Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Lin Yaru could hear the impatience and irritation in Jie Jingwei’s voice, so she chose her words carefully. ”Sister Xu’s mother fell ill. She’s at the hospital looking after her, so she asked me to take care of Xiao You for a few days.”

Hearing that his mother-in-law was sick and in the hospital, Jie Jingwei replied tonelessly, ”Thank you, then.”

Jie Jingwei sounded so distant and formal that Lin Yaru couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She probed, ”Second Brother Jing, are you going to visit the hospital?”

”I’m not a doctor. What good would I be at the hospital?” Jie Jingwei snapped. ’My in-laws have too much damn drama, and I’m done getting involved. My father-in-law was sent to the Northwest for reform through labor, and who knows if he can even survive the harsh climate there. My brother-in-law was crippled by Aunt Qiao. Even the Xu Family has abandoned their branch of the family. It’s best if I just stay away from them.’

’My mother-in-law is half-mad, and my brother-in-law is a complete wreck. They’re nothing but a burden to me. I can write off my mother-in-law, she’s old, but my brother-in-law is still young. He’ll be a burden for life.’

Lin Yaru fell silent. ’What am I supposed to say to that? Should I try to convince him to go? But what right do I have? I’m Xiao You’s teacher, not his.’

”Yaru, I’m exhausted. I’m going to my room to rest. You can just...”

”I’ll go make dinner for Xiao You,” Lin Yaru cut in.

Jie Jingwei paused, taken aback for a moment. ”I’ll leave it to you, then. Thanks for your hard work.”

Jie Jingwei handed Xiao You over to Lin Yaru, then picked up his cloth bag and headed for the house. He was more than happy to let her cook for Xiao You. After getting off the train, he had gone straight to the machinery factory to see his second uncle, who had filled him in on everything that had happened at home recently.

His uncle had also secretly told him that he was about to be promoted, which would leave the director’s position vacant. He urged Jie Jingwei to perform well; if he did, his uncle would recommend him for the spot.

Jie Jingwei’s ultimate goal was the position of factory director, but a stint as department director would be a good stepping stone.

’This is a critical time. I have to put on a good show, which means I’ll be too busy to spare a moment. With Chunyan at the hospital taking care of her mother, neither of us has time for Xiao You. In any case, she already arranged for Lin Yaru to look after our daughter, so I don’t need to worry about her. I can focus everything on competing for the director’s position. I can’t let Jing Si beat me to the punch.’

Jie Jingwei didn’t try to chase her off like Jing Qi had, so Lin Yaru breathed a sigh of relief and led Jie You into the kitchen.

Seeing this, Jie Jingshan fumed. ’Whose house is this, anyway?’

”I’m going to find Mom,” Jie Jingshan said, starting to get up.

”Jing Qi.” Qin Mei stopped her, shaking her head.

”Fourth Sister-in-law, Lin Yaru’s intentions are not what they seem. She’s here for Fourth Brother,” Jie Jingshan warned.

Qin Mei gave a cunning smile and crooked a finger at Jie Jingshan. After a moment’s hesitation, Jie Jingshan leaned in closer.

Qin Mei leaned into Jie Jingshan’s ear and whispered, ”Jing Qi, how would you like a new second sister-in-law?”

Jie Jingshan started, staring at Qin Mei with a look of stunned disbelief. ”Fourth Sister-in-law, are you trying to...?”

”Jing Qi, you were right. Proximity breeds opportunity. As for who gets to be the moon...” Qin Mei let out a crisp laugh that was utterly chilling.

”Fourth Sister-in-law, isn’t that... a bit much?” Despite her words, a gleam in Jie Jingshan’s eyes showed she was eager to see it happen.

’My second sister-in-law is a really annoying person. With her in the family, there’s no peace. Honestly, a new second sister-in-law would be great, but Lin Yaru isn’t the best choice. After all, her designs on Fourth Brother are a classic case of Sima Zhao’s ambition—plain for all to see.’

”I think it’s a great idea. Xu Chunyan wants to set your Fourth Brother up with Teacher Lin, so we’ll just set Teacher Lin up with your Second Brother Jing. Since she’s so fond of Teacher Lin, I’m sure she’d be more than happy to give up her own position for her,” Qin Mei said. She was determined to make Xu Chunyan’s scheme backfire spectacularly.

’As long as Xu Chunyan doesn’t provoke me, I won’t strike back. But even after the Xu Family has fallen so far, she refuses to lie low and insists on stirring up trouble. In that case, she can’t blame me for being ruthless. This time, I’ll take her out with a single blow and send her packing right back where she came from.’

