Chapter 498 - 177: Married, He’s My Man
"He won’t be moving back," Mrs. Xie assured them.
"That’s not a given." Jie Jingjue glanced at Jie Jinghun, hesitated for a few seconds, and then asked, "What if Second Brother tries to emotionally blackmail you with the fact his birth mother died saving you?"
Mrs. Xie’s expression instantly turned grave. A bitter smile tugged at her lips, her face full of unspoken guilt. She took a breath and urged in a commanding tone, "Stop dawdling. Hurry up, sign it, and put your thumbprint on it."
Jie Jingjue grumbled, picked up the pen, signed, and applied his thumbprint.
Mrs. Xie said nothing more and turned to go back inside. Qin Mei watched her lonely-looking back. ’A life-saving debt is truly hard to repay, especially when that person died to save you.’
’Qin Mei was beginning to understand her mother-in-law’s intentions. For her to rush to divide the property and even draw up a formal document, it meant she wasn’t certain she wouldn’t eventually compromise and agree to let Jie Jingwei move back.’
The west wing went to Jie Jingchen, the east wing to Jie Jinghun, and the south wing to Jie Jingjue. Only the north wing remained. It had three rooms: a main hall, a room for her parents-in-law, and one spare room.
’The document didn’t specify who would get the north wing. Qin Mei guessed it would ultimately be given to Jie Jingwei.’
Jie Jingchen reached out and took Qin Mei’s hand. "Don’t overthink it."
Qin Mei froze for a second, then turned her head to meet Jie Jingchen’s worried gaze. A smile spread across her lips. "Jie Jingsi, I want to go see Old Zhang."
"Okay, I’ll take you." Jie Jingchen held Qin Mei’s hand and first went inside to get a flashlight. Then he got on his bicycle and rode with Qin Mei to Old Zhang’s house.
The two of them stopped by a local grocer’s to buy some nutritious food suitable for the elderly.
The main gate to Old Zhang’s house was open. To be more precise, only one half of the gate was barely hanging on, while the other half had already gloriously sacrificed itself.
Qin Mei was startled. ’Someone’s making trouble for Old Zhang,’ she thought. ’Their lives are hard enough as it is. How could someone be so cruel as to make things even worse for them? It’s outrageous!’
’In these difficult times, even if people won’t offer a helping hand, the least they could do is not kick them while they’re down.’
"Jie Jingsi, stop the bike!" Qin Mei patted the back of Jie Jingchen’s hand, her eyes filled with worry.
Jie Jingchen stopped the bicycle, and Qin Mei jumped right off the back seat. Just as she was about to rush inside, a neighbor, an older woman, came out and stopped her.
"Young lady," the older woman called out to Qin Mei.
Qin Mei ignored her, but the woman grabbed her arm.
Qin Mei’s eyes darkened, and her voice went cold. "Let go."
"Young lady, don’t go in," the woman said, refusing to let go of Qin Mei’s wrist.
Jie Jingchen threw the bicycle aside. His eyes were grim, and a savage aura exploded from him. "Let her go."
Jie Jingchen’s presence was too terrifying. The woman immediately let go of Qin Mei and said hurriedly, "Young lady, Old Zhang’s son..."
Qin Mei sprinted inside as if she were running a hundred-meter dash. The woman’s voice cut off abruptly. Jie Jingchen strode in after her.
The already humble room was in a complete mess.
Grandpa Zhang sat in his wheelchair, his wrinkled face a mask of anger and helplessness. Grandma Hua stood behind him, wiping away tears. There was also a rough-looking man of about thirty in the room.
"Give me money! Give me money!" the rough-looking man roared, lifting a table to smash it.
"Zhang Haoyuan!" Grandpa Zhang yelled furiously.
"Mom, give me money! Hurry up and give it to me!" Zhang Haoyuan’s eyes were bloodshot. The only thing he could see was money.
"Haoyuan! Your father and I have no more money to give you," Grandma Hua sobbed.
"If you have no money, then figure out a way to earn some! Go up the mountain and gather herbs! That’s right, gather herbs and sell them on the black market. You can get a lot of money for them," Zhang Haoyuan said, nearly hysterical.
"Look at your father’s condition! He can’t even stand! How is he supposed to go up the mountain to gather herbs?" Grandma Hua cried, grief-stricken.
"If he can’t stand, then you can push him up the mountain! I don’t care! Just get me the money!" Zhang Haoyuan rushed toward the elderly couple and violently shook the wheelchair. "You old bastard! You have money for a wheelchair but no money for me!"
"You animal!" Grandpa Zhang cursed. He felt as if his son was about to shake his old bones apart.
Just then, a figure strode in and sent the brutish Zhang Haoyuan flying to the ground with a single kick.
"ARGH!" Zhang Haoyuan cried out in pain. He was sprawled pathetically on the floor. He cursed viciously, "Which blind son of a bitch dares to kick me?"
A sinister glint flashed in Jie Jingchen’s eyes. He raised his foot and kicked Zhang Haoyuan heavily again.
"ARGH!" Zhang Haoyuan let out another wretched scream. He grabbed a piece of wood from the floor, scrambled up, and swung it viciously at Jie Jingchen.
Jie Jingchen dodged Zhang Haoyuan’s attack and kicked out at him again. This time, Jie Jingchen gave him no chance to fight back, kicking him several more times until he was lying on the ground, unable to get up.