How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 151 - 153: Failed to Instigate_1

About an hour later.

Li Qiao had caught almost half a bucket of crayfish and said excitedly, "That’s a great haul. If we’re free next week, let’s invite some colleagues to come fishing together."

"Do your colleagues also include the police station?"

Li Qiao: "Kind of but not really, we work in the same large courtyard and share a canteen, but we’re not in the same department. I just know them, we’re not close. I wouldn’t actively seek them out, I’d just invite people from my own office. Don’t worry, my office colleagues are all nice. They won’t talk about you, and I won’t allow anyone to gossip about you either."

Qin Jin smiled faintly.

The two chatted as they headed home, with Qin Jin responsible for deveining the shrimp.

Li Qiao was in charge of preparing the ingredients. After finishing, he went out to buy pancakes and casually picked up two bottles of beer.

Just like the women in the village, the neighbors in the city also liked to stand at the entrance of their homes and gossip during their free time.

At this moment, Yan Xiaoyu was among a group of women, spreading rumors about how Qin Jin had harassed her.

"Xiaoyu, is that Qin’s wife?"

"To be so beautiful, and yet the man still messes around."

"No matter how fragrant the rice at home is, the shit outside is still a novelty if you haven’t tasted it before."

Yan Xiaoyu: "..." Who are you calling shit?

"Buying pancakes for dinner?" The one speaking was Mrs. Pan, who lived two doors down from Li Qiao’s place.

Li Qiao responded with a beaming smile, "Yes, Mrs. Pan, have you eaten yet?"

"I haven’t even started cooking yet. I need to go back and cook too." As Mrs. Pan left, the others also mentioned going home to cook.

Li Qiao continued walking home.

Yan Xiaoyu said, "Li Qiao, your partner really harassed me that day. Don’t let him fool you."

Li Qiao rolled her eyes and said, "I know best what kind of person my partner is; don’t you dare try to tarnish his image in my heart! And another thing, were you just gossiping about my partner with those aunties and ladies? Our village has plenty of low-quality women like you. But we don’t have anyone who covets someone else’s partner and then spreads bad words when they can’t get them. Just wait, I won’t let you off!"

Yan Xiaoyu’s attempt at instigating failed, and she got scolded instead.

She left indignantly.

Li Qiao spat on the ground, "Dung beetle yawning—what a stinking mouth!"

....

Li Qiao stepped into the courtyard, her face breaking into a smile, "Jin, I bought some beer, we can have a drink later."

Qin Jin expressed his discontent, "You disagree with me drinking, and yet you’re drinking yourself?"

Li Qiao: "Beer is fine, it’s refreshing and cuts through the grease when drunk with crayfish."

Qin Jin raised an eyebrow. Had she tried it with food before? How would she know otherwise?

He had never seen her eat it before.

Li Qiao heated the oil in the kitchen, added green onions, ginger, and garlic, then poured in the cleaned crayfish tails, quickly stir-frying them until they were fragrant.

Qin Jin sniffed, "Smells really good."

"You’ll definitely like it." Li Qiao casually wiped the sweat off her forehead and flicked it away. As she turned around, she felt a cool breeze and saw Qin Jin fanning her. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

She smiled, "Go pick some bok choy from the entrance. We can’t just eat shrimp; we need some stir-fried greens to accompany it."

"Okay." Qin Jin put down the fan and quickly went to pick the greens.

Estimating the amount needed, he stepped out of the vegetable garden.

Yan Xiaoyu was standing at her doorway watching him, smiling provocatively, and mouthed, "You’ll pay for messing with me."

Qin Jin narrowed his eyes. He’ll see about that. Without a word, he went straight home, closed the door, and started washing the vegetables.

Li Qiao finished cooking the crayfish, then stir-fried the greens. Afterwards, the two moved the table outside to enjoy their meal.

"Delicious!" Qin Jin devoured the food, his mouth shining with grease.

Li Qiao’s small hands were also constantly moving, the slight numbness and spiciness greatly whetting her appetite. She ate nearly half a basin and then half a large flatbread, followed by half a bottle of beer, and let out a contented burp. "I’m so full."

Teasingly, Qin Jin said, "You say you’re stuffed every day, but I’ve never seen you gain weight."

