Chapter 114 - 52: Jie Jingchen, I Have a Feeling You’ll Capsize in a Gutter
He was a widower with three children, and his family wasn’t as well-off as hers. By all accounts, he wasn’t good enough for her, yet she married him without hesitation.
She bore him children and treated his three kids as her own. After giving so much, she received little in return.
When they got home, the couple went straight to Jie Jingchen’s room to see Qin Mei.
"Dad, Mom," Qin Mei said. She felt a little guilty under Mr. Xie’s sharp gaze.
’On second thought, what do I have to feel guilty about? It wasn’t my idea; it was his son’s. Jie Jingchen is the mastermind; I’m not even an accomplice. At most, I just went along with him.’ With that thought, Qin Mei composed herself.
"Xiao Mei, are you feeling better?" Mrs. Xie asked with concern.
Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingchen. She wasn’t sure if her mother-in-law had told her father-in-law the truth, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to answer.
"Mom, my wife is tired," Jie Jingchen said, essentially asking them to leave.
’Was that what I meant?’ Qin Mei’s mouth twitched.
"Xiao Mei, this is some compensation from your father," Mrs. Xie said, taking a thick envelope from her purse and stuffing it into Qin Mei’s hand.
Qin Mei was completely baffled. ’Did my mother-in-law not tell him the truth? Does my father-in-law really believe I had a miscarriage? And he isn’t suspicious about the baby?’
Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingchen again. He nodded silently. ’Is he telling me to accept it without feeling guilty? Is that what he means?’
"Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom," Qin Mei said.
Mr. Xie hadn’t said a word since entering their room. If Qin Mei’s miscarriage had been real, he could have offered a few words of comfort and promised to make Jing Er and his wife give them a satisfactory explanation. But Qin Mei’s miscarriage was fake.
Yan Qiu had told him not to interfere, and he was grateful for her understanding. With Jing Er and Jing Si, he couldn’t choose between the palm and the back of his hand; it was a difficult situation for him to handle.
After her in-laws left, Qin Mei opened the envelope. Inside were crisp, new ten-yuan notes. Qin Mei counted them—a thousand yuan.
"Jie Jingchen, it’s a thousand yuan!" Qin Mei said, her voice filled with excitement.
"You like money?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"I do," Qin Mei answered honestly, happily putting the money away.
’You give a thousand, he gives a thousand... Before long, I’ll be a "ten-thousandaire." What does it even mean to be a ten-thousandaire in this day and age?’
"Hehe," Qin Mei couldn’t help but laugh. ’Save money, save money, I have to work hard and save money.’
’This way, I’ll have start-up capital before the economic reforms and opening-up policies are announced.’
Jie Jingchen watched her, speechless. He hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help asking, "What are you saving money for?"
Qin Mei shot him a look. "To get rich."
Jie Jingchen was completely speechless. He watched as Qin Mei hugged the box of money, gave it a kiss, then put it in the cabinet and locked it.
"Aside from the Qin family, isn’t the Jie Family well-off enough for you?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"The Jie Family is well-off, but that has nothing to do with me," Qin Mei blurted out. Seeing Jie Jingchen’s face darken instantly, she thought for a moment and added, "You have many siblings, so you won’t inherit much."
Crude, but true. Jie Jingchen didn’t argue.
’Then Qin Mei thought of the Qiao Family. Right, Jing Qi is the Qiao Family’s heir. He even changed his surname for it.’
Since Jie Jingchen had mentioned the Qin family, Qin Mei couldn’t help but ask, "Jie Jingchen, is the Qin family well-off?"
Jie Jingchen’s eyes flickered. He furrowed his brow and thought for a few seconds. "Average."
"Average?" Qin Mei tilted her head and thought. ’In this era, "average" isn’t bad. As long as your family’s political background is clean, it’s not hard to feed and clothe yourself with hard work. But getting rich requires guts and a quick mind.’
’Fortune favors the bold, while the timid starve.’
"Jie Jingchen, I promise you, I will absolutely not drain our family’s resources to prop up my own," Qin Mei pledged.
’I don’t have the original owner’s memories, so I have no idea what the Qin family is like. The preference for sons over daughters is strong in this era. The original owner was a daughter who married into the well-off Jie Family. Who knows if her family will show up on our doorstep asking for help?’
’Thinking of Xu Chunyan’s family, I have to be careful.’
The thought of the Jie Family providing aid to the Qin family made the corner of Jie Jingchen’s thin lips twitch. "You’re overthinking things," he said, his voice deep.
