Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Jing Si, your Granny is calling for you,” Qin Mei said, giving Jie Jingchen a little push. ’Qin Xiang was really something else for turning Granny down so bluntly.’

”Let her shout,” Jie Jingchen said, turning a deaf ear.

”From the looks of it, she’s not going to stop until you go out,” Qin Mei reminded him.

”Ignore her,” Jie Jingchen said nonchalantly, letting Granny shout. Besides, it wouldn’t be his throat getting hoarse later.

”If you ignore her, the nosy neighbors will be showing up at our door to ’check on things’ any minute now.” Qin Mei raised a hand to rub her brow. Thankfully, it wasn’t quitting time yet, so most people were at work. Only the retirees and the little kids who weren’t in school were home.

Jie Jingchen fell silent. Qin Mei spoke again. ”You should still go out. Don’t let her keep shouting. It’s not right to disturb the neighbors.”

”Fine,” Jie Jingchen conceded. He reluctantly let go of Qin Mei, grasped her by the shoulders, and turned her to face him. Leaning down, he gave her red lips a quick peck before leaving, satisfied.

Qin Mei stared after his tall, straight back in a daze. She raised a hand to touch her lips, a blissful smile shining in her eyes.

”Jing Si! Jing—” Seeing Jie Jingchen emerge from the house with a frosty expression, Granny finally stopped shouting. When she saw he wasn’t followed by Qin Mei, she frowned and asked, ”Where’s your wife?”

”Granny, were you looking for me, or for my wife?” Jie Jingchen asked coldly.

”For your wife,” Granny said, then urged, ”Get your wife out here. I have something to ask her.”

Jie Jingchen was floored. She was looking for Qin Mei but had been yelling his name.

Jie Jingchen never paid any mind to Granny’s demands. He sat down in the rattan chair Qin Xiang had just vacated and crossed his legs. ”Whatever you want to ask, you can ask me directly.”

Granny shot Jie Jingchen a glare. ”I’m asking you? Would you even be able to answer?”

”Ask away,” Jie Jingchen said, the corner of his lip twitching into a cold, mocking smirk.

”Get your wife out here,” Granny insisted.

”No,” Jie Jingchen replied, his tone utterly defiant.

”You unfilial whelp! Are you getting her or not?” Granny snatched up an enamel mug, ready to hurl it at Jie Jingchen.

”Granny, I’m not Qin Xiang,” Jie Jingchen’s chilling voice cut through the air. His imposing presence was a clear warning: if she dared to throw that water on him, he’d throw it right back.

Granny lowered her hand. She was about to take a sip, but then saw the enamel mug only contained tea leaves. There was no water left—she’d splashed it all on Qin Xiang. She set the mug back down on the stone table and tugged at the hem of her clothes. ”Fine, if you won’t get her, I’ll call her myself. Fourth Wife of Jing!”

Seeing Granny start to shout for Qin Mei at the top of her lungs again, Jie Jingchen’s deep-set eyes darkened abruptly, flames of fury flickering within them. He slowly clenched his fists, fighting to suppress the urge to throttle his grandmother.

Qin Mei didn’t want to get involved, but Granny wasn’t about to let her off the hook. Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the house.

”Fourth Wife of Jing, come here. Come and chat with Granny for a bit.” For once, Granny actually showed Qin Mei a kind and pleasant face.

Qin Mei’s heart skipped a beat. ’She probably wants to borrow money,’ she suspected. ’Jie Jingchen turned her down last night, and I’d be too embarrassed to refuse. I’ve already got a plan, though. If Granny really asks to borrow money, I’ll just generously hand her an IOU in return.’

When Jie Jingchen saw Qin Mei come out, he stood up from the rattan chair. He went to meet her, took her hand, and helped her sit down in the chair he’d just left. Then he stood behind her and began to thoughtfully massage her shoulders.

Watching her grandson dote on his wife, Granny shot Jie Jingchen a contemptuous glare. ’This grandson of hers is a lost cause.’

”Granny, did you need me for something?” Qin Mei asked, looking at the old woman with a hint of uncertainty.

Granny cleared her throat and coughed. ”Fourth Wife of Jing! Did your family raise a child bride-to-be for your younger brother?”

’Oh, so it’s about my younger brother, not about borrowing money.’ Relieved, Qin Mei smiled and replied with a perfectly straight face, ”We did. Not just for my younger brother, either. My other brothers each have one, too.”

At this, Granny’s mouth twitched, her eyes wide with disbelief. From her perspective, raising even one child bride-to-be was impressive enough; the Qin family had actually raised several. ”Isn’t your Qin family supposed to be poor? How could you afford to raise several child brides-to-be?”

”It’s precisely because we’re poor that we raised them. And it proves my parents were right to plan for a rainy day. All of my older brothers were able to get married. My younger brother is just a bit rebellious. I guess after spending so long in the army, he’s come to dislike outdated customs like this and doesn’t want to marry the girl our parents raised for him.” Qin Mei paused, then looked at Granny with an expression full of gratitude.

Qin Mei continued gratefully, ”Granny, I want to thank you on behalf of my parents. If you hadn’t pressured my younger brother, he wouldn’t have given in to our parents so quickly. My parents were at their wits’ end about his child bride-to-be. But now, thanks to all your pressure, he’s finally agreed to it.”