Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 110 Safe

Grandma smiled and tapped her forehead: "You silly child, you never know how to keep your eyes open, why are you telling all this to men?"

Jing Yan smiled and said, "Zhijun is my husband, and you are his grandmother. He should know about the things his grandmother gave him. Why should I hide them from him? Let's go together. Having a man with you will make you feel more confident."

Grandma didn't object. She was happy to see the two children get along so well. Jingyan had an excellent postpartum recovery; her complexion was rosy, and she was full of energy. Indeed, the December weather was damp and cold, but because of the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), the whole house was warm and cozy.

The family no longer needs to wear thick clothes like bears, and they don't use as much coal as before. Compared to other families who huddle around the stove for warmth and worry about carbon monoxide poisoning, these relaxed days are truly rare.

Even Sister Wang really likes the heated kang bed at home. Since winter started and the kang bed has been lit, Sister Wang usually sleeps with Jingyan. When He Zhijun comes back, she will share a room with her grandmother. As she said, sleeping in a bed is too cold, nothing is as comfortable as the heated kang bed.

He Zhijun returned home quite early the next evening, arriving before it was even dark in the winter. Jingyan found it strange and teased him, "Shouldn't you still be in school by now? How come you're already home? Did you skip class?"

He Zhijun took off his military overcoat, put on the sweater underneath, and hugged Jingyan: "The postpartum period is thirty days, right? Tomorrow will be the end of your postpartum period. Is there anything you want to eat or do? I'll take you there."

Seeing how affectionate the two were, Grandma and Sister Wang wisely went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. The male head of the household was coming home tonight, so they had to cook something nice, even though they usually ate quite well.

Jingyan smiled and hugged him back: "I finished my postpartum confinement yesterday, that's enough, there's no need to be so strict. Grandma said she wants to take me to the bank to apply for a safe deposit box to store important items, shall we go together tomorrow? Let's put the jade bracelets that Mom gave me and Grandma Lin gave us into the safe deposit box. It's not really safe to keep them at home. We're going to make braised meat later, and there are so many people coming and going at home, it's too chaotic."

He Zhijun nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you. We'll also put the property certificate in there. Since we're already putting it in, let's put all the valuables in there."

Jingyan pulled him back to her room, and the two sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Jingyan lowered her voice and said, "Grandma said she has some old things and wants to give some to me separately. There probably won't be much left for my sister-in-law. Do you think that's not a good idea?"

Hearing this, He Zhijun looked at her very seriously and laughed, "My wife is amazing! You don't know, even my mother didn't get a share of Grandma's treasures. You have to please Grandma so she'll give them to you right now?"

Jingyan asked curiously, "Grandma isn't usually stingy, so what's the story behind these things?"

He Zhijun put one arm around her shoulder, pressed his head against the top of her head, and said, "If I remember correctly, the things Grandma hid were all small items. My dad said that some of them were left to her by her father. Putting aside their preciousness, they were mostly keepsakes."

There were also some pieces of jewelry that her grandfather had given her. They weren't very valuable, since he didn't have much money himself, but they all represented his love for her. After her grandfather passed away, her grandmother hardly wore any jewelry anymore. My mother said that since her grandfather was gone, no one appreciated her beauty, so she became too lazy to dress up.

However, I think Grandma was probably afraid that wearing so many jewels would be too conspicuous. But no matter what, those things all have different sentimental meanings, so it's still quite remarkable that Grandma was willing to give them to you. At least now she has a new connection with you and doesn't need those objects to remind her of her past.

“But even if you give it to me, it will just go into the safe. I don’t wear jewelry much anyway, and this thing is very meaningful. Grandma gave it to me, and now I won’t even have anything to remember it by. Wouldn’t that be a bit inappropriate?” Jingyan was originally quite happy, thinking it was a treasure, but now she felt a little guilty about accepting it.

“It’s alright. Since Grandma said she would give it to you, she has already planned it out. Just be obedient. Grandma probably won’t have time to dwell on the past later. As you grow up, Grandma will be very busy.” He Zhijun said with a smile, looking at the child on the kang.

