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

Zhou Zhonghai went home in a good mood, much to the envy of Fu Sanjun.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I heard Yang Zheng calling out from the rooftop: "Uncle Zhou, you're back."

Zhou Zhonghai looked up at the rooftop in surprise: "Hey, Yang Zheng, you're back. Why did this kid get up there? Be careful."

"It's fine……"

Yang Zheng is back; Qiaoqiao must be overjoyed. Just as she was about to go inside, she remembered something, turned to Gu Quan, and said, "Go to the provincial capital. Zhao Jintao should be going home for the New Year. Bring them here, and we'll send them back together tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't rush, just come back for dinner. Be careful."

"yes!"

Gu Quan turned and left. Zhou Zhonghai returned to the house with a smile and saw Zhou Wenjing and Annie fiddling with the TV that only showed static.

"What's going on?" Zhou Zhonghai asked.

"Dad, you're back. Yang Zheng said the snow is because the signal is bad. He's going to add some aluminum wire to strengthen the signal so we can watch TV normally tonight," Zhou Wenjing said happily.

"Hmph, look at that, Yang Zhengcai is truly talented. He can tell where the problem is at a glance." Zhou Zhonghai couldn't help but scold his youngest son.

"Dad, everyone else's son is good, but your son is not good." Zhou Wenjing pouted.

"No, your brother is great."

Not only did she have to kick him while he was down, but she also had to bring up her brother for comparison. Zhou Wenjing rolled her eyes.

Qiaoqiao poked her head out: "Dad, you're back. The tea is in the study, and dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay, okay, your brother's here. Make a couple more dishes."

Zhou Zhonghai spoke in a gentle tone, as if afraid of frightening Qiaoqiao.

Zhou Zhonghai went upstairs to call Liu Songming to see if he could get half a sheep for a big dinner party that night.

"Look at your dad, he likes your older brother, and by extension, your sister-in-law. He's always lecturing or scolding you, he doesn't even look at me properly," Annie couldn't help but complain.

"What's wrong with my dad? The people my dad likes are all capable. Yang Zheng can make a prosthetic leg for my brother, can your brother? My sister-in-law can cook, can you?" Zhou Wenjing retorted with dissatisfaction.

"Hey, can't you tell the difference between good and bad people anymore? I feel like an outsider in this family."

"I'm not blaming you, it's just that you can't criticize my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. They are heroes, respectable people."

"Your sister-in-law is a hero too?"

"If it weren't for my sister-in-law, would my brother be in such good shape? When my brother came back from the battlefield, he attempted suicide several times. Such an outstanding person, losing his legs was a huge blow to him. Back then, my mother wrote me letters, and the paper was always wet with sweat. Now my brother has stood up again. It was Yang Zheng who gave him confidence. So, my sister-in-law's whole family are heroes."

"Fine, your whole family are heroes, and I'm just a parasite, okay? It was your idea to swindle money from Mom and Dad."

Annie was furious. Her family treated Zhou Wenjing coldly, yet he still fiercely protected them.

"Scamming is scamming, but respect is respect. Annie, it's not that you betrayed me; my parents had no idea I scammed them. You're a traitor."

"Zhou Wenjing, I'm a traitor? If I don't tell, your dad will beat you to death."

"Alright, alright, I'm not blaming you anymore. Go to the kitchen and help your sister-in-law cook."

"I'm not going. I don't know anything about this. I'd only make things worse if I went," Annie said, feeling extremely wronged.

"Fine, I won't go then." Zhou Wenjing changed several channels, but only one unknown TV station had the video on.

There was no TV to watch during the day, and we only found out the signal was bad at night, so we quickly told Yang Zheng to come down.

Zhou Wenjing ran into the courtyard and shouted towards the rooftop, "Yang Zheng, come down, it's almost time."

"Alright!"

Lunch was served, and it was pork belly stewed with sauerkraut again. Ever since they developed the delicious sauerkraut, it's been a daily staple on the Zhou family's dinner table.

