How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 189 - 191: Old Acquaintance_1

Saturday afternoon was without classes, so Li Qiao packed up her books and went home after school.

As she approached, she saw the gate wide open and her brows furrowed in concern—had they been robbed?

Just then, a dog rushed out of the courtyard, the very one she had adopted from Feng Fugui’s home.

Li Qiao’s eyes lit up.

The dog affectionately rubbed against her legs, and as she entered, she noticed Qin Jin’s bicycle in the yard and let out a sharp scream of delight.

Qin Jin was in the kitchen cooking pancakes and, startled by the noise, his hand trembled, dropping a pancake onto the floor. He didn’t bother to pick it up as he ran out to see what was happening.

Li Qiao looked at him excitedly, "Jin, when did you get here? How did you bring the bicycle and the dog?"

"Yesterday afternoon. Grandma got dizzy from the train ride; she really couldn’t take it and had to spend a night in the hospital. We only managed to get back home this morning. I shipped the bicycle and the dog. The house looks nice, Grandma said the paintings on the courtyard walls made it feel like we’re back in our old home," Qin Jin said with a smile in his eyes.

She was truly capable.

Had she also arranged the wardrobe?

Though a bit rough around the edges, it looked quite nice.

Placed in Grandma’s room, she was especially fond of it.

Old Mrs. Qin came out of the house, her hair slightly disheveled and looking slightly wilted but still greeted with a laugh, "Qiaoqiao’s back. The house looks really nice, even neater than the old siheyuan."

Li Qiao smiled. They were going to live there for several years; of course, they couldn’t just make do. She asked with concern, "Grandma, how are you feeling now?"

Old Mrs. Qin said, "I feel much better after resting for the night." When she was younger, she had taken train rides without issue, but in her old age, she unexpectedly found them unbearable.

Li Qiao urged Old Mrs. Qin to rest.

Old Mrs. Qin, touching her forehead: "I do need to rest a bit."

Qin Jin went back to the kitchen to pick up the pancake from the floor, dusting off the insignificant dust and setting it aside.

Li Qiao kept him company, trying to make conversation, "Is everything settled at home? Have you arranged the supply of woven goods?"

Qin Jin replied, "All taken care of. The woven goods are left to my sister and brother-in-law." He paused before continuing, "Li Jinhua was found hiding at your classmate Zhao Li’s place. Later, she was married off by your parents to Feng Guanggun’s brother in our village, and she gets beaten up every two days."

Li Qiao almost choked. Wasn’t Li Jianguo more youthful and decent-looking than Feng Guanggun’s brother? And he wouldn’t initiate domestic violence. Had Li Jinhua lost her mind? Why did she agree? If she was unwilling to marry and sought death, surely Feng Lamei would be softened, right?

After all, Lamei was her own daughter.

She asked further, "What about Li Jianguo?"

"He’s recuperating, he says he’ll join me in doing great things once his injury heals," Qin Jin replied with a laugh.

Li Qiao commented, "Li Jianguo is quite ambitious, Li Jinhua is sure to regret it later."

"Who cares if she regrets?" Qin Jin said, "Fugui’s family had a son, and they’re strutting around all day. They even want him promised in marriage to my future daughter. Dream on." The mere thought that his daughter could end up as excellent as his wife and then become someone else’s daughter-in-law pained him like a knife to the heart.

Li Qiao said pensively, "First, we need to have a daughter."

Qin Jin: "..."

Li Qiao took a pancake to eat, but he snatched it away, "This one fell on the floor. Eat this one."

Li Qiao took the pancake from his hand, sliced it open and stuffed it with dried radish to make a stuffed pancake. She took a bite, it was fresh and fluffy, "Delicious."

With his cooking skills acknowledged, Qin Jin worked with even more enthusiasm, "This time when I went back home, I got all sorts of meat tickets. I’ll go to the market early tomorrow to buy a chicken and make a big plate of chicken for you after your classes."

Li Qiao was looking forward to it, "Great."

With a brief separation, the two felt as if there were endless conversations to be had, as if newly wedded.

