Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

“Third Brother, you can’t just lie to a kid like that.” Jie Huating didn’t want to take the blame for this, especially since the way Xiao Duo was looking at him had already changed. If he left a bad impression on her, she would only grow more distant.

“Xiao Duo, has Daddy ever lied to you?” Jie Jinghun asked Xiao Duo with a doting smile.

Xiao Duo tilted her little head, thought for a moment, and shook her head decisively. “Nope.”

Jie Huating looked to the heavens, speechless. ‘So I’m definitely taking the fall for this, aren’t I?’

Xiao Duo kicked the cigarette pack aside and fluttered like a butterfly over to Qin Mei, resuming her dance for her to enjoy.

Jie Jinghun breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and patted Jie Huating’s shoulder guiltily. “Brother, when you have time, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Jie Huating irritably brushed Jie Jinghun’s hand away. “Do I look like I’m starving?”

Jie Jianjun returned from his shopping, followed by an uninvited guest—none other than Xu Chunyan, holding Jie You by the hand.

“Second Uncle,” Jie Jingsi and the other two called out in unison.

“Fourth Uncle, Third Uncle, Second Uncle,” Jie You called out happily.

The moment she heard Jie You’s voice, Jie Duo was like a mouse seeing a cat, and she threw herself into Qin Mei’s arms.

For Jie Duo, it wasn’t a matter of being intimidated by a blood relative; she was simply traumatized from being bullied by Jie You so often.

Qin Mei’s heart ached as she hugged the little one, shooting a cold glare at Jie You. “Don’t be scared, sweetie. I’ll protect you. If anyone dares to bully you, I’ll knock all their teeth out.”

Jie Duo burrowed into Qin Mei’s embrace, not feeling comforted at all.

Seeing his daughter like this, Jie Jinghun’s heart ached terribly. Jie You was his second brother’s son, so he couldn’t just beat him up. If he got involved in a squabble between children, it would change the nature of the whole situation.

Jie You was nine, while Jie Duo wasn’t even four yet. She couldn’t win a shouting match, nor could she win a fight. With the age gap and height difference, Jie Duo was at a complete disadvantage.

“Xiao You’s here.” Jie Huating pinched Jie You’s cheek, then looked at Xu Chunyan, his attitude distant. “Comrade Xu.”

Xu Chunyan gritted her teeth. To be called “Comrade Xu” instead of “Second Sister-in-law” filled her with resentment, but she couldn’t complain. “Third Brother, Fourth Brother, Second Brother.”

“Comrade Xu, you and my second brother are already divorced. It’s not appropriate for you to call us that,” Jie Jinghun was the first to challenge her, his voice tight with suppressed emotion.

Xu Chunyan gave an awkward laugh. “Force of habit.”

“It’s a bad habit, one you should break. If our current Second Sister-in-law heard you, she’d have a problem with it.” Jie Jinghun had a gentle smile on his face, but his tone was sharp.

Xu Chunyan gritted her teeth. She had expected Jing Si to be the one to make a big deal out of it, but instead it was Jing San making things difficult for her. “Jing San, Jing Si, Huating.”

Jie Jinghun didn’t press his advantage, stepping back to let Xu Chunyan enter the house.

A sinister, cold smile played on Xu Chunyan’s lips as she led Jie You toward the main hall.

“Second Uncle, why did you bring her here?” Jie Huating asked Jie Jianjun in a low voice.

Jie Jianjun glared at Jie Huating. “Huating, watch your mouth. What do you mean, I ‘brought her here’? Did I bring her? I ran into them on my way back from shopping. She was bringing Xiao You to wish your Granny a happy birthday. Could I really have turned them away? Xiao You is an heir of the Old Jie Family, the family’s eldest grandson.”

“You could have brought Xiao You back and sent her home. After Granny’s birthday is over, we could send Xiao You back to her,” Jie Huating said.

“Easy for you to say. Xiao You was holding onto her hand and wouldn’t let go, crying and begging for her to stay. What was I supposed to do? Forcibly separate a mother and child? The neighbors were all watching. Making a scene like that would have brought shame on the Jie Family,” Jie Jianjun said.

“Second Uncle, they still came back with you. No matter how you slice it, you didn’t handle this properly,” Jie Huating said.

Jie Jianjun had expected Xu Chunyan to show up with Xiao You. What he hadn’t expected was to run into them himself while he was out shopping. The fact that they had followed him back gave him a bad feeling.

‘Even Huating is blaming me. What about Mom, Dad, and Eldest Brother? They’re not going to think I had ulterior motives and did this on purpose, are they?’

