Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Once we make the Qin Family’s lactation massage techniques famous, we’ll expand the business, make it big, and we’ll be counting cash until our hands cramp.” Qin Mei skillfully painted a rosy picture for Granny Yu.

Qin Mei’s words struck a chord deep in Granny Yu’s heart, especially when Qin Mei said ”we.” Granny Yu was so moved she was on the verge of tears, excitedly grabbing Qin Mei’s hand. ”Fourth Wife of Jing, I promise you, I won’t betray the trust you’ve placed in me.”

Qin Mei smiled. ’I just painted her a pretty picture, and here she is, pledging her loyalty.’

”Granny Yu, I’ve made a decision. Starting today, I’m no longer giving you a referral fee,” Qin Mei said.

The smile froze on her lips. Granny Yu could barely keep her composure. ’Is she kicking me out?’ At that moment, Granny Yu didn’t even think about going into business for herself; she just lamented the money she would no longer be able to earn.

”Let’s be partners. A seventy-thirty split,” Qin Mei said.

Granny Yu was stunned. Forget a seventy-thirty split, even an eighty-twenty split would be more than the referral fee. An irrepressible excitement churned inside her, and her voice trembled. ”Fourth Wife of Jing, are you serious?”

”A contract. Let’s draw up a contract.” True to her decisive nature, Qin Mei immediately found a pen and paper. She quickly wrote up the contract, signed her name, and added her thumbprint. Granny Yu couldn’t read or write her own name, so she only pressed her thumbprint on the document.

Qin Mei knew Granny Yu was illiterate, but seeing her press her thumbprint without the slightest hesitation, she couldn’t help but ask, ”Granny Yu, you’re putting your thumbprint on this so readily. Aren’t you worried I might be selling you out?”

”You wouldn’t. I trust you. Besides, at my age, where could you possibly sell me off to?” Granny Yu said with a laugh. The contract was made in duplicate; Qin Mei took one copy, and Granny Yu took the other.

Qin Mei’s smile deepened. She extended a hand to Granny Yu. After a few seconds of hesitation, Granny Yu reached out and shook it. Qin Mei said solemnly, ”Granny Yu, from this moment on, we are business partners. Here’s to a successful partnership.”

”To a successful partnership,” Granny Yu replied, absolutely thrilled. At her age, she could still earn money! When business was good, she would make more than her entire family combined.

After seeing Granny Yu off, Qin Mei was dripping with sweat from the heat. She sat back down in front of the fan to cool off.

Before long, Second Granny arrived, carrying a large watermelon.

”Fourth Wife of Jing.” Second Granny carried the watermelon to the kitchen to cut it. She put the cut slices in an enamel basin, first taking two pieces to Jing Qi. For Qin Mei, Second Granny’s watermelon was a godsend. She ate two huge slices until her stomach felt full. ”Fourth Wife of Jing, there’s more. Have another piece.”

”Second Granny, I’m already stuffed,” Qin Mei said, patting her belly. She took the slice Second Granny handed her and set it aside.

Second Granny ate three slices herself until she was stuffed too, then started gossiping with Qin Mei. ”Jing Er and Teacher Lin registered their marriage today.”

Qin Mei smiled but said nothing. She already knew that Jie Jingwei and Lin Yaru had registered their marriage today. Lin Yaru hadn’t wanted to marry Jie Jingwei. It had been over two months since Jie Jingwei and Xu Chunyan divorced, and while Jie Jingwei was waiting to marry her, Lin Yaru never agreed. The Lin Family didn’t state their position either, they just kept Jie Jingwei waiting.

After dragging things out for over two months, the Lin Family suddenly showed up at their door and told Mr. Xie that Lin Yaru was pregnant with Jing Er’s child. Only then was the marriage put on the agenda.

Other than the Lin family and the Jie Family, no one else knew about Lin Yaru’s pregnancy, including Second Granny.

Finding out about Lin Yaru’s pregnancy came as a bit of a shock to Mrs. Xie. Lin Yaru and Jie Jingwei had only been together once, and she was already pregnant. In contrast, it had been a year since Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen registered their marriage, and there was still no sign of a baby on the way for Qin Mei.

Mrs. Xie was very worried. Jie Jingchen had injured his back, and though he had recovered now, she didn’t know if there were any lingering effects, so she asked Qin Mei.

Qin Mei said there weren’t any, but Mrs. Xie didn’t believe her. She thought Qin Mei was just protecting Jie Jingchen’s dignity and not telling her the truth. Because of this, she had even secretly eavesdropped on the couple. If she hadn’t been so worried about her son, she never would have done something so shameless.

