Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”I don’t like the sight of her, so what? You have a problem with it?” Granny glared at Jie Jianjun. She didn’t tell the full truth; it involved her eldest son’s household, so she couldn’t just blurt it out. She hadn’t revealed a single word, not even to Jie Anlin.

’Mother doesn’t even like Zhang Hongyan, so how could she possibly like Zhang Hongying? She wanted to kick her out ages ago, but Eldest Sister-in-law protected her. Mother couldn’t afford to offend Eldest Sister-in-law, so she could only endure it.’

’She’d wanted to get rid of the woman for over twenty years, and now she was suddenly gone. There had to be a hidden reason. Even if Mother didn’t say it, he could guess. Zhang Hongying’s feelings for Eldest Brother were as plain as day. For Mother to kick her out and for Eldest Sister-in-law not to protect her... what did that mean? It meant Zhang Hongying had lost her patience and made a move on Eldest Brother.’

”No,” Jie Jianjun said, rubbing his nose. Since his mother wouldn’t say, he didn’t dare press the issue.

”Jing Si, you still haven’t answered my question.” Granny stared at Jie Jingchen, looking as if she demanded a reasonable explanation from him.

”Second Uncle said hedonism is a bad thing,” Jie Jingchen said, looking at Jie Jianjun with a half-smile.

Jie Jianjun felt deeply wronged. ”When did I say that?”

”Just now,” Jie Jingchen replied.

Jie Jianjun’s scalp tingled. ’He had said it, but that wasn’t what he meant!’ ”Weren’t your maternal grandparents going to arrange for some maids to come take care of Granny and Grandpa? How come we haven’t seen them yet?”

”Once Granny and Grandpa move back, and your family moves out, my maternal grandparents will make the arrangements,” Jie Jingchen said.

Jie Jianjun fell silent. ’What could he say? Money talks.’

”Your Grandpa and I don’t want strangers taking care of us,” Granny refused. She wanted her own sons and daughters-in-law to care for them.

”They’re strangers at first, but they’ll become like family after living here for a while,” Jie Jingchen said.

”Without blood ties, they can’t become family. Besides, I could never get used to it.” Granny waved her hand dismissively, a look of disdain on her face.

”You’ll get used to it eventually.” Jie Jingchen didn’t compromise.

”I said, I can’t get used to it! Jing Si, are you arguing with me like this because you want to send me to an early grave?” Granny roared.

”Jing Si, do you really dislike your Granny and Grandpa that much?” Jie Jianjun asked coldly.

”I’m not the only one who can’t stand them. Ever since Grandpa and Granny moved in, Third Brother took Third Sister-in-law and went back to live at his mother-in-law’s place. Do you think that couple likes having them here? And then there’s Second Brother, who went on a business trip and still hasn’t come back. Do you think he likes having them here?” Jie Jingchen didn’t deny it, admitting it freely and not forgetting to drag Jie Jingwei and Jie Jinghun into it.

Jie Jinghun truly couldn’t stand them, so Granny had nothing to say about that. But Jie Jingwei’s situation was different. ”Your Second Brother’s business trip is for work.”

”Is it really such a coincidence? You and Grandpa move in, and Second Brother gets sent on a business trip. Granny, Second Brother is deliberately avoiding you. You drove their mother to her death, and you still expect them to be filial? Is that even possible? There’s no such free lunch in this world,” Jie Jingchen said irresponsibly.

Granny became agitated and roared, ”I didn’t drive their mother to her death! She died saving your mother!”

Jie Jingchen didn’t respond. Granny had said the same thing countless times; arguing about who was right or wrong was pointless.

Seeing the situation, Jie Jianjun quickly changed the subject. ”Jing Si, you’re overthinking it. This is purely a coincidence. I’m the one who arranged for Jing Er’s business trip.”

”Granny, did you hear that? Second Uncle really went to great lengths. He was worried you and Grandpa would clash with Second Brother after moving in, so he arranged for Second Brother’s business trip ahead of time to prevent any conflict between you.” Jie Jingchen deliberately twisted Jie Jianjun’s words.

Jie Jianjun was stunned. ’Is that what I meant?’

He was desperate to explain himself, but Granny beat him to it. ”Second Son, this nephew of yours has a sharp tongue! He often argues with me until I’m seeing red. You should save your breath. You’re not as eloquent as him, and you’re not as quick-witted either. You can’t win against him. Forget it. You and An Lin should head home for now. Tell your wife to tidy up my and your father’s room. Maybe in a few days, he’ll send us packing back home in disgrace.”

”Granny, pack your things. You and Grandpa should come home with us. Don’t stay here and be treated so poorly. They aren’t filial to you, but we are.” Jie Anlin said to Granny, his eyes filled with pity for them and also rage toward Jie Jingchen.