’And after Jie Jingwei and Teacher Lin are married, my sharp-witted mother-in-law certainly won’t let them keep living here. Not for any other reason than Teacher Lin’s infatuation with Jie Jingchen.’

Jie Jingshan’s lips twitched. ’Willing? More like she’ll regret it to her dying day.’

’I have to admit, Fourth Sister-in-law’s plan is viciously clever.’

”But, Fourth Sister-in-law, the person Lin Yaru loves is my Fourth Brother. How are you going to set her up with Second Brother Jing?” Jie Jingshan asked in a low voice.

The person Lin Yaru admires is Fourth Brother. When our second sister-in-law plays matchmaker, Lin Yaru is all for it. But she doesn’t like Second Brother Jing. If you’re the one trying to set them up, will she really play along?

”A master has her methods,” Qin Mei said with a mysterious smile. ’Jing Qi is still young, and I’d rather not be a bad influence.’ Qin Mei didn’t spell it out. ’It’s just the usual business between a man and a woman. They sleep together, and if they’re lucky, a baby comes along. If I give things a little push behind the scenes and the woman’s family lends a hand, the chances of success are very high.’

’If there are no feelings between them, a little something in their drink will help. Then everything will fall into place naturally.’

’Even a tough-as-nails man like Jie Jingchen was taken down by the original owner of this body with drugs, wasn’t he?’

’Drugging them is the simplest, most brutish method. And there’s no time like the present.’ With that thought, Qin Mei immediately got up to prepare the concoction.

Qin Mei gritted her teeth against the pain in her knees and walked toward the house, leaving Jing Qi standing alone in the courtyard, utterly bewildered.

Once inside, Qin Mei looked down at the torn, bloodstained knees of her pants. She took them off, changed into a clean pair, and instead of throwing the ruined ones away, she tossed them into a bucket in the toilet.

She didn’t immediately start preparing the drug. Instead, she left her room and went to her mother-in-law’s.

’I should run this by my mother-in-law and see what she thinks,’ she thought. ’This plan won’t just destroy Jie Jingwei and Xu Chunyan’s marriage; it will also ruin a woman’s reputation. And in this day and age, a woman’s reputation is everything.’ Qin Mei was keenly aware of this.

’If Lin Yaru is a woman of unyielding virtue, this plan will drive her to a dead end. I’d feel a bit guilty about that.’

Mrs. Xie was sleeping in her room, but she hadn’t locked the door from the inside. Without knocking, Qin Mei gently pushed the door open, slipped inside on light feet, and closed it behind her.

Seeing that Mrs. Xie was sleeping soundly, Qin Mei didn’t wake her. She sat down, picked up a medical text, and began to read, habitually jotting notes in the margins.

Some time later, Mrs. Xie woke up. When she opened her eyes, she saw Qin Mei in the room, still holding the medical book. Her eyes softened slightly. Qin Mei was so engrossed that she didn’t even notice when Mrs. Xie came to stand right behind her.

Qin Mei was studying a section on cardiothoracic surgery. Mrs. Xie was astonished to see that with Qin Mei’s annotations, the success rate of a procedure that was originally only one-third had instantly jumped, increasing to at least two-thirds.

”Xiao Mei!” Mrs. Xie grabbed Qin Mei’s hand in her excitement, completely forgetting about the abrasion on her daughter-in-law’s wrist.

HISS! Qin Mei sucked in a sharp breath, letting out a pained grunt. She looked at Mrs. Xie’s excited face and said sweetly, ”Mom, you’re awake?”

”Xiao Mei, come work at our hospital,” Mrs. Xie pleaded, her beautiful eyes filled with genuine entreaty. ”You’re a medical genius! For someone with your talent not to be putting it to use in a hospital is an absolute, criminal waste.”

’I can’t give up. I have to persuade her. We have to put her talent to good use and benefit the patients.’

”Mom,” Qin Mei said, looking at Mrs. Xie with a helpless expression. ”Mom, my mind is made up. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have turned you down in the first place.”

”Xiao Mei, just listen to me...” Mrs. Xie began to try and persuade her, but Qin Mei cut her off.

”Mom, let’s not talk about that. I came to see you because there’s something I wanted to discuss,” Qin Mei said, smiling at her mother-in-law.

Mrs. Xie paused. Seeing her daughter-in-law’s unyielding attitude, she knew that pressing the issue would only make Qin Mei turn against her. A flicker of frustration crossed Mrs. Xie’s face before she composed herself, her voice becoming gentle and kind once more. ”What is it?”

”Teacher Lin is here at the house,” Qin Mei said.

”What?” Mrs. Xie’s blood pressure spiked, and her eyes filled with rage. ”What kind of trouble is that Xu Chunyan stirring up now? Xiao Mei, I promise you, I will not let this slide.”