Li Qiao replied, "It’s good to eat without gaining weight." If she gained weight, she’d have to buy clothes in larger sizes, which would require more fabric and thus more money.

After dinner, Qin Jin voluntarily took on the task of washing the dishes and scrubbing the pots.

After taking a shower, Li Qiao sat in the courtyard drying her hair, waiting for Qin Jin to finish the housework and clean up. Then they went out for a walk to aid digestion, not returning home to sleep until they felt sleepy.

....

Monday, back to work.

When Li Qiao had some free time, she went to the office next door to file a case, accusing Yan Xiaoyu of spreading rumors and slandering her partner.

The staff handling the case acted quickly, and immediately paid Yan Xiaoyu a visit for a "tea chat."

At first, Yan Xiaoyu denied everything, but the interrogator wasn’t someone to be trifled with and soon caught the contradictions in her words, scolding her thoroughly.

"Confessions can merit leniency; resistance will be met with severity. Spreading rumors is also illegal! Come clean now!"

Yan Xiaoyu, who had never experienced such a situation before, was frightened into confessing the details truthfully.

The staff criticized and educated her, then ordered her to apologize to Li Qiao and Qin Jin, and to obtain a letter of forgiveness from them. She also had to go door-to-door to each neighbor to undo the damage before the matter could be considered closed.

Yan Xiaoyu couldn’t save face and yet dared not defy the order.

After leaving the police station, she waited for her neighbors to get off work and went to them, nervously explaining what had happened the day before.

After speaking, she was so ashamed she wished she could vanish into thin air.

The neighbors, suspecting Li Qiao and Qin Jin had powerful connections, turned the tables and began to probe Yan Xiaoyu for details about the couple.

Yan Xiaoyu, filled with regret, couldn’t help but cry, "The man’s an unemployed vagrant, and the woman’s a university student." You can’t afford to offend university students; she was losing face completely.

"A university student can’t possibly get things done this quickly, right? It must be that the man has a strong background."

Yan Xiaoyu said, "There used to be an old lady in his house too, said to be the man’s grandma from the countryside, so she probably doesn’t have any powerful connections. I guess it’s just the three of them in the family." If there were parents or relatives, they surely would have come when they moved in, right?

"What’s their names?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaoyu thought that since her neighbor worked for the government, perhaps he could help mediate with Li Qiao privately and settle the matter. "The man’s named Qin Jin and the woman’s named Li Qiao. Can you check for me?"

"Li Qiao? I just saw a newspaper a few days ago, and the Top Scholar’s name was also Li Qiao. Is it this character?" The neighbor took out a newspaper.

Yan Xiaoyu’s heart skipped a beat, but she couldn’t be sure. After scanning the newspaper, she said, "I guess it is. The old lady from his family once told me that her granddaughter-in-law just got into university this year, and she tutored five sent-down youths from their village, all of whom got into university. Could you help mediate this for me? I still need Li Qiao’s forgiveness, or this will never end."

Yan Xiaoyu, as arrogant as she had been the day before, was now equally deflated.

She wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

The neighbor regretted not having pressed his fingerprints as a witness; he could have had the Top Scholar owe him a favor. "She’s the Top Scholar; I don’t have that kind of power." A national Top Scholar, who was also admitted to Beijing University ahead of time.

In ancient times, she would have been an immediate official, with limitless prospects. Who wouldn’t treat her with respect? He certainly didn’t dare to offend her.

Yan Xiaoyu, deeply disappointed, finished apologizing to each household and returned home exhausted.

Then Zhu Changsheng slapped her across the face: "You’ve completely disgraced me!" Several people in this area worked at the same factory as him, and in just one day, the rumors had spread everywhere; everyone knew his wife was a flirtatious woman who, after being rejected, harbored resentment and schemed against others.

As a result, his wife was reported for spreading rumors and ended up being detained for half a day.

Tomorrow, when he went to work, he would once again be the subject of everyone’s pointing and gossip.

Yan Xiaoyu, incredulous, covered her face: "How dare you hit me?"

"You had it coming!" Zhu Changsheng began packing his things, planning to stay at his work unit for a few days.

....