Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Qin Mei shoved the enamel cup in her hand into Shen Qing’s, then moved closer to Mrs. Xie. She affectionately linked her arm with Mrs. Xie’s and rested her head on her shoulder, looking for all the world like a mother- and daughter-in-law who shared a deep bond.

Qin Mei nuzzled Mrs. Xie’s shoulder coquettishly and said in a sweet voice, ”My mom is the most understanding and best mother-in-law in the entire world. She would never mistreat her daughter-in-law. Since I have a good mother-in-law, naturally I’ll be a good daughter-in-law. Mom, don’t listen to Second Aunt trying to sow discord. As long as you treat me well, I’ll be twice as filial to you.”

Shen Qing was speechless. Qin Mei had just shown her what it meant to be good to the good and evil to the evil.

It was no wonder Aunt Qiao liked Qin Mei. If it were her, Shen Qing could never bring herself to act so cute and coquettish. She’d be too embarrassed to do that in front of her own mother, let alone Aunt Qiao.

”Xiao Mei, don’t worry. I’m not a gullible person. I won’t be swayed by a few words from others. I’m a reasonable mother-in-law, not a troublemaker.” Mrs. Xie lovingly stroked Qin Mei’s cheek. Her skin was so soft and delicate that she couldn’t help but linger.

”Mom, you’re the best.” Qin Mei’s smile was triumphant as she shot a provocative look at Chen Xiuhua.

Chen Xiuhua was so furious she gritted her teeth. ’If that were my daughter-in-law, I’d definitely teach her a lesson.’

Mr. Xie’s face was stern. ”We’ll pay for Mom’s hospital stay,” he announced. ”Jianjun, your family will look after Mom during the day. Jing Si, your family will look after her at night.”

”Alright,” Jie Jianye agreed.

Jie Jianjun hesitated for a moment. ”Alright.”

”Alright? What’s so alright about it?” Chen Xiuhua tugged on Jie Jianjun. They might not have a problem with it, but she did. A big one.

”Shut up,” Jie Jianjun snapped. When only his eldest sister-in-law was around, he could let Chen Xiuhua act however she pleased. But now that his eldest brother was here, if he dared to indulge her, his brother would deal with him.

”You yelled at me.” Chen Xiuhua’s eyes reddened, and she looked incredibly wronged.

Jie Jianye and Li Chunlan left. Jie Jianjun also dragged Chen Xiuhua away.

Jie Jianye and his wife went to Granny’s hospital room, but Chen Xiuhua pulled Jie Jianjun aside, her tone sour. ”What about our daughter-in-law’s hospital bill? You and An Lin both have to work. How am I supposed to take care of Mom and our daughter-in-law all by myself?”

Jie Jianjun raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ”Have An Lin pay for his wife’s hospital bill. Dad is watching over Mom, and our daughter-in-law isn’t that far along in her pregnancy. You can handle it.”

Chen Xiuhua replied almost without thinking, ”An Lin has no money.”

Jie Jianjun frowned. ”How could An Lin have no money?”

Chen Xiuhua sounded a little guilty but insisted, ”An Lin just doesn’t have any money.”

Jie Jianjun took a breath. ”Before An Lin had a job, he was always asking you or Mom and Dad for money. After he started working, he saved his own salary but still spent our money. He didn’t pay a single cent for his own wedding; Mom and Dad paid for everything and did all the work. All these years, they’ve even been paying for the treatment of his ’hidden ailment.’ You’re telling me An Lin has no money? Do you even believe that yourself?”

Chen Xiuhua was speechless. She wasn’t afraid of hard work or suffering; she was afraid of spending money. And she wouldn’t let An Lin spend money either.

”The money An Lin has is his own. Once the baby is born, there will be plenty of expenses. Jie Jianjun, I don’t care. Eldest Sister-in-law has to be the one to pay. Jing Er is the one who caused Granny to faint and Zhao Hong to have a pregnancy scare. Eldest Sister-in-law is Jing Er’s stepmother, so she ought to be responsible.”

Jie Jianjun looked at the rude and unreasonable Chen Xiuhua and said thoughtfully, ”The Eldest Sister-in-law we have now isn’t the same as the one we had before. If she says she won’t pay Zhao Hong’s hospital bill, she definitely won’t. Besides, she’s only Jing Er’s stepmother, not his biological mother.”

Chen Xiuhua was conflicted. When it came to money, she thought the current Eldest Sister-in-law was better. But when it came to doing work, she thought the previous one was better.