Old Mrs. Qin, feeling refreshed after a nap, prepared to go out for a walk.

Li Qiao said, "Grandma, let me accompany you."

"No need, I won’t go far," Old Mrs. Qin replied. She left the alley and saw others carrying baskets heading south, so she followed.

Walking along, I entered the market.

Big cities are different indeed, with all sorts of meat products and marinated foods, everything you could want. Passing by the marinated food stall, I pointed at the pig’s head meat and asked about the price.

"One yuan and twenty per jin."

Old Mrs. Qin exclaimed in astonishment, "That’s so expensive." Back in the county city where she came from, it was only eighty-five fen.

As the crowd grew, Old Mrs. Qin instinctively moved to the side.

There were still quite a few people buying marinated foods, and a large basin of pig’s head meat was quickly emptied.

City folk really are wealthy.

"Is... is that Xiangjun?"

Old Mrs. Qin whirled around, the woman in front of her graying at the temples, her face a web of wrinkles.

But she had a good complexion, face aglow with health.

Gradually, her mind overlapped the woman’s features with the face of an elder sister from a neighbor’s family, "Wanqiu?"

"Oh my! It really is you. I thought you looked so familiar just now, but I didn’t dare to recognize you. It’s been more than thirty years since we last met, right? You are five years younger than me, so why do you seem so much older than I do?" Jiang Wanqiu grabbed Old Mrs. Qin’s hand and said, "These hands are rough too, you must have had a hard life over the years?"

Old Mrs. Qin, still immersed in the joy of reconnecting with an old friend, felt as though she had had a bucket of cold water thrown over her.

She admitted she had aged, but making a point of one’s age wasn’t this a blatant insult?

She subtly withdrew her hand. "You don’t look much younger than me either."

"You’ve been living in Beijing, why haven’t I ever run into you over all these years?" Jiang Wanqiu asked.

"I just arrived yesterday, why are you here too?" Old Mrs. Qin replied, still somewhat politely.

"My husband joined the army and after the victory, we stayed in Beijing, been here for nearly thirty years. Has Qin come too?"

Old Mrs. Qin’s mood sank, "He passed away over a decade ago."

Jiang Wanqiu hesitated for a moment, then consoled, "Take it easy, having your son and daughter-in-law with you means you’re blessed."

"My son and daughter-in-law are gone too," Old Mrs. Qin’s eyes reddened.

Jiang Wanqiu sympathetically said, "You’ve had it tough. Why don’t you come over to my place? My house is full of kids, you can treat them as your own."

Old Mrs. Qin couldn’t help but feel there was something off in her words. Years ago, when they both lived in the south, this woman had never spared an opportunity to badmouth her in front of the in-laws, and their relationship had not been pleasant. After a separation of more than thirty years, she was offering to let her boss around her children so generously? Had she changed, or was she just showing off?

And she didn’t consider herself to be pitiable at all. She was healthy and able-bodied, could take care of her own needs without assistance, and she had a sharp-witted grandson who could earn money, and a granddaughter-in-law who was both beautiful and scholarly. She was more than content. "It’s getting late, I need to get home."

"Oh dear, we haven’t seen each other for over thirty years. Let’s catch up. My house isn’t far; in a bit, I’ll have one of the kids take you back," Jiang Wanqiu insisted eagerly, tugging at Old Mrs. Qin.

Old Mrs. Qin, finding it hard to refuse the warm invitation said, "Don’t pull at me, I can walk myself."

...

"This is where I live, the government family court." Jiang Wanqiu, full of pride and showing off, said with particular satisfaction.

Old Mrs. Qin looked up at the impressive door plaque, its color matching the row of two-story buildings at her own front door.

She thought to herself, was this just to show off?

Hopefully not, or she’d find herself having to flaunt the status of her Top Scholar granddaughter-in-law.

Then it would be your turn to be envious.

Before long, Jiang Wanqiu led Old Mrs. Qin to a two-story building.

"This is my house." Jiang Wanqiu shouted into the house, "Xue, look who I brought with me."

"Who is it?"

A voice, old yet forceful, called back.