Qin Mei stared at him, her expression serious. "I have to make my position clear and show where my loyalties lie. That’s the only way I won’t be looked down on."
"No one will look down on you," Jie Jingchen said, raising a hand to rub the bridge of his nose.
Qin Mei didn’t reply. It was enough that he understood her position.
Jie Jingchen took off his jacket, flopped onto the bed, hugged a pillow, and said in a muffled voice, "Qin Mei, give me some acupuncture."
Qin Mei was stunned. She looked at Jie Jingchen lying on the bed, her eyes flickering. ’Considering what happened today, he must have been enduring it all with sheer willpower.’
’Jie Jingchen is becoming a bit dependent on acupuncture,’ Qin Mei realized. ’That’s not a good sign.’
’I can’t put off treating his internal injuries any longer. My original plan was to start after Jie Jingshan’s leg was mostly healed, but it looks like I’ll have to treat them both at the same time now.’
’Now that we’re back at the Jie residence, there are too many chaotic things going on. There’s no way to rest and recuperate properly.’
As she inserted the needles, Qin Mei asked tentatively, "Jie Jingchen, are you and your older sister close?"
"We are," Jie Jingchen answered without hesitation.
’I figured they were close. If they weren’t, Jie Jingchen wouldn’t have just dumped me on his older sister, and she wouldn’t have taken me in.’
"Jie Jingchen, do you miss your older sister?" Qin Mei asked again.
Jie Jingchen turned his head, his deep, unfathomable eyes glinting as he looked at her. "What are you getting at?"
Qin Mei met that profound, unreadable gaze, gathered her courage, and said, "Jie Jingchen, I miss Sis. Let’s take Jing Qi and go to her house."
"A cripple and an invalid—are you sure my sister’s in-laws will welcome us?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"It doesn’t matter if the Sun Family welcomes us. As long as your sister does, that’s enough," Qin Mei said. ’I lived with Jie Jingling for half a year. She’s a good person and easy to get along with.’
"We’ll be staying at the Sun Family’s house. Are you sure it doesn’t matter if they welcome us or not?" Jie Jingchen asked.
Qin Mei was at a loss for words. They would indeed be staying with the Sun Family. They were visiting relatives, not educated youths, so the educated youth commune wouldn’t let them stay over.
’Then she thought about the Sun Family’s eldest daughter-in-law, who was no easy character. When she had stayed with the Sun Family for six months, Jie Jingchen had given them ten yuan a month for her food. Sun’s mother had been very warm toward her, but the eldest daughter-in-law had a real problem with her.’
’The Sun Family wasn’t exactly a peaceful household. Was it really a good idea to take Jie Jingchen there to recover?’
’Actually, her sights weren’t set on the Sun Family, but on the deep mountain near Dazhuang Village. The depths of that dense forest were dangerous, but they also held many precious medicinal herbs.’
"Qin Mei, I’m thin-skinned," Jie Jingchen said out of the blue. The implication was clear: he didn’t want to have to walk on eggshells around the Sun Family, and he certainly didn’t want to subject Jing Qi to that as well.
"Jie Jingchen, what’s that supposed to mean?" Qin Mei snapped. "You’re thin-skinned, so I’m thick-skinned? Jie Jingchen, I’m the one who lost my memory, not you! You’re the one who randomly dumped me, injured, on your sister for six whole months. Now that you’re hurt and need someone to look after you, you suddenly remember I exist? Hmph! I’ve never met anyone as selfish as you."
She had amnesia. Whatever schemes she had plotted against him, she’d forgotten them completely. Jie Jingchen found it impossible to argue with her. He clenched his left fist, covering his mouth with it as he coughed lightly. "Your brother was on a mission, and I had to leave for one too," he explained. "You had hit your head and were in a coma. Your situation was unusual, and I couldn’t find anyone suitable to look after you on such short notice. My only choice was to ask my sister for help."
’The explanation was perfectly reasonable. If I keep making a fuss, I’ll just look unreasonable. In extraordinary times, you use whatever resources you have.’
"My situation was unusual?" Qin Mei frowned. ’Is hitting my head and falling into a coma really that unusual? I don’t think so.’ "The base has family quarters, and the military wives are all kind-hearted. I must have made some good friends among them. If you had offered to pay them for their trouble, I’m sure they would have been happy to look after me. Was it really necessary to go so far afield for help when there were options right there?"