When the topic of children came up, Jingyan immediately sat up straight and turned to look at He Zhijun. “Our child doesn’t have a name yet. We’ve been calling him Xiaobao all the time, but I think it’s better to have a formal name. Also, we need to register the child’s household registration and other things that need to be done quickly.”

"We have a three-day holiday this week. The Lunar New Year is coming soon, and my parents will probably come over. I'll ask them if they've already decided on a name for the baby. If they have, it'll save us some trouble. If not, I'll name the baby myself; there's no rush."

As for registering the household registration, we'll deal with that after the name is confirmed. My current household registration is at the school, while yours is still in our hometown. I'll have to go to the community office to ask someone how to handle that.” He Zhijun also started to consider it.

As the two were talking about things they found interesting recently, Grandma knocked on the door, her tone slightly teasing: "Jingyan, Xiaojun, come out for dinner. You can talk about it after you finish eating. There's no rush."

Jingyan's face turned bright red instantly, and He Zhijun was also a little embarrassed. The two of them quickly went out to the dining table in the living room to eat, afraid that they would be laughed at by their grandmother if they left late.

After dinner, Sister Wang cleaned up the kitchen, Jingyan fetched water, and He Zhijun helped his grandmother wash her feet. After cleaning up, his grandmother happily went back to her room. Before going in, she whispered to He Zhijun, "You're young and have a lot of energy. Even if you were holding back, you didn't go too far last night. Jingyan just finished her postpartum period, so take it easy."

Now, the young couple didn't know what to do. Grandma just kept setting the fire, not caring about their feelings, and leisurely went into the house, leaving them outside. The two looked at each other, feeling even more embarrassed. "Grandma is so old, why does she still talk so... bluntly?" He Zhijun stammered.

Jingyan glared at him irritably, turned around and washed up. After washing up, she went back to her room, fed the baby, and was just about to go to sleep when He Zhijun also washed up and came into the room. He checked the baby's diapers and was about to play with the baby when Sister Wang knocked on the door: "Jingyan, let Grandma and I take care of the baby tonight, so as not to disturb your sleep in the middle of the night."

The atmosphere, which had just eased due to caring for the child, became awkward again. He Zhijun, being a man, thick-skinned, straightened his expression and pretended not to understand anything as he opened the door. Sister Wang went in and took the child from the kang (heated brick bed). Just before leaving, He Zhijun reminded her, "Diapers and formula..."

Sister Wang couldn't help but chuckle, then tried her best to suppress it and said, "The old lady had already packed up before you came back." After saying that, she took the child and went back to the next room, leaving the young couple in a mess.

He Zhijun calmed himself down, closed and bolted the door, came back, took off his clothes, crawled into the quilt, snuggled closer to Jingyan, and whispered in her ear, "Jingyan, we've really been together for so long..." The room was filled with a warm and romantic atmosphere.

When Jingyan opened her eyes again, it was already bright outside. The kang (a heated brick bed) was still warm. She leaned against He Zhijun's chest and was held by him. She moved her head and He Zhijun's hoarse voice sounded from above her: "Good morning, wife. You must have been tired last night. Do you want to sleep a little longer?"

Jing Yan was speechless: "Alright, I should be the one asking you if you're tired. Honestly, you better be more careful tonight. I'm getting up. If you want to sleep a little longer, go ahead. I'm going to feed Xiao Bao." After saying that, she got up and walked past He Zhijun to get the clothes from the end of the kang (heated brick bed).

He Zhijun stretched and helped her reach for her clothes. After she pulled the clothes over and put them on, he sat up and took his own clothes to wear. Jing Yan looked at the scratches on his body and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

He Zhijun shook his head: "I'm not sleeping anymore. I've had enough sleep if you don't stay with me."

Jing Yan glared at him: "What a character."

After the couple got dressed and went out to wash up, Sister Wang had already prepared breakfast, and the bowls and chopsticks were already set on the table. Jingyan went to her grandmother's room and brought the baby over. The baby was already awake and playing by himself, happily sucking on his little hand. Jingyan teased the corner of his mouth with her finger to make sure he was really hungry before she started breastfeeding him.

After feeding the child and letting him play on the kang (a heated brick bed), the family began to eat breakfast. After breakfast, Grandma said with a smile, "Zhijun, Jingyan, let's go out together. Xiao Wang, we're going out to take care of some things. You stay home and take care of Xiaobao."

