How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 145 - 147: Coaxing People_1

Li Qiao sat down to examine the circuit, checking various components, none of which showed any external damage. She suspected the issue was with the circuitry itself.

She untied the straps around the wires and felt along them until she discovered a small bulge in one of them. It was hard to spot unless you looked closely. Using a knife, she sliced open the protective rubber tube around the wires and found that one of the thin wires inside had snapped.

"It’s still gotta be you, huh? The two of us combined didn’t even think to check here," one of them said.

Li Qiao’s eyes curved into a smile, "I just happened to stumble upon it." After reconnecting the wire, the three of them discussed how to put the parts back in place.

Once they installed the batteries and fiddled with the tuning, the radio started making noise.

Everyone started to get excited.

These days, people had less to do, and life was dull and boring.

They were really looking to the radio for some entertainment.

At that moment, a deep voice speaking came from the radio.

Li Qiao listened closely, "Is that a crosstalk show?"

"Seems like it."

Li Qiao found it magical as the crosstalk was suddenly cut off amongst their laughter.

"That’s it? It’s over so quickly? Is there another station?" Li Qiao felt unfulfilled and tried adjusting the antenna. Regardless of the direction she tried on the long, medium, and short-wave frequencies, only static came through.

The group checked the time, guessing that the program had a fixed slot.

Li Qiao sighed inwardly, it was so hard to find a bit of joy, and it was over just like that.

Wang Nannan said, "Li Qiao, when did your notice come? We submitted our preferences, and it’s been over a week."

Li Qiao teased, "Didn’t you say you’d camp out in front of the post office and wait?"

Wang Nannan scratched her head and laughed, "It’s too hot these days, who can stand that?"

Li Qiao asked, "Did you guys hear from the villagers that I got a job in town?"

"Nope, the past few days everyone’s been too busy fertilizing the fields to visit. When did it happen? What do you do? How much do you make a month?"

Li Qiao replied, "I’m a errand runner at the forensic department. Just started the job the day before yesterday, thirty a month."

"Thirty? That’s a lot, isn’t it? Are they still hiring?"

Li Qiao joked, "They might need people to carry bodies."

The group turned pale.

Li Qiao laughed heartily, "Just kidding, they don’t need anyone right now. The office I work at is right across the street from the post office. All the mail going to the countryside goes through there. Tomorrow, I’ll ask someone to keep an eye out for any mail for you guys and pass it to me. How will you thank me, huh?"

Du Xinxin thought hard and said, "Call you eldest son?"

"Pfft!" Li Qiao almost choked on her own blood. That term, used by family members when calling their children to distinguish the oldest, didn’t have a good connotation when used by others.

"Treat you to a meal out."

Li Qiao immediately agreed, "Done!"

She stayed a while longer before preparing to leave.

The educated youths asked her to stay for dinner, but she waved them off.

Wang Nannan brought out a watermelon, "Take this with you."

"No need."

Wang Nannan stuffed the watermelon into Li Qiao’s arms, "Come on, take it. It’s not something expensive."

"I won’t be polite then, ha," Li Qiao said, walking away with the watermelon.

As dusk fell, the setting sun stretched her shadow long.

Women returning from work at the village entrance made the place feel empty.

When she entered the courtyard, Old Mrs. Qin asked her about the watermelon.

Li Qiao explained the process of fixing the radio for the youths and their gift of the watermelon. She said, "We might as well visit the junkyard sometime to find a radio and fix it ourselves."

"How easy do you think it is to find a radio? If you want one, I can ask Jin to buy you one tomorrow."

Li Qiao couldn’t bear to ask for it, radios were consumables, and batteries weren’t cheap either. To buy one was to suffer a loss, "I like gold, you should get Jin to save up for a big gold chain to give me. It’s fine to listen to the radio occasionally, but it gets boring listening every day. Besides, I have to work and need to study hard for university, so I don’t have much spare time."

