How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 192 - 194: A Casual Compliment_1

Jiang Wanqiu was utterly dissatisfied upon hearing this, "How could you not get married? When your father was your age, your older brother could already ’fetch soy sauce’."

Xue Lingqing said indifferently, "I don’t envy that."

"If you don’t envy him, I do. Li Qiao’s grandmother already said she’ll be able to hold a great-grandchild next year. Isn’t it lively to have a child at home? Can’t I at least hold a grandchild, if not a great-grandchild? Give me one to look after." Jiang Wanqiu brought up Li Qiao having a child on purpose, trying to gauge his attitude.

If he really had feelings for Li Qiao, continuously mentioning it, he would surely give himself away.

Xue Lingqing remained calm, "I’ve hardly seen you take care of your nieces and nephews when they were little. If you really want to look after children, wait for Li Qiao to have hers and then volunteer to be a nanny; there’s no need to rush me."

Jiang Wanqiu was taken aback by his response and angrily slapped her chopsticks down, "You, you, you! What an attitude! Are you trying to infuriate me to death?"

Old Mr. Xue grew impatient, "Can’t you sleep at night if you’re not making a fuss? When did Xiangjun ever mention wanting to hold a great-grandchild? Don’t spout nonsense and teach Sufen to be clear-headed."

Sufen, who was beside him, said with little confidence, "Grandfather, my stomach really did hurt earlier."

"Every time you fart with your butt in the air, I know exactly what you’re up to. Are you bullying Qiaoqiao at school, and that’s why you’re scared to visit?" Old Mr. Xue’s face darkened.

Jiang Wanqiu said, "Qiaoqiao? You say it as if she’s so close to you, anyone would think she’s your granddaughter-in-law. What do you want with her visiting? To show off that she was the national Top Scholar?" In her youth, Ruan Xiangjun loved to show off. With the Qin family gone, she thought the Qins were all dead and gone. Meeting them today, she had hoped to finally look down upon them, only to find they stayed silent and watched her make a fool of herself. "Sufen, too, you’re a city girl, and your uncle has higher education to guide you at any time. How could you be surpassed by Li Qiao, who came from the countryside?"

Sufen also grew annoyed, "That woman..."

"Speak properly!"

"Speak properly!"

Old Mr. Xue and Xue Lingqing rebuked, out of sync.

Old Mr. Xue said, "Do you have any manners? Did you learn this insolence from your grandmother?"

"I..." Jiang Wanqiu raised her voice.

Old Mr. Xue immediately shattered a bowl, and with a clang, the room fell completely silent. He continued, "What do you mean by ’I’? Wasn’t it you who brought people into our home? And you too, if I hear you speak ill of someone by calling them ’that woman’ or a ’bumpkin’ again, don’t bother coming back to this house."

Sufen shivered slightly but didn’t dare argue back, "I...it’s not that I’m looking down on her, it’s just that she’s really a bit unlucky. At the start of school, during the self-introduction in English class, she said she had worked as an assistant to a forensic pathologist and dissected corpses."

"Don’t talk nonsense!" Old Mr. Xue was about to scold her.

"Sir Xue, is Madam Xue here?" Li Qiao stood at the entrance, looking into the courtyard. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Old Mr. Xue’s tone softened as he responded, "Qiaoqiao is here, yes, come in." He rose to greet her and noticed the cloth bag in Li Qiao’s hand, "What have you brought there?"

Li Qiao replied, "Some local specialties from my hometown."

Old Mr. Xue’s eyes twinkled with amusement, "Such a big bag too, come in and take a seat quickly."

"All right." Li Qiao stepped into the house and immediately greeted Xue Lingqing upon seeing him, "Good day, Professor Xue." Since her grandmother knew her teacher was Sir Xue’s son, she insisted that Li Qiao bring local products to curry favor, in hopes that Professor Xue would provide more guidance in her studies. Unable to refuse, she had to make the visit.

Xue Lingqing barely nodded in acknowledgment.

Sufen looked at the bag, thinking to herself, is it filled with sorghum and peanuts? Treating some junk like treasure, just to make a fool of herself.

