Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 209 - 159: The Formidable Future Husband

Chapter 209: Chapter 159: The Formidable Future Husband

The first watch of the night had passed.

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Among the younger generation of the Zhou family, Zhou Aiping was the most competitive in character, always needing to come out on top in everything she did, never satisfied until she did.

For example, her cousin Zhou Xiangping’s husband, Liao Hui, now served as the deputy head of a certain collective in the capital, and in front of Zhou Xiangping, Zhou Aiping would often lament how poor, chaotic, and unbearable rural life was.

Initially, Zhou Xiangping would argue with her, but as time passed, she could not be bothered anymore. She and Liao Hui had grown up together like two peas in a pod, and Mrs. Liao treated her even better than her own daughter. People always said, "If you are a daughter for a day, you are an official for a day," but ever since she married into the Liao family, she hadn’t felt any different from when she was single. Whether she wanted to visit her parents’ house or her husband’s family, or see her husband in the countryside, nobody interfered with her freedom.

Zhou Aiping, on the other hand, was strictly controlled by her husband’s family after her marriage. To put it bluntly, she was simply jealous, so Zhou Xiangping did not bother to bicker with her anymore.

Sometimes Zhou Xiangping even felt pity for Zhou Aiping, who, despite being competitive and sour at her parents’ house, couldn’t dare to speak out of line at her husband’s family.

Zhou Aiping was married to Xiao Yuwen of the fast-rising Xiao family in politics, who implicitly rejected a family like the Zhou family that had developed through blood and combat during the war years—a rejection that boiled down to an inferiority complex.

It was Zhou Aiping who had set her sights on Xiao Yuwen, but he didn’t have much feeling for her. The fact that they ended up together was entirely due to Zhou Aiping’s initiative.

One would think that the Xiao family should have been overjoyed to have an alliance with the Lin family by marriage, but the reality was, both sets of parents couldn’t stand each other, and one could imagine Zhou Aiping’s status in the Xiao household after marrying in.

Nevertheless, the more alienated she felt inside her own family, the more Zhou Aiping tried to polish her image in front of her family members, wanting to prove the correctness of her choice.

In truth, everyone knew what kind of life Zhou Aiping lived in the Xiao household and simply did not want to argue with her. But this time, what she did was simply too unkind.

Previously, indeed many of the younger members of the Zhou family were suspicious of what methods the prospective third sister-in-law might have employed to catch Third Brother’s attention and win his favor. However, after Zhou Xiangping had explained, nobody would think otherwise.

What was Zhou Xiangping’s temperament like? She was the sort who would never lie, not even if she lost her head!

Did they not know what Zhou Aiping was scheming? There was no guilt in numbers—if everyone thought like that, would Third Brother really kick out the entire family from the engagement feast?

Did she think they were fools? The price of ’no guilt in numbers’ would be that Third Brother would no longer look favorably upon them from here on out.

If Third Brother, the leader of the younger generation in the Zhou family, took such a view of them, how would they continue to get by?

"Sixth sister (among the younger generation of the Zhou family, she ranked as the sixth), I didn’t think that way. Just by looking at the attitude of Third Brother, you can tell it was him who pursued the third sister-in-law," one of them said.

"Yes, I feel the same way," another chimed in.

"If I had any doubts before, after Fourth Sister’s explanation, I’ve had no such thoughts," said one more.

"Fourth Sister, you have to testify for me when Third Brother asks. I have nothing but respect for the third sister-in-law Third Brother chose," pleaded another.

"...."

Amid the clamor of many voices, Zhou Aiping’s face grew increasingly unsightly.

She had brought up the topic initially because she felt that the grandparents and uncles had agreed to let Lin Chuxia marry into the family most likely out of helplessness. Third Brother had been adamant about not marrying for years, and now that he had finally relented, it seemed as though even if the bride were a sow, the elders would have agreed.

But knowing Third Brother as she did, marrying Lin Chuxia was probably just to stop the elders’ nagging, so one could imagine what Lin Chuxia’s position in the Zhou family would be like after the marriage.

Given the circumstances, whom should everyone side with at this time? Wasn’t it obvious?

Her father-in-law, currently a ministerial-level official and also a favorite of an important leader, and her husband Xiao Yuwen, a twenty-seven-year-old vice director—compared to Third Brother, they were not much different. If things continued like this, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to surpass Third Brother one day.

Why would her father-in-law’s family be reluctant to associate with the Zhou family? It was partly because "birds of a feather flock together" and partly because the Xiao family’s growth trends in recent years were no worse than the Zhou family’s—at least that’s what she believed.

A family with no foundation had achieved such success today—isn’t that proof enough?

These cousins just lacked political savvy. Intimidated by Zhou Xiangping, they had all betrayed her. One day, they would regret their choice!

"What are you all doing?" Zhou Mikang came over and saw the cousins gathered around Chuxia and his two sisters, chattering nonstop like ducks, and his brow furrowed immediately.

"They all like the third sister-in-law and came over to greet her," Zhou Xiangping said with a smile, looking at Zhou Mikang, "Third Brother, the third sister-in-law is so popular. How does that make you feel?"

"Time to eat!" Zhou Mikang tossed out two words and turned to leave.

