Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Hm?” Jie Jingchen lowered his eyes, his gaze gentle as he looked down at her. Seeing her struggle, a smile couldn’t help but spread across his lips.

Qin Mei looked up, glared at him, and complained, ”Jie Jingsi, you have hives, you’re not missing an arm and a leg.”

”Aren’t hives an illness?” Jie Jingchen challenged.

”It’s an illness, that’s true, but...”

”When I was little and got sick, my mom always took great care of me,” Jie Jingchen said, sounding aggrieved.

Qin Mei was amused by his act. ”Alright, alright, I’ll take great care of you too.”

”Not just physically. You have to look after my feelings too,” Jie Jingchen said, pushing his luck.

Qin Mei rolled her eyes. ’I really want to snap back at him. I’m not his mother, so why should I have to look after his feelings? I’m in a mood myself right now, so who’s going to look after my feelings?’

That’s what Qin Mei thought, but she went along with him, saying, ”Fine, I’ll look after your feelings.”

”You’re not forcing yourself?” Jie Jingchen asked.

”Not at all.” ’Yeah, right.’ Qin Mei supported Jie Jingchen, truly treating him like a three-year-old. ”Lift your foot. Step over the threshold.”

’Jie Jingchen almost couldn’t suppress a laugh. At his age and with his physique, acting spoiled with his wife created quite the visual contrast.’

”Fourth Sister-in-law, is my Fourth Brother okay?” Jie Jingjue ran toward the two of them, lending a hand to help Qin Mei support Jie Jingchen into the courtyard. ”Jing Qi said Fourth Brother got sick and you took him to the hospital. What happened? How did he suddenly fall ill out of nowhere?”

Jie Jingshan also came out of the house and looked at them, her face filled with worry.

”Don’t worry, it’s just hives. Mom looked at him, gave him some medicine and a shot. He’s fine now,” Qin Mei said.

Jie Jingchen shook off Jie Jingjue, refusing his support.

”Jing Wu, help your Fourth Brother back to his room so he can get some proper sleep.” Qin Mei let go of Jie Jingchen, unceremoniously dumping him on Jie Jingjue and shaking her sore arm.

”Okay,” Jie Jingjue readily agreed.

Jie Jingchen threw a fit and shoved Jie Jingjue away. ”Get lost.”

Qin Mei pretended not to see and walked into the house. Jie Jingchen immediately followed her.

Jie Jingjue looked on with suspicion. ’He doesn’t need any help at all.’

”Jing Qi, have you noticed that our Fourth Brother is getting harder and harder to figure out?” Jie Jingjue said, looking at Jie Jingshan.

Jie Jingshan shrugged. Her fourth brother and sister-in-law had gone back to their room, so she decided not to disturb them and returned to her own room to continue studying.

Jie Jingjue, however, sat dejectedly in the courtyard. ’Fourth Brother is sick, and Fourth Sister-in-law has to take care of him. I wonder if she’s still interested in buying that house near the train station.’

He was very efficient. He’d already spoken to his buddy about it, and his buddy was a real stand-up guy. As soon as he heard it was for his Fourth Sister-in-law, he agreed to sell on the spot. He even offered a ”friends and family” price out of respect for him.

They had struck a deal instantly, and his buddy had come home with him, but Fourth Sister-in-law hadn’t been there. Jing Qi had explained that Fourth Brother got sick and she’d taken him to the hospital. He was completely taken by surprise—how could his brother fall ill so suddenly? This illness had come at the most inconvenient time.

Unsure how serious his Fourth Brother’s illness was or when they would be back, he told his buddy to go home first. He had thought about going to the hospital to check on the situation, but he was also worried about leaving Jing Qi at home alone, so he could only wait.

No matter how tough a guy is, he can’t fight the effects of medicine. Jie Jingchen was practically asleep the moment he hit the bed.

He hadn’t been resting well for the past two days anyway. A bout of hives, plus medicine and a shot, and he was completely knocked out.

”Jie Jingsi,” Qin Mei called softly. Jie Jingchen didn’t respond. Satisfied, Qin Mei tucked him in, then tiptoed out of the room.

”Fourth Sister-in-law,” Jie Jingjue called in a low voice.

Qin Mei closed the door and walked over to Jie Jingjue. ”How did it go?”

Jie Jingjue didn’t answer right away, asking instead, ”Is my Fourth Brother okay?”

”He’s fine, he’s asleep now. We don’t need to worry about him. About the house, did you talk to that buddy of yours?” Qin Mei asked. She didn’t like to dawdle.

”I did. He agreed,” Jie Jingjue said.

Qin Mei felt a surge of secret joy, but she didn’t let it show. She asked in a calm tone, ”When can we make the deal?”

”Anytime,” said Jie Jingjue.

There was no time to lose with something like this. Qin Mei handed the car keys to Jie Jingjue. ”Let’s go. We’ll go find your buddy now.”

”Fourth Sister-in-law, aren’t you even going to ask about the price?” Jie Jingjue asked, looking at Qin Mei with a wry smile.

”What’s your buddy’s asking price?” Qin Mei asked perfunctorily. ’Housing prices in this era aren’t high. If I buy it before the Reform and Opening-Up policy kicks in and prices skyrocket, it’ll be an absolute steal.’

”This much.” Jie Jingjue raised his right hand and waved it in front of Qin Mei, grinning so wide his eyes disappeared.