Despite her disdain for Li Qiao, Jiang Wanqiu put on an amiable face in the moment, "What are you carrying? Our house lacks for nothing, not chicken, duck, fish, or meat. You’ve come from the countryside and rented a place; life must not be easy for you, better keep it for yourself to eat." She didn’t forget to emphasize Li Qiao’s rural background.

Li Qiao looked at Jiang Wanqiu; having just come to visit Sir Xue, she had felt that this grandmother was a bit fierce, and now she seemed somewhat mean. Far less amiable than Sir Xue. She pursed her lips, "There’s still a lot at home."

Li Qiao opened the cloth bag and took out the morel mushrooms held in a fine mesh bag, two large sealed jars of high-quality goji berries, and a big paper bag of pine nuts.

Qin Jin said that there had been a huge harvest of pine nuts on Pig Waist Ridge, and they sold them for nearly fifty yuan after picking.

The goji berries were hung on branches to air-dry naturally; he and Feng Kui, Liu Er, and others had spent a whole day picking them.

In addition to that, they made a tidy sum from trading wheat seeds.

He planned to sell the small courtyard they were renting, but as they were outsiders, grandma worried that if the landlord spread the word, they would get into trouble, so she did not agree.

"What is this? Mushrooms?" Xue Sufen said disparagingly with a curl of her lip.

Only the goji berries and pine nuts seemed decent.

Wasn’t the countryside very poor? Yet Li Qiao was able to eat these things, which she herself only got to eat during the New Year.

Did the people in Li Qiao’s family fight over them?

Unable to help herself, she blurted out, "Is your family the head of the local thugs or something? How else did you get these things?" Places selling pine nuts in the city were few.

Sir Xue glared and raised his hand, while Xue Sufen quickly stepped back two steps and covered her mouth. He snorted coldly and turned to Li Qiao with a gentler attitude, "These mushrooms are good stuff, the big restaurants in Beijing have them, but you can’t find them in smaller diners. Where did you get them from?"

Li Qiao smiled and replied, "These are morels. They grow wild in the fields in spring and are free for the picking. The goji berries and pine nuts were picked by my partner and his friends in the mountains."

Sir Xue: "Jin doesn’t look like someone who would do manual work, but I didn’t expect him to be so capable."

"He can do a lot more, like making dough, baking flatbreads, making noodles, catching sparrows and roasting them, fishing and grilling fish," Li Qiao listed a series of tasks.

"All related to pots and pans," said Jiang Wanqiu, implying that the grandson of the Qin family didn’t seem very manly. It seemed he had no proper job, and had to do these things to please his wife, who after all was the Top Scholar. How disgraceful!

If Big Brother Qin were alive, he would be vexed to death by such an unfilial grandson.

Li Qiao and Li Jinhua, having been engaged in a battle of wits and courage with Feng Lamei for half a year, immediately understood the hidden meaning in Jiang Wanqiu’s words. She smiled gently and softly said, "Back in my parents’ home, I hardly did any work. Jin said that if I did and word got out, he would lose face, so I couldn’t just watch grandma do everything for me, I had to learn to do it myself. Some of the women in the village saw it and started saying he wasn’t manly, but he says there aren’t many men who don’t do household chores and still have accomplishments. He has lots of other good qualities too, but I won’t list them all here."

In just a few words, not only did she imply that Jiang Wanqiu and rural women were no different, but she also managed to praise Qin Jin for being affectionate towards his wife and filial at the same time.

Jiang Wanqiu caught on to some of the nuances and jumped up in anger, pushing Li Qiao and making her stagger several steps, "You little wretch, are you calling me a country bumpkin woman?"

The sudden incident left everyone present stunned.

The men didn’t understand the knives hidden in the women’s conversation.

They only found Jiang Wanqiu’s behavior exaggerated and excessive.

The girl spoke softly and demurely; how could she have offended her?

Xue Sufen was also shocked. Although she really disliked Li Qiao, and occasionally wanted to curb her sharpness, without a proper reason, she dared only speak behind her back. But her grandmother had gone ahead and taken action, and now Li Qiao would go back to school and talk about her unreasonable grandmother.

How embarrassing would that be?

Li Qiao opened her eyes in disbelief, and after a moment, she turned and ran away.