Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”What?” Mr. Gao stared at his wife in disbelief.

”Let’s get a divorce,” Mrs. Gao said, enunciating each word clearly.

Mr. Gao fell silent, his deep eyes filled with disappointment. They say a husband and wife are like birds in the same forest—when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways. The Gao family was ruined, and he had thought his wife would share the hardships with him. It turned out he was wrong. The wife with whom he had weathered thick and thin for over twenty years wanted to divorce him the moment he fell from grace. How could he not be disappointed?

”Divorce her! Eldest, divorce that jinx! With my connections, after you divorce her, I’ll find you another match of equal social standing... a widow.” Grandma Gao spoke the last word in a whisper. Her son was already middle-aged, and with the Gao family in ruins, finding someone who had never been married was unrealistic.

Mr. Gao remained silent.

Mrs. Gao said sarcastically, ”Oh, a widow is a great idea. Best to find one whose husband died and left her rich.”

”Being rich is an advantage, unlike a jinx like you.” The more Grandma Gao looked at her daughter-in-law, the more she disliked her. ’Why on earth did I ever compromise and let this jinx marry into the Gao family?’

”Mom,” Mr. Gao finally spoke up. He didn’t want a divorce.

”Eldest, listen to your mother and divorce her. After the divorce, I’ll take you abroad to live with your sister,” Grandma Gao said. She had a son and a daughter; her eldest daughter had married and moved abroad, living a very wealthy life. She had an escape route, which gave her confidence.

Mr. Gao was swayed. He looked at Mrs. Gao and asked, ”Do you really want to divorce me?”

”Yes.” Mrs. Gao uttered the single word with determination.

Mr. Gao took a deep breath, no longer giving her another chance. ”Fine, let’s get a divorce.”

Satisfied, Mrs. Gao left with Gao Qiang without a backward glance.

Gao Qiang couldn’t speak. He tugged on Mrs. Gao’s sleeve, his eyes full of worry.

”Don’t worry, son. Mom will definitely find someone to fix your jaw.” Mrs. Gao gave Gao Qiang a reassuring smile, then patted her bulging pocket, a triumphant, calculating glint in her eyes.

”Eldest, help me up,” Grandma Gao said.

Mr. Gao stepped forward, but the moment he touched Grandma Gao, she shrieked in pain. ”No, no, my back!”

”Mom, what’s wrong with your back?” Mr. Gao was very worried. In their current situation, if his mother had injured her back, where would they get the money to treat her? Who would take care of her?

”I think it’s broken. Take me to the hospital,” Grandma Gao said.

”Mom, we have no money,” Mr. Gao reminded his mother of their harsh reality.

Grandma Gao raised her left arm, pulled up her sleeve, and took the bracelet from her wrist, handing it to Mr. Gao. ”Eldest, this bracelet should be worth some money.”

Mr. Gao hesitated for a moment but still took the bracelet. He couldn’t refuse to get his mother medical treatment; besides, he was counting on her to take him abroad to live with his sister.

When Qin Mei and Xu Jiali returned to the Qiao family home, their grandparents were back. Their grandfather was in the study with Jie Jingshan, while their grandmother was in the living room downstairs. Seeing the two of them return, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

”You’re back?” Their grandmother looked at them with a benevolent expression.

Xu Jiali sat down next to her grandmother and began to boast animatedly about her triumphs. Her grandmother looked gratified; she was very happy that Xu Jiali was completely over Gao Qiang.

Her grandmother sighed. ”My eldest grandson is certainly the strategist. If we had been as cunning as him back then, perhaps Yan Qiu would never have married and moved to Huaxia.”

”Isn’t that the truth,” Xu Jiali agreed.

Qin Mei gave Xu Jiali a complicated look. It was one thing for their grandmother to say that, but it was a bit strange for Xu Jiali to agree, since the people Jie Jingchen had just split up were her and Gao Qiang.

Qin Mei thought for a moment. Instead of blindly agreeing with her grandmother, she stated a simple fact. ”Grandma, if Mom hadn’t married Dad, there would be no Jie Jingchen.”

Her grandmother looked at Qin Mei, unable to refute her words. She was dissatisfied with her son-in-law, but she was extremely pleased with her grandchildren.

Just thinking about that son-in-law gave her a headache.

Her grandmother changed the subject. ”Xiao Mei, I heard from my eldest grandson that you’re planning to go back to Huaxia.”

Qin Mei froze. She had been the one clamoring to go back to Huaxia, but she thought Jie Jingchen was just humoring her. She hadn’t expected him to give their grandmother a heads-up.

Qin Mei could have originally said that Jing Qi needed to rush back for the college entrance exams, but since Jing Qi wasn’t returning to Huaxia anymore, that excuse was no longer valid.

”I miss Mom,” Qin Mei said, switching to a perfect excuse.

Her grandmother sighed, her eyes full of reluctance to see them go. But the thought that Jing Chen was leaving Jing Shan behind made her feel much better. ”When are you planning to go back?”

Qin Mei wanted to say, ’the sooner, the better,’ but she was afraid of upsetting the old woman. Instead, she passed the buck to Jie Jingchen. ”Jing Chen will decide.”

The decision really wasn’t up to her. She could only urge him. If Jie Jingchen didn’t leave, she couldn’t just go by herself. Even if she begged her grandparents to arrange a helicopter for her, they wouldn’t do it without Jie Jingchen’s approval.