How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 171 - 173: More Than Enough to Fail, Not Enough to Succeed_1

Chapter 171: Chapter 173: More Than Enough to Fail, Not Enough to Succeed_1

After seeing the four out, Old Mrs. Qin checked the aunts’ work, and Qin Jin pulled Li Qiao into the room to show her the gift he had bought for her.

A complete set of autumn clothes.

A black short coat, matched with a slim-fit sweater and a midi-length skirt of the same color.

He really had a good eye, this outfit wouldn’t be out of fashion even decades later.

But an all-black ensemble needs accessories so it won’t look too monotonous.

At this point, Qin Jin handed over two boxes.

Li Qiao opened one, and a pair of golden bracelets shone brightly. She immediately put them on her wrist. The weight was hefty. Lifting her arm, she smiled brightly and said, "Pretty."

Nothing beats the realness of gold as a gift.

"Next time we go out, I’ll buy you more," Qin Jin said generously.

Li Qiao held his face and pecked it twice, then turned around, excited to continue looking. Inside the other box, there was a silver neck accessory, simple in style, reminiscent of the souvenir necklaces she had seen at street stalls during her travels. It must not be cheap, considering it came in a box.

This would go perfectly with the black autumn outfit. She picked it up and tried it on her neck – not bad at all.

Qin Jin, touching his face, smiled foolishly, feeling even happier seeing her joy.

Li Qiao enjoyed her new items for a while, then put away the clothes and accessories, and picked up the envelope left by Ji Zhengyun.

She opened it and pulled out two brand-new large bills, her eyes widening slightly: "Auntie Xu Feng is really generous, giving twenty right off the bat. That’s like my twenty days of work. The child sure followed the right people, ending up with parents who are willing to spend money."

Qin Jin thought to himself, if it weren’t for your nurturing, where would the child get such good fortune? "Just afraid that he might be an ingrate in the future."

Li Qiao both agreed and disagreed. It’s hard to make a definitive judgment on these matters. There are adopted children who turn out well - she had a relative who adopted a brother from an orphanage, who was both filial and capable.

Biological children can turn out to be unfilial as well. One shouldn’t reject eating for fear of choking, right?

Moreover, she believed that giving would yield returns. She put away the money and changed the topic, "What do you want for lunch? I’ll make it for you."

Qin Jin: "Whatever."

...

Li Qiao started to knead the dough to prepare zhajiangmian, and Qin Jin stepped forward to help. She turned to get the sauce ingredients ready and asked him about his experiences over the past days.

"Headed north, whenever we came upon a village..." Qin Jin described vividly how he, along with Feng Fugui and Li Jianguo, sought antiques and recounted their finds. He appraised, "Li Jianguo is smart, quick-witted, and has a better memory than Fugui. He’s loyal too. When we ran into bandits, even though Li Jianguo had a chance to escape because he was far away, he didn’t run."

Li Qiao asked curiously, "How much money did Li Jianguo make following you?"

"He split over five hundred yuan."

Li Qiao was shocked. Was five hundred yuan enough to build three large tile-roofed houses? "And you?"

Qin Jin teased her, "Guess."

Li Qiao couldn’t guess: "If you won’t say, never mind."

Qin Jin held up a finger, but she didn’t look. Just as he was about to tell her, Li Jianguo’s parents arrived, accompanied by a clearly impatient Li Jinhua.

Mrs. Li was anxious to ask Qin Jin about the specifics of Li Jianguo’s injury.

Li Jinhua added, "Is he really crippled?"

Qin Jin glanced sideways, "Could there be any doubt? Right now, he needs someone to take care of him. You’d better hurry up and..."

Without waiting for Qin Jin to finish, Li Jinhua turned and left.

She had been hoping that Li Jianguo would make a fortune with Qin Jin and support her spending. To think he ended up crippled, such a useless thing!

She had no intention of wasting her time on a cripple. After all, they weren’t legally married. This time she wouldn’t cling to him and would pack up her things and leave on her own initiative.

Li Qiao looked down on Li Jinhua’s behavior. As spouses, they were supposed to be birds of the same forest, yet when disaster struck, she flew off alone.

Even if she was displeased with Li Jianguo, she should have shown some concern at this moment, right?

Yet, she just turned around and walked away.

Utterly inhumane!

Mrs. Li was too flustered to reprimand Li Jinhua, crying and wailing, "You took him out, why didn’t you bring him back safely..."

Qin Jin’s expression remained unchanged, "Before leaving, I formally warned him about the dangers of traveling far. He insisted on following, so he can’t blame me. You two better head to the city to take care of him quickly. I’ve already paid for his medical and living expenses. His leg isn’t permanently crippled; with about half a year of rest, he should be able to run again."

