How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 164 - 166: Provocation_1

Hu Xiufang: "Mr. Liao said you’ve only been on the team for half a month, and you’ve already participated in solving two cases. That’s quite impressive." Top student and also top worker.

Li Qiao gave a light smile: "You said it yourself; I only participated. It wasn’t just my effort alone."

"Mr. Liao also mentioned that the team is considering holding a commendation meeting for you."

Li Qiao was somewhat surprised, "Really? No one has mentioned it to me." Wonder if there’ll be pork to take home, with Qin Jin not around, there’s no one to go fishing. Pork requires coupons, and without connections with the butchers, you can’t buy any even with money in hand. The canteen has some, but only two pieces per day, delicious in every way, which makes you crave more after eating. Right now, she was so craving meat that she could almost bite her own tongue while eating.

The two chatted as they walked into the compound to push their bicycles.

Li Qiao tied the apples to the back of her bicycle seat.

"How much did you buy your apples for? If they’re cheap, I’ll also buy a bag," Hu Xiufang’s gaze swept over the net bag full of yellow apples.

Li Qiao: "They were a gift." The fruit from the stores without coupons is twice as expensive. The bag of yellow apples she gave to Liu Er’s family cost 69 cents, and that was already a friendly price. "I’ll give you some later."

"No, no, no," Hu Xiufang waved her hands repeatedly, changing the subject, "I ran into Zhao Li at the supply and marketing co-op the other day. She said Li Jinhua got married. Who would marry her?!"

Li Qiao let out a snort of laughter; Zhao Li’s news was always so surprisingly well-informed. She recounted the whole story.

Hu Xiufang commented, "Isn’t that brother digging a hole for his brother?"

"The brother agreed to it as well," Li Qiao said. Li Jianguo probably thought that as a man in his late twenties, manipulating an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl would be a piece of cake. Little did he know, Li Jinhua was even more fierce than some married women.

Approaching the village entrance, Li Qiao stopped her bike.

Hu Xiufang: "I won’t go with you, then. See you."

Suddenly, Li Qiao called out, "Wait!"

"What’s up?"

Not far from the intersection, at the edge of the field, there was a straw hut. Li Qiao ran over, grabbed a handful of straw, and placed it in Hu Xiufang’s bike basket as a cushion.

It then dawned on Hu Xiufang that Li Qiao intended to share some apples with her, and she quickly got on her bike to leave.

Li Qiao grabbed her bike handle: "There’s over a dozen in this net. Take a few, I can’t finish all of them when I bring one to work each day, and my partner isn’t home, and grandmother doesn’t crave sweets. If left too long, they’ll easily go bad—what a waste."

Nowadays, apples aren’t waxed or rinsed in blue preservatives, so they spoil easily. freewebnøvel.com

Hu Xiufang was no longer being polite: "Then I’ll help myself, haha."

Li Qiao smiled and placed five apples into Hu Xiufang’s bike basket, and they parted ways.

When she got home, Li Qiao washed an apple, cut it into small pieces, placed them in a bowl, walked over to Old Mrs. Qin, and offered a piece with a homemade toothpick. "Grandma, have some."

Old Mrs. Qin tasted a piece: "Hmm, sweet and soft, delicious. Where did you buy it?"

Li Qiao: "I got them for tutoring someone in the city."

"Didn’t you say you were going to the city to apply for some award?"

The aunties started to gossip again.

Li Qiao calmly explained: "I applied for the award first, then tutored. They don’t conflict." She placed the bowl into Old Mrs. Qin’s hands: "Grandma, go eat somewhere else; I’ll handle this."

Old Mrs. Qin: "Don’t bother." After working all day, she brought home a whole bag of apples, how could she let the child continue to work? Wouldn’t it seem heartless? "You don’t need to worry about the housework. Just rest in your room after your shift."

Li Qiao was indeed a bit tired: "Then I’m going to sleep."

"Alright."

Li Qiao went to sleep in her room, and while the aunties occasionally chatted, Old Mrs. Qin didn’t allow it: "My granddaughter-in-law is sleeping, don’t talk."

Everyone: "....."

