I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

In the past, the whole family would talk and chat about work during meals, but today the atmosphere at the dinner table was very tense.

Qiaoqiao and Hu Xiaomei didn't dare to speak and ate with their heads down.

Zhou Zhonghai remained silent, while Luo Meiyun tried her best to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"Annie, try the pickled cabbage; you can't get it anywhere else."

Annie nodded understandingly, but in her heart she was thinking, "It's just sauerkraut, what's so special about it?"

"Wenjing, are you enjoying the food at home?"

As soon as Luo Meiyun spoke, Zhou Zhonghai coldly replied, "What's there to be uncomfortable about? Does he stop being a member of the Zhou family just because he's been away for a few days?"

Zhou Wenjing quickly smiled apologetically, "It's a habit, a habit. In the Soviet Union, I just missed home-cooked meals."

In fact, Zhou Wenjing didn't crave home-cooked meals at all. His parents were both in the military, and he was raised by the military region's logistics department and his older brother.

It's nothing special, just cafeteria food.

Of course, the cafeteria food was better than Luo Meiyun's cooking.

Zhou Wenhui poured wine for his father and younger brother, and solemnly toasted Zhou Wenjing: "Wenjing, your brother toasts you."

Zhou Wenjing didn't dare raise his glass: "Brother, what are you doing? If you toast me, my dad will beat me to death."

Annie sighed. She was so confident and high-spirited abroad, but now that she's home, she's acting like a lapdog.

"Pick it up, your brother wants to properly toast you."

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Zhou Wenjing had no choice but to raise his wine glass.

"Wenjing, your brother respects you. Thank you for taking care of Dad during his treatment in the Soviet Union, and thank you for sticking to your own opinion and using hypnosis to wake him up. I am thousands of miles away, worried about Dad, but I am powerless to help. Your brother will remember this kindness."

The conversation quickly turned to Zhou Zhonghai's time receiving treatment in the Soviet Union.

"Brother, if you put it that way, I guess I'll have to drink this glass of wine."

The two brothers clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

Luo Meiyun's eyes reddened, and she slowly said, "Old Zhou is unconscious, and I'm very worried. I have to thank Wenjing and Annie for staying with me; otherwise, my mother would have had a hard time handling this alone."

"Mom, I'm your son. Shouldn't I take responsibility? It's my duty," Zhou Wenjing said with a smile, patting his chest.

"Wenjing, I'm grateful for your care, but it's wrong to cheat me out of money." Zhou Zhonghai raised his eyes, his tone softening considerably.

"Dad, I know I was wrong." Zhou Wenjing glared at Annie. It was all her fault, she was a traitor.

"I'll also raise a glass to you. If it weren't for you, Dad probably wouldn't have woken up."

Zhou Zhonghai raised his glass, but Zhou Wenjing was so startled that he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I dare not drink when Vice Governor Zhou offers me a toast."

Zhou Zhonghai glared at him, and Zhou Wenhui quickly helped Zhou Wenjing pick up his wine glass: "Come on, let's toast Dad together, wishing him success in his career, good health, and a long life."

After three drinks, the atmosphere improved considerably.

"Dad, it's almost the end of the year, shall we still go to Dashui Village to celebrate the New Year?" Zhou Wenhui changed the subject.

"It would be too much trouble for our in-laws if the whole family went. Qiaoqiao, how about we spend the New Year in the city and visit Dashui Village on the second day of the Lunar New Year?" Zhou Zhonghai asked Qiaoqiao gently.

"I'll listen to my dad."

"It's been five years, and we haven't had a single year together as a family. We'll be spending this year at home. Xiao Hu, thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard work, it's not hard work. Will Xiaowei spend the New Year in Dashui Village?" Hu Xiaomei was worried about Xiaowei.

"Isn't Yang Zheng coming back in a couple of days? I'll have Gu Quan take him back and then bring Xiao Wei back. Qiaoqiao, take the gifts you sent to your parents' home with you first. We'll go to pay our respects to our in-laws on the second day of the Lunar New Year."

"Okay, thank you, Dad."

Zhou Wenjing leaned close to Zhou Wenhui and asked in a low voice, "My dad seems to be very close to your in-laws."

"You're just a mouthful of nonsense."

"Isn't the mouth just for people to speak?"

"Liu Songming got married, when are you going to visit him?"

"No way. When we were kids, either you or he would hit me. Why would I go and get hit?" Zhou Wenjing pouted.