”Fourth Wife of Jing, tell me, why was Teacher Lin suddenly in such a hurry to marry Jing Er?” Second Granny asked, a shrewd glint in her eyes as she watched Qin Mei.

”I don’t know.” Qin Mei shook her head.

”Really don’t know?” Second Granny was skeptical.

”Second Granny, if you want to know the reason, go ask the Lin Family.” Qin Mei’s implication was clear: don’t bother asking around the Jie Family; they were tight-lipped and wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

Second Granny gave a peculiar smile, leaned closer to Qin Mei, and whispered, ”I heard a rumor that Teacher Lin might be pregnant.”

Qin Mei paused. ’The Lin family was so careful about keeping it a secret, and the Jie Family didn’t leak it either. Who let the cat out of the bag?’

”Who did you hear that from?” Qin Mei asked, feigning curiosity.

”Fourth Wife of Jing, shouldn’t you be surprised that Teacher Lin is pregnant?” Second Granny said.

Qin Mei fell silent for a moment. ’This Second Granny is one sly old fox.’ Qin Mei put on a look of surprise. ”Teacher Lin is pregnant? For real? Who’s the father?”

Second Granny’s mouth twitched. ’That was way too fake.’ She asked directly, ”Did you already know that Teacher Lin was pregnant?”

”I don’t know. And I’m not interested in her affairs,” Qin Mei denied.

”Really not interested?” Second Granny asked with a smile. It didn’t matter whether Qin Mei knew or not; she was here to give Qin Mei a heads-up.

”Not particularly. But if you’re bored and have nothing else to talk about, go ahead. I’m listening,” Qin Mei said. Judging by Second Granny’s expression, she clearly had an ulterior motive.

Second Granny cleared her throat and said, ”I heard that the Lin Family’s parents don’t want Teacher Lin to move to the factory. They want Jing Er to move back here with Xiao You. The reason is that Teacher Lin is pregnant and needs someone to look after her. She’s not familiar with the people or the place at the factory, and there are only two rooms over there. If her parents wanted to move in to take care of her, there’d be no space. If Jing Er moves back with Xiao You, it’ll be more convenient for them to look after their daughter.”

’Move back?’ Qin Mei’s almond eyes narrowed. ’My mother-in-law made them move out specifically to prevent the awkwardness of them all living in the same courtyard after Jie Jingwei married Lin Yaru. Would she really agree to let them move back in?’

Qin Mei said nothing. This was her mother-in-law’s courtyard; she had no say in the matter.

”If they move back in, how are you all going to get along?” Second Granny asked worriedly. She thought about Teacher Lin’s feelings for Jing Si. Unless Teacher Lin gave up on him, if she remained obstinate, and if they gave her even the slightest opportunity... now that Teacher Lin’s identity was Jing Si’s second sister-in-law, if anything happened between them, it would be a huge scandal.

”If they move back, Jing Si and I will move out.” Qin Mei was firm in her belief that her mother-in-law was not a muddle-headed person.

”Moving out would be letting them off way too easy! Besides, the factory hasn’t allocated a house to Jing Si. Where would you two move to?” Second Granny had no idea that Qin Mei had bought a house near the train station.

”The world is a big place; there will always be a place for us.” Qin Mei said this to show her determination, but to Second Granny’s ears, it sounded completely different.

”Sigh!” Second Granny sighed, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her face, and tried to persuade her, ”Fourth Wife of Jing, you can’t say that. Jing Si is Doctor Qiao’s biological son. This is Doctor Qiao’s courtyard. How can the biological son and his wife be the ones to move out?”

”Living in the same courtyard with them would make my skin crawl.” Qin Mei truly felt repulsed. Lin Yaru’s target had always been Jie Jingchen. She didn’t have the time or the energy to be on guard against Lin Yaru every moment of the day. To avoid unnecessary trouble, living separately was the only way she could have peace of mind.

Second Granny fell silent. Never mind Qin Mei feeling repulsed; even she, an outsider, found the situation disgusting.

After a moment of silence, Second Granny spoke up. ”Fourth Wife of Jing, I have an idea.”

”What idea?” Qin Mei asked, playing along. ’I have no faith in Second Granny. I don’t expect any brilliant ideas from her; it’ll be good enough if it’s not a terrible one.’

”You should tell your mother-in-law to have Jing Er move into the Lin Family’s home with Xiao You,” Second Granny said, lowering her voice.

’That idea... is brilliant!’ Qin Mei almost wanted to clap and cheer. ’But wait... what’s the difference between that and him marrying into their family?’

Qin Mei gave a smile as radiant as a summer flower and asked, ”Second Granny, do you really think that’s realistic?”