1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

"Qiu Na..."

At this moment, the mother-in-law was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to go forward and hug her, but she didn't dare to hold back.

It's been almost twenty years since we last met, and my little sister has changed so much!

If Gu Qiuna hadn't rushed up and called her "sister," her mother-in-law, Mrs. Feng, would never have recognized her as her younger sister.

If this happened on the street, who would recognize him?

"Sister, I'm so glad to see you again! I thought I'd never have the chance to come back and see you all again in this lifetime!"

Gu Qiuna, dressed in a stylish and fashionable outfit reminiscent of someone who has returned from overseas, looks more like a young woman in her twenties than a woman approaching forty.

Cheng Xuemin stood aside and secretly observed. Sure enough, it was still the kind of capitalist country that was so open and romantic. The woman was also very well-maintained.

Anyway, although this aunt is only two or three years younger than her mother-in-law, when they stand together at this moment, people would believe they are mother and daughter.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Your parents are getting old, and they often think about you and your older brother!" Mother-in-law Feng was so moved that she choked up and didn't know what to say.

Now, overcome with emotion, she hugged her younger sister tightly, wiping away tears as she comforted her.

"Yes, sister, my brother and I miss you and Mom and Dad day and night while we're away!" Aunt Gu Qiuna also wiped away tears.

Cheng Xuemin stood by the side the whole time, without disturbing the two sisters' sentimental reminiscing.

When it was almost time, Cheng Xuemin stepped forward and greeted Gu Qiuna, saying, "Auntie, welcome back to China!"

"This is... my Jia Cheng, right?" Gu Qiuna finally let go of her sister, then looked at Cheng Xuemin, her beautiful eyes still filled with tears, and excitedly greeted him, "I never thought that after I've been gone for twenty years, the little brat who used to follow me around all day asking for candy has grown up so much and become so handsome!"

"Come here, let Auntie give you a hug!"

Gu Qiunan naturally assumed that the person calling her "Auntie" was her sister's youngest son, Feng Jiacheng.

When she went out with her older brother Run, her nephew was not even seven years old. She never expected that he would grow into a young man in the blink of an eye. Gu Qiuna was truly amazed, as if it were a different world!

Immediately, she let go of her sister, wanting to give her nephew a hug to celebrate their reunion after many years.

"Auntie..." Cheng Xuemin quickly stepped aside. Although he really wanted to hug her, she was his wife's aunt after all, and he had to avoid her. Besides, she had obviously mistaken him for someone else.

Mistaking yourself for your brother-in-law is not good!

"What's wrong? It's been over twenty years since we last met, and you've become distant with your aunt? Can't I even give you a hug?" Seeing Cheng Xuemin dodge, Gu Qiuna pouted playfully and teased him.

"Qiu Na, this is Jia You's husband, my son-in-law. I asked him to drive here to pick you up today!" Mother-in-law Feng rolled her eyes. After being away for twenty years, they had become completely estranged. She couldn't even recognize her own nephew.

"Oh my gosh! It's Jiayou's husband! I knew it! I knew it! No wonder he doesn't look like Jiacheng at all when he was little!" Gu Qiuna suddenly realized that she had naturally assumed Cheng Xuemin was her nephew, since he had come with her sister, so who else could it be?

However, his appearance was so different from the little nephew she remembered that Gu Qiuna couldn't refuse to acknowledge him, so she could only tentatively greet him.

Even though she knew he was her niece's husband, the naturally open-minded Gu Qiuna still opened her arms and said, "I still have to hug you, I still have to hug you!"

This time, Cheng Xuemin naturally stayed even further away; his aunt, who came from a capitalist background, was just different.

If Cheng Xuemin takes him there, he won't be able to stay at home anymore.

So she quickly moved far away and said, "Auntie, let's go home first! Grandpa and Grandma are waiting anxiously at home!"

"That's right, that's right! I didn't realize you were such a literary type, nephew-in-law!"

"Do they teach foreign languages?"

Gu Qiuna wasn't annoyed at having made a fool of herself. Seeing that Cheng Xuemin had even used an idiom, she casually asked another question.

"I know a little bit!" Cheng Xuemin said modestly.

"That's good, that's good. Knowing a little bit is good. If you and Jiayou want to study in the United States later, you'll find it useful!" Gu Qiuna was truly impressed with her nephew-in-law. She had only asked casually, but she didn't expect him to actually know a little bit of a foreign language.