"Boring!" Zhou Xiangping stuck out her tongue, pulling Chuxia up, "Third sister-in-law, let’s go eat, don’t be scared; I’m by your side. If anyone dares to say a bad word about you, I’ll knock them dead!"

"Third sister, if an elder says something bad about third sister-in-law, would you knock her dead too?" Xu Shuxian asked, glancing over at Zhou Aiping, clearly referring to Third Aunt Zhou Liu Lingmei.

"The same!" Zhou Xiangping snorted coldly, "This is my third sister-in-law, what’s it to anyone else?"

"Younger Fourth!" Zhou Jiping glared at her, "You’re a girl."

"I’ve never been a lady..." Zhou Xiangping poked Xu Shuxian while speaking, "Xiao Xian, you should be more ladylike, otherwise, you’d really let down the name your auntie gave you."

"Ladylike my foot! If I really did that, they’d probably think I’m a demon and burn me at the stake!"

"Xiao Xian, don’t talk like that!" Xu Yan shouted, and Xu Shuxian immediately ran her hand down her face to adjust her expression, putting on a sour smile: "Brother, how should I speak then?"

Zhou Xiangping stumbled, waving her hands, "Alright, alright, you better not act ladylike." Then she turned to Xu Yan, "Hey, learn a thing or two from Xiao Xian, my man. A big guy speaking so softly and tenderly, I just can’t stand you. Don’t you act like someone from a military family!"

The Zhou family had several generations in the military, and the younger members, regardless of gender, were mostly forthright, with the only exception being Xu Yan.

Everyone mumbled their way to the hall, where the food was already laid out - elders at one table, and the younger generation at the other.

It was natural for Chuxia to sit with Zhou Jiping and Zhou Xiangping; besides, Zhou Mikang also took a seat at this table, which caused most of the younger relatives to quietly move to the other table—the Third Brother’s aura was too oppressive, scaring them!

Zhou Aiping, because of what had happened earlier, had intended to avoid Zhou Mikang. However, just then, her husband Xiao Yuwen hurried over. This made Zhou Aiping, feeling extremely proud, quickly perk up and pull Xiao Yuwen to sit beside Zhou Mikang with a shameless grin.

Xiao Yuwen was tall and thin, wore glasses, had pale skin, and sported a middle-part hairstyle. Chuxia eyed him a few times and began to feel uncomfortable - in her mind, movie and TV villains all had this look, especially that middle-part hairstyle, which somehow made her feel uneasy.

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, just look at Zhou Aiping, practically glued to Xiao Yuwen.

Xiao Yuwen, who had been meticulously observing Chuxia, smiled and nodded at her when he saw her glance over, immediately causing Chuxia to break out in goosebumps—the look in his eyes was truly nauseating!

Zhou Xiangping, feeling the sudden bumps on the arm she was holding, asked in confusion, "Cold?"

Chuxia smoothed her arm, trying to calm down the sick feeling inside, and smiled at Zhou Xiangping, "Not cold!"

"Hey, hey, hey... what are you doing? Let go of me!" While Zhou Xiangping was still puzzled, her dear Third Brother had already grabbed Xiao Yuwen by the collar and was dragging him out.

The incident happened so abruptly that nobody quite understood what was going on, including Zhou Aiping. Thus, they just watched as Xiao Yuwen, like a small chicken, was being tossed out.

When Zhou Mikang returned, Zhou Aiping finally realized what had happened. Without bothering to ask any questions, she dashed outside, and at that moment, Liu Lingmei also regained her senses, frowning at Zhou Mikang, "What’s going on here?"

"Go ask Xiao Yuwen." Zhou Mikang didn’t even pause, and sat back down in his spot.

Actually, by this time, the Zhou family members didn’t need to ask to guess what had probably happened. They all knew what kind of person Xiao Yuwen was. With Third Brother’s temperament—hmph, it was good for Xiao Yuwen to taste the cut of the knife hanging over his head.

So, as Liu Lingmei was about to demand an explanation, Old Master Zhou stood up, "On this joyous day, let me say a few words. From today on, Chuxia is a part of the Zhou family. Whether family elders or juniors, everyone should treat her as a member of this family, and protect her." With that, he looked towards Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan, "Xiao Lin and Xiao Zhao can rest assured, being a daughter-in-law in the Zhou family is just like being a daughter in the Lin family."

Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan didn’t know why their future son-in-law had acted that way, but they weren’t foolish. Looking at everyone’s expressions and Old Master Zhou’s attitude, they understood—this was them backing up their daughter Chuxia!

The couple immediately stood up and bowed deeply to Old Master Zhou.

"With Chuxia married into the Zhou family, we are one hundred percent assured!" Zhao Yulan declared.

Liu Lingmei stood stiffly beside Zhou Mikang, her emotions churning. Old Master Zhou’s stance made it clear he wasn’t going to hold Zhou Mikang accountable. She knew her son-in-law’s temperament well, but no matter what, there was no need to be pulled out in front of so many people. How could they face each other after this?

Would she defy her father-in-law on this?

She didn’t have the guts. Unlike her daughter who always thought the Xiao family would have the upper hand over the Zhou family, she wasn’t as naive. Even if she weren’t a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, she could see very clearly—the foundations of the two families were not the same at all!

Xiao Yuwen and Zhou Mikang were also absolutely incomparable! (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote your support, your support is my greatest motivation.)