Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Xu Chunyan thought for a moment, the pain on her face deepening. ”Mom, it’s not that simple. Even if this baby is gone, they can just get pregnant again.”

”Pregnant again? That little hussy is in love with Jing Si, not Jing Er. She’d rather have Jing Si’s baby than Jing Er’s,” Liu Guihua said viciously.

Xu Chunyan didn’t argue. Lin Yaru’s target had always been Jing Si, never Jing Er. Even though she was now registered to marry Jing Er and was pregnant with his child, she was obsessed with Jing Si. With a single word from him, she’d abort the baby and divorce Jing Er. She would willingly follow Jing Si without any official title or status, even if he refused to marry her.

”Chunyan, you’re the closest with that little hussy. You need to help her,” Liu Guihua said.

”Help her?” Xu Chunyan gave a bitter smile. ”Haven’t I helped enough? I’m already suffering the consequences of trying to set her up with Jing Si.”

”What consequences? You just went astray for a bit. As long as you don’t give up, you’ll remarry Jing Er one day. Your family of three can be reunited,” Liu Guihua said firmly.

Xu Chunyan sensed something was off. Her mother didn’t have the intelligence for such a farsighted plan. ”Mom, did you meet with our cousin-uncle?”

”No,” Liu Guihua denied flatly, but her eyes darted away.

”Mom, let me remind you, no one in our cousin-uncle’s family is any good. Be careful they don’t use you. Don’t end up being sold by them and still helping them count the money,” Xu Chunyan warned.

”Chunyan, I said no!” Liu Guihua got angry and threw down her chopsticks. ”You stay here with Xiao You. I’m going to see if your brother is back yet.”

”Xiao You, stop eating. I’ll take you back,” Xu Chunyan said, also getting angry and deliberately going against her mother.

”Xu Chunyan, are my words just wind in your ears? It took so much effort to convince Jing Er to let me bring Xiao You home. Instead of using this holiday to bond with Xiao You, you want to send him back? Can’t you see how hard I’m trying for your own good?” Liu Guihua looked at her daughter with disappointment.

’I’m someone who throws tantrums and makes unreasonable scenes, and they’ve pushed me to the point of scheming. Has it been easy for me?’

”Right! He dumps his son on me so he can focus on preparing the wedding banquet with Lin Yaru,” Xu Chunyan said sarcastically.

’We’re not even on the same page.’ Liu Guihua looked at her daughter in shock. ’Where did my smart and resourceful daughter go? She used to be the one who came up with all the plans for me. I’d strike wherever she pointed. Now our roles are reversed, and she won’t even cooperate. It’s infuriating!’

Liu Guihua took a deep breath, suppressing her anger. ”Chunyan, it’s true you gave birth to Xiao You, but he’s still young and doesn’t understand a lot of things. Right now, he’ll cling to whoever is nice to him. If Lin Yaru is hypocritically nice to him, he won’t be able to tell the difference and will treat an enemy as his mother. Once Xiao You starts depending on Lin Yaru, it’s completely over between you and Jing Er.”

Xu Chunyan understood the logic, but she was truly afraid her mother was being used by their cousin-uncle’s family.

”Mom, I don’t want to go back,” Jie You said.

Xu Chunyan froze. She knelt down, holding Jie You’s small shoulders, and asked, ”Xiao You, why don’t you want to go back? Is your dad mean to you?”

”Grandma said Dad is going to marry Teacher Lin, and Teacher Lin is going to have a son for him. Once they have a son, they won’t like me anymore. They’ll hit me and yell at me,” Jie You said, sounding wronged.

Xu Chunyan’s heart ached. Tears streamed down her face as she pulled Jie You into her arms, her voice choked with sobs. ”Mommy’s here. No one will dare bully my Xiao You.”

”Mommy, why don’t you live with me and Daddy? Why did Grandpa and Grandma kick us out of the house? Mommy, I don’t want to live there! I want to go home!” Jie You wailed.

Listening to her child’s cries, Xu Chunyan’s heart felt like it was breaking.

’For a moment, she was filled with regret. Regret for trying to destroy Jing Si and Qin Mei’s marriage, for trying to set Lin Yaru up with Jing Si. Regret for taking that gamble, only to end up suffering the consequences herself.’

Liu Guihua stood quietly to the side. She didn’t go over to comfort them or interrupt, simply letting the mother and son cling to each other and cry their hearts out. ’Things are already bad enough. How much worse can they get?’

Qin Mei hadn’t woken up yet when Second Aunt-in-law arrived.

