Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Before long, the smell of medicine wafted from the kitchen. Jie Jingling took several deep breaths; this medicinal scent was different from the herbal tea Qin Mei usually brewed.

Jie Jingling looked at Xu Chunyan’s bruised and swollen face. She certainly didn’t think Qin Mei was brewing medicine for her.

Xu Chunyan wrinkled her nose in disgust at the medicinal scent. ”First Sister, just smell that. Ever since she arrived, the house always reeks of medicine. Even the neighbors are complaining.”

Jie Jingling didn’t respond. She was a daughter who had married out of the family. Never mind that Xu Chunyan and Jing Er were divorced—even if they weren’t, what was the use of complaining to her?

”First Sister, Qin Mei is a venomous witch! It’s because of her that Jing Er and I divorced! Because of her, Aunt Qiao convinced Father to throw Jing Er out! Because of her...”

”You and Jing Er are divorced, and Jing Er was thrown out. Shouldn’t you be gloating?” Jie Jingling cut her off, sick and tired of hearing her complain about Qin Mei.

Jing Er was her full brother, from the same mother and father, while Jing Si was only her half-brother. Logically, she should have sided with Jing Er. But based on her friendship with Qin Mei alone, Xu Chunyan could forget about trying to sow discord.

”I love Jing Er. I can gloat over anyone’s misfortune, but never his. As long as Jing Er is well, I’ll be content,” Xu Chunyan said, putting on the air of a martyr sacrificing everything for him.

”You two are already divorced,” Jie Jingling reminded her.

”We had no choice but to divorce! Qin Mei is the culprit. If it wasn’t for her, Jing Er and I would never have divorced!” Xu Chunyan said viciously.

Jie Jingling finally lost her temper. ”Did Amie give you the drug for Lin Yaru? Did Amie tell you to convince Lin Yaru to drug Jing Si? And as a result, Jing Er ended up eating the drugged food by mistake. Xu Chunyan, can’t you see the facts? You’re in this mess because you brought it all on yourself!”

Faced with Jie Jingling’s aggressive accusations, Xu Chunyan’s eyes flooded with overwhelming hatred. ”No! It wasn’t me, it was Qin Mei! They knew the food was drugged! They just stood by and watched Jing Er eat it! Not only did they not stop him, they actively pushed him and Lin Yaru together. They’re so vicious!”

”Do you know why they didn’t stop him?” Jie Jingling asked.

”Why else? They wanted me to suffer the consequences of my own actions.” Xu Chunyan wasn’t a fool.

Jie Jingling smiled, then said slowly and deliberately, ”They wanted a new sister-in-law.”

Xu Chunyan was furious, but she could only grit her teeth and swallow her rage.

”What gives them the right?” Xu Chunyan demanded through gritted teeth.

”Because you gave them the opportunity.” Jie Jingling paused, then continued, ”Xu Chunyan, search your heart and ask yourself: are you truly innocent? Jing Si married Qin Mei, yet you deluded yourself into thinking they should divorce so he could marry Lin Yaru. Xu Chunyan, it’s Jing Si’s marriage! Who he marries is his decision. What gives you the right to try and control his life?”

”Yaru loves Jing Si!” Xu Chunyan roared.

Jie Jingling’s face filled with contempt. ”And Jing Si doesn’t love her.”

”Jing Si does love her! If it weren’t for Qin Mei, he would have married Yaru!” Xu Chunyan was becoming hysterical. ’If Jing Si had married Lin Yaru, then Lin Yaru would never have gotten involved with Jing Er, and the Lin family would never have threatened Jing Er into divorcing me.’

Jie Jingling looked at the delusional Xu Chunyan. ”Jing Si would never have married Lin Yaru. If he had any real interest in her, he absolutely would not have married Qin Mei.”

”Qin Mei seduced him,” Xu Chunyan said, her voice tight with strain.

”Jing Si loves Qin Mei. He only took the bait because he wanted to be caught.” Jie Jingling’s words left Xu Chunyan speechless. ”You’ll never recognize your own mistakes, will you? Xu Chunyan, nothing you say to me will change a thing. Your marriage to Jing Er is over.”

Not wanting to listen to Xu Chunyan any longer, Jie Jingling stood up to leave.

”Jie Jingling.” Xu Chunyan used her full name. ”What gives you the right to talk to me like that? Who do you think you are? You’re just the daughter the Jie Family abandoned. Isn’t Qiao Yanqiu supposed to be so capable? When you were sent down to the countryside as an educated youth, I refuse to believe she couldn’t have kept you here. They sent you to the countryside and let you marry some peasant. Do you know why? Because you’re not Qiao Yanqiu’s daughter.”

