Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 275: Chapter 104: My Granny is Practicing Her Voice

Xu Chunyan gritted her teeth and reminded her, ”Granny, Jing Si bought a Beggar’s Chicken.”

”Didn’t you hear what the Fourth Wife of Jing said? She bought it for Jing Qi to eat.” Granny glanced at the newly built kitchen, growing angrier the more she thought about it.

”They’re lying to you.” Xu Chunyan was convinced that if Granny went to snatch it, she would definitely succeed.

Granny was old; they wouldn’t dare actually fight her for it. If something happened to Granny over a Beggar’s Chicken, no one could bear that responsibility.

”Does it matter who bought it? They don’t even show me any filial respect, so you think they’d give it to your son?” Granny looked at Xu Chunyan.

Xu Chunyan was speechless. Urged on by Granny, she had no choice but to ride her bicycle to go buy one. Xu Chunyan seriously suspected that it wasn’t her son who wanted the Beggar’s Chicken, but Granny herself.

In the kitchen, Qin Mei watched Jing Qi gnaw on a chicken leg while Jie Jingchen was heating water for a bath.

”Sister-in-law, here.” Jie Jingshan tore off the chicken head and gave it to Qin Mei.

Qin Mei took it but didn’t eat it. Instead, she got up and walked over to Jie Jingchen, who was tending the fire. ”Here.”

Jie Jingchen looked at the offered chicken head, then raised his eyes to gaze at Qin Mei, his own dark and bottomless. ”I won’t eat it, you have it... Mmph...”

Qin Mei shoved the chicken head directly into Jie Jingchen’s mouth and turned back to the table. Jie Jingshan handed Qin Mei a chicken foot. Qin Mei took it and gnawed on it along with Jing Qi. Of the entire Beggar’s Chicken, Jie Jingchen only ate the head and Qin Mei ate the foot; the rest all went into Jing Qi’s stomach.

Qin Mei looked at the preoccupied Jie Jingshan and asked, ”Are you in a bad mood?”

Jie Jingshan shook her head, then nodded, looking up at Qin Mei. ”Sister-in-law, I’m really worried.”

”Worried about what?” Qin Mei asked with a smile.

Jie Jingshan seemed to want to speak but held back, ultimately not voicing her worries. Qin Mei didn’t press her. If Jing Qi wanted to talk, she would listen; if Jing Qi didn’t want to, she wouldn’t force her.

”Fourth Brother, don’t heat bathwater for me. I don’t want to bathe,” Jie Jingshan said to Jie Jingchen.

”Okay.” Jie Jingchen nodded.

”Sister-in-law, I want to go to sleep,” Jie Jingshan said to Qin Mei.

”I’ll push you back to your room.” Qin Mei stood up and pushed Jie Jingshan back to her room.

Since Jie Jingshan wasn’t bathing, Jie Jingchen didn’t heat the water too hot. He scooped a bucketful and carried it into the washroom. Seeing Qin Mei come out of Jing Qi’s room, he told her to go wash up.

Qin Mei went into their room, grabbed her pajamas, and went to the washroom to bathe. After Qin Mei finished, Jie Jingchen took his turn, and after his bath, he washed both of their clothes.

In the main hall, after dinner, Grandpa was sipping tea while Granny held Xiao You, telling him a story. The little one fell asleep as he listened.

”Old woman, Xiao You’s asleep,” Grandpa reminded her.

”Ah!” Granny exclaimed. She had been so engrossed in her storytelling that she hadn’t even noticed the little one in her arms had fallen asleep. ”Go call the Second Daughter-in-law Jing.”

Grandpa got up and went to the kitchen to call Xu Chunyan. A moment later, Xu Chunyan came out of the kitchen with an apron tied around her waist. Seeing Jie You asleep, Xu Chunyan raised her eyebrows, wanting to wake Xiao You up. ”How did you fall asleep? You haven’t had your bath yet. Xiao You, wake up.”

”Don’t wake him. Let him sleep. You carry him to his room,” Granny ordered. The little one was too heavy for her to carry, otherwise she would have taken Xiao You to his room herself.

”Granny, Xiao You hasn’t bathed yet,” Xu Chunyan said.

”What bath? Don’t bother. Let him get some proper sleep,” Granny said.

Xu Chunyan disagreed. ”Xiao You is very mischievous. He’s very dirty.”

”Just take off his dirty shirt and pants. A quick wipe of his face, hands, and feet will be enough,” Granny said.

Xu Chunyan said nothing. She took Jie You and carried him back to his room. ’He hasn’t even done his homework. If I wake him now, the little guy will definitely throw a tantrum. Forget it, I’ll just talk to Teacher Lin tomorrow.’