”Fourth Wife of Jing,” Second Aunt-in-law called out, fanning herself with a cattail fan as she knocked on the door.

”Second Aunt-in-law.” Qin Mei was completely exasperated. She had just managed to fall asleep, and now Second Aunt-in-law was here to wake her up.

”I’m here to pick up the plaster,” Second Aunt-in-law said. Seeing that Qin Mei was sweating, she started fanning her with the cattail fan.

Qin Mei paused for a moment, then looked at Second Aunt-in-law sheepishly. ”I forgot to make it.”

Second Aunt-in-law had reminded her yesterday that they were out of plaster and that she absolutely had to make some today. Qin Mei had readily agreed, but then she forgot because it was just too hot.

’On such a hot day, I really don’t want to be stuck by the medicine stove. It’s too hot.’

Second Aunt-in-law wasn’t angry. Qin Mei was her God of Wealth. ’How could I dare get angry at the God of Wealth?’ ”It’s fine. There’s still time to make it now.”

”I can’t stand the heat. I don’t want to do it,” Qin Mei grimaced. ’It’s so hot I don’t even feel like making money.’

”I’ll do it, you just give the instructions.” Second Aunt-in-law was really going all out to make some money. After saying this, she worried Qin Mei would refuse. Her doing the work was tantamount to teaching her the technique. She understood the old saying: teach an apprentice all your skills, and the master will starve.

”Alright,” Qin Mei agreed readily.

Second Aunt-in-law was stunned. ”Fourth Wife of Jing.”

The medicine stove was too small, so they decocted the herbs directly in a large wok. A full wok of herbs was prepared. Qin Mei told Second Aunt-in-law what heat to use and for how long. And so, Second Aunt-in-law busied herself in the kitchen while Qin Mei stayed in her room, enjoying the fan.

Decocting the herbs was easy. With the high temperature, the hard part was waiting for the medicine to cool down.

After scooping out the dregs, Second Aunt-in-law looked at the half-wok of liquid. ’This doesn’t look like what Qin Mei makes at all. Hers is thick and sticky, but mine is as thin as soup.’

Second Aunt-in-law thought to herself that this was bad. ’Making plaster really requires a professional. I’m just an amateur, and I failed on my first try. What a waste of so many herbs. I wonder if it can be saved?’

”Fourth Wife of Jing!” Second Aunt-in-law shouted. After waiting a moment with no sign of Qin Mei, she grew even more anxious. ’So many herbs ruined at my hands. I can’t afford to pay for them.’

’She’d seen Qin Mei buy herbs from Ah Bing before. Just thinking about the amount of money paid made her heart ache.’

”Fourth Wife of Jing!” Second Aunt-in-law ran out of the kitchen and into her room to look for her. Not seeing Qin Mei, but noticing the bathroom door was open and the fan in the room was still running, she called out tentatively, ”Fourth Wife of Jing, are you in the bathroom?”

”I’m over here.” Qin Mei came out of the room where the herbs were stored, holding an enamel basin.

”Fourth Wife of Jing, what were you doing over there?” Second Aunt-in-law asked, confused, and immediately ran toward Qin Mei.

”Mixing ingredients,” Qin Mei said, handing the enamel basin to Second Aunt-in-law as she habitually locked the room.

The enamel basin was covered with a cloth. Second Aunt-in-law didn’t know what was inside and wanted to lift the cover to look, but Qin Mei stopped her.

”It’s windy, don’t uncover it.” Qin Mei put the key in her pocket, took the enamel basin back from Second Aunt-in-law, and walked toward the kitchen.

”Fourth Wife of Jing, I think I messed up,” Second Aunt-in-law said guiltily.

”Messed what up?” Qin Mei asked casually.

”The medicine,” Second Aunt-in-law said.

Qin Mei stopped, looked at Second Aunt-in-law, and asked, ”Did you poke a hole in the wok?”

Second Aunt-in-law froze, then shook her head. ”No, the wok’s not broken. It’s the medicine. The plaster you make is thick and sticky, but mine is as thin as soup.”

Qin Mei understood perfectly but didn’t say much. She carried the enamel basin into the kitchen. The temperature inside was so high that Qin Mei didn’t even want to go in.

In front of Second Aunt-in-law, Qin Mei uncovered the cloth and poured the powder from the enamel basin into the wok, stirring. In just a moment, the medicine became thick and sticky.

Second Aunt-in-law was astounded. ’That powder is all medicinal herbs! I even helped Qin Mei grind them before.’