Chapter 396 - 143: Grandpa and Granny Move Out
Xu Chunyan said nothing. Qin Mei’s words had been too shocking. Since Granny and Grandpa weren’t saying anything, she decided not to stick her neck out. She just took her son and headed home.
Jie Jingjue let out a hearty laugh. He spoke, half-joking and half-serious, "Fourth Sister-in-law, I’m afraid to die. Seeing as we have no problems between us, could you please show some mercy and spare my life?"
Qin Mei gave him a strained smile. "Don’t worry. I’m not that extreme. Murder is against the law, and I’m a law-abiding citizen. I would never do anything illegal."
"..." Everyone was speechless. ’That’s not what she was saying just a moment ago.’
"Hahaha, right, right, right! Murder is against the law. We’re all law-abiding citizens here. We’d never do anything illegal," Jie Jingjue said, playing along with a laugh.
Jie Jingchen walked up to Qin Mei and naturally raised a hand to smooth the wind-tousled strands of hair from her forehead.
"Jie Jingsi." Qin Mei looked up, gazing at his impossibly handsome face. "I was just talking before. As long as no one drives me crazy, I’m not that unhinged."
Jie Jingchen was good at catching the main point. The phrase "drive me crazy" made him frown slightly. He gently ruffled her hair. "I’m here. No one will hurt you, not even my parents."
Qin Mei was a little touched. She looked at the serious, earnest Jie Jingchen. It was a promise, a guarantee. But Qin Mei didn’t fully believe it. ’A man’s words are nothing but lies.’
Her relationship with Jie Jingchen hadn’t yet reached the point of wholehearted trust.
Qin Mei turned her head to glance at the neighbors behind them. After a few seconds of thought, her eyes returned to Jie Jingchen. "I can accept you being a dutiful son, but I can’t accept blind filial piety."
A man with blind filial piety could truly be the death of his wife, especially in this era with its many constraints on women.
When a wife and her mother-in-law had a conflict, such a man would, without asking why or caring who was right or wrong, single-mindedly target his wife. He would only see things from his mother’s perspective, never his wife’s.
Qin Mei felt fortunate that Qiao Yanqiu was a reasonable mother-in-law who was also particularly fond of her. If she had been stuck with a tyrannical and unreasonable one, she would have abandoned Jie Jingchen and run for the hills without a second thought.
She had no desire to spend her days in a battle of wits with her mother-in-law. As for anyone else, she was more than happy to play their game.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, don’t worry. My fourth brother is nothing like our dad. Blind filial piety? That will absolutely never happen with him," Jie Jingjue chimed in.
Hearing this, the neighbors all got up and quietly took their leave. They had no interest in hearing about Director Jie’s past deeds. Although everyone was tacitly aware, they all knew it was better to not get involved. Knowing too much would do them no good.
Some of the neighbors still wanted to curry favor with Director Jie, hoping he would arrange factory jobs for their children or grandchildren. The alternative was being sent to the countryside as an "educated youth," and they didn’t want their families sent to poor, undeveloped regions.
Qin Mei watched the neighbors leave and asked in confusion, "Why is everyone going?"
"They have to go home and make dinner." Jie Jingchen took Qin Mei’s hand. "Let’s go. We’ll head home too."
Qin Mei didn’t refuse. She let Jie Jingchen lead her by the hand, falling into step beside him.
"Isn’t Jing Wu coming home?" Qin Mei asked, noticing that Jie Jingjue hadn’t followed them and was instead sitting down under a tree.
"He’s waiting for Xiao Wang," Jie Jingchen replied.
"Xiao Wang?" The name didn’t ring a bell for a moment, and Qin Mei realized she’d forgotten who he was.
"Dad’s driver," Jie Jingchen said.
"Oh." Qin Mei murmured in acknowledgment and didn’t press further. ’It’s less that Jing Wu is waiting for Xiao Wang and more that he’s waiting for the car. He only ever uses it to chauffeur family around or to drive around and show off.’
Back at home, Qin Mei went to their room while Jie Jingchen headed to the kitchen.
When Jie Jingchen saw Qin Xiang draining rice, his eyes narrowed slightly. He asked teasingly, "Weren’t you going to teach Meimei how to cook?"
Qin Xiang didn’t even glance at Jie Jingchen. "She’s hopeless at cooking. I’ve given up."
Jie Jingchen was surprised. He was familiar with Qin Xiang’s stubborn streak; he wouldn’t give up so easily. There had to be a reason. "And who was it that said, ’If she’s not good at it, she’ll get the hang of it after a few more tries’? What did she do to make you give up so quickly?"
