Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Yaru is a stepmother. She doesn’t even look after her own child, so why would she look after mine and Chunyan’s? Dad, do you really think that’s realistic?” Jie Jingwei drew out the word ”stepmother” with heavy emphasis.

Mr. Xie stared at him, his eyes dark and unreadable. He forced the words out through gritted teeth. ”What is it you want?”

”Two options,” Jie Jingwei said. ”First, my mother-in-law can take my and Yaru’s child to the Lin Family’s home to be cared for. We’ll give Xiao You to Chunyan. However, Xiao You will have to change their surname. You know Xu Chunwang’s situation—the Xu Family can’t count on him to carry on the family line. If we let Xiao You take the Xu surname to continue their lineage, I’m sure the Xu family would be thrilled. They would definitely do everything in their power to care for Xiao You.”

”Impossible,” Mr. Xie snapped, his voice sharp with anger.

”Then that leaves the second option,” Jie Jingwei continued. ”Have Second Uncle and his family move out. Yaru and I will move in with her parents. That courtyard house has plenty of rooms, more than enough for us. While my mother-in-law is looking after my child with Yaru, she can look after Xiao You as well. It kills two birds with one stone.”

’His mother-in-law had been nagging him for ages, wanting Aunt Qiao to give him the north wing of the house. He’d only managed to shut her up by telling her that Dad would not only give him the house allocated by the machinery factory, but would also let him take over his position there.’

’If he took over his dad’s job, he’d be the factory director. With a factory director for a son-in-law, his mother-in-law could finally hold her head high. She wouldn’t care about some rooms in the north wing after that.’

’Kills two birds with one stone? Bullshit!’ A cold, hard expression washed over Mr. Xie’s face. ’His parents still lived in that house. Jie Jingwei hadn’t said a single word about caring for them; he obviously intended for my second son’s family to take our parents with them when they moved out.’

’My second son’s place is small, too. It’s already a tight squeeze for his own family, let alone with our parents moving in.’

”And what about your Grandpa and Granny?” Mr. Xie asked, his gaze fixed sharply on Jie Jingwei.

”They’ll move with Second Uncle and his family,” Jie Jingwei said.

”Jie Jingwei,” Mr. Xie seethed, his anger boiling over. ”I can agree to your Second Uncle’s family moving out. But your Grandpa and Granny must stay here.”

”If Grandpa and Granny stay, who’s going to look after them? My mother-in-law?” Jie Jingwei countered. ”Dad, be realistic. It’s your duty to care for them in their old age, not my mother-in-law’s. She has no such obligation. Even if you took this to the neighborhood committee, they wouldn’t side with you.”

Mr. Xie staggered back two steps, trembling with rage. He shot a venomous glare at Jie Jingwei’s face.

Jie Jingwei gritted his teeth and decided to twist the knife. ”Dad, I remember my childhood like it was yesterday. When I see Granny, it all comes back to me—especially how she mistreated my mother. Thinking about my late mother... I can’t guarantee I won’t be tempted to get some payback. Dad, would you really feel at ease leaving me to live with Grandpa and Granny?”

’A threat. That was an undeniable threat.’

A dull ache spread through Mr. Xie’s chest. His expression was full of sorrow, his anger melting away into guilt. He narrowed his eyes, his voice weak. ”Your Second Uncle’s house is small. His family barely fits as it is. If your Grandpa and Granny move in with them, where would they even sleep?”

”Two options,” Jie Jingwei said, clearly having come prepared.

Mr. Xie had the urge to slap him. ’Always with his two options.’ He gritted his teeth and asked, ”What options?”

”They could move into the house that’s being allocated to me. But An Lin’s wife is pregnant, so Second Aunt will have to take care of her. Second Uncle won’t want to be separated from his wife, so they probably won’t move with Grandpa and Granny. With no one to look after them, you’d obviously be worried. So the first option is out. That only leaves the second,” Jie Jingwei said, ignoring his father’s thunderous expression. ”There are plenty of rooms here. You can look after them yourself. That way, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

Mr. Xie glared at him. ’This bastard just loves to stir up trouble. If our parents moved in here, Yan Qiu would never agree. She’d just make him move out to take care of them instead.’

’For all these years, his second son’s family had cared for his parents with all their heart. In return, he had provided money and arranged for them to have a spacious home.’

’Now, Mr. Xie’s head was just throbbing with a massive headache. When Yan Qiu had divided the family assets, his second son, Jing Er, had gotten nothing. To placate him, Mr. Xie had promised Jing Er his house and his position at the factory.’

’But times were changing, and policies could change, too. Who knew what the rules would be by the time he retired? As for his own house, Jing Er already had a place to live, so he figured he wouldn’t be clamoring for it anytime soon. His plan had been to wait until after his parents passed away, then have his second son’s family move out to make room for Jie Jingwei.’

’Who would have thought Jie Jingwei would start coveting the house so soon?’