Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 781 - 655: Mr. Zhang Probes for Answers 1

Quite a few people were unable to sleep that night. Without needing his wife to say anything, Mr. Zhang, the head of the household, could see some signs. How his eldest son and daughter-in-law used to get along wasn’t clear until now.

Today, with the five children gathered around, the difference became apparent. While others showed affection, his worthless son didn’t even bother to help his wife with a dish.

With fewer people now, as his two younger sons had left, Mr. Zhang gave his wife a look. Seeing her motion to the eldest daughter-in-law and the children to go to the East Wing, he signaled his eldest son to follow him to the room.

Once inside the bedroom, Zhang Guofu saw his father actually lighting up a pipe. He hurriedly asked, "Dad, is there something bothering you?"

Mr. Zhang gestured for him to sit down. After taking a few puffs, he stopped, and silently gazed at Zhang Guofu with melancholy.

"Dad?" Zhang Guofu looked at him uneasily.

Mr. Zhang almost burst into laughter seeing this. Couldn’t handle the youngest, but this boy wouldn’t hide anything from him?

"Dad?"

Mr. Zhang sighed deeply and slowly lamented, "Time flies fast. When we separated the families, your mother said there would be distance with the sons, but I said no. I have no great abilities in my life, but I raised my three sons well. But now... sigh..."

Zhang Guofu was startled by his father’s long sigh. What had he done to sadden his father? He thought carefully, and apart from his wife’s behavior, there seemed to be nothing else...

Seeing the concern in his son’s eyes, Mr. Zhang felt a bit guilty, knowing that the words he was about to say might make his son feel wronged, but he had to address it. He couldn’t let his wife lose sleep over these matters all the time.

"You’ve really distanced yourself from me. Son, in the past, you liked to discuss things with me when you had issues, but now I have to hear about your matters from others..."

Zhang Guofu, frightened, shook his head and hands repeatedly, "Dad, what did someone say? You have to let me explain."

"Explain what? I asked your two brothers, and they are also hiding things from me. Have I really become a useless old man to you three brothers...?"

Zhang Guofu was shocked, his mouth agape, "Dad?"

Mr. Zhang sighed again, studying his eldest son for a moment, "My eldest son is indeed becoming more successful, no wonder there’s talk of women wanting to enter the Zhang family."

Now Zhang Guofu understood what his father meant and was both relieved and anxious. He hurriedly said, "Dad, don’t listen to those wild rumors. I have no such intentions."

"Lately, there have been quite a few families wanting to matchmake for Xi Zi. Are you aware of this?"

"Mom mentioned it. You see, Xi Zi is this old now, and as his father, I know my boundaries. You can rest assured. I really don’t..."

Mr. Zhang interrupted him with a hand gesture, "You didn’t understand what I meant. I trust my son is not someone who gains a little power and forgets who he is."

Zhang Guofu looked bewildered at his father.

"Have you thought about it? What else do these people see in Xi Zi besides him? The county has already noticed this; what about the provincial city?"

Mr. Zhang squinted, took a puff of smoke, and slowly exhaled, "I remember having drinks with your Uncle Dashan once. He told me some things. He said as long as the two of you brothers did not get involved with women problems, with Xiao Wu and Jiao Jiao around, no one would dare to pin any false labels on you."

"And your Uncle Zuo, he noticed women flocking around your second brother. He knows your brother has no such intentions, yet he privately reminded him not to mess up with women. He said that some women might be sent by your Uncle Zhou’s opponents to get a handle on you two brothers. Once they have something on you, wouldn’t that force Xiao Wu to take action?"

After finishing, Mr. Zhang shook his head towards his eldest son, silently continuing to smoke his pipe. He didn’t believe that after saying all this, his eldest son could remain unaffected.

With his three sons, the eldest always protected his younger brothers, especially Xiao Wu, the youngest. Mr. Zhang didn’t believe that after saying all this, his eldest son would dare have any flirtatious thoughts!

Zuo Lin’s words had been mentioned briefly by his second brother before to Zhang Guofu. At the time, he didn’t take it to heart. Being just a grain seller and never skimming a single grain from the government, he didn’t think he could cause any trouble for his younger brother.

But now, seeing his father’s expression, Zhang Guofu seemed to understand that things weren’t as simple as he thought! Women had always seemed to like him, but not as much in the past year or two.

Before marriage, there were many girls interested in him. He was young back then. After getting married and having children, even young widows and other women found him appealing because his family could eat well. But now? The women interested in him seemed to be of a higher class. Could he really be worth giving up their reputation to fight to be a stepmother?

The more he thought about it, the more it scared him. Zhang Guofu recalled a certain smiling face and frowned deeply. Even if he didn’t plan to do anything with her, being toyed with by a woman like this just didn’t sit right with him.

Mr. Zhang kept a careful eye on his eldest son from the corner of his eye. Seeing his face gradually turn serious, with furrowed brows, a string in his heart pulled tighter.

Casually, he continued, "Speak, you can’t hide it from me. I have been making regular visits to your school at my age, do you think I can’t see anything?"

Zhang Guofu truly didn’t intend to hide it from his father. If he couldn’t trust his own parents, who else could he trust in this world? After nodding, he opened the door slightly and peeked outside, then climbed onto the bed to check outside the window.

Mr. Zhang didn’t bother to laugh at him this time. After he settled back down, he tapped his long smoking pipe, "Don’t be in a hurry, take your time to say it. If there’s any issue, sort it out while Xiao Wu is here."

Zhang Guofu shook his head, "There’s nothing that cannot be solved. Dad, I need to tell you something. Don’t worry, it’s not something major, I’m careful with what I do."

Mr. Zhang didn’t quite agree. From that sneaky behavior just now, he didn’t believe it. However, now, he couldn’t discourage the child. He needed him to speak honestly, only then could he guide him properly. Blabbering nonsense was for fools!

"Hmm. I trust the character of my own son. Don’t be nervous, take your time to speak."

Zhang Guofu, encouraged by his father’s words, smiled happily and began softly, "Dad, besides those few women you’ve noticed, there really is a girl who just won’t leave me alone..."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhang glanced at his son’s smiling face, feeling the urge to wield his long pipe. He clutched the pipe, nodded with a smile, and encouraged him to continue.

"...At first, she wrote to me every couple of days, watching me whenever I left the house. I even suspected she wasn’t attending classes, just watching me. Later, when I realized something was wrong, I refused to accept her letters. She probably feared the letters would be returned and opened by others, so she stopped writing letters, opting to slip notes to me at the canteen. I just pretended not to see them and went about my way..."

Mr. Zhang was secretly anxious, feeling the urge to smack this stupid child. Keeping such a big thing from him until now—if he didn’t bring it up tonight, would he ever mention it?