Sister Wang smiled and agreed. She watched as her grandmother carried a small leather suitcase out of the house, and the three of them went out together, heading straight for the nearest Agricultural Bank. These days, not many people deposit money at banks, let alone rent a safe. The transaction was processed quickly, and soon the three of them followed the bank teller into the safe deposit area.

The clerk opened a safe with a key and said to the three people, "This is the safe you rented. Now please set a password. It is recommended to follow a clockwise-counterclockwise-clockwise pattern, and do it slowly. Once set, the password cannot be changed unless you return the safe. Please be aware of this."

After the reminder was given, the salesperson left the area. Grandma smiled at He Zhijun: "Zhijun should know how to set this kind of password. You and Jingyan should confirm the password, and you can set it. In the future, either Jingyan or you can come and get it. It will be convenient."

He Zhijun nodded in agreement. The two chatted for a while, confirmed the three-digit password, and He Zhijun set it up. He then called over a bank teller, who used a key to confirm the password. That was it. After the teller left, He Zhijun taught Jing Yan how to pick the lock.

After confirming that Jingyan had learned the technique, she was about to put the two jade bracelets and the property certificate she had brought into the safe, but her grandmother stopped her. She opened the small leather suitcase she had brought with her, and Jingyan was stunned. Although the suitcase was not large, it contained about ten boxes neatly arranged inside.

Grandma opened them one by one for her. There were jade carvings, jade necklaces, gemstone hairpins, hair ornaments, and so on. They all looked to be quite old. Finally, at the bottom of the box, there was a neat layer of small gold bars. They were not big, but they were very exquisite. The key point was that they were golden and looked very festive.

After showing her the items, Grandma took the box containing the bracelet from Jingyan and put it in the suitcase. She then placed the property certificate on top, closed the suitcase, and locked all the wealth inside.

Grandma handed the suitcase to Jingyan: "These are all yours, put them in."

Jingyan's throat went dry for a moment: "Grandma, these are too precious. Not to mention anything else, that layer of gold alone is incredibly valuable. You're giving them all to me? I feel like I've suddenly become rich."

He Zhijun chuckled and ruffled her hair, took the box from her hand, put it in the safe, locked it, and then put the key in her hand, saying, "Come back to reality. These things have made you so happy? Surely not. Is my wife that fragile?"

Jingyan's head bobbed from being petted like a dog, and she slapped his hand away in annoyance. The slap calmed her down considerably. The three walked out of the bank, and Jingyan took her grandmother's arm, whispering in her ear:

"Grandma, you have so many nice things. Were you a pampered young lady before? Like the kind in those stories, who ate many dishes every day and changed their clothes every day?"

Grandma was amused by her description and said gently, "When I was a child, my family was quite wealthy. I wouldn't say we lived in luxury, but every meal was a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, at least six dishes and a soup. Our clothes were also always fashionable."

When I grew up, I went to a girls' school. My father originally wanted to send me abroad to study, but my mother couldn't bear to part with me, so I didn't go abroad. Fortunately, I didn't go abroad, which gave me the opportunity to meet your grandfather.

However, as the War of Resistance against Japan broke out, my father sold off a lot of our family's properties to support the war effort. I'll tell you secretly, my father not only provided supplies to the Communist Party, but the Kuomintang also came to our house to collect silver dollars to buy military equipment.

However, my father was low-key and simple-minded back then. The sale of his assets was just to protect himself. You wouldn't believe it, but back then in Shanghai, all the well-known business tycoons were being targeted by various forces.

My father was quick to seize the opportunity. He sold off some of his businesses and gave the money away, which neither flaunted his wealth nor prevented him from secretly confronting the Japanese. However, he was also afraid that if this was publicized, it would invite further persecution from the Japanese, so he always did it in secret.

Later, your grandfather joined the Communist Party, and my father used most of the family fortune to support him. As a result, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, our family was labeled as "red capitalists." In addition, your grandfather's military rank only saved the whole family during the major political movements. We hid in a sanatorium to avoid the bloodshed and turmoil outside.

You might think this stuff is valuable now, but it was nothing to my family back then. But as long as my family could live a stable life, it was all worth it.