Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander-Chapter 1307 - 859: Interrogation

Before dawn.

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Earlier, everyone felt quite friendly and chatty, but there was an underlying sense of formality. Now, after Qian Yan’s incident, our relationships naturally grew closer.

Old Madam Qi’s expression wasn’t as impeccably cheerful as it was the first time we met. She sighed and vented to Chuxia and her mother: "You might think I’m somewhat lacking in judgment towards Yanyan.

But isn’t everyone like this? Their mother and daughter pair have been the kindest to our siblings, and we’ve been the most sincere to them. Over time, naturally, we’re closer than others.

As family, it’s impossible to always be concerned only with right or wrong. To be honest, if I ever had to choose between you two and Yanyan, my choice would certainly be Yanyan. No matter how outrageous her mistakes are, I’d still choose her."

"We understand..." Chuxia smiled at Old Madam Qi, "This just shows how deeply loyal and emotional you are. My mother and I really like people with Elder Aunt’s kind of personality."

"I can see that you and your mother are like that too..." Unconsciously, Old Madam Qi reached out and rubbed Chuxia’s head, "I really love listening to you speak. Your words are pleasant and unpretentious. If you think about it, there’s logic in them. At your age, achieving this is truly rare."

"Thank you, Elder Aunt, for the compliment."

"This child is really thick-skinned..." Zhao Yulan helplessly looked at her daughter, "Aren’t you afraid your Elder Aunt would make fun of you?"

"I won’t, I won’t, I’m speaking from the heart, why would I make fun?" Old Madam Qi laughed happily, "There aren’t many as confident as this child, I truly like it."

"Then..." Rolling her eyes, Chuxia asked, "Who do you think is more outstanding, me or Qian Yan?"

"You child..." Old Madam Qi pointed at her amusingly, "To be truthful, you’re certainly more outstanding than Yanyan, but in my eyes, of course, Yanyan is still the most outstanding."

"Thank you, Elder Aunt." Chuxia straightened her expression and looked seriously at Old Madam Qi, "Your feelings for Qian Yan are so deep, yet you were able to speak with her so rationally just now, that must be really difficult."

"That child grew up under my eyes. When her mother was busy, she left her with me. To be honest, my feelings for her are deeper than those of a typical grandparent and grandchild.

Because of this, some people have warned her mother, claiming I’m not right in the head. They say, because I can’t have my own children, I’m overly nice to someone else’s child, probably wanting to steal her away, advising her mother not to let me take care of her.

You can imagine how upset I was when those words reached my ears, and I am even more grateful that her mother wasn’t influenced by those remarks.

So, you see, everyone has two sides. She might not be very filial to her father, but in other aspects, she’s still commendable."

Saying this, Old Madam Qi reflexively began to defend Wan Yuqiong. Chuxia couldn’t help but smile: "Elder Aunt, my mother and I have made it so clear already, and you still don’t believe it?"

Old Madam Qi laughed somewhat sheepishly, "Getting old means becoming a bit naggy, haha... I’m making you both laugh at me."

"What’s funny?" Old Master Qi came back carrying a basket of vegetables, hearing his sister’s words just as he entered, and he joined in with a laugh.

"Elder Qi, why are you so formal?" Immediately, Chuxia stepped forward to take the basket from his hand, "My mother and I aren’t outsiders, acting like this, how can we feel comfortable coming over in the future?"

"If you’re uncomfortable, then don’t come."

Chuxia: "..."

"Yinzhi, how can you talk to the child like that?" Old Madam Qi glared at her brother, "At your age, shouldn’t you be a bit more courteous?"

"Alright, alright, I’m wrong..." Old Master Qi quickly admitted his mistake, "I was just caught up in the conversation. Besides, if I didn’t like someone, I wouldn’t even bother talking to them, Chuxia knows that, right?"

"Right, right, right..." Chuxia nodded repeatedly, "Elder Aunt, Elder Qi has always been like this with me, I’m quite accustomed to it and actually find it endearing."

"I’ve nagged him his whole life, but he just can’t change, that temper of his..." Old Madam Qi shook her head, picking through the vegetables in the basket, "Planning to make cabbage dumplings?"

"Yes, it’s hard to buy good vegetables. I went to three stores to gather this much. Making dumplings is simpler..." Old Master Qi looked apologetically towards Zhao Yulan, "I originally wanted to make my specialty steamed pork, but I couldn’t find any meat with skin, and thought of doing lamb ribs with turnip, but both were unavailable. You might not be particular about dumplings, but there’s really no other option."

"Uncle Qi, if you talk like that, then my mother and I truly have nowhere to hide..." Zhao Yulan’s face flushed red, "We’re from the countryside, a year ago we couldn’t even afford proper meals, so where would we have such picky tastes? It’s already our fault for bothering you to buy groceries, how could we possibly be choosy?"

When they set out, mother and daughter thought of bringing some meat dishes, but after considering, set it aside, fearing that Elder Qi’s character might misunderstand and think they were looking down on them if they really brought it.

But now, Chuxia regretted it. Perhaps their judgment of Elder Qi was wrong. Although Elder Qi’s words could be sharp, judging from his current behavior, he probably wasn’t someone overly sensitive.

Originally, she thought that the Old Master didn’t pay much attention to her and her mother, but looking at it now, he clearly values them a great deal. Upon reflection, it’s quite easy to explain.

Given the situation of the siblings, there shouldn’t be many visitors at home, and many people have various taboos. The Old Master’s personality is just his unique way of protecting himself—since they don’t like me, I’ll simply not like them first, saving everyone the trouble.

Zhao Yulan and Old Madam Qi went to the kitchen to chop fillings and knead dough, leaving only Chuxia and the Old Master in the hall. The silence was truly awkward, so Chuxia made small talk: "Uncle