Chapter 1281 - 1153: Thunderbolt on a Sunny Day

Chapter 1281: Chapter 1153: Thunderbolt on a Sunny Day

When the afterglow of the summer sunset fell on the funeral parlor, Cheng Sijin and Cheng Siyu arrived with their wives, greeted by a chorus of cries.

There is a kind of pain that is the piercing agony of losing a loving father, able to penetrate to the bones.

The father who tirelessly taught and supported them, will henceforth be separated from them by a vast distance, an unbearable weight in life.

For Cheng Sijin and his brother, not seeing their father on his deathbed, nor gathering for one last meal together, would be a lifelong regret.

Was it any different for Cheng Ruzhu?

A sorrowful atmosphere enveloped the funeral parlor.

This is truly not a comforting place.

Zhou Jiao dared not believe that one day she too would suffer such agony. Listening to their cries, tears streamed down her face.

No matter how many contributions one has made to the country, no matter how grand the memorial service, when a person dies, all is truly said and done.

With one last look at the gravestones at Babaoshan, Zhou Jiao supported Old Mrs. Cheng, neither daring nor able to look back as they left.

She was truly afraid of this place and hoped to never visit this ghostly spot again.

But fate is unpredictable, and things may not go as she wishes.

Just as she feared, the day they saw Mr. Cheng off, Old Mrs. Cheng collapsed, and it was into Zhou Jiao’s arms that she fell.

Staring blankly at the emergency room door, Zhou Jiao felt utterly lost.

She knew that the family member who cared for and loved her, who made her feel a grandmother’s kindness, was truly slipping away.

It was futile; she couldn’t be saved.

When the old man left, Old Mrs. Cheng’s heart left with him. She was preoccupied with thoughts of her departed husband, worried he’d be lonely, and couldn’t forget their vow to journey together on the road to the underworld.

The emergency room doors opened, and the leading doctor shook his head at the family, "Go, go and see Old Mrs. Cheng one last time..."

Hearing this, Zhou Jiao’s vision went dark, and she bit her lip hard, wondering why she couldn’t escape this reality.

One by one, the Cheng family members went in; Zhou Jiao, with no courage to face it all, watched those going in and out in a daze.

Zhou Xiaozheng looked at his daughter leaning in her husband’s arms, gently stroking her head, "Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, look at Dad, Dad is here."

Cheng Ruzhu came out, tears flowing, and choked as she spoke to Zhou Jiao’s family gathered around, "Brother, go in quickly, Mom wants to see you."

Zhou Xiaozheng turned his stiff head and glanced at her.

Zhang Guoqing squeezed Zhou Jiao’s hands, "Wife, let’s go, we should see Old Mrs. Cheng."

Zhou Jiao, having recovered by the time her father spoke to her, nodded slightly, stood up, and gently shook her head at her worried sons to the side.

As Zhou Xiaozheng led his family inside, it was already filled with Cheng family children and grandchildren, who automatically made a path, all their eyes on the reclining Old Mrs. Cheng.

Unsure if it was a last burst of energy before passing.

At that moment, Old Mrs. Cheng, as if in her usual self, smiled at them as they walked in.

"Little aunt..."

Old Mrs. Cheng held onto Zhou Xiaozheng’s hand with both of hers, patting it gently, "Don’t be sad, everyone has this day when they get old. According to fortune-tellers, I’ve already lived ten extra years."

"..."

Old Mrs. Cheng looked at Miao Lishan, Zhou Jiao, and Zhang Guoqing and his sons standing behind Zhou Xiaozheng and said with a smile, "I can finally share the good news with my elder sister and her husband."

"Great aunt."

"Great grandmother."

Old Mrs. Cheng looked kindly at Zhou Xiaozheng, "You’ve done well."

Zhou Xiaozheng held back tears, "I haven’t done enough, I didn’t spend enough time with you, didn’t fulfill my filial duties."

"Such a silly child."

Zhou Xiaozheng’s nose stung, tears uncontrollably fell—a reminder that from now on, no one would call him a silly child again, no maternal figure would worry about him anymore.

That day, on the same day Mr. Cheng was buried, at eight forty in the evening, Old Mrs. Cheng followed her husband with a smile.

Unlike Mr. Cheng’s passing, Old Mrs. Cheng’s departure took away laughter, especially when Miao Lishan accidentally said several times, "I’ll consult with Old Mrs. Cheng."

Seeing Zhou Jiao grow thin, Zhang Guoqing had to think of ways to rejuvenate her spirits.

"Wife, have you noticed how much thinner Dad has become lately? Last night in the living room, I even found several strands of white hair on him."

The more Zhang Guoqing spoke, the more he noticed his wife’s frown deepening, "He’s worrying if you’ve lost your appetite lately, I noticed he’s aged a lot."

Zhou Jiao couldn’t sit still anymore, "Really, white hair?"

"Maybe I was mistaken, why don’t you go check? He’s still in the study reading documents, even having had a late-night snack won’t make him sleep, Mom says he’s barely getting a few hours of sleep every day."

Zhou Jiao grabbed his hand and stood up, "Let’s go downstairs. Seriously, I’ve told him not to overwork, and you too..."

Zhang Guoqing’s eyes lit with laughter as he hurriedly promised, "Yes, I’ll pay more attention to my health in the future, I still want to live to two hundred with you."

Zhou Jiao giggled, "Nonsense, two hundred? Why don’t you just say you’re aiming for immortality?"

Seeing her smile, Zhang Guoqing was overjoyed.

He knew his father-in-law was his wife’s Achilles’ heel, easily set off. With Old Mrs. Cheng gone, staying in sadness was not an option; he had given her two weeks, it was enough.

This small frame had already stayed with Old Mrs. Cheng for so long since Mr. Cheng collapsed, delaying further was risking too much.

To deal with someone who fixates, one must redirect their focus, and fortunately, it worked.

In the study, Zhou Jiao looked nervously at Zhou Xiaozheng, taking his pulse and checking his hair before breathing a sigh of relief.

Though Zhang Guoqing exaggerated, she knew she couldn’t continue dwelling in despair.

The dead cannot be brought back, the living are what matters most; her beloved family still needed her care, for no other reason than to live well.

Especially her parents, she wanted them to be with her longer and more, besides having no worries about food and clothing, ensuring their happiness too.

In her introspection, Zhou Jiao didn’t notice the shared smile between Zhou Xiaozheng and Zhang Guoqing. If she had, she would only be moved by their thoughtfulness.

As Old Mrs. Cheng and her husband passed away, joyful news kept arriving in letters from Miao Tianming abroad, soon distracting Zhou Jiao.

With a professional financial manager, it was different; the commission spent immediately proved its worth.

He excelled at international financial analysis, paired with the Miao family’s small team, the profit from oil futures exceeded her expectations.

Just as Miao Tianming’s latest letter arrived inquiring if Zhou Jiao wanted to use futures leverage?

As this summer was about to end, the Iran-Iraq war began...