Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Never mind anything else, Jie Jingchen’s handling of the situation with An Lin was just too cold-hearted. An Lin was his cousin, and when she’d wanted Qin Mei to brew his medicine, Qin Mei had refused. Then, Jie Jingchen had blown up at her and kicked An Lin out.

”This is the eldest son’s home. We’re already imposing on them by living here. You not only want An Lin to move in, you want him to bring his wife, too. Never mind Jing Si—Qiao Yanqiu would never agree to that either,” Grandpa said.

Granny saw nothing wrong with her plan. Wiping away her tears, she said resentfully, ”I just feel so bad for An Lin. I want Jing Si’s wife to cure his private ailment quickly. If he lives here, it’ll be more convenient for her to treat him. And since he’d be living here, isn’t it only natural for his wife to move in too?”

Grandpa rubbed his forehead. ”This is our eldest son’s house,” he reminded her. ”This is our daughter-in-law’s courtyard.”

Qin Mei sat beneath the window, listening quietly. ’Older people from this era always want to control every aspect of the younger generation’s lives. They’re also incredibly biased. The grandchildren they dote on are happy, but the ones they don’t are miserable and relentlessly exploited.’

”Don’t give me that,” Granny snapped, her tone domineering. ”All I know is that this is my eldest son’s house, and I have every right to live here.”

Jie Jingchen walked out of the kitchen just in time to hear her. He let out a contemptuous sneer, his voice cold. ”The house my dad was assigned is at the machinery factory. You and Grandpa are already living in my dad’s house, along with Second Uncle’s family.”

Granny was so enraged she trembled from head to toe. Pointing a shaky finger at Jie Jingchen, she cursed viciously, ”You unfilial whelp! How dare you bully me like this? Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning for it?”

Jie Jingchen’s amber eyes were piercing, his thin lips pressed into a cold, hard line. With his hands in his pockets, he spoke in a low voice, each word deliberate and forceful. ”The price of my dad’s blind filial piety was becoming a widower. So I don’t repeat his mistake, I will not allow anyone to bully Qin Mei.”

Granny gasped. Everyone considered her the main culprit in Zhang Hongyan’s death. She admitted she had abused Zhang Hongyan, but she’d never intended for her to die. ”I’ll say it again: Zhang Hongyan died saving your mother. I didn’t abuse her to death.”

Jie Jingchen’s gaze was sharp as his lips parted. ”Without your abuse, would she have killed herself?”

Granny’s eyes widened, her chest heaving with anger. Jie Jingchen’s words were brutally direct. Not even Zhang Hongyan’s own three children had ever dared to accuse her so openly about their mother’s death.

Suddenly, Granny sneered. ”If Zhang Hongyan hadn’t died, would you, Jing Wu, and Jing Qi even have been born?”

Jie Jingchen raised an eyebrow, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. His gaze, fixed on Granny, was utterly devoid of warmth. ”Whether we would have been born is not important. What is important is that your lives would certainly not be this comfortable.”

Granny was struck dumb. She couldn’t refute Jie Jingchen’s words. Zhang Hongyan, aside from being a tireless worker, couldn’t offer any help. Qiao Yanqiu, on the other hand, was different. Qiao Yanqiu had brought wealth to their family.

Qin Mei’s heart sank. ’The grudges of the older generation were so oppressive. Zhang Hongyan had saved Qiao Yanqiu at the cost of her own life, sacrificing herself to give her children a better life.’

’Qin Mei wondered, did Qiao Yanqiu marry Jie Jianguo to repay her life-saving debt to Zhang Hongyan? Was their relationship born from gratitude, or from love?’

’Qin Mei guessed it had to be love. If it were purely out of gratitude, would Qiao Yanqiu have borne children for Jie Jianguo?’

”What are you thinking about?” Jie Jingchen’s voice suddenly cut through her thoughts.

Qin Mei jumped, startled. She gathered her thoughts and turned to see Jie Jingchen standing behind her. Glancing back out the window, she saw Grandpa helping the sobbing Granny back to her room. ”Jie Jingsi, aren’t you afraid you’ll make your granny sick with anger?”

”She won’t be,” Jie Jingchen stated firmly.

Qin Mei said no more. She knew she had no right to speak on certain matters. Jie Jingchen came over and crouched in front of her. He took her small hand and pressed a kiss to it. ”In a bad mood?”

Qin Mei faltered for a second, then shook her head. ”No.”

”Meimei.” Jie Jingchen gazed at her with deep affection, the pad of his thumb rubbing her palm.

”I’m really not in a bad mood.” Qin Mei pulled her hands free, cupped his face, and gently kneaded his cheeks. ”Cross my heart.”

Jie Jingchen said nothing, simply gazing at her.

Qin Mei felt a little guilty. She pinched his cheek, and as she was about to let go, Jie Jingchen stopped her, pressing the back of her hand tightly against his face.

After a long while, Qin Mei finally spoke. ”I don’t like to cook.”