There was no test of English on the spot, just a verbal encouragement.

However, this seemingly unintentional word of encouragement, when heard by Feng's mother-in-law, made her look at her younger sister with a deep gaze.

Should we send our youngest child to study in the United States?
This is indeed a very good way out, because at this time there are quite a few overseas returnees like Gu Qiuna who have come back from abroad to visit their families.

With the country gradually relaxing the standards for studying abroad, those with overseas connections are trying every means to prepare all the necessary application materials so that their families can directly apply for visas and send them to university.

Therefore, now that Gu Qiuna has returned to China, her family can be considered to have overseas connections.

Does that mean we should send the youngest or oldest child in the family abroad to study?
Of course, this thought only flashed through Feng's mother's mind for a moment before she came back to her senses and said, "Qiu Na, let's talk about this when we get back!"

"By the way, Xuemin drove here. Do you have any luggage? Do you want to take it back with you?"

"You've been staying at home since you came back, right?"

"Yes, yes! There's so much stuff, it's all piled up in the upstairs room! Xuemin, you drove here, so could you please help me carry everything down and take it home?" Gu Qiuna nodded repeatedly, saying there was a lot of stuff in the upstairs room, but then added, asking her sister, "Sister, is there enough room at home? I heard that after we left, you and your husband were both affected and only recently returned to the city. You haven't even gotten your house back yet. Where will your whole family live?"

Clearly, although Gu Qiuna had been living in the United States, she kept a close eye on her older sister and brother-in-law's family and knew their general financial situation.

"Let's go home first. You'll find somewhere to stay!" Mrs. Feng didn't want to say anything more outside; they could talk about it at home. "Okay, okay!" Gu Qiuna nodded and told the receptionist to arrange for someone to come to her room and help her move her things down.

Cheng Xuemin also voluntarily followed upstairs to help move things.

"Sister, I came back this time with my eldest brother's wishes. He heard that you brought Mom and Dad to live with you, so he scraped together some money to buy you another house in the city!"

"I just don't know if it's possible to buy and sell courtyards in China now?"

"By the way! How's the Overseas Chinese Apartments? When we went out, they were under construction there. You even joked with your husband that it would be great if we could buy an apartment there to get married!"

“But back then we didn’t have the means or the qualifications. But this time I’m back, it’s different. I should be considered a returned overseas Chinese, right? I should be eligible to buy a house in the Overseas Chinese Apartments area, right?”

Gu Qiuna had Cheng Xuemin and the others help her move all the things in the house downstairs. These were all imported goods she had brought back from the United States and were meant to be taken home.

While talking to her older sister about the house, she remembered that her older sister had always longed to buy a house in the Overseas Chinese Apartments. She planned to buy one for her older sister this time to fulfill her sister's long-cherished wish.

Of course, most of it was her and her older brother trying to make up for the guilt they felt towards their younger sister who stayed in China.

After all, they ran away back then, causing their mothers-in-law and the others who stayed in China to suffer a lot. Now that the policy is a bit better and they can come back to visit relatives, they will definitely try to make up for it as much as possible.

Besides, Gu Qiuna and her older brother are quite successful in the United States, and they have the means to help their older sister and the others.

"It's so kind of you to still remember..." Hearing her younger sister's words, her mother-in-law, Mrs. Feng, kept wiping away tears, saying that she had a thousand words to say, but just couldn't say them.

Mother-in-law Feng wanted to say, "It's kind of you to still remember these things, but we already have a house. Jiayou has married a successful man and bought a two-courtyard house near Yenching University."

Qiuna, the Overseas Chinese Apartment you mentioned, her husband has already bought one, and now he wants to buy another one with a courtyard house in the city, and so on!

But Feng's mother, choked with emotion, could not utter a word.

"Sis, I definitely remember!"

"Sister, you and brother-in-law have really worked hard these past years, while my brother and I are far away on the other side of the ocean... Anyway, my brother said that our family is financially stable now and has the ability to take care of things back home, so please don't stand on ceremony with my brother and me, we'll take care of anything we need..."

"Okay, okay, I won't say it anymore, I'll tell you when we get home. I'm just so excited and happy to see you, sister!"

