Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 86: Chapter 43: You Actually Dare to Chop?

”Does Mom have a feud with Liu Guihua too?” Qin Mei asked curiously. Given Mrs. Xie’s temperament, she wouldn’t make enemies easily.

Jie Jingshan glanced at Jie Jingchen and said, ”Second Sister-in-law is always deliberately picking fights with Mom. Mom is good-natured and puts up with it, but when she really can’t take it anymore, she’ll say a few words to her. Then Second Sister-in-law becomes relentless and even goes to her parents’ house for reinforcements. Every time they come over, they cause a huge, unreasonable scene with Mom, always making sure to do it when Dad isn’t home. Mom tries to reason with them, but it’s impossible. They’re convinced that because Mom is Second Brother’s stepmother, she looks down on Second Sister-in-law and bullies her. They scream about how Second Sister-in-law has no one from her family to back her up, and the vicious things they say are just awful.”

”And then what?” Qin Mei asked. ’They must have planned to use the same unreasonable tactics on me,’ she guessed. ’But I didn’t play by their rules. I went completely off-script. Before they even had a chance to get started, I dislocated Xu Chunwang’s jaw and threw their whole plan into chaos.’

”Mom couldn’t do anything about them, so she’d pay them to leave,” Jie Jingshan said.

Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. ”Paying them off might be the easy way out, but it doesn’t solve the root of the problem. In fact, it just feeds their greed.”

’In this day and age, who isn’t short on cash? Who doesn’t love money?’

Qin Mei suddenly realized something. ’Mom gave me money, and Jie Jingshan gave me money too. It seems like this mother-daughter duo likes to solve all their problems with cash.’

”Fourth Sister-in-law, you’re so right.” Jie Jingshan paused for a moment before adding, ”Mom thinks so too, but what can she do? She’s good-natured, and she’s not formidable and decisive like you are. Once Second Sister-in-law’s family realized they could profit off Mom, they were determined to squeeze her for all she was worth.”

”When Xu Chunyan’s family came to the Jie residence to cause trouble, did your dad not get involved?” Qin Mei directed her question to Jie Jingchen. What she really wanted to ask was, ’You’re her son. How could you just sit back and watch while your own mother was being bullied?’

Jie Jingshan shook her head. ”Dad couldn’t do anything, either. He was never home when they came. Afterward, Mom would tell him about it, and he’d scold Second Brother. Second Brother would just try to play peacemaker, or maybe warn Second Sister-in-law a little in front of Dad, but it was completely useless. Eventually, it was like everyone got used to it. Whenever Second Sister-in-law’s mother showed up to make trouble, Mom would just give her money.”

Qin Mei was speechless. ’Getting paid just for showing up and causing a scene? Forget Liu Guihua, I’d be happy to do it myself. Making a fuss for cash is a whole lot easier than working a real job.’

’The Qiao Family might be rich, but no matter how much money they have, you can’t just squander it like this. It’s such a waste!’

”What about you? You didn’t get involved either?” Qin Mei asked Jie Jingchen.

Before Jie Jingchen could speak, Jie Jingshan jumped in. ”Fourth Brother is in the army. One time, he was home on leave when they came to cause trouble. He beat up Second Sister-in-law’s brother, which only made her mother even more relentless. She threatened to report Fourth Brother to his military unit for assault. Mom didn’t want to make a big scene, and they’re all relatives, after all. So that time, Mom had to pay out even more money before Second Sister-in-law’s mother finally backed down.”

Qin Mei fell silent. ’So if Jie Jingchen stayed out of it, it cost them money. But if he got involved, it cost them even *more* money. It would have been better if he’d just done nothing.’

”You’re telling me you didn’t do anything behind the scenes afterward?” Qin Mei asked Jie Jingchen in a low voice. He was far too cunning and devious for that. Qin Mei didn’t believe for a second that he’d just suffer a loss in silence.

Jie Jingchen just smiled and said nothing, but Jie Jingshan, looking puzzled, added, ”Although, after that incident, Second Sister-in-law’s mother never came over to cause trouble again.”

Qin Mei understood instantly. ’He must have done something drastic in secret.’

”What did you do?” Qin Mei asked Jie Jingchen, her curiosity piqued.

Jie Jingchen hesitated for a few seconds, then a corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. ”Violence.”

Qin Mei didn’t believe him. ”Jie Jingchen, you don’t seem like the type to fight fire with fire.”

’Compared to brute force, she was much more inclined to believe he’d used some dirty tricks.’

Jie Jingchen looked slightly surprised, a smile playing on his lips. ”Is that so?”

Qin Mei was taken aback for a second. But considering Jing Qi was there, she didn’t press him further. Instead, she stroked her chin thoughtfully and said, ”When I threatened Liu Guihua with that kitchen knife, logically, she shouldn’t have been so easily scared. She should have provoked me into actually cutting her. Wouldn’t that have been a perfect excuse to demand even more money from Mom?”

Jie Jingchen arched an eyebrow, his tone laced with sarcasm. ”She wants money, but she wants to live more.”

With the way Qin Mei had brandished that knife, it wasn’t just Liu Guihua—even he had thought for a moment that she would really swing it.

You only get one life. A person like Liu Guihua wouldn’t be foolish enough to gamble it on an unknown.

”True enough,” Qin Mei agreed. ”Having the life to earn money but not to spend it... that’s life’s greatest tragedy.”

Jie Jingchen fell silent, and Jie Jingshan did too.

The corners of Qin Mei’s eyes crinkled into a smile as she said, ”Still, I think she could have taken the gamble. After all, I’m just a poor, delicate woman. How could I possibly kill her with one strike? If I had only injured or maimed her, she could have used that to threaten Mom. Her whole family might have been set for the rest of their lives.”