"Gobble, gobble, gobble~~" Yu Feng stood at the gate making a series of strange calls, then scattered a handful of sorghum on the ground.

Not long after, two old hens were coaxed over to her.

Peng Chunhua was close to giving birth and craved eggs every day, but Yu Feng was too reluctant to spend money to exchange for them with the villagers. After learning of this, Mrs. Peng brought over two old hens specifically for laying eggs to provide nutrition for Peng Chunhua.

Yu Feng was worried that the chickens might be snatched by others and didn’t want to keep them confined in the yard, so she would often sit by the doorway keeping watch.

Just then, she heard Old Mrs. Qin bossing someone else around and deliberately raised her voice in provocation.

Old Mrs. Qin naturally wouldn’t bother with Yu Feng, but she knew how to make her uncomfortable. She leisurely finished her apple and moved to the doorway of Li Qiao’s house.

Spotting the apples on the table at a glance, she reached for one, chopped it into small pieces in the pantry, and served them to the working aunties. "We can’t finish all the apples at home, you all give them a try."

"Oh, thank you very much."

"They’re really sweet, delicious. If you were to buy these, a bag like this would cost quite a few cents."

"Not sure, all the fruit at home is bought by Qiaoqiao. When I lived in the city before, I never ran out either, and she’s especially considerate when peeling fruit for me, always skinned. Jin is too lazy to peel, says the skin is edible too. The good coats and trousers I wear are all made from the fabric ration tickets Qiaoqiao exchanged from her colleague, this girl, is just more filial and thoughtful than any boy. Qiaoqiao often tells me, once school starts, we’ll live together in Beijing." Old Mrs. Qin mentioned Qiaoqiao at every opportunity, almost as if she wished the entire world knew she had a well-behaved and filial granddaughter-in-law.

"If you leave, what are we going to do about all this work?"

The aunties started to worry; they had made quite a sum of money following Old Mrs. Qin in the past half year.

Before, their families were too poor to produce five dollars, and the sons couldn’t even speak for a match, but now they were well-off, with daughters vying for their attention, and marriage arrangements already settled.

They were still counting on their knitting work to continue making money and improving their lives.

"Leave it to Sister Qiaoqiao, she’ll make arrangements for you when the time comes," said Old Mrs. Qin seriously.

Initially, she did not agree with going to Beijing with Qiaoqiao.

First, lodging was a problem, and second, she wasn’t comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings.

But Qiaoqiao made it clear that she wouldn’t stay at lodgings regardless, and would apply to live off-campus whether Old Mrs. Qin went to Beijing or not. She liked the idea of cooking for the child and washing their clothes.

The aunties were internally worried; whenever there was a small flaw in their work, Old Mrs. Qin would silently fix it, and their wages were paid in full.

Would Sister Qiaoqiao be as easy to talk to?

When Yu Feng heard that Old Mrs. Qin was planning to follow Li Qiao to Beijing, she was consumed with envy and felt terrible all over.

She had been counting on Li Qiao divorcing that loser.

Now, with the grandmother-in-law watching over her, how could Li Qiao possibly get a divorce?

It was all too easy for that loser!

Her two sons, which one wasn’t better than that loser?

The younger one even learned carpentry, and now he’s praised for his good work making cabinets and tables, yet he didn’t marry a Top Scholar’s wife.

What does that loser have? What does he know? All day long he’s out doing illegal activities, earning tainted money, and yet he ends up with a good wife.

The more she compared, the more dissatisfied she became, and she couldn’t sit still for a moment, yet she didn’t dare to lash out at Old Mrs. Qin, so she stormed into the courtyard and started to curse nonsensically.

Her ranting gave Peng Chunhua a headache; she was truly envious of Li Qiao.

Even if she didn’t go to university, she would still enjoy Qin Jin’s prosperity. Because he wouldn’t just stubbornly toil over their small piece of land, he would go out and make something of himself when he had the chance, unlike Feng Hu, who did nothing but farm and obey his mother, destined to be a loser for life.

She really regretted it.

If only she had clung to Qin Jin more during their blind date and made it clear she would live with him no matter what, Li Qiao wouldn’t have been an issue.

.....