Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

They went to the Governor Mansion, but who could have guessed they wouldn’t even make it past the front gate? They brought up Qiao Wei’s infatuation with Gao Qiang, only to be mocked by the mansion staff, who said it was like a toad lusting after a swan.

Unable to get into the Governor Mansion, the Gao family was then relentlessly pressured by the Qiao Family until they were forced into bankruptcy.

Gao Qiang stood up and walked over to Grandma Gao, his tone harsh. ”What is it?”

”Qiang’er, I’m your Granny. What kind of attitude is that?” Grandma Gao had been overbearing her entire life; even in defeat, she refused to let her own grandson disrespect her.

Gao Qiang didn’t reply, refusing to even look at Grandma Gao.

Grandma Gao was furious but could only swallow her anger. ”Qiang’er,” she said, ”is there really no hope at all for you and Qiao Wei?”

”None,” Gao Qiang snapped. ’Granny is still dreaming her beautiful dream of marrying into the Governor Mansion.’

Grandma Gao sighed. ”If there’s no hope, there’s no hope. It’s best to give up on the idea sooner rather than later to avoid wasting time. Qiang’er, here’s the plan: we’ll rest and build up our strength for a few days, and then we’ll go to the Qiao Mansion to propose marriage.”

”Granny!” Gao Qiang’s voice cracked. ”Where do you get the confidence to think there’s still a chance for Jiali and me?”

Grandma Gao looked up at Gao Qiang. ”I can see it clearly. That girl, Jiali, is deeply in love with you. All you have to do is go to her, sweet-talk her a little, and she’ll be back on good terms with you in no time.”

Gao Qiang took a deep breath. For Qiao Wei’s sake, he had said vicious things to hurt Jiali. If his Granny would just stay out of it, he might be able to put in the effort to win Jiali back. But with her meddling, Gao Qiang felt completely helpless.

Grandma Gao continued, ”Qiang’er, I’ve already asked around. Jiali’s surgery was a great success. I heard Dean Zhang and his senior colleague treated her with a combination of traditional and Western medicine, so her chances of a full recovery are very high. However, when we go to the Qiao Mansion to propose, you can’t let that slip. You have to pretend you don’t know anything. Your parents and I will be by your side to support you, and we’ll keep reminding the Qiao family that Jiali doesn’t have long to live.”

”You need to convince the Qiao family with your deep devotion to Jiali. They’re well aware of our Gao family’s current situation, so they certainly won’t give you a hard time about a bride price. Since Jiali has a terminal illness, your commitment to stay by her side will surely move them, especially Madam Qiao. After all,” she added, ”who else would dare to marry a girl with a terminal illness?”

Gao Qiang was speechless. He wanted to say something harsh to his Granny, but the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed them back down.

”Granny, you can go back to chanting your scriptures. I’m going to go help clean.” Gao Qiang would rather do manual labor than continue this conversation with her. ’This is completely absurd. As if she’s the only clever person in the world.’

He was already too ashamed to even face Jiali, and now his granny wanted him to go to the Qiao Mansion to propose marriage? ’Isn’t that just offering myself up as a punching bag?’

He had no desire to get beaten and sent to the hospital by Jie Jingchen again. ’Besides, in the Gao family’s current state, do we even have the money for my hospital bills?’

Gao Qiang did want to try again, but not as some desperate, all-or-nothing gamble. He wouldn’t dare set foot in the Qiao Mansion until he had earned Jiali’s forgiveness.

”Qiang’er, come back! I’m not finished talking!” Grandma Gao yelled.

Gao Qiang acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing and went straight into the house. Grandma Gao stood up as if to chase him, but she flinched after a single step. She wasn’t about to go into the house and inhale dust before it was properly cleaned. She was getting on in years, and breathing in all that dust would be bad for her health.

”Xiao Qiang, what’s wrong?” Mrs. Gao asked, though she already knew the answer. She had overheard what her mother-in-law said to her son, but with Mr. Gao present, she didn’t want to publicly contradict the old woman.

’A starved camel is still bigger than a horse,’ Mrs. Gao thought, firmly believing that her mother-in-law absolutely had some hidden valuables. ’That old woman is shrewd; getting her to part with them won’t be easy.’

”Granny wants me to go to the Qiao Mansion to propose marriage,” Gao Qiang said, sounding irritated.

”My mom sure has some nerve,” Mr. Gao couldn’t help but grumble. Sending his son to the Qiao Family wasn’t a marriage proposal; it was sending him to walk right into a trap.

Mrs. Gao shot a sideways glance at Mr. Gao. For once, she didn’t agree. After a few seconds of calm consideration, she said softly, ”Your mother has always been full of ideas. Maybe she has another brilliant plan this time.”

”Brilliant plan?” Mr. Gao’s eyes filled with contempt. ”If it weren’t for her ’brilliant plans’,” he said, his voice thick with resentment, ”we wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

Mrs. Gao sneered inwardly. ’Good. He knows our mother-in-law is largely to blame for our current predicament. My husband sees it all clearly.’ ”Don’t talk about Mom like that,” she said aloud. ”She’ll be upset if she hears you. She meant well; she just didn’t expect the situation to spiral out of her control.”

Mr. Gao looked at his wife, surprised. Ever since she had married him, she had always outwardly submitted to his mother’s overbearing ways while inwardly resenting her. It was rare for her to take his mother’s side.

And so, Mr. Gao launched into a long list of grievances and complaints. Mrs. Gao didn’t say a word, simply listening as she continued with her work.