Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man-Chapter 72 - 38: My Wife Wants to Eat (3)

Jie Jingchen walked behind them, watching Qin Mei push Jie Jingshan in her wheelchair. The two chatted and laughed together. Qin Mei had only been at the Jie family home for three short days, but the change in Jing Qi was immense. He’d had his reservations about bringing Qin Mei home, but looking at them now, he was incredibly grateful he had.

Qin Mei, after losing her memory, had brought him one surprise after another.

A few months ago, he had fallen into her trap and been forced to marry her. He had been resentful, but now, he felt incredibly fortunate to have her as his wife.

She loved money, but she wasn’t greedy about it—she earned it honorably.

As they neared the Jie family home, Qin Mei noticed the sedan parked outside the courtyard. Mr. Xie was a man of his word—he had left the car for them to use today. She had assumed he would use it to drive Su Kexin to the hospital, but it turned out Su Kexin’s condition wasn’t as serious as she had thought.

It was a good thing Su Kexin ran into her today; anyone else, even Mrs. Xie, would have insisted on taking her to the hospital.

"Jingchen, Jing Qi, Xiao Mei, where have you all been?" Mrs. Xie asked. She had been riding her bicycle but stopped and got off to walk it when she saw the three of them.

"We went to Second Auntie’s for dinner," Jie Jingshan replied, her voice brimming with happiness. She was in a very good mood.

"You went too?" Mrs. Xie stared at Jie Jingshan, shocked. ’Qin Mei treated Jing Qi’s legs today, so I thought she’d be on bed rest. I can’t believe you all took her to Second Auntie’s for dinner.’

"Mhm," Jie Jingshan nodded. "Second Auntie’s spare ribs were delicious! Even better than Aunt Zhang’s. Mom, I ate two huge bowls of rice!"

Mrs. Xie was pleased. She glanced at the container of food she’d brought back for them and smiled. "Second Auntie’s family doesn’t have much, you know. You should bring something when you visit. Don’t be like you were as children, always showing up empty-handed."

Mrs. Xie always made sure to reciprocate when her children ate at Second Auntie’s. While she didn’t give her money or ration tickets directly, she sent over plenty of other things to make sure Second Auntie wasn’t out of pocket. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so welcoming to the kids all the time.

"Mom, relax, we get it," said Jie Jingshan. "Fourth Brother brought groceries. He’s the one who bought the ribs and the other meat."

"That’s good." Mrs. Xie nodded, satisfied.

"Mom, Fourth Sister-in-law is incredible!" Jie Jingshan then recounted the day’s events to her mother, her gaze fixed on Qin Mei, brimming with adoration. Then she made a sudden decision. "Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to learn Chinese medicine from her."

Mrs. Xie didn’t object. She supported her children in whatever they wanted to learn or whichever path they chose to follow. Still, after hearing Jing Qi’s story, she gave Qin Mei another long, searching look.

’Su Kexin is pregnant, and far along at that. She took a blow to the stomach... If it had been me, I would have sent her to the hospital without a second thought.’

’Qin Mei is bold, and so confident in her medical skills.’ Suddenly, an idea struck Mrs. Xie. ’I could recommend her for a job at the hospital.’

’I won’t say anything just yet. Qin Mei is treating Jing Qi’s legs... If she can actually cure them, it’ll be much easier to get her a position at the hospital then.’

"Xiao Mei, the Hero’s wife is pregnant and quite far along. Granny Guo places a huge importance on that baby, so you can’t afford any mistakes," Mrs. Xie cautioned. She knew Granny Guo was a difficult woman and worried that if anything went wrong, Qin Mei would find herself in a world of trouble.

"Mom, don’t worry. The blow wasn’t that severe. I performed acupuncture and wrote her a prescription. As long as they fill it and she takes the medicine as directed, there won’t be any issues," Qin Mei said with a light, confident laugh.

Seeing her confidence, Mrs. Xie felt she couldn’t say any more on the matter. She just patted Qin Mei’s shoulder. "Well, since you’ve all eaten, this food I brought will just go to waste. Why don’t you head inside? I’ll take it over to Second Auntie’s."

"Okay." Qin Mei nodded. She knew the Jie Family didn’t eat leftovers.

’Of course, Mom is just using the food as an excuse to go to Granny Guo’s and check on Su Kexin. She won’t stop worrying until she’s seen for herself that Su Kexin and the baby are truly all right.’

Mrs. Xie had Jie Jingchen hold her bicycle while she and Qin Mei worked together to lift Jie Jingshan, wheelchair and all, over the doorstep. Then, she got on her bike and headed for Second Auntie’s place.

The courtyard was empty; everyone was inside their own homes. Qin Mei was about to wheel Jie Jingshan back to her room when Jie Jingjue sauntered in, humming a little tune. He had an infuriatingly arrogant swagger.

