Zhang Ping'an's grandfather's family and Wang Weiguo.

"Alright, you all follow me." Seeing that the few of them had an extraordinary air and spoke quite politely, Yan Bugui led the way for them.

"Old Brother, your relatives have come to look for Ping'an," Yan Bugui shouted to Lao Jia as they walked to the Middle Courtyard.

"Oh, oh, who are you?" Lao Jia hurried out to take a look, but he did not recognize a single person.

"I am Ping'an's uncle."

Lao Jia felt a jolt in his heart; he naturally knew that Zhang Xiaohua and Ping'an did not share the same mother, so it seemed these few were the relatives of that mother-in-law who was about the same age as him.

"Oh, oh, Lao Yan, you go back; I will take them to find Ping'an."

"Alright." Although Yan Bugui's face showed confusion, he did not ask any further questions.

At this time, Zhang Ping'an had also long since gotten up and was leisurely drinking sweet potato porridge at the small table in the kitchen; hearing Lao Jia's shout from outside, he threw on his coat and went to open the courtyard gate.