Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

’Weren’t they worried? If they cried wolf too many times, their daughter would eventually stop believing them.’

After taking his pulse, Qin Mei didn’t expose the lie right away. Instead, she gave Mrs. Xie a grief-stricken look.

”How is he?” Mrs. Xie asked urgently.

Qin Mei shot Mrs. Xie a meaningful glance. Mrs. Xie understood at once and let out a heavy sigh, her heart finally settling. Just as she was about to give her parents a stern lecture, Qin Mei reached out, took her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze, her eyes seeming to say, ’Calm down. Let me handle this.’

To stop the two elders from ever faking an illness to trick them again, Qin Mei decided to teach them a lesson they wouldn’t forget.

”So, granddaughter-in-law, how is your grandfather?” the grandmother asked, letting go of Jing Qi and looking at Qin Mei tentatively.

’She cured Jing Shan’s crippled legs, so she must have some real skill. Yan Qiu said she specializes in Chinese medicine, and the way she took his pulse just now looked pretty convincing. She couldn’t have found us out, could she?’

’But then she remembered Xiao Zhang’s guarantee—not even a miracle worker could tell her husband’s pulse was off. Xiao Zhang was their family doctor, and his skills were beyond question. On the other hand, Xiao Zhang had been helpless with Jing Shan’s legs, while this granddaughter-in-law had cured them completely.’

’She was torn between two possibilities—Qin Mei and Xiao Zhang.’

”Grandmother,” Qin Mei said, not answering the question. Instead, she turned her head to look at Jie Jingchen.

Jie Jingchen stepped forward and stood beside Qin Mei. He placed a large hand on her shoulder, giving it a slight, firm press. ”Meimei, just say what’s on your mind.”

Qin Mei stared at Jie Jingchen and asked, ”Can I really say whatever I want?”

”Yes.” Jie Jingchen nodded gravely. His eyes told Qin Mei, ’Go ahead. I’ll take care of any fallout.’

A sly glint flashed in Qin Mei’s eyes, and she spoke in a rapid-fire burst. ”He’s dead. Let’s bury him.”

”...” Jie Jingchen was speechless.

He hadn’t expected his wife to declare his grandfather dead just like that—and suggest burying him, no less.

Mrs. Xie pressed at the faint wrinkles by the corners of her eyes. ’How am I supposed to play along with Qin Mei? Am I supposed to start wailing?’

’Look at him,’ she thought, glancing at her father on the bed, whose lips were twitching. ’His grandson’s wife just said they should bury him, and he’s still putting on this deathbed act. I have to admit, his composure is on another level. I could never.’

Jie Jingshan stared at Qin Mei and asked uneasily, ”Fourth Sister-in-law, is Grandfather really...?”

”My condolences,” Qin Mei cut Jie Jingshan off, shooting her a look. Jie Jingshan instantly got the message. ’So Grandfather really is faking it.’

”You...” The grandmother pointed a trembling finger at Qin Mei. ’She’s a quack! No, wait, she can’t be... Xiao Zhang’s skills are just a bit better.’ Fearing her daughter and grandsons would see through the ruse, the grandmother took a deep breath and said to Qin Mei, ”Granddaughter-in-law, why don’t you check his pulse again? There might still be a sliver of hope.”

Qin Mei hesitated for a second before saying, ”Grandmother, this is a happy occasion.”

’It’s my first time in Xiangjiang meeting Jie Jingchen’s grandparents, and this is the stunt I pull. I must be making a terrible first impression. But who cares? They don’t even like their own eldest grandson, so what are the chances they’d like me, his wife?’

The grandmother swallowed hard and retorted, ”What do you mean, a happy occasion? Your grandfather isn’t even seventy.”

”Grandmother, Grandfather is dead, and since you don’t seem sad, I just assumed it was a happy occasion,” Qin Mei said, looking at her with an innocent expression.

The grandmother was speechless. ’This girl’s tongue is vicious! Of course I’m not sad—I know my husband is only pretending. I’m in on it!’

’Besides faking an illness, what else could we do to get them to visit? Did he have to actually die?’

’Faking an illness to trick them into coming back had worked every single time. The problem was, they’d show up, see right through it, and an angry Yan Qiu would take the kids and leave that very same day.’

’This time, to make it convincing, we spent days plotting with Xiao Zhang. He was reluctant to join our scheme at first, but with a mix of threats and enticements, we finally won him over. We’re not fools; we know Xiao Zhang is the spy our daughter planted to keep an eye on us.’

”Yan Qiu...” The grandmother looked to Mrs. Xie for help. Mrs. Xie simply turned, threw herself over her father’s body on the bed, and started making muffled sobbing sounds.

