How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 174 - 176: Gathering_1

On one side, Ma Ling complained about her work in the Department of Forensic Medicine, saying that it was hard to find a partner.

Li Qiao mentioned the surgeon that Ma Ling had previously said was quite capable.

Ma Ling was full of disdain, "That man, one day on my way home from work riding on the minibus, I caught a glimpse of him in the back seat with a girl, laughing and chatting. He has such a low sense of propriety, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. My mom scolded me for making a fuss over nothing, but how would you feel if your partner was with another girl? Would you be happy?"

In Li Qiao’s mind, this was nothing serious. She could even accept that her partner’s co-driver wasn’t her because she was used to sitting behind the driver, where it was safer. However, judging from Qin Jin’s refusal to give another girl a ride, his boundaries were very firm.

After making the comparison, she found another shining point in her partner. She smiled and said, "Indeed, that’s not quite appropriate."

Ma Ling let out a light sigh, "Whatever, I won’t just settle for any man."

Li Qiao agreed, "I support you."

"..."

As the sunlight grew stronger, the lobsters stopped foraging, and several of them began to pack up their rods and walked to the courtyard with their buckets.

After entering, Qin Jin started to tidy up.

Seeing this, Liao Fan and Xu Feng felt embarrassed to stand idly by and stepped forward to help.

Li Qiao and Ma Ling sat at the door eating apples.

Xu Feng said, "Aren’t you two ladies indulging a bit too much? Don’t you know to give a hand?"

Liao Fan echoed his sentiment.

Ma Ling, biting into her apple, said vaguely, "That’s why you two can’t find a partner. Look at Li Qiao’s partner, he gets down to work without a word."

Liao Fan retorted, "Qin Jin doesn’t have to go to work, so it’s right for him to do more."

Li Qiao immediately argued, "My partner is very busy. He needs to tend to the fields at home, deliver goods for the supply and marketing cooperative, and deal with all sorts of social interactions in the village; it’s even harder than going to work."

Ma Ling said, "Did you hear that? A partner like that can dazzle Top Scholar."

Qin Jin’s smile brimmed with joy—he actually had that many merits.

Liao Fan and Xu Feng were left speechless and silently continued cleaning the crayfish.

Mr. Yan and Mrs. Yan came by again. They recognized Liao Fan and were so frightened that they left the courtyard without so much as a greeting.

Ma Ling asked, "Are they your neighbors?"

Li Qiao was annoyed by their persistence and replied helplessly, "Parents of the woman who had designs on our house. Whenever there’s someone at home, they feel compelled to drop by."

"With all that effort, they should consider how to appease their son-in-law instead," Ma Ling said. She had been working for a year, including her internship. The public harbored more disdain for women who had been in trouble than for men. Regardless of whether they were ultimately convicted, any entanglement with the law was a stain on their life.

Invariably, their partners couldn’t withstand the pressure from others, and divorce was just a matter of time.

As the two were talking, Mrs. Pan approached carrying a basket, "I was hoping to see you when I came over. Just in time, here are some figs I’ve just picked for you to try."

"No need," Li Qiao felt it wasn’t right to keep accepting food from Mrs. Pan when she hadn’t been of any substantial help to her son.

"Don’t stand on ceremony with me, take it! And who are these three young people?"

"My colleagues," Li Qiao introduced Mrs. Pan to them.

The three greeted her warmly.

Mrs. Pan looked Liao Fan and Xu Feng up and down, "You two young men don’t look bad. Got a partner? I have a niece working at the textile factory, earning over a hundred yuan a month, and she’s quite pretty."

"I’m afraid she won’t fancy us." Colleagues who had been involved with the female workers had spoken uniformly; they saw themselves as above the men.

They invariably scorned the men for their lower wages.

Mrs. Pan protested, "Not at all." She suggested a meeting time, but Liao Fan declined, citing a recent date as an excuse.