Jie Jingling stopped, her back still to Xu Chunyan, and sneered inwardly.

”The Jie Family has so many sons, and only you and Jing Qi are daughters, yet you were the only one sent to the countryside. Jie Jingling, I don’t believe for a second you aren’t bitter about it.” Xu Chunyan was deliberately trying to stir up trouble.

Jie Jingling started walking again, refusing to engage with the madwoman.

”Jie Jingling, stop right there!” Xu Chunyan scrambled to her feet to chase after her, but she tripped over her own feet and went down hard. ”Agh!”

Xu Chunyan fell flat on her face.

Jie Jingling went into the kitchen, intending to help with dinner. Instead, she found a large pot of medicine simmering on the stove. Jie Jingchen was prepping vegetables while the second aunt watched over the pot. Jie You was hovering around Jie Jingchen. ”Fourth Uncle, I missed you! Did you miss me?”

”Nope,” Jie Jingchen replied. ’And he meant it.’

”Fourth Uncle, why didn’t you miss me? Don’t you like me anymore?” Jie You pressed.

”That’s right. I don’t like noisy, chattering children. I like quiet children,” Jie Jingchen said.

”Fourth Uncle!” the little boy pouted and stomped his foot.

”Xiao You.” Jie Jingling ruffled the little boy’s hair. As a mother herself, she had a soft spot for all children, especially since Xiao You was Jing Er’s son—her own nephew.

”First Aunt,” the little boy said, looking up at Jie Jingling. He didn’t feel any particular connection to this aunt, unlike his younger aunt. Even though he was a little scared of Jing Qi, he still felt a bond with her.

”Xiao You, want some candy?” Jie Jingling asked with a smile.

The little boy shook his head. ”I want to gnaw on a chicken leg.”

”There are no chicken legs,” Jie Jingchen said. He hadn’t gone grocery shopping; the second aunt had. She’d bought a piece of pork belly, but the rest was all vegetables.

”I don’t care! I want a chicken leg!” The little boy squirmed, refusing to give up.

The second aunt smiled and tried to soothe him. ”You can have a chicken leg tomorrow.”

Before the words were even out of her mouth, Jie Jingling and Jie Jingchen both turned to look at her in unison.

Realizing what she’d just said, the second aunt froze for a second. ”I misspoke.”

Tomorrow was Jing Er and Lin Yaru’s wedding banquet. If Xiao You went, Xu Chunyan would surely follow, and that would make for an incredibly awkward scene.

”Xiao You, your mom’s calling for you,” Jie Jingchen said, patting the little boy’s shoulder.

The little boy didn’t hesitate for a second and ran out of the kitchen. ’He’d just checked, and there really weren’t any chicken legs here. But Grandma’s house had them! He’d go back to Grandma’s and get a chicken leg there.’

”Mom, let’s go! Let’s go back to Grandma’s house!” The little boy tugged on Xu Chunyan, who was sitting in a daze in the courtyard.

Xu Chunyan shook off her sorrowful thoughts, smoothed her hair, and put her hands on the boy’s shoulders. ”Xiao You, your grandpa isn’t back yet.”

”I don’t want Grandpa, I want Grandma!” the little boy pouted. He had been spending a lot of time at his maternal grandmother’s house recently, and she treated him very well. He was starting to like her more and didn’t want his grandpa anymore, only his grandma.

Hearing this made Xu Chunyan’s spirits lift. ’As long as Xiao You stays by my side,’ she thought, ’there’s still hope for me and Jing Er to get back together.’

’If Lin Yaru thinks she’s going to have a child with Jing Er, she’s got another thing coming. Son or daughter, it doesn’t matter—I won’t allow it. A child is a bond between two people, and I will never permit such a bond to exist between Jing Er and Lin Yaru.’

”Alright, let’s go home to Grandma,” Xu Chunyan said, taking Xiao You’s hand to leave.

Just as they stepped out of the alley, Xu Chunyan saw Mr. Xie’s car. Xiao Wang was driving.

Xu Chunyan’s heart leaped. She stopped, crouched down, and said to Jie You, ”Xiao You, look! Your grandpa’s back.”

Jie You saw the car too. He stood on his tiptoes, waving his little hands and shouting excitedly, ”Grandpa! Grandpa!”

Xiao Wang saw the mother and son as well and wasn’t sure if he should stop. If Director Jie were in the car, he would stop without question. The problem was, his passengers were Mr. Jie and his new wife.

Mr. Jie had divorced Ms. Xu and married her colleague, Teacher Lin. Xiao Wang didn’t know the inside story, but he knew one thing for sure: marrying your ex-wife’s colleague was a recipe for maximum awkwardness.

”Mr. Jie, should I stop?” Xiao Wang asked Jie Jingwei.