”When are the eldest and his wife coming back?” Granny glanced at the pitch-black outside. Normally at this hour, they would already be in bed. Coming to their eldest son’s house had been nothing but exhausting trouble, and she was full of grievances. It was already dark, and they were still waiting for the eldest to come back and arrange which room they would sleep in.

Grandpa shook his head. Granny raised her voice and shouted, ”Jing Si! Fourth Wife of Jing!”

Hearing Granny’s shouts, Qin Mei paused in the middle of applying her Xuehua cream and called toward the washroom, ”Jie Jingchen.”

”What is it?” Jie Jingchen asked.

”Your granny is yelling for you,” Qin Mei said.

”Just ignore her,” Jie Jingchen said.

Qin Mei pursed her lips. Since Jie Jingchen was ignoring it, she certainly wasn’t going to get involved.

”Jing Si! Fourth Wife of Jing!” Granny shouted again. No one responded. The old woman was persistent, yelling nonstop until she’d alerted the neighbors.

”Jing Si! Fourth Wife of Jing! Is everything alright over there?” a neighbor shouted from their yard.

The wall was separated from Jie Jingchen’s newly built washroom by only a narrow ditch. Jie Jingchen, inside the washroom, heard clearly and called back, ”We’re fine! My granny’s just doing some vocal exercises.”

”Pfft!” Qin Mei couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ’Vocal exercises. Only Jie Jingchen would come up with something like that.’

”Oh! Is that so? I thought something had happened at your house. It’s good for the elderly to do vocal exercises, but you should remind her to do them during the day, not at night.” The neighbor didn’t directly say that Granny was disturbing the peace.

”Alright, I’ll remind my granny. Sorry to bother you,” Jie Jingchen said while washing clothes.

”Jing Si! Fourth Wife of Jing!” Granny shouted until her voice was hoarse.

”That’s enough, stop shouting,” Grandpa stopped her.

”COUGH, COUGH, COUGH. Water.” Granny coughed a few times and rubbed her throat. It was sore from shouting. ’That couple, Jing Si and his wife, aren’t deaf; they’re just ignoring me.’

Grandpa handed her the water. Granny took it and gulped it down. ”My son and daughter-in-law won’t come home. Forget Jing Er. Jing San and his wife are clearly off work, but just because I said a few words about their dead mother, Jing San got angry and left home with his wife, and they still aren’t back. Jing Si and his wife are here, but they just ignore our existence. I call for them, and they don’t answer. What kind of fate is this! So unfilial! Disrespecting your elders will get you struck by lightning!”

”Say a little less,” Grandpa said, taking the enamel mug she handed him.

”Jing Si! Fourth Wife of Jing!” Granny, not giving up, shouted again.

Having placated his wife, Mr. Xie was happily riding his bicycle home with Mrs. Xie on the back. When he heard his mother’s voice, his heart skipped a beat, and he knew this was bad.

”Your parents are here.” Mrs. Xie’s expression changed, her beautiful eyes filled with anger.

”Yan Qiu.” Mr. Xie felt a headache coming on. Seeing Mrs. Xie turn to leave, he grabbed her. ”Yan Qiu, let me explain.”

”Jie Jianguo, I don’t want an explanation. I’ll come home when you send them back.” Qiao Yanqiu shook off Mr. Xie’s hand and turned to step over the threshold.

”Yan Qiu,” Mr. Xie chased after her. ”Listen to me...”

”Jie Jianguo, when I married you, my only condition was that we would not live with your parents. You didn’t have a place, but I did. This is my courtyard. I can accept living with you and the children from your first wife, but your parents are absolutely out of the question,” Mrs. Xie said, her tone harsh.

As a son, Mr. Xie still felt protective of his parents deep down, and his expression darkened.

”What’s wrong with my parents? What’s so bad about living with them?” The words were barely out of Mr. Xie’s mouth before he regretted them.

”I don’t want to follow in Zhang Hongyan’s footsteps,” Mrs. Xie said, looking at Mr. Xie with an icy gaze.

Mr. Xie’s breath hitched. He took Mrs. Xie’s hand, his voice gentle. ”Yan Qiu, you’re not Zhang Hongyan. My mother couldn’t possibly treat you the way she treated Zhang Hongyan. Besides, she’s old now. There’s a lot she wants to do but no longer has the strength for.”

Mrs. Xie took a deep breath, composing herself before she spoke. ”Jie Jianguo, I’ll say it again: I’ll come home when you send them back.”

Mrs. Xie flung off Mr. Xie’s hand and turned to walk away. Watching her resolute back, Mr. Xie’s chest ached. ”Yan Qiu, if you’re not at home, my mother will torment Jing Si and his wife, especially the Fourth Wife of Jing.”

At his words, Mrs. Xie’s body stiffened. She stopped, spun around, and glared furiously at Mr. Xie. ”Jie Jianguo, are you threatening me?”