"If you didn't do anything wrong, would we hit you?"

"That's just a child's nature. Look at you all, so serious, like you're in a meeting. The Soviet Union was better; you were so free."

Zhou Wenjing sighed. He wouldn't have come back if the country hadn't recalled all the students studying in the Soviet Union.

"You've been away for five years, and your personality hasn't changed at all."

After dinner, the whole family sat in front of the TV to watch CCTV's news broadcast.

As the New Year approaches, the broadcasts are all about national leaders wishing the people of the country a happy New Year. The first program is Vice Premier Deng celebrating the New Year with foreign experts.

Zhou Zhonghai watched the TV intently, but unfortunately, due to the weather, the picture on the TV kept changing.

Suddenly, a news report about a bumper harvest in Tonggang County popped up, and Qiaoqiao excitedly shouted, "Dad, there must be footage of you being interviewed in Tonggang County!"

The whole family was thrilled, and Zhou Zhonghai was also very excited. At the crucial moment, the TV started flickering again. Zhou Wenjing quickly went over and patted the TV. After a few pats, the picture disappeared completely.

Zhou Zhonghai stood up angrily: "I'm not watching anymore, I'm not watching anymore, what kind of garbage is this?"

In the bedroom upstairs, Luo Meiyun was packing clothes while Zhou Zhonghai lay on the bed reading the newspaper.

"You're so biased! Isn't Wenjing your son too?" Luo Meiyun complained.

"Look at what he bought for a few hundred dollars, it's useless when it really matters," Zhou Zhonghai retorted unhappily.

"The kids meant well, buying us trendy things to make us happy. But you just kept looking sullen."

"You cheated us out of our money and now you expect me to be nice to you? Humph..."

Zhou Zhonghai shook the newspaper in his hand.

"Don't let Wenjing's carefree attitude fool you, he just wants to impress you. Let's not talk about money anymore. He didn't spend it on himself either; he bought appliances and gave everyone gifts."

Luo Meiyun sat down next to Zhou Zhonghai with a wool shawl in her hand: "Look, Wen Jing gave it to me, it's very warm."

Zhou Zhonghai glanced at it but did not offer any opinion.

Luo Meiyun draped the shawl over herself and asked, "Old Zhou, does it look good?"

"Good look. That kid may lack ambition, but he has a good eye for buying things."

"Is that so? You can't have two sons who are both so outstanding. Wenjing has many flaws, but he's not a bad person at heart. He's almost thirty years old, and you hit him and curse him all the time. Boys have self-respect too."

"Seeing that kid makes me furious."

"Wenhui is right. No matter how bad Wenjing is, we owe a lot to him during those days in the Soviet Union. He ran around contacting experts. It was his cleverness that led him to suggest trying a hypnotist. How would I know anything about those shady practices? Well, let's give it a try, and you actually woke up."

Zhou Zhonghai was somewhat moved and slowly said, "Okay, I will try my best to restrain myself in the future."

"Now that both sons have returned, it's difficult to treat them equally, but we will try our best to do so. Annie's family is in Beijing, which is far away, so we need to show them extra care as well."

"Yue Meng is Yue Meng, why bother with Annie? You're just being a Western-worshipper."

"The kids are following trends, and if you're not used to it, then call them Yue Meng. Old Zhou, we also feel guilty towards our children. We've been in the army for many years and haven't been able to take good care of them. Now that the whole family is reunited, I feel very happy."

Luo Meiyun was somewhat emotional. As a military doctor, her work was already busy, and later, with the constant border wars, she was always ready to go to the front lines.

Both children are being taken care of by the logistics soldiers. I haven't even cooked a decent meal for them. I feel so sorry for them.

Fortunately, both children are promising. Zhou Wenjing is more outgoing and was able to get into the Party School, which can be considered a success in his career.

"Both children grew up the same way. Look at Wenhui, calm and wise, writing books, working as an editor, and taking care of the family. Then look at Wenjing, doing all sorts of shady things. Tell me, what kind of child is thirty years old and still cheating their parents out of money?" Zhou Zhonghai was about to get angry again.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Go wash up and go to bed. Master Chen Yan's second skin graft surgery was very successful. We'll change his dressing tomorrow, and then he can be discharged and go home for the New Year."

Luo Meiyun folded the shawl and put it in the wardrobe, then went to fetch hot water for Zhou Zhonghai to soak his feet.