Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Jing Si, is Fourth Sister-in-law awake?” Jie Jingshan asked.

”She’s awake.” Jie Jingchen strode toward the kitchen. A moment later, he returned to the courtyard carrying a bowl of congee. He set the steaming porridge on the stone table, along with a small dish of pickled vegetables.

”You’re feeding my little sister *this*?” Qin Xiang pointed at the congee and pickles, his handsome eyes full of disdain.

”And this.” Jie Jingchen pulled an egg from his pocket. He cracked it against the stone table, peeled away the shell, and placed the hard-boiled egg into the congee.

Qin Xiang was satisfied. A boiled egg at least added some nutrition. ”Little Sis, hurry up! The congee’s getting cold.”

”What’s the rush? She’ll be out once she’s done washing up.” Jie Jingchen gave Qin Xiang a light shove on the shoulder.

The look on Qin Xiang’s face shifted, his expression unreadable.

”Fourth Sister-in-law is awake. I’ll go return her jacket.” Jie Jingshan got up, jacket in hand, and carefully made her way to Qin Mei’s room.

Jie Jingchen watched Jing Qi walk, his heart a storm of emotions. ’Qin Mei healed Jing Qi’s leg. She completely changed the course of Jing Qi’s life.’ He felt a wave of relief at his decision back then. Whether out of responsibility or pressure, he had agreed to marry her. He didn’t regret sending her to live with his eldest sister for six months. ’Back then, we were both too prickly. If we had been forced to live together, our sharp thorns would have left us both bleeding.’

”What’s on your mind?” Qin Xiang leaned in closer to Jie Jingchen.

Jie Jingchen jumped, startled. He gathered his thoughts and shot Qin Xiang a cold look. ”Nothing.”

Qin Xiang huffed and sat back down in the rattan chair. ”Jing Si, forget for a moment that I’m your brother-in-law. We’re comrades, we’re brothers. Give me a straight answer: are you only accepting my little sister because she healed Jing Qi’s legs?”

’Can love born from a debt of gratitude truly last?’

’Once that gratitude fades, the love will disappear. And without love to support it, how long can a marriage survive?’

”No.” Jie Jingchen’s answer was firm. ’Gratitude is gratitude, love is love, and marriage is marriage. He kept them separate. He would marry her out of responsibility, but he wouldn’t fall in love with her simply because she’d healed Jing Qi’s leg.’

’When had he started to develop feelings for her? Perhaps it was after he brought her back to Shijiu City, when they started living together day in and day out. Or maybe it was even earlier, back when they were in Shanghai.’

Qin Xiang smiled. He was satisfied with that answer.

”Fourth Sister-in-law.” Without knocking, Jie Jingshan pushed the door open and went inside.

Qin Mei jumped. ’She’d completely forgotten to lock the door after Jie Jingchen left. Thank goodness she was already dressed, or that would have been awkward.’

”Fourth Sister-in-law, your jacket.” Jie Jingshan handed the jacket back to Qin Mei.

Qin Mei walked over to Jing Qi, took the jacket, and put it on. Slipping a hand into the pocket, she pulled out the envelope she had secretly placed there earlier. She looked at Jing Qi with a helpless expression. ”Jing Qi, I have money.”

”I have money too.” Jie Jingshan stuck her tongue out playfully. Without giving Qin Mei a chance to hand the envelope back, she turned, steadied herself against the wall, and left the room. ”Fourth Sister-in-law, hurry up, the congee’s going to get cold!”

Qin Mei sighed. She silently slipped the envelope back into her pocket and walked out of the room. Seeing her head for the kitchen with her head lowered, Jie Jingchen called out, ”Meimei, over here.”

Qin Mei looked up at Jie Jingchen. He pointed to the bowl on the stone table, and her eyes flickered. She changed direction and walked toward them.

The congee was still steaming. Qin Mei sat on the stone stool, picked up her chopsticks, and had a mouthful of congee before picking up the peeled egg and taking a bite.

Qin Mei ate quickly, finishing in just a few minutes. Jie Jingchen took her bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash them.

Not seeing any sign of Grandpa or Granny, Qin Mei couldn’t help but ask Jie Jingshan, ”Where are Grandpa and Granny?”

”They took our cousin An Lin to get some medicine,” Jie Jingshan replied with a smile.

Qin Mei paused, stunned. ”Did Mom give Granny money?” she asked.

Jie Jingshan shook her head. ”Granny didn’t ask Mom for money.”

”She didn’t ask Mom?” Qin Mei was confused. ”But didn’t Granny declare she was going to ask Mom for the money?”

