What exactly the mother and son discussed on the phone, Jiang Si had no idea. When she handed the receiver to Mother Huo earlier, she had stepped outside the door.
The call lasted over half an hour.
When Mother Huo emerged, her face was deathly pale. Jiang Si stepped forward to support her.
"Mom—"
"Mom’s fine, no need to comfort me."
Mother Huo knew what she wanted to say and patted her hand.
"Your eldest brother is a disgrace. Don’t take to heart the things he said just now."
"The loss of the child is their own matter as a couple. It’s no one else’s fault."
Jiang Si nodded.
She wouldn’t torment herself over baseless accusations from others.
Honestly, the eldest son and his wife were laughable. As parents, they didn’t even care about their own child—why would they expect anyone else to?
But being unfairly blamed still affected Jiang Si’s mood somewhat.
Just then, Mother Huo spoke up: "Sisi, aside from coming to see you, Mom actually had another reason for this trip."
"I… I…"
Seeing Mother Huo hesitate for a long time without getting to the point, Jiang Si smiled.
"Mom, do you want me to go back to Beijing with you for a short stay?"
"You… you already knew?" Mother Huo looked surprised.
Jiang Si hadn’t known initially, but her mother-in-law had spent the entire afternoon hinting at how nice Beijing was.
Reading between the lines, Jiang Si wasn’t stupid—she’d figured it out.
"Since you already know, Mom will just say it outright."
"Xiaozhou’s mission will take at least a month. After completing it, he’ll still need to report to Beijing, which will take about a week."
"If you add the time for commendation ceremonies, the earliest he’ll return to Qiongzhou Island is the end of next month."
Before coming, Mother Huo had only known about her third son’s mission.
She wasn’t sure whether the gossip in the military compound had died down.
But after walking around the compound that afternoon and observing how the other military wives treated her daughter-in-law, she had a rough idea.
Still, leaving her daughter-in-law alone here for over forty days made Mother Huo uneasy.
Knowing that young people had their own ways of thinking, she didn’t insist that Jiang Si had to return with her.
Mother Huo said, "Here’s what Mom thinks: if you come back to Beijing with me now, by the time Xiaozhou returns, you two can stay at home for half a month, visit relatives, and get acquainted."
"Then, when the New Year comes in February, you won’t have to come back here—just celebrate in Shanghai."
Hearing this, Jiang Si was genuinely surprised.
"Mom, you’re okay with that?"
"Why wouldn’t I be? As long as you two are happy, it doesn’t matter where you celebrate."
"This is your first year of marriage. It’s only right for Xiaozhou to spend the New Year with you in Shanghai."
"Besides, there’s another reason I want you to come to Beijing now."
Mother Huo didn’t beat around the bush. "I want to help you divide the family assets before the New Year."
Originally, she had planned to do it after the New Year, but the eldest son and his wife’s actions had hurt her too deeply.
In that case, it was better to settle it sooner rather than later.
Mother Huo had laid it out so plainly that Jiang Si thought it over and agreed.
Staying here alone for over forty days would be boring anyway. Going back to Beijing to resolve things was a better idea.
The eldest son and his wife had been so eager to shift blame today—how could Jiang Si not return the favor? It’d be a shame to waste their effort!
Moreover, Jiang Si had always been curious about one thing.
Given how attentive Mother Huo was to her children, it shouldn’t have been possible for a child to go missing.
And yet, Huo Tingzhou had been lost.
…
Once the decision was made, Jiang Si didn’t delay. She left a spare key with He Ping, asking him to keep an eye on the vegetable garden.
After informing the two sisters-in-law about her trip to Beijing, Jiang Si went back to pack.
It was already late October. Since she’d be in Beijing for a month, she needed to prepare sweaters and thick wool coats.
Winter clothes took up a lot of space. After stuffing just three or four outfits, her suitcase was already full.
At times like this, she missed Huo Tingzhou’s packing skills terribly.
Somehow, with the same-sized suitcase, he could always fit more inside—and keep it neat!
Fortunately, she had her space and plenty of money and coupons. If she needed anything in Beijing, she could just buy it there.
After packing her own things, Jiang Si didn’t forget to prepare a few sets of autumn and winter clothes for Huo Tingzhou.
When they’d bought the wardrobe, she’d chosen a five-door one. Her clothes took up four doors, leaving the last one for Huo Tingzhou.
Now, as she opened his wardrobe door, she felt her OCD soothed.
All his clothes were neatly folded and organized by category.
The only problem was that he had so few clothes. After searching for a while, Jiang Si only found two sets.
The top shelf was too high, so she had to grab a small stool.
While searching, something suddenly fell out with a soft thud.
Looking down, she saw a palm-sized package wrapped in red-and-yellow kraft paper.
Curious, she picked it up. The label read: Contains 2 pieces, 35MM, followed by instructions.
It was a—*condom*!
Thanks to the information overload of her past life, Jiang Si wasn’t particularly embarrassed.
She was just surprised. She’d assumed Huo Tingzhou would want children soon after marriage.
After all, he’d be thirty after the New Year. In this era, it was rare for men his age not to have kids.
Just then, Mother Huo returned.
The door was still open, so Mother Huo saw Jiang Si holding the *condom* in a daze.
But Mother Huo didn’t ask.
Rule #1 of being a good mother-in-law:
Contribute money if you have it, effort if you don’t—but never interfere in the couple’s private matters.
To spare her daughter-in-law embarrassment, Mother Huo quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, Sisi, the certificate has been issued. We can leave first thing tomorrow morning."
At the time, Jiang Si didn’t understand what Mother Huo meant by "certificate."
It wasn’t until the next morning, when they arrived at Dayingshan Airport in the provincial capital, that it clicked.
Thanks to her mother-in-law, Jiang Si wouldn’t have to endure days of boats and trains back to Beijing this time.
An hour and ten minutes later, they landed at Guangzhou Airport.
There were no flights to Beijing that afternoon, so they boarded one the next morning at 9:10 AM.
Three hours later, the plane touched down smoothly at Capital Airport.
The entire journey was almost effortless—except for the slightly steep price of the tickets.
The trip involved two flights: from Qiongzhou Island to Guangzhou for 48 yuan, and Guangzhou to Beijing for 91 yuan.
This single trip cost five months’ wages for an average worker.
As soon as they stepped out of the airport with their luggage, they spotted a military jeep parked by the roadside.
But when she saw who was there, Mother Huo frowned.
She’d called Old Huo before leaving, telling him to pick them up.
What was going on?
"Xiao Chen, where’s your commander—"
