Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 374: Brother-in-law's Mother-in-law

The person who broke open the door was a woman in her fifties.

"Mom, why are you here?"

Zhang Zhao saw the woman stunned for a moment, and quickly stood up and greeted her.

Hearing Zhang Zhao's address to this person, He Yuanchao also knew the identity of the person. He stood up and couldn't help but look at the woman carefully.

The woman was about 1.65 meters tall, with short hair that was level with her chin and neatly combed behind her ears. She had a pair of very eye-catching triangular eyes on her not-too-big oval face. If it weren't for her slightly yellowish skin and old age, she would have been considered a good-looking woman.

While He Yuanchao was looking at Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law, the woman's eyes were also sweeping over the faces of the two strange men in the room.

"I heard some noise in the back room and came to see what was going on."

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law said something to Zhang Zhao with a stern face, then turned around and walked into the room with a smile on her face and said to Zhang Lide who was sitting on the chair:

"This must be my father-in-law! Our two children have been married for so many years and we haven't met each other. If I hadn't seen him in the photo, I wouldn't have recognized him. If you tell anyone about this, I guess everyone will think I'm joking!"

Zhang Lide particularly disliked Zhang Zhao's father-in-law and his family, and was very unwilling to deal with them.

But one should not hit a smiling person. Besides, the two families are relatives now. If nothing else, he should at least consider his son Zhang Zhao.

"Mother-in-law, I should have come to visit you earlier, but I'm too busy with work. I have to say sorry to you here..."

"Father-in-law, we are a family. It's really too formal for you to say that."

Seeing Zhang Lide standing up from his chair, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law did not wait for him to finish his apology and interrupted him with a smile:

"Your mother-in-law has told us about your situation, and we understand. It's normal for such a large company to be busy since it manages the entire coal industry in the country."

After saying this, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law did not wait for Zhang Lide to speak. She continued to ask about Ma Xiufang's health while picking up the thermos on the table to refill Zhang Lide's cup with water.

As for He Yuanchao, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law thought he was a secretary or a follower and ignored him.

After exchanging a few pleasantries and chatting about family matters, when everyone in the room found a place to sit down, without waiting for Zhang Lide to speak, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law glanced at the cup filled with boiling water on the table, turned her head and said to Zhang Zhao:
"Dad, you are the same. My father-in-law came all the way from Kyoto and you didn't even bother to entertain him properly. Hurry up and go to my room and get some good tea."

Zhang Lide came here mainly to solve the problem of his son misappropriating military supplies, so he had no time to grind his teeth. Seeing that Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law wanted to send her son away, he quickly spoke up to stop her:

"Don't bother, mother-in-law. We are all family. If you are so polite, I will be embarrassed to be here."

After that, he said to Zhang Zhao who had already stood up: "Xiao Zhao, don't listen to your mother, sit down quickly and talk about the supplies."

Zhang Zhao has never had a strong opinion on family affairs. Now with his biological father on one side and his mother-in-law on the other, he is a little confused and doesn't know who to listen to.

Seeing Zhang Zhao hesitate, the smile on Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law's face froze for a moment, and then she quickly said:

"Father-in-law, you are being too polite. You have come all the way here, so we can't be disrespectful. Otherwise, if it gets out, people will laugh at us!"

After saying this, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law didn't give Zhang Lide a chance to speak again, and turned to look at Zhang Zhao. "Xiao Zhao, listen to me. Go to my room to get the tea first, and then go to Wen Li's father's workplace to call him back."

Zhang Zhao has been living in his mother-in-law's house since he got married. He basically obeys his mother-in-law's words. Hearing the tone of her voice, he immediately walked out of the house.

Zhang Lide wanted to call out to his son when he saw this, but he didn't expect Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law to speak again at this time.

"Oh, Xiao Zhao, don't rush back after you notify Wenli's dad. Go to the market to see if there are any chickens and buy one. If not, see if there are any fish. After that, go to the store to buy some cigarettes and alcohol."

Zhang Zhao walked to the door and said "hmm" when he heard it, then left the house without looking back.

Seeing Zhang Zhao leave without saying a word to him, Zhang Lide swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and sighed heavily in his heart.

There is a high probability that this son will never be able to turn back.

Thinking of this, Zhang Lide felt a little hopeless and lost interest in talking. He withdrew his gaze and turned to look at He Yuanchao who was sitting next to him. Only then did he feel better.

A son-in-law is half a son, and he is right in front of me, so my old age will not be too bleak. Besides, my daughter Zhang Min is already pregnant, and seeing a new life coming, the house will soon be lively...

He Yuanchao didn't know that his father-in-law was feeling deeply moved at the moment, and thought that the look he gave him meant that there was something he couldn't say, so he said to Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law without thinking:
"Aunt, my dad and I just came from my eldest brother's army. We only know that he embezzled a batch of supplies, but we don't know the details. Can you tell us? We won't be in the dark and make things more complicated."

From the moment this woman entered the room and tried every means to get her brother-in-law out, He Yuanchao had already seen through her inner thoughts and no longer tried to beat around the bush when speaking.

Besides, my father-in-law Zhang Lide winked at me, wasn't it because he wanted to use him to ask what he was too embarrassed to ask? If I were to beat around the bush, I might as well not say anything!
Aunt, Dad, this man should be my uncle’s brother-in-law.

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law instantly guessed the identity of the person who was talking to her through these two titles. Only then did she seriously look at He Yuanchao who was sitting next to Zhang Lide.

He is tall and big, with a sturdy build but not fat. He is not handsome but not ugly either. He can only be described as an average person.

With this understanding, she no longer paid too much attention to He Yuanchao. She turned her head and looked at Zhang Lide and asked in a puzzled manner:

"Father-in-law, who is this?"

After hearing what Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law said, Zhang Lide came back to his senses from his confused thoughts and began to introduce He Yuanchao.

"It's Xiaomin's lover! I was wondering why this handsome guy was so close to me when I entered the room!"

After complimenting him, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law immediately started checking his household registration in a familiar manner.

"Where is Xiao He from? Where does he work now?..."

He Yuanchao has been working in the steel rolling mill for almost a year. Although there are not many female staff members in the Security Department, he often comes into contact with the Women's Federation of the factory due to work reasons. He has been trained by the young girls and wives in the Women's Federation, so he is familiar with this kind of problem.

After briefly talking about his own situation, He Yuanchao changed the subject and began to ask about Zhang Zhao.

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law had originally planned to keep the matter vague as much as possible, but when He Yuanchao asked again, she knew she couldn't avoid it. After cursing in her heart, she gritted her teeth and talked about Zhang Zhao's misappropriation of supplies.

(End of this chapter)