Old Mrs. Qin smiled tenderly, just as much of a money lover as Jin. She readily agreed, "Alright!" She wouldn’t mind asking for gold, or even the stars in the sky, after all, she wasn’t the one to pick them. Coincidentally, Qin Jin returned from outside, and she said, "Jin, did you hear our conversation?"

"What are you talking about?" Qin Jin was confused.

Li Qiao repeated it.

Qin Jin boastfully declared, "Once I’ve made it, not just a big gold chain, I’ll even arrange gold bars for you."

Li Qiao laughed heartily at his coaxing.

After dinner, the family of three sat together eating watermelon and chatting about daily life. Old Mrs. Qin occasionally fanned the mosquitoes around her, and a little dog rubbed back and forth at her feet, creating a natural and harmonious atmosphere.

Li Qiao felt extremely satisfied.

Without her parents around, having a loving grandma and a significant other was quite nice.

.....

The next day Li Qiao got ready and was about to leave when Qin Jin offered to drive her.

Li Qiao naturally agreed, and just as she settled onto the rear seat of his bike, Feng Fugui arrived, "Jin, my wife has a prenatal checkup, can you take her to the city? She said she’d go by herself, but with her big belly, I’m worried."

"Why don’t you take her?"

"I’ve hurt my back, and my dad’s twisted his ankle, can’t ride a bike. Ouch, here it comes again, I need to borrow your outhouse."

"Damn!"

Li Qiao felt sorry for him running back and forth in the heat and inconvenience, "I’ll just take the shuttle bus myself." She pretended to hop off the bike.

Qin Jin wouldn’t allow it, "Stay put, we’ll drop her off together." He then rode with Li Qiao to Feng Fugui’s house to pick up Xu Maimiao.

Xu Maimiao’s belly was showing, like she’d swallowed a soccer ball.

Her face was rosy and plump.

Li Qiao was amazed, "Peng Chunhua next door is pregnant and her complexion is sallow, but you seem to be getting more radiant."

"It might be related to mood, she even came over to complain about the hard time she was having with her mother-in-law." Xu Maimiao looked at Li Qiao’s red dress, her slender waist probably not as wide as a man’s palm, "You look so pretty in a dress, aren’t you afraid of men’s eyes sticking to you at work?"

Qin Jin’s face changed, he had been too busy admiring his wife’s beauty, forgetting about other men, "Should we go back and change?"

Li Qiao replied, "See what time it is?"

Work started at eight, and it was nearly seven thirty.

They were definitely going to be late again.

Qin Jin couldn’t afford to be jealous any longer and pedaled faster.

Li Qiao, sitting in front, enjoyed the wind and reminded him, "Jin, being five minutes late is still late, and so is half an hour. Don’t hurry; go slower. Maimiao, hold onto Jin tightly to be safe."

Xu Maimiao clenched the metal bar on the back seat, "It’s fine, I’ve got a good grip."

Qin Jin still slowed down, having to be careful with a pregnant woman aboard—it wouldn’t be good to explain any mishaps to his brother.

When Li Qiao reached her destination, Qin Jin said, "I’ll come to pick you up tonight."

"Alright, you go slow and take good care of Maimiao," Li Qiao instructed.

Qin Jin grunted in acknowledgment.

Li Qiao turned and entered the yard in her red dress, drawing plenty of attention.

Ma Ling encircled her, teasing, "You look so smart dressed like that, but just be careful the wind doesn’t blow your skirt up and expose your butt, that’d be so embarrassing."

Li Qiao lifted her skirt to reveal a knee-length lining, "It’s very safe; I’m also wearing thin shorts underneath, so nothing will show." Fashions these days were rather conservative, making people look dignified. She thought the outfit with a little black flower print revealing a small part below her neck from yesterday seemed lively.

But Yu Feng scolded her for trying to allure people.

Ma Ling asked, "Where did you buy it from? I want to get one too, to wear for my blind date this weekend."

Before Li Qiao could answer, Xu Feng commented, "Can you compare with how white Li Qiao is? If you wear it, it might turn out like Dong Shi trying to imitate Xi Shi."

"I’m not asking you to look!"

Their playful bickering ended when Xun Dong entered the hall.