Li Qiao blinked, not crippled, huh. She was tempted to chase after Li Jinhua and tell her that Li Jianguo was just seriously injured and now had money. She would love to see Li Jinhua’s dramatic reaction.

Li Jianguo’s parents, overjoyed and in tears, were relieved to hear he wasn’t crippled, and took their leave.

....

Li Qiao continued to simmer the sauce for the fried bean sauce noodles, the fragrance wafted out.

Old Mrs. Qin smelled it and entered the courtyard, "Qiaoqiao, what are you making?"

"Simmering sauce for the noodles." Li Qiao added a handful of firewood to the pot and went into the vegetable garden to pick a cucumber, slicing it into shreds and placing it in a bowl for later.

After the sauce was ready, she cooked the noodles.

She served the noodles, grabbed a handful of cucumber shreds, placed them on top, and poured the sauce over.

The fried bean sauce noodles were ready.

The family of three sat down together to eat the noodles.

The grandmother and grandchild praised it endlessly.

Li Qiao’s cooking skills were recognized; she smiled with her mouth wide open. Unable to bear the high temperature under the kitchen canopy, she wiped the sweat off her face twice before carrying her bowl out to sit under the shade of trees to eat.

Seeing this, Qin Jin decided he would bring someone back early the next morning to build a spacious kitchen.

.....

Mrs. Peng visited Peng Chunhua again and bumped into Li Qiao on the way. At the village entrance, she had heard people say that Li Qiao had sent the child away.

She felt utter contempt, saying that Li Qiao nonchalantly received the food ration without caring for the child and pretended to be the Top Scholar, lacking any quality! She deserved to end up caring for Loser Qin and his grandson.

She spoke with a mocking tone, "It’s like pouring dumplings into a teapot—only going in, not coming out! Sending someone else’s child away, aren’t you afraid of karma?"

Li Qiao turned her gaze, "Auntie, you’re scolding the wrong person. You should scold your relatives who threw away your own granddaughter. Thankfully, that child was lucky I found her. Had I slept more soundly, the child might have been carried away by wild dogs. We were kind-hearted, seeing the child in a pathetic state and took her home. We went to the trouble of caring for her for several days, and we even found her willing adoptive parents. We’ve done everything humanly possible."

Mrs. Peng angrily said, "You insolent girl, don’t talk crap..."

Qin Jin walked out from inside the courtyard, staring coldly at Mrs. Peng.

Mrs. Peng forcefully swallowed the scolding word that almost slipped out.

Qin Jin snorted, "Blind in sight and heart, a despicable old hag without humanity! Who’s talking nonsense? The whole village knows about your family abandoning the child! Even if you regret it now and want the child back, we won’t give her to you." He averted his gaze, his tone softening a bit, "Qiaoqiao, are you going to eat the leftover noodles?"

Li Qiao, "No, you have them."

Qin Jin turned and walked back to the kitchen shack, Li Qiao followed after him.

Mrs. Peng muttered curses under her breath, calling Qin Jin a loser. Maybe it was he who impregnated a girl and irresponsibly left the baby at his doorstep.

Otherwise, why wouldn’t someone leave the baby at any other doorstep?

The women working nearby exchanged glances.

Everyone speculated that the Peng Family might have been deceived by Yu Feng, because Mrs. Peng didn’t seem like someone who wouldn’t want her child, but the child had already been taken away, and they didn’t want to gossip.

.....

The night was as dark as ink, the breeze rustling the trees.

After washing up, Li Qiao crawled into the mosquito net, grabbed a flashlight to hunt mosquitoes, and just as she turned the light off, Qin Jin arrived, deliberately lowering his voice, "Qiaoqiao, you must be anxious waiting."

Li Qiao, "... Let me set an alarm... mmm..."

"You need to get up early for work, I understand. I’ll definitely wake you on time tomorrow."

"..."

The next morning Li Qiao woke up and found it was already half past eight; the person next to her was still sleeping with an arm slung around her waist. She was furious.

Wasn’t he supposed to wake her up on time? Instead, he had woken up later than she usually did.

Good for nothing but causing trouble!

She made a motion to kick the person out of bed but withdrew as she got closer to him.

Kicking him would be letting him off too easy!

Moreover, suddenly waking him up from a deep sleep might cause him to lose his temper and act irrationally, potentially leading to a fight between them.

Quietly, she moved his hand away and got out of bed, dressed herself, and then locked the door from the outside.

Hmph! I’ve locked you in the room!

Old Mrs. Qin was not at home, and neither was anyone at the door. After light inquiries with the aunts, Li Qiao learned that granny had left early in the morning with eggs and sugar.

Li Qiao couldn’t guess where her grandmother had gone, so she went back to the kitchen shack, lifted the pot lid, and found two warm portions of rice porridge inside. She drank it all before going to work.