Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 364 - 133: Why Don’t You Marry Her

Jie Jingchen looked at the flashy Qin Xiang and kicked at him. "She used you as a front to take advantage of me."

Qin Xiang dodged it handsomely. Jie Jingchen missed his leg but kicked his pant leg. Qin Xiang flicked the dust off his pants, not forgetting to ask, "Take advantage of you for what?"

"The house," Jie Jingchen said bluntly.

Qin Xiang’s mouth twitched. He felt crushed. His prized looks and charm had been challenged—by a house, no less—and he had been utterly defeated.

"Can a house put food on the table?" Qin Xiang couldn’t understand. For someone with his and Jie Jingchen’s backgrounds, it was hard to comprehend the hardship of not having a place to live.

Jie Jingchen was practically born with a silver spoon in his mouth. While Qin Xiang wasn’t quite as fortunate, the Qin family was still well-off. In this era of scarcity, not having to worry about housing, food, or clothing, on top of having a good revolutionary pedigree, was a rare thing.

"You can’t put food on the table either," Jie Jingchen said sarcastically.

"I can earn money to support a family," Qin Xiang said proudly.

"Why don’t you marry her, then," Jie Jingchen said, not bothering to argue with him.

Qin Xiang looked at Jie Jingchen in horror. "Jing Si, let’s not make those kinds of jokes. I’ll have nightmares."

Jie Jingchen shot Qin Xiang a sidelong glance and didn’t continue the topic. "Qin Xiang, I’m going back to work tomorrow."

"You go to work. I don’t need you to keep me company; having my little sister around is enough." Qin Xiang didn’t care at all whether Jie Jingchen worked or not. He was here to see his sister and, incidentally, to catch up with Jing Si.

The atmosphere in the Jie Family was unpleasant. If he didn’t want to be with his sister, he wouldn’t be staying there at all. He had a letter of introduction, money, and ration tickets—did he really need to worry about finding a place to stay in Shijiu City?

"Qin Xiang." Jie Jingchen looked at him with a complex expression, hesitating to speak.

The two of them had a tacit understanding. Qin Xiang knew what Jie Jingchen was struggling with and reached out to pat his shoulder. "Brother, I get it."

Since Qin Xiang had said as much, Jie Jingchen didn’t press the issue. It was chaotic over there, and after his leave was over, Qin Xiang would be stationed there.

"Aren’t you going to give me a few words of advice?" Qin Xiang asked teasingly.

Jie Jingchen stared at him, mulling it over for a moment. "Come back alive."

A muscle in Qin Xiang’s brow twitched. He pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Of course."

The atmosphere grew a bit heavy. Jie Jingchen stood up. He was going back to the room to nap with Qin Mei for a while.

Qin Xiang wasn’t in the habit of taking afternoon naps. Even if he forced himself to lie down, he couldn’t fall asleep. He sat in the courtyard to sunbathe, but under the leafy tree, he couldn’t catch any sun. So, Qin Xiang simply moved the wicker chair, basking in the sun’s rays, feeling comfortable and relaxed.

Jie Jingchen went back to the room, gently closing the door behind him. He tiptoed toward the bathroom.

A moment later, Jie Jingchen came out of the bathroom and went to the bed. He took off his shirt and long pants, getting into bed in his shorts and undershirt. Just as he lay down, Qin Mei rolled over and skillfully snuggled into his arms.

Without opening her eyes, Qin Mei asked indistinctly, "All cleaned up?"

"Mhm," Jie Jingchen murmured, looking down at the woman in his arms. His large hand gently stroked her soft, smooth hair. "Go back to sleep."

Qin Mei didn’t say anything, just nuzzled her cheek against his chest, found a comfortable spot, and went back to sleep.

Jie Jingchen smiled in satisfaction, bent down to kiss the crown of her head, and held her soft body close. He closed his eyes, and soon, he too was asleep.

Qin Xiang sunbathed for a while, but with no one to keep him company, he got bored. He got up, rode his bicycle to the non-staple food store, and bought some snacks. He returned to the courtyard and sat there, cracking sunflower seeds and drinking tea.

Grandpa still hadn’t returned. Granny couldn’t sleep and felt restless in her room. Seeing Qin Xiang cracking seeds in the courtyard, she came out. She made a point of glancing at the door—Jing Si had cleaned it thoroughly, and there were no bloodstains to be seen. Still, she didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she thought she could faintly smell the scent of blood.

"Xiao Xiangzi," Granny called out.