‘Just because Eldest Brother’s family sent my daughter to a psychiatric hospital in Xiangjiang, they’re going to think I’m using Xu Chunyan to get back at them. I’m being framed!’

“Get lost, get lost! I can’t explain it to you.” Jie Jianjun pushed Jie Huating away and headed for the kitchen with his net bag.

Jie Jinghun slung a long arm around Jie Jingsi’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Fourth Brother, what do you think?”

“Think what? I’m blind, I can’t see a thing.” Jie Jingsi brushed off the arm Jie Jinghun had slung around his shoulder. “Don’t stand so close to me. My wife might get the wrong idea.”

Jie Jinghun’s mouth twitched. “I’m your third brother. Your *actual* third brother.”

‘The wrong idea? What wrong idea could she possibly get? Forget being brothers, even if they were just ordinary friends, what is there to misunderstand between two men?’

Jie Jingsi ignored them and walked over to Qin Mei, taking Xiao Duo from her arms.

“Let’s go. We’re going home,” Jie Jingsi said, holding Xiao Duo in one arm and taking Qin Mei’s hand with the other.

“Now?” Qin Mei was a little surprised.

“Yes, now,” Jie Jingsi confirmed with a nod.

“Isn’t that a bit rude?” Qin Mei said, but she didn’t stop walking.

“Do you want to stay?” Jie Jingsi stopped walking.

Qin Mei shook her head decisively. “I don’t.”

“And Xiao Duo?” Jie Jingsi asked, looking at the little one in his arms.

“I want Fourth Aunt.” Jie Duo was very attached to Qin Mei, making it clear that she would go wherever her Fourth Aunt went.

Jie Jingsi smiled. Holding Xiao Duo and leading Qin Mei by the hand, he left without a word to anyone in the main hall, making a clean getaway.

Not long after Jie Jingsi and Qin Mei left, Li Axiu got into an argument with Xu Chunyan. The two came to blows. Zhao Hong was so frightened it affected her pregnancy, and Lin Yaru was knocked over by Xu Chunyan and also had to be taken to the hospital.

Granny was so overcome with anxiety and anger that she fainted.

Jie Jingsi rode his bicycle with Qin Mei sitting on the back and Jie Duo on the front. The three of them went to a state-owned restaurant for dinner, then headed to the area near the train station.

The two small, two-story buildings had been impressively renovated by Jie Jingjue. Qin Mei hadn’t expected much, but she was stunned when she saw the results. Jie Jingjue had a real talent for renovation, having considered every last detail.

Qin Mei was very satisfied. Now, all she had to do was wait for the winds of reform and opening-up to blow, and she could open for business. ‘Opportunity always favors the prepared mind,’ she thought. She was prepared in advance, so her business was sure to prosper.

After locking the door, Qin Mei asked Jie Jingsi, “Where are we going next?”

“Where would you like to go?” Jie Jingsi asked, holding Jie Duo and looking at Qin Mei with deep affection.

“Let’s go to the movies,” Qin Mei suggested. ‘Taking Jie Duo to the movies… what a little third wheel!’

“Okay.” Jie Jingsi led them toward the movie theater.

Movie theaters of that era weren’t like those of later generations. The audience was mostly young people who were dating; a “family of three” like them was a rare sight.

Jie Jingsi bought dried fruit, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and soda. He didn’t drink soda himself, so he only bought two bottles. Jie Duo loved it and quickly finished her own, then started eyeing the bottle in Qin Mei’s hand.

Qin Mei had only taken two sips, so she gave the rest directly to Jie Duo.

“Thank you, Fourth Aunt,” Jie Duo said, happily clutching the bottle and drinking.

“Drink slowly. If you drink too much, you’ll wet your pants before we can find a restroom,” Qin Mei reminded her.

“I would never wet my pants!” Jie Duo’s face turned red. It was obvious she did so often; she just refused to admit it.

The light was too dim for Qin Mei to see clearly, so she actually believed her.

The movie began. Films from that era were all pretty similar. Only Jie Jingsi watched with rapt attention; Qin Mei and Xiao Duo were both bored. Qin Mei kept feeding snacks to the little girl until her belly was bulging.

The little one had drunk nearly two bottles of soda, and the consequence was…

“Fourth Aunt, I have to pee,” Xiao Duo whispered.

“I’ll take her,” Jie Jingsi volunteered.

“You’ll take her? To the men’s room or the women’s room?” Qin Mei shot Jie Jingsi an exasperated look, handed him the things she was holding, and led the little girl away to find a restroom.

Before they could find the restroom, Jie Duo couldn’t hold it in any longer and had an accident.

“Waaaah.” The little girl burst into tears.