In the past, whenever something happened at home, Zhang Hongyan would be the one bustling about, taking care of everything. Especially when Mom and Dad had a headache or a fever, it was always Zhang Hongyan who attended to them by their bedside. Now, Qiao Yanqiu only contributed money, while she and Li Chunlan did all the work.

”A stepmother is still a mother,” Chen Xiuhua said.

Jie Jianjun’s mouth twitched. ”Can a biological mother and a stepmother ever be the same?”

Chen Xiuhua was rendered speechless.

”There’s nothing else for you two here. You can go home,” Mrs. Xie said to Qin Mei and Shen Qing.

”Okay.” Qin Mei nodded obediently.

”Dad, Aunt Qiao, we’ll be leaving now,” Shen Qing said.

”Be careful on your way,” Mr. Xie cautioned.

Before Qin Mei and Shen Qing could leave, a nurse burst through the door in a panic, crying out anxiously, ”Director Qiao, this is bad! Your daughter-in-law is hemorrhaging!”

’My daughter-in-law is hemorrhaging?’ Mrs. Xie reflexively glanced at Qin Mei, then suddenly realized. ”Oh no.”

Mrs. Xie rushed out of the office and ran toward the fourth floor.

Mr. Xie also realized what was happening and immediately ran after her.

”Something happened to Teacher Lin?” Shen Qing stared at Qin Mei with a strange look.

Lin Yaru was married to Jie Jingwei, so technically, Shen Qing should have called her Second Sister-in-law. But since the marriage, she had only seen Lin Yaru two or three times. Shen Qing was cold by nature and wouldn’t go out of her way to be friendly, and Lin Yaru had no desire to get close to Shen Qing either. Shen Qing really couldn’t bring herself to call the woman ’Second Sister-in-law’.

”Xu Chunyan used Jie Jingchen as bait to trick Lin Yaru into getting rid of the baby in her belly,” Qin Mei stated flatly.

Shen Qing was stunned for a moment, her cool gaze resting on Qin Mei with a complicated expression.

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth lifted slightly. ”Don’t look at me like that,” she said leisurely. ”I was tailing Xu Chunyan and overheard her conversation with Lin Yaru.”

”Why did you come to the hospital?” Shen Qing asked suddenly.

Qin Mei’s eye twitched. ’Why the abrupt change of subject? We were talking about Xu Chunyan and Lin Yaru, how did it suddenly turn to me?’

”Don’t tell me you came to see Granny,” Shen Qing said.

Qin Mei swallowed guiltily. ”I did come to see Granny.”

’There’s no way I can tell her the truth—that I followed her to the hospital,’ Qin Mei thought.

”You, Jing Si, and Xiao Duo left early. You have no idea what happened after you were gone.” Shen Qing’s implication was clear: Qin Mei couldn’t possibly have known that Granny had fainted and been hospitalized.

Qin Mei put on a mysterious air, pinching her fingers together as if divining. ”I did a little calculation and figured it out. Aren’t I amazing, Third Sister-in-law? You must be impressed.”

”Did you also ’calculate’ that the college entrance exam would be reinstated?” Shen Qing asked.

Qin Mei was taken aback. ’Why is she changing the subject so abruptly again?’ A mischievous glint flashed in her almond-shaped eyes. She leaned closer to Shen Qing and said mysteriously, ”I didn’t calculate it. Someone told me in a dream.”

A thoughtful look appeared in Shen Qing’s eyes. After a long moment, she uttered a single word. ”Superstitious.”

Whether it was calculating on her fingers or messages from dreams, Shen Qing believed none of it.

”Superstition is feudal dregs,” Qin Mei said.

Shen Qing shot Qin Mei a sideways glance. ”And you know it’s dregs?”

Qin Mei jumped back a step and asked dramatically, ”Third Sister-in-law, you’re not going to report me, are you?”

”I’m not that bored.” Reporting someone was not something Shen Qing would do.

Qin Mei wanted to shift the topic to Shen Qing but wasn’t sure how to start. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked bluntly, ”Third Sister-in-law, I heard you and Third Brother are getting a divorce?”

Shen Qing choked for a second, her brow furrowing slightly. ”Who told you that?” she asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

A malicious smile spread across Qin Mei’s face. She enunciated each syllable slowly and clearly. ”Wen. Xing. Nan.”

Shen Qing fell silent, but a wave of bitterness washed over her heart.

Qin Mei studied Shen Qing with a probing gaze, seeing the sorrow in her cool eyes. It seemed Shen Qing was not as indifferent to the name ”Wen Xingnan” as she appeared on the surface.

Qin Mei continued, ”Wen Xingnan also said that you caused her miscarriage, and to compensate her, you’re giving her both your husband and your daughter.”