Fish stewed with sauerkraut, pork belly stewed with sauerkraut, and cabbage and tofu stewed with sauerkraut—luckily, everyone likes to eat them.

Zhou Zhonghai came downstairs with a smile and said to Qiaoqiao, who was busy serving dishes, "Qiaoqiao, invite your classmate Yao Xing over for dinner tonight."

Yao Xing? Qiaoqiao looked at Zhou Zhonghai with a puzzled expression.

"I sent Gu Quan to the provincial capital to pick up Zhao Jintao. Liu Songming will be bringing over a leg of lamb later. Please invite your classmate over for a meal."

Lamb leg? Dad is always strict with himself, why would he ask Songming for a lamb leg?

Qiaoqiao didn't press for details, and happily said, "Okay, I'll call him."

Not only should I call Yao Xing, but I should also call Wen Hui. Gu Tong'an is working as a temporary employee in the editorial department during the winter break, so I'll bring her over to eat mutton.

The dishes were served, the family sat down, and Luo Meiyun and Zhou Wenhui went to work, eating at their workplace.

Qiaoqiao poured wine for Zhou Zhonghai, Yang Zheng, and Zhou Wenjing, then asked Annie, "Plum wine, it's quite delicious, would you like some?"

Anne nodded: "Have a drink."

Zhou Zhonghai sat next to Yang Zheng, took a sip of wine, and asked, "How are your studies? Will getting a prosthetic leg interfere with your schoolwork?"

"We studied English in foreign languages, so we don't understand it very well," Yang Zheng said with an embarrassed smile.

"Take it slow. A few years ago, the country encouraged young people to learn Russian, but now it has been changed to English. You've never been exposed to it before, so it's not easy to understand it," Zhou Zhonghai encouraged.

"Yang Zheng, Annie can do it. She's coming back to be an English teacher," Zhou Wenjing immediately introduced Annie.

"Sister Annie, I'll have to ask you for help if I don't understand something in the future," Yang Zheng said modestly.

Annie finally found her place and smiled proudly: "No problem, learning English is just a lot of reading aloud, it's much easier than learning Chinese."

"Yes, thank you, Sister Annie. I do have an accent when I read it." Yang Zheng smiled sheepishly.

"I have a small radio for you, with cassette tapes, so you can read along."

Anne was so pleased with herself that she gave away her beloved radio.

"No, no, it's too expensive. I can buy it myself," Yang Zheng immediately refused.

"I can buy radios, but can you buy cassette tapes? Don't be shy, aren't we all family?"

Anne spared no effort in sending the gift out.

"Yang Zheng, just accept it," Zhou Zhonghai said, interrupting their struggle.

"Thank you so much, Sister Annie. You're so kind."

"You're welcome. You're my sister-in-law's brother, which makes you my brother too."

Annie smiled happily, having gained Zhou Zhonghai's approval, and for the first time found a sense of belonging in this family.

Due to generational differences, we have to deal with it again.

Yang Zheng is Qiaoqiao's older brother, but he is actually several years younger than Zhou Wenhui and Zhou Wenjing.

When Qiaoqiao married Zhou Wenhui, Zhou Wenhui was 29 years old, Qiaoqiao was 20 years old, a difference of 9 years, and Yang Zheng was 23 years old.

They had been married for three years. Zhou Wenhui was 32 years old, Qiaoqiao was 23 years old, and Yang Zheng was 26 years old.

Zhou Wenjing is 29 years old, and Annie is 28 years old.

Since Qiaoqiao is the eldest sister-in-law, it seems reasonable for Yang Zheng to call Annie "Sister Annie" and for Annie to call Yang Zheng "Brother Yang Zheng."

In addition, Zhou Zhonghai was 53 years old and had Zhou Wenhui when he was 21. During the war, in order to leave an heir, he had children relatively early under the organization's arrangement.

Qiaoqiao's father is 52 years old. He had Yang Zheng when he was 26. It wasn't because he married and had children late, but because his family was too poor to find him a wife.

By the way, Yang Zheng is 9 years older than Chen Hong.