Chapter 156 - 66: Qin Mei, You Need to Push Yourself
"Aunt Zhang, you took money from my dad for this rooster," Jie Jingchen reminded her. Aunt Zhang had brought many live chickens and ducks from the countryside and was secretly selling them to the neighbors. She only wanted cash, no ration tickets, and since the birds were live, plenty of people were happy to buy them on the sly. The only one she had left was this rooster, which she then sold to his father.
’Aunt Zhang was quite the businesswoman, willing to make a buck off anyone. Wasn’t she worried someone would get jealous and report her for profiteering?’
Aunt Zhang’s breath hitched. Jie Jingchen was showing her no respect whatsoever. With a pained expression, she explained, "Jing Si, this rooster was raised by relatives back in the countryside. They asked me to help sell it in the city. You know how hard life is for farmers. Seeing them struggle, I just thought I should help in any way I can."
"My wife is recovering from a miscarriage. You sold all the hens to our neighbors but sold my father a rooster. Aunt Zhang, how very thoughtful of you," Jie Jingchen sneered.
"Jing Si, you’ve misunderstood. Where I’m from, when a daughter-in-law is in postpartum recovery, we always use rooster for soup. Jing Si, believe me, rooster is better than hen," Aunt Zhang said.
Jie Jingchen shot her a cold glance, the corners of his mouth lifting in a mocking sneer. "My wife is recovering from a miscarriage, yet instead of stewing the rooster, you wanted to raise it for a few days? Were you waiting for her recovery period to be over before cooking it? Aunt Zhang, your animosity toward my wife couldn’t be more obvious."
"I... I wasn’t targeting her. I didn’t know." Aunt Zhang felt that Jie Jingchen was deliberately trying to pick a fight.
"Didn’t know what? That my wife miscarried because Second Sister-in-law’s family came to the Jie Family residence to cause a scene? Aunt Zhang, you and Second Sister-in-law are as thick as thieves. For something this major, I refuse to believe she didn’t write to tell you." Jie Jingchen pressed his advantage, giving her no quarter.
Faced with Jie Jingchen’s aggressive questioning, Aunt Zhang was furious. "Jing Si, ever since you came back this time, I can clearly feel you’ve been deliberately targeting me. They all say, once a man gets married, he forgets his own mother..."
"Aunt Zhang, are you my mother?" Jie Jingchen cut her off, his piercing gaze leaving her no room to escape.
Aunt Zhang’s body stiffened abruptly, fear flickering in her eyes. "An analogy. I was just making an analogy."
"Even when making analogies, you should be clear about your own status," Jie Jingchen warned in a cold voice.
Aunt Zhang gritted her teeth, her hand tightening around the water ladle. ’Status again! What was wrong with her status? Even Jing Er and Jing San had to respectfully call her Aunt!’
"Jie Jingchen." Qin Mei’s voice rang out as she entered the kitchen. Sensing the tense, confrontational atmosphere, her cool gaze swept over Aunt Zhang and Hu Wan’er before finally landing on Jie Jingchen. "Is the medicine ready?"
"Almost." All the coldness vanished from Jie Jingchen’s expression. His eyes filled with a smile as he looked gently at Qin Mei.
Qin Mei stepped over the threshold, ignoring Aunt Zhang and Hu Wan’er as she went to Jie Jingchen’s side and crouched down.
"Here, this is good." Qin Mei stuffed a piece of sponge cake into Jie Jingchen’s mouth.
Jie Jingchen’s brow furrowed. He didn’t like sweets, but since Qin Mei had fed it to him, he didn’t spit it out. He chewed a few times and swallowed, but choked because he had eaten too quickly.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH." Jie Jingchen lightly pounded his chest.
"Choking?" Before the words were even out of Qin Mei’s mouth, Hu Wan’er snatched the water ladle from Aunt Zhang’s hand, scooped up some water from the jar, and ran over to Jie Jingchen.
"Fourth Brother Jing, drink this, quickly," Hu Wan’er said urgently.
’Fourth Brother Jing.’ The form of address displeased Qin Mei. ’Hu Wan’er was cousins with Jie Jingwei and Jie Jinghun, whom she called Second Cousin and Third Cousin. While she and Jie Jingchen weren’t blood-related, propriety dictated she call him Fourth Cousin. Instead, she had attached a character from his given name—Jing—and dropped the familial term for ’cousin,’ leaving the name deliberately intimate and ambiguous.’
’Hu Wan’er’s intentions toward Jie Jingchen were painfully obvious. She knew he was married, yet she still coveted him. This girl completely upended Qin Mei’s perception of women from this era.’
Qin Mei stood, took a step back, and ceded her spot to Hu Wan’er, allowing the girl to better "take care of" Jie Jingchen. She crossed her arms, a harmless-looking smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Hu Wan’er moved closer to Jie Jingchen, crouching down in the exact spot Qin Mei had just vacated. Qin Mei had tactfully made way for her, but she showed no gratitude. Her voice was delicate and coquettish, laced with seduction. "Fourth Brother Jing, don’t hurt yourself choking. Hurry and drink some water."
Jie Jingchen recovered from his choking. He glanced expressionlessly at Qin Mei. ’She actually moved aside for her.’ A foul mood began to quietly spread through him. He then turned to Hu Wan’er, his gaze icy enough to be lethal.
"Don’t come near me. My wife might get the wrong idea," Jie Jingchen said, his voice frigid and tinged with pent-up frustration.