"Sigh..." This was the one hundred and eighth sigh Zhou Junfeng had let out.
This was an era where even having money made it hard to spend. As a time traveler without even a basic system to help him out, he had three other mouths to feed at home, and his younger siblings were still just kids. The pressure was immense.
Before going to sleep last night, he had counted the money. Aside from a two-thousand-yuan pension, the family had eight hundred yuan in savings. For this era, that was quite a lot, but... he still didn't feel at ease.
"Big Brother, get up and have breakfast," Zhou Haifeng said.
Breakfast was cornmeal bread again, rough enough to scratch the throat. Yet in Zhou Junfeng's bowl were two eggs. The three kids knew their older brother was injured and needed nourishment; no matter how much their mouths watered, they only glanced at the eggs before continuing to gnaw on their cornmeal bread. They were all sensible children.
Zhou Junfeng sighed again. He was already twenty-eight years old, while the three beside him were true children—how could he possibly eat alone?
"Xiaojun, Xuehua, Xuemei, from now on, no matter what good food we have at home, we'll share it together," Zhou Junfeng said, and immediately split the eggs into four portions.
"As soon as you finish breakfast, the three of you go to school. When you get back, Big Brother will give you a surprise."
"Don't worry about things at home. Mom and Dad are gone, but I am your big brother, and I will raise you all to adulthood."
"Big Brother, I'll be good and study hard. When you get old, I'll support you," the elder sister, Zhou Xuemei, immediately declared. Her grades were exceptional, and when their father was alive, he had favored her greatly, hoping she would go to university one day. But now their father was gone, and her older brother was the head of the household. She was a girl, and some of the older women in the neighborhood always said that studying was useless for girls—what if her brother decided not to let her continue school?
The younger sister, Zhou Xuehua, wasn't as eloquent as her older sister, but as soon as the elder sister made her statement, the younger one quickly chimed in to say she wouldn't get married either, and would stay to support her older brother.
Zhou Junfeng: …… When will they even be old enough to support me? Am I really that old?
Zhou Haifeng was just a quiet one, nowhere near as quick-witted as his two sisters. He just sat to one side and laughed foolishly, though nobody knew what he was smiling about.
Zhou Junfeng: ……
***********************
Over at the Jia Family:
"Huairu, Banggeng is getting older, and our family only has one room while the Zhou family has four. You should go find First Uncle and ask him to talk to the Zhou boy about lending us one. Three rooms are more than enough for them—people shouldn't be so selfish."
"Old Zhou is gone, and the three kids are still young. If we move in, we'll just be helping Old Zhou take care of the Zhou children."
Ever since Old Zhou's passing, Widow Zhang had been eyeing that house. But since Old Zhou was a revolutionary martyr, she didn't have the nerve to blatantly bully a martyr's descendants, so she could only scheme in secret.
"Mom, do you really think that's possible?" Qin Huairu asked. "If our family had four rooms, would you lend one out?"
"It's all because you're useless as a mother!" Widow Zhang snapped. "You've been in the factory for years and you're still a grade-one worker. How long has it been since my grandson tasted meat? If you don't feel sorry for him, I certainly do!"
Qin Huairu sighed helplessly. "Mom, I've already tried my best, but I just can't seem to learn."
"Then what are you good for? Useless thing!"
Tears streamed down Qin Huairu's face. No one understood her; she had endured so many grievances for the sake of this family, yet her mother-in-law still spoke to her like this. It didn't matter—she still had Shazhu. Shazhu would help her unconditionally. Today, after suffering so many grievances, she was definitely going to talk things over with First Uncle and Shazhu. Surely someone would feel sorry for her.
Over at the Yi Family:
"Zhonghai, Old Zhou is gone. We need to help out and look after those kids from now on," First Aunt Yi said. "Old Zhou had a hard life too; his oldest son passed away just after graduating from university, never getting to enjoy a single day of blessing. The good don't live long!" Thinking of Old Zhou, she felt it was such a pity—how could someone so good be gone just like that?
Yi Zhonghai couldn't help thinking that it would be perfect if Zhou Junfeng were his own son, though he knew it was just wishful thinking.
If Banggeng could have even half of Xiaojun's capability, it would make all the help he'd given the Jia family worthwhile.
"Old Zhou was a charitable person when he was alive. I need to test young Xiaojun."
***********************
At that moment, Zhou Junfeng, who had already reached the outskirts of Qin Family Village, let out a sneeze.
Who on earth was missing him this much?
As for the big surprise Zhou Junfeng had mentioned, it was that he intended to find a wife.
For a grown man like him to be completely in the dark was impossible—the thought of dreaming about washing clothes and cleaning house was out of the question. He was useless at manual labor and good for nothing around the house, so he certainly couldn't expect his three younger siblings to wait on him.
Besides, nightlife in this era was terribly boring; you closed your eyes and went to sleep, unlike later generations where you could scroll through short videos, watch television, or read novels online—any one of which could keep you entertained for hours.
Therefore, a wife was essential. She could play games with you, get things done, handle matters outside, and manage the kitchen. A wife was simply indispensable.
In the twenty-first century, a wife and a smartphone might hold equal weight, but nowadays, he had no choice—he could only pick a wife.
Zhou Junfeng had already made up his mind last night: the wife he wanted to find was Qin Jingru, who had just turned eighteen this year.
Having traveled to this world, the only single options left were Ran Qiuyue, Yu Haitang, and Qin Jingru. Yu Haitang was too full of herself, and Ran Qiuyue's background was too politically sensitive. Out of the three, he chose Qin Jingru.
Some readers might ask: have all the women died off, are there seriously only three women in the entire world?
Well, people's hearts are unpredictable. In this era of material scarcity, true romance is hard to come by. What is marriage? It's just finding someone pleasing to the eye and making do together! Back then, holding hands or hugging was considered hooliganism, and many people got married after meeting just a few times. Since that was the case, he might as well find someone who was decent in every way. At the very least, Qin Jingru was pretty and obedient.
Some readers might argue that Qin Jingru had low moral standards and slept with Xu Damao before they were even married. But to someone from the twenty-first century like him, he didn't care about chastity. Qin Jingru was somewhat vain, but who didn't want to live a better life? When you marry a man, you expect to have clothes to wear and food to eat—did you really expect her to go do charity work?
The greatest virtue of this girl Qin Jingru was that she wouldn't strike back when hit or curse back when scolded; once she married, she was entirely devoted. When Xu Damao told her not to associate with Qin Huairu, she cut ties completely. Even when Xu Damao turned out to be infertile, she stood by him without leaving, and even if he went out to look for other women, she could turn a blind eye. Such a good woman was hard to find even in the twenty-first century.
So readers shouldn't feel indignant—no one is perfect, and he was set on Qin Jingru.
Qin Jingru's biggest issue was her rural household registration. However, for Zhou Junfeng, who held two job allocations, this was no big deal. His younger brother was only in the third year of junior high, so it would be a few years before he needed a job. If he managed to test into university, jobs were assigned automatically, and his two younger sisters were still young. Besides, jobs could be substituted back then; he would sort out the household registration first, and deal with everything else later.
For this matchmaking meeting, Zhou Junfeng had cleaned himself up nicely. He had polished Old Zhou's secondhand bicycle multiple times until it gleamed brightly. Time was of the essence—once he brought Qin Jingru back, he would go shopping for wedding supplies.
His looks in the previous life had been utterly average, but he was extremely satisfied with the body he had in this one. Winning over Qin Jingru would be as easy as turning over his hand.