Gu Qiuna felt sorry for her older sister. This woman was only in her early forties, but when she stood next to her, they looked like mother and daughter. Where was the charm of the number one beauty of Yanda University back then?
It's clear how much hardship and suffering my older sister has endured over the years.
As the younger sister, she saw it all and felt heartbroken. How could she not open her heart to her older sister, show her some love and make amends?
But she also knew how proud and arrogant her older sister was back then, so she couldn't stand hearing her say such things!
So I'll stop talking now. I'll be staying in China for a while anyway, so I'll just let my actions speak for themselves.

Gu Qiuna didn't expect that her older sister was thinking that her good son-in-law, Cheng Xuemin, had already bought and prepared all of these things.

Actually, you really don't need to worry about it anymore. Just your coming back to visit is better than anything else!
"By the way, Xuemin, is that your name? I just heard my sister call you that!"

Everything had been loaded into the car, packed tightly. It was all imported American goods. I don't know how this aunt managed to get it on the plane.

Inside the car, Aunt Gu Qiuna greeted Cheng Xuemin in this way.

"Yes, yes, Auntie, you can just call me Xuemin!" Cheng Xuemin said, turning around as he was about to start the car.

"Xuemin? I've heard that name before, but I can't quite place it!" Gu Qiuna said casually, but she didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, she was so happy to see her older sister today.

The mother-in-law, Mrs. Feng, who was listening nearby, didn't point it out; she simply said she had heard about it somewhere before.
You know, who in the country doesn't know her son-in-law's name? He's a role model in the People's Daily every few days, and Gu Qiuna can see it whenever she flips through the hotel's newspaper.

"Xuemin, your car is nice. If your company isn't in a rush to use it, could you take me to the Foreign Languages ​​Press first?"

When Gu Qiuna saw that her older sister's son-in-law had driven a sedan, she was initially taken aback, but she quickly realized what was going on!
This is definitely not my sister's son-in-law's company car. How could someone so young have a company car?

It should be noted that although Gu Qiuna has been abroad for twenty years, she still pays some attention to and understands the situation in China!

Those who are entitled to an official car in China are definitely high-ranking officials at the department level or above. Even if they have some connections in Beijing, they are at least at the deputy department or division level.

But how old is my older sister's son-in-law?

He's only in his early twenties; no matter how high his rank, he certainly wouldn't qualify for an official car.

and so……

My sister's son-in-law was able to drive over to pick her up today, so he must have sneaked out in a big boss's car. Therefore, my sister's son-in-law must be a driver for some big boss.

Since he's a driver for a high-ranking leader, we shouldn't occupy this car too much. We need to find out more details first, otherwise, it would be too embarrassing if my sister's son-in-law got criticized by his boss as soon as he got back.

"What are you doing at the Foreign Languages ​​Press? Your brother-in-law doesn't work there anymore." Feng's mother was surprised to hear her sister, who had just returned home, was thinking of going to the Foreign Languages ​​Press instead of going back to see her parents.

Are you going to see her brother-in-law?
But how did she know that her brother-in-law used to work at the Foreign Languages ​​Press? And now her brother-in-law isn't there anymore; he's just been promoted to a higher position at Haizi!
"Huh?! My brother-in-law used to work at the Foreign Languages ​​Press? I...I...I came back this time, firstly to visit you and Mom and Dad, and secondly to go to the Foreign Languages ​​Press to solicit manuscripts!"

Gu Qiuna was really surprised. She didn't know that her brother-in-law actually worked at the Foreign Languages ​​Press. It was a complete mistake!

"Going to the Foreign Languages ​​Press to solicit manuscripts?" Only then did Mrs. Feng glance meaningfully at her son-in-law driving in front, thinking to herself, "Could it be such a coincidence?"
"Yes! We received a well-written manuscript from a domestic author. We were planning to meet with the author and have the Foreign Languages ​​Press arrange for us to compile the manuscript in person!"

“Since my brother-in-law is at the Foreign Languages ​​Press, that’s even better!” Gu Qiuna said happily.

Cheng Xuemin caught his mother-in-law's strange look in the rearview mirror and understood what was going on. He thought to himself, "It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?"

He did submit a novella to an American magazine last month, but so far he only knows that it has been accepted, but the payment has been delayed. He wondered if it was his aunt.
…………

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