’She didn’t go to Mom; she came to me, and Jing Si turned her down flat. Didn’t Granny say she had no money? Looks like you can’t believe a word she says.’

’Old folks always have a secret stash of cash. Having money on hand keeps them from panicking.’

”Granny asked Second Sister-in-law,” Jie Jingshan said.

”She asked Xu Chunyan?” Qin Mei was shocked. ’Xu Chunyan? That woman is a notorious cheapskate. Would she really give Granny money?’

’Getting money out of Xu Chunyan was no easy feat. She knew that from personal experience.’

Jie Jingshan didn’t know the details either. ”Anyway, Second Sister-in-law gave her the money. No, I mean, she probably *lent* it to her. No one’s a fool; we all know what Granny’s like. They might call it a loan, but who knows if she’ll ever pay it back.”

Jie Jingchen came out from washing the dishes and told Qin Mei to get the money. Qin Mei went back to their room and found an army-green canvas satchel in the cabinet. She set aside a few hundred yuan for herself and packed the rest into the bag, which she then had Jie Jingchen wear.

Jie Jingchen rode his bicycle with Qin Mei on the back, while Qin Xiang rode Jing Wu’s bike with Jing Qi. With Jie Jingchen leading the way, they headed to the bank to deposit the money.

On their way out of the bank, Qin Xiang said he wanted to go to the department store, so Jie Jingchen led the way. Just as they were approaching the store, Jie Jingchen braked abruptly. Qin Mei, riding behind him, slammed right into his back. The impact jarred her nose, sending a stinging pain through it that made her eyes water.

”What was that for?” Qin Mei rubbed her sore nose. ’Who just stops like that? I think my nose is broken!’

”What’s wrong?” Qin Xiang stopped as well, asking in confusion.

Jie Jingchen pressed his lips together. ”It’s nothing. The weather’s turning bad. It’s not a good day for shopping.”

Hearing this, Qin Mei and Qin Xiang both looked up at the sky in unison. It was bright and sunny. ’This is what he calls bad weather?’

Qin Mei followed Jie Jingchen’s gaze toward the department store in the distance. What she saw gave her a shock. It was Shen Qing, entering the department store with a man. And from the back, that man did not look like Jie Jinghun.

”Jie Jingsi is right. The weather is terrible today, not a good day for shopping. Let’s go, let’s just go home,” Qin Mei said, mimicking Jie Jingchen’s earlier tone. She patted his shoulder and urged, ”Let’s go. Now.”

Qin Xiang stared at the couple, completely baffled. He glanced toward the department store, but everyone he saw was a stranger.

Jie Jingshan saw her too, but her reaction wasn’t as complicated as Jie Jingchen’s and Qin Mei’s. She simply cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled toward the department store, ”Third Sister-in-law!”

Jie Jingchen and Qin Xiang froze, both turning to look at Jing Qi. Neither had expected her to call out to Shen Qing. They were too far away, so Shen Qing didn’t hear. Just as Jing Qi was about to shout again, Qin Mei stopped her. ”Jing Qi.”

”What’s wrong, Fourth Sister-in-law?” Jie Jingshan asked, looking lost.

”Um...” Qin Mei struggled, unsure how to explain. It was in moments like this that Jing Qi’s naivete truly showed.

”Fourth Sister-in-law, I saw Third Sister-in-law,” Jie Jingshan said, pointing toward the department store.

Qin Mei gave a wry smile. ’Of course she saw her. She had eyes. Both she and Jie Jingchen had seen, and their first instinct was to leave. But Jing Qi wanted to go say hello. If Shen Qing had been alone, or with Jie Jinghun, she wouldn’t have hesitated. But Shen Qing was with another man. How awkward would it be to run into them now?’

The man wasn’t a stranger to Jing Qi and Jie Jingchen, but he was to Qin Mei.

”You must have seen wrong,” Qin Mei lied brazenly.

”I didn’t! Fourth Sister-in-law, look, it’s really her! It’s Third Sister-in-law!” Jie Jingshan insisted, growing anxious.

Qin Mei pressed a hand to her forehead. ’Jing Qi only had eyes for Shen Qing. Couldn’t she see the man beside her? The one who kept leaning down to whisper to her, the one Shen Qing was smiling at so freely? Qin Mei hadn’t interacted much with Shen Qing, but her impression had always been of a woman as cold as ice. She’d thought Shen Qing was incapable of smiling. But now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all. It was just that she, Qin Mei, wasn’t someone Shen Qing considered worthy of a smile.’

”Little Sis, you don’t get along with their Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law?” Qin Xiang asked, puzzled.