Qin Xiang shot Jie Jingchen a sidelong glance, then picked up the draining basket and carefully poured the rice into a pot to steam.
’She’s the little sister I’ve doted on since we were kids. I have to keep spoiling her, no matter what. So what if she can’t cook? As long as she has money and ration tickets, it’ll be fine.’ Qin Xiang had already thought it all out. When he got back to his unit, he would talk it over with his three other brothers. The four of them would each send their little sister ten yuan a month.
Qin Xiang had already washed the heavy pot and relit the honeycomb briquette stove, placing an aluminum kettle on top to boil water.
Seeing that the water in the aluminum kettle was boiling, Qin Xiang said to Jie Jingchen, "The water’s ready. Go get the thermos and fill it."
Qin Xiang had already cleaned up the war zone, so Jie Jingchen didn’t notice anything amiss. He did as Qin Xiang said, leaving the kitchen and heading to Jing Qi’s room to get the thermos. He saw Jing Qi sitting at her desk, studying diligently. Not wanting to disturb her, he just picked up the thermos and left the room.
Jie Jingshan opened her mouth to call out to him, but Jie Jingchen had already closed the door. The word caught in her throat. A flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes before she lowered her head and went back to her studies.
After filling the thermos, Jie Jingchen brought it back to the room. He still didn’t disturb Jing Qi, quietly slipping out and heading to the kitchen to help Qin Xiang cook.
Qin Xiang fully embraced his role as head chef. Aside from doing the stir-frying himself, he relentlessly ordered Jie Jingchen to do this and that.
When Qin Mei came out of her room, she saw Grandpa and Granny emerging from theirs, carrying cloth-wrapped bundles.
"Grandpa, Granny, let me take those bundles." Xu Chunyan led Jie You over to them and took the heavy bundles from their hands. They were so heavy! Xu Chunyan was curious. ’What in the world is packed in here?’
The bundles hadn’t been this heavy when Grandpa and Granny moved in.
Xu Chunyan thought about calling for help, but then changed her mind. ’This is my chance to make a good impression. How can I pass this opportunity to someone else? Besides, I only have to get them to the main gate.’
Xu Chunyan gritted her teeth and tried to sling the bundle over her shoulder, but it was too heavy, and she failed.
"Second Daughter-in-law, it’s too heavy. Just call Jing Wu," Grandpa said.
"No need, I can manage." Xu Chunyan tried a few more times and failed again. Still, she wouldn’t give up. ’If I keep trying this hard, I’m sure to move them.’
Granny, however, spoke with disdain. "Second Daughter-in-law, what’s the matter with you? This bundle isn’t even that heavy. How can you be so weak?"
Xu Chunyan was stunned for a moment. ’That damned old hag! It’s one thing that she doesn’t feel bad for me, but to look down on me for being weak? I’m a teacher, an educator, not some village woman who does manual labor for work points.’
She was the one who had invited them. She’d had the clout to invite them but not the power to make them leave. Especially after Granny had borrowed money from her, she couldn’t wait for them to go back home. If they had actually stayed for a whole month, who knows how much more money Granny would have borrowed. Now, finally, they were leaving. She was ecstatic, but in front of them, she had to feign reluctance.
"Granny, I..."
"That’s enough! It’s just one damn thing after another all day long. Old man, give her a hand," Granny interrupted Xu Chunyan impatiently.
Her mood was currently terrible. ’They had clearly agreed to let us stay for a month, but the eldest daughter-in-law went back on her word. She didn’t kick us out directly, but she egged on the eldest son to do it. It makes me furious!’
’The eldest son is unfilial, his wife is unfilial, the children he had with Zhang Hongyan are unfilial, and the children he had with Qiao Yanqiu are unfilial too! The eldest son’s entire family is a pack of ungrateful wretches!’
’He married a wife and forgot his own mother! It’s infuriating!’
’She’d made a scene at the hospital, accusing Qiao Yanqiu of being an unworthy doctor and unfilial to her own in-laws, but not a single person had spoken up for her. She’d been like a buffoon, a complete and utter joke. It was so humiliating.’
’She dared to cause a ruckus at Qiao Yanqiu’s hospital, but she didn’t dare make trouble at the machinery factory. She wouldn’t hesitate to ruin her eldest daughter-in-law’s reputation, but she would never do the same to her eldest son.’
’And in the very end, faced with her eldest son’s firm stance, she had no choice but to move back.’
’And it was all because of that unfilial grandson, Jing Si! Tattling, always tattling, that’s all he knows how to do. How old is he, still running to his mommy to complain about every little thing?’