”My good grandson, Granny didn’t dote on you for nothing. But Granny can’t go home with you just yet. Only if your Grandpa and I are here will the Fourth Wife of Jing treat your illness,” Granny said, looking at Jie Anlin with a gratified expression.

Seeing Granny humbling herself like this for his sake, Jie Anlin’s heart ached. ”Granny, you’re suffering too much here. I can’t bear to see you put up with all this for me. My body is what it is; it doesn’t matter if I get treated or not. Let’s not even talk about whether the Fourth Wife of Jing can actually cure me. Her fees are too high, and the medicine is ridiculously expensive. Curing my illness would cost a lot of money, and our family can’t afford it. Let’s not get it treated. Come on, let’s go home.”

Granny grabbed Jie Anlin’s hand, her eyes red-rimmed. ”Good grandson, money isn’t the problem, and you won’t have to pay. Granny will pay. As long as your body can be healed, Granny won’t mind spending any amount of money. Good grandson, be good now, and go home with your dad.”

’Listening to Granny’s constant ”good grandson” this and ”good grandson” that, Qin Mei felt like she was going to be sick. They were both grandsons. Fine, don’t treat them equally, but this favoritism was just too blatant. Had she ever considered her other grandson’s feelings?’

’Granny was always complaining that Jie Jingchen wasn’t filial, that he didn’t listen to her, that he argued with her relentlessly. But look at how she acted. The preferential treatment was so obvious.’

”Granny...” Jie Anlin tried to persuade her further, but Jie Jianjun stopped him.

’One must know when to stop. Going too far would be counterproductive.’

Jie Jianjun stood up and said to Granny, ”Mom, An Lin and I will get going then. Eldest Brother’s family... *Sigh*! Never mind. Mom, if you can’t stand it, you and Dad should just come home.”

’It was unrealistic to expect Jing Si to ask Eldest Sister-in-law to let Mom and Dad move in with them. Jing Si himself was against it, so there was no way he’d convince her. Besides, Jing Si had made himself perfectly clear. If Jianjun kept insisting, not only would Jing Si’s family not live with Mom and Dad, but they would also make them move out. Eldest Sister-in-law would arrange for caregivers, and he—Jianjun—would have to pay for it.’

’Whatever Jing Si said was practically what Eldest Sister-in-law would say.’

’To avoid having his parents move back in, and to avoid paying, the best way was to maintain the status quo. His family would provide the labor, Eldest Brother’s family would provide the money, and they’d let Mom and Dad stay here for a month. After a month, he wouldn’t even need Eldest Brother to send them back; he would come and pick Mom and Dad up himself.’

’But on second thought, he suddenly felt it was unfair. Mom and Dad had other children. Why didn’t Jing Si make their other children pay? Why was he singling him out?’

”Alright, I’ll see you out.” Granny pressed on the stone table and rose from the stone stool.

”Second Uncle, take care. My back is acting up, so I won’t see you out,” Jie Jingchen said abruptly, picking up his book and continuing to read.

Jie Jianjun pressed his tongue against his back molars and flicked his sleeves forcefully, a clear sign of his anger.

Watching them walk toward the main gate, Qin Xiang grew a little anxious. ”Did they forget something?”

”I don’t know.” Qin Mei shook her head. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it either.

’Weren’t they here to settle the score regarding the baby in Jie Anqi’s womb? From start to finish, they never mentioned Jie Anqi. Instead, they spent ages arguing about Granny, Grandpa, and the house. And the three of them still couldn’t win the argument against Jie Jingchen.’

’Jie Jingchen, that schemer. Even she couldn’t get the upper hand with him.’

”No, we can’t let them just leave like this.” Qin Xiang didn’t like to drag things out. Today’s business had to be settled today. If Jie Jingchen hadn’t stopped him, he would be at the hospital right now, giving Jie Anqi a piece of his mind.

When Qin Mei saw Jie Jianjun stop in his tracks, she said to Qin Xiang, ”You don’t have to go out. They probably just remembered.”

Qin Xiang paused, turned, and looked out the window. Sure enough, Jie Jianjun had stopped walking, while Jie Anlin was still helping Granny walk forward.

’Qin Mei watched the three of them. Were they doing this on purpose, or did they really forget? If it was on purpose, this whole act was completely unnecessary. If they had really forgotten, they were incredibly careless. How could they forget something so important? It could only mean one thing: they didn’t care about their daughter as much as they cared about their reputation.’

’If Jie Anqi’s reputation was damaged, it would tarnish the Jie Family’s reputation as well.’

”Mom, An Lin, wait a second,” Jie Jianjun said.