"JIE JINGJUE!" An enraged roar ripped through the air, followed by Xu Chunyan storming out of the house, brandishing a long, thin thorn stick.

Seeing the situation, Jie Jingchen quickly pulled Qin Mei out of the way. Qin Mei, who was still holding the wheelchair, didn’t let go. As Jie Jingchen tugged her, she maneuvered the chair so that she and Jie Jingshan dodged the confrontation as well.

Xu Chunyan’s face was wrapped in so much gauze that only her eyes, nose, and mouth were visible. Qin Mei was a bit surprised. ’Does it really need to be wrapped up that much?’

’The steam scalded her face, yes, but I held back. I never intended to disfigure her. I timed it perfectly—just enough to teach her a lesson, but not enough to cause permanent scarring.’

’Unless the nurse who treated her was incompetent... but they shouldn’t make that kind of basic mistake. They’re licensed professionals. There’s another possibility: Xu Chunyan did this on purpose. She deliberately had the nurse wrap her face like a mummy.’

"Second Sister-in-law!" Jie Jingjue jumped. He stared at her appearance for a second, then asked with concern, "Second Sister-in-law, is your face all right?"

"JIE JINGJUE!" Xu Chunyan shrieked, chasing after him and swinging the stick. The thorn stick was something she’d gotten to intimidate Jie You with during his homework sessions.

Xu Chunyan managed to land a blow. A thorn stick really hurt! "Second Sister-in-law, that’s enough!" he yelped. "If you have something to say, just say it! Do you really have to be so brutal?"

’She calls chasing him with a thorn stick ’brutal’?’ Qin Mei rolled her eyes. ’Yesterday, this woman came after me with a meat cleaver and ended up slashing Jie Jingchen.’

Xu Chunyan eventually tired herself out. She bent over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath.

"Second Sister-in-law, I’m your husband’s fifth brother, not your son! Don’t hit me with that thing like I’m a child!" Jie Jingjue snatched the thorn stick from her hand and tossed it aside. He’d never seen her actually use it on Jie You, but here she was, chasing him with it.

"JIE JINGJUE!" Xu Chunyan bellowed, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Did you forget something?"

"What did I forget?" Jie Jingjue asked, his face a mask of confusion.

Xu Chunyan grew even more furious. "You useless flake! I told your second brother not to entrust Xiao You to you, but would he listen? No! He insisted! So I’m asking you—where have you been? Where is my son?"

"Oh, crap." Realization dawned on Jie Jingjue’s face, and he wailed, "I’m done for, I’m so done for. I completely forgot about Xiao You."

He’d gone out with a few friends and was having such a good time that he’d completely forgotten about his nephew.

’This time, Jie Jingjue really does deserve a beating,’ Qin Mei thought. She wasn’t fond of Jie You herself, but her principle was simple: if someone asks you to watch their child, you either refuse or you do it responsibly. There’s no in-between.

"What do I do?" Jie Jingjue’s face was etched with panic. "Second Sister-in-law, don’t tell me Xiao You is still at school?" If Xiao You were lost, forget his brother and sister-in-law—their dad would skin him alive.

Xiao You was the Jie Family’s first grandson, and their father doted on him immensely.

"Fifth Uncle, I’m over here!" Jie You called out. He was leaning on the windowsill, chewing on the end of a pen, and he waved at Jie Jingjue with a grin.

Jie Jingjue let out a massive sigh of relief. Thank god, Xiao You wasn’t lost. He clutched his chest. "You scared the life out of me."

"Jie Jingjue, you useless flake! If it weren’t for Teacher Lin, Xiao You would be lost! I’m telling you, that boy is my life. If he had gone missing, I would have killed you," Xu Chunyan said, her voice dripping with venom.

"Second Sister-in-law, can you please explain what’s going on?" Jie Jingjue was completely lost.

Xu Chunyan’s gaze drifted past Jie Jingjue and landed on Qin Mei. "Your second brother and I had just walked in the door—we hadn’t even had a chance to sit down—when Teacher Lin showed up with Xiao You. I was shocked. We left him in your care, so why was his teacher bringing him home? After she told us what happened, your brother and I were scared out of our wits."

"Teacher Lin is Xiao You’s homeroom teacher, and you two are close. She knew you were on leave and there was no one to pick him up, so she brought him home after school. Isn’t that normal?" Jie Jingjue said, his guilt showing. He had dropped the boy off at school, but then completely forgot to go back for him.

’Can you really blame me for this? It was my first time being responsible for school pickup. Isn’t it normal to forget?’

"Was it that there was ’no one’ to pick him up? Or was it that *you* forgot about Xiao You and didn’t go to the school to get him?" Xu Chunyan glared at Jie Jingjue, her voice trembling with agitation.