Hearing Granny’s voice, Qin Xiang paused in his seed-cracking. He watched her approach, and, thinking of the virtue of respecting the old and cherishing the young, he put down his seeds, stood up, and called out politely, "Granny."

"Xiao Xiangzi, no need to be so formal. You’re Jing Si’s brother-in-law, we’re all family. Make yourself at home." Granny’s smile was very kindly, but she sat on a stone stool instead of the wicker chair.

"Okay, Granny." Qin Xiang put on a smile to be polite. He could see the calculation behind Granny’s kindly expression. He pushed the oil-paper packet of seeds toward her. "Granny, have a seat. Here, have some seeds."

Granny didn’t stand on ceremony and joined Qin Xiang in cracking seeds. "Xiao Xiangzi, are you getting used to things here?"

"I am," Qin Xiang said as he sat down.

"Good, good that you’re getting used to it." Granny nodded, grabbing a handful of seeds and offering them to Qin Xiang. "Here, Xiao Xiangzi, have some seeds."

Qin Xiang reached out and stiffly accepted them. ’He was the one who bought these seeds, so how did it end up looking like they were hers?’

"Xiao Xiangzi, when are you heading back?" Granny asked while cracking seeds.

’Is she trying to get rid of me? Giving me the boot already?’ Qin Xiang wasn’t annoyed. The smile on his lips was as pleasant as a spring breeze. "I’ll go back when my leave is over."

He was a guest, but wasn’t Granny a guest as well? It wasn’t her place to kick anyone out.

"How long is your leave?" Granny asked.

"One month," Qin Xiang replied.

"A month?" Granny wasn’t surprised by the length of his family visit leave, but by the fact that he planned to stay here for a month. This was the eldest son’s house; her words didn’t carry much weight here. She asked circuitously, "Will you be going straight back to your unit?"

"That’s not certain. It depends on the situation," Qin Xiang answered evasively.

Granny didn’t press him further. She hesitated, stopped cracking seeds, and looked at Qin Xiang with a serious expression. "Xiao Xiangzi, my An Qi has taken a liking to you. She’s dead set on marrying you. Jing Si won’t agree, so she’s threatening to kill herself. She’s willing to throw her life away just to marry you. And look, just for you, she slit her wrists and her grandpa had to take her to the hospital. Ai! Look what a mess this has become! Ai! What a sin!"

Qin Xiang was a bit stunned. ’How is what Granny’s saying different from what Jing Si said?’

He didn’t doubt Jing Si’s words. He just wondered what Granny’s motive was for saying this.

Qin Xiang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he didn’t know what. ’I should figure out her goal first.’

Granny spoke again. "Xiao Xiangzi, my An Qi fell for you at first sight. That girl is the most devoted. She either doesn’t love someone at all, or when she does, she loves them with all her heart and soul. Xiao Xiangzi, you’re Jing Si’s brother-in-law. How about this: you marry my An Qi. That way, our two families will become even closer."

Granny had thought it through in her room. She really couldn’t handle An Qi’s extreme personality. If she married someone nearby, she’d come back and cause trouble all the time, and that would shorten Granny’s life. To live a few more years, she had decided to marry An Qi off to someone far away.

If An Qi married and moved to Yangcheng City, she wouldn’t be able to come back to her family’s home to cause trouble so often. At the same time, it would dash An Qi’s hopes of getting the house that the machinery factory was supposed to allocate to the second son. It was killing two birds with one stone, so why not do it?

Seizing the opportunity of An Qi having a crush on Qin Xiang and being dead set on marrying him, Granny decided to strike while the iron was hot and push things along.

Qin Xiang’s pupils contracted. His mind filled with question marks. ’Didn’t Granny look down on him for having a rural household registration?’

Seeing Qin Xiang’s silence, Granny asked presumptuously, "Xiao Xiangzi, does your silence mean you agree?"

"I refuse," Qin Xiang rejected her decisively. ’If he didn’t speak up now, Granny would be arranging for them to get their marriage certificate.’

Granny’s expression darkened. She could understand why Qin Xiang refused. If it were her, she wouldn’t dare marry a girl like An Qi either, who threatened people with suicide at the drop of a hat.

Granny picked up the enamel mug on the stone table and took a drink. Seeing this, Qin Xiang reached out to stop her, but she had already drunk from it. His hand froze in mid-air, his voice tinged with helplessness. "Granny, that’s my mug."

"I don’t mind," Granny said, putting down the enamel mug and wiping her mouth.