The grandmother’s lip twitched. ’Wait, don’t tell me she actually believed that girl’s nonsense and is mourning for real? My dear daughter! Your father isn’t dead yet!’

”Jing Chen,” the grandmother pleaded, turning to Jie Jingchen. Her eldest grandson was always the calmest one; surely he wouldn’t fall for this girl’s ridiculous claims.

”I’ll go tell the butler to prepare the mourning hall and notify our family and friends,” Jie Jingchen said, though he made no move to leave.

Just when the grandmother was stuck in an impossible situation, Qin Mei spoke up again. ”No, you can’t do that.”

”Right, right, you can’t! Listen to your wife.” The grandmother’s eyes lit up. She was about to suggest taking him to the hospital, where, under Xiao Zhang’s management, her husband could ”miraculously” wake up.

Qin Mei closed her eyes, raised her right hand, and began to run her thumb back and forth over the tips of her other four fingers.

Seeing Qin Mei acting like some kind of mystic, Jie Jingshan quietly turned her back to the group. ’I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to burst.’ She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

The unsuspecting grandmother saw Jie Jingshan’s shaking shoulders. ’Jing Shan’s way of grieving is so different from Yan Qiu’s,’ she thought. ’So quiet and restrained... it breaks my heart.’

Jie Jingchen was trying so hard to suppress his laughter that his face was twitching, his features contorted. To the grandmother, it looked as though he were struggling to contain his overwhelming grief.

The grandmother glared at the main culprit, who was now putting on a serious show of fortune-telling. ’Aren’t they cracking down on feudal superstitions back in Huaxia? Did she have to come all the way to Xiangjiang to ply her trade?’

Qin Mei’s eyes snapped open, her thumb resting on the tip of her ring finger. ”My calculations tell me,” she announced with an air of profound mystery, ”that you cannot set up a mourning hall. It would clash with the spirits of the Qiao Family ancestors.”

The grandmother’s wrinkled face contorted. ’Believe you? My foot! You fraud!’

Suppressing his laughter, Jie Jingchen played along with Qin Mei. ”Is there a way to resolve this?”

Listening to them, Mrs. Xie couldn’t help but be impressed. ’You have to hand it to Xiao Mei, she’s a hell of a smooth talker. And Jing Si’s performance is spot-on. If it were just Xiao Mei trying to fool them, I don’t know if my parents would buy it—I certainly wouldn’t. But with Jing Si backing her up, I’m actually starting to fall for it myself.’

”There is a solution, of course. It just depends on whether you’re willing to accept it.” After speaking, Qin Mei had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. ’Playing such a trick on Jie Jingchen’s grandparents... I actually feel a little guilty.’

”Tell us,” Jie Jingchen prompted.

”Are you sure? I’m really going to say it,” Qin Mei said, blinking her eyes.

”Say it.” ’She already said, ”He’s dead, let’s bury him,” without batting an eye,’ Jie Jingchen thought. ’What could possibly be worse?’

Qin Mei fixed her watery, almond-shaped eyes on Jie Jingchen. A strange, casual smile played on her lips. ”Bury him directly.”

”COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!” Jie Jingchen choked on his own spit. He pressed a hand to his brow and asked with feigned nonchalance, ”Bury him where?”

”Where do you think? On a mountain, of course. Unless you want to bury him here at home? Actually, your yard is big enough, so burying him here is an option. As long as it doesn’t creep you out. He’s your grandfather, so it probably wouldn’t. It’d be convenient, too. Whenever you miss him, you could just dig him up for a look. I’d advise against burying him too deep, though. It’ll be a pain to dig him out,” Qin Mei said with infuriating cheerfulness.

Jie Jingchen was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn’t dare look at the awful expression on his grandmother’s face.

’Qin Mei’s tongue is truly venomous,’ he thought. ’But I’m the one who spoils her. What can I do? I’ll just have to keep spoiling her.’

Being the youngest, Jie Jingshan finally broke. Not wanting to be the weak link and ruin the act, she clapped a hand over her mouth and fled outside.

”Jing Qi, slow down! You shouldn’t be running yet!” Qin Mei called out, startled by her sudden dash. Hearing Qin Mei, Jie Jingshan stopped running but continued to walk away at a rapid pace, terrified she’d give the game away if she moved any slower.

Mrs. Xie was also on the verge of breaking. She could feel the body beneath her—her father’s—tensing and twitching with suppressed laughter. ’The old man really has incredible endurance, still keeping up the act at a time like this. He truly won’t give up until he’s reached the Yellow River.’