Xu Feng informed her that his job involved dissecting corpses, and if she didn’t mind, he was willing to give it a try.

Mrs. Pan stepped back three paces, feeling it was unlucky, "Qiaoqiao, you’re in the Department of Forensic Medicine too. You don’t do that sort of thing as well, do you?"

Li Qiao took note of her reaction, pursed her lips, and said, "I don’t really dare to, but I occasionally come into contact with it." Staying in that department, it was impossible not to be involved at all, especially when Director Xun wasn’t around. Because she had to write summary reports, it was necessary for her to follow up in the autopsy room at times.

Mrs. Pan made her excuses and left.

Ma Ling said, "Couldn’t you just flat out deny it? Now, there’s one less neighbor."

Li Qiao smiled indifferently, "Well, that’s the truth."

...

After the young people prepared the lobster, Li Qiao and Ma Ling cooked together.

Two big pots brimming with food.

One with garlic sauce, another spicy.

Accompanied by beer, they were all drooling with anticipation,

"I didn’t expect crayfish could be turned into such a delicacy. When my mom makes them, she just boils them straight away, and they smell as fishy as you could imagine," Ma Ling said as she ate.

Li Qiao thought to herself, if you all knew how to cook lobster, they would need to be farmed by now. "If it’s tasty, let’s go fishing together again when we have time."

"Sure!"

"Of course it’s fine for you—you don’t have to clean up!" Xu Feng said, looking at his thumb which had been broken open by a claw, feeling utterly wronged.

"Didn’t I do the cooking?" Ma Ling protested.

"Just lighting a fire to cook, what’s there to brag about?"

"....."

The two bickered while everyone else laughed. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they sat down again to chat.

The conversation turned to Xun Dong’s return,

"Director Xun should be coming back the week after next, and Li Qiao, you’re starting school soon, aren’t you? Remember to write us letters when you’re in college, and it would be great to see some photos of Beijing," Ma Ling requested.

Thinking about the separation made Li Qiao a bit reluctant to part, but she composed herself and said, "I have photos of Beijing, I can bring them for you."

Li Qiao went to find her album and when Ma Ling opened it after getting it, it was full of photos of Li Qiao and Qin Jin, looking like a match made in heaven. Ma Ling was green with envy; why didn’t she have a partner? She decided to focus on the scenery behind the couple instead to avoid feeling jealous. "Beijing is really bustling; such tall buildings! I wish our unit would organize a trip to Beijing for us."

Xu Feng joked with a chill, "Keep dreaming."

Ma Ling was so annoyed she didn’t want to deal with him.

Li Qiao smiled and said, "If you can spare the time during the summer or winter vacation, you can come over and visit me. I’ll take care of your food and accommodation."

Ma Ling asked, "Aren’t you coming back during the summer and winter vacations?"

Li Qiao replied, "Not necessarily." She would probably be tutoring to earn money, trying to immerse herself in society as much as possible and learn about interpersonal interactions.

After all, socializing is an art.

"...."

After the meal ended, the three of them left.

Li Qiao and Qin Jin began cleaning up, and after tidying the kitchen, she said, "If Director Xun can make it back next weekend, I am going to invite him and Director Tong to come over for dinner. That way, you can get in touch with the superiors of Liao Fan and others."

Previously, Xun Dong had tricked her, mentioning some dinner party, but when she arrived at the unit, she found out that such gatherings were prohibited.

Before she left, she would organize one herself!

Naturally, Qin Jin was pleased; networking could only be beneficial for him. "It’s okay if they don’t agree, though." He was reluctant to have her ask for favors.

...

The following week brought a new case that kept Li Qiao busy again, and before she knew it, Saturday rolled around.

Director Xun hadn’t returned, but the dinner invitation still had to be extended, otherwise, she would betray her initial purpose for being here. Before leaving work, Li Qiao went to Director Tong to inform him that she wouldn’t be coming back at the beginning of next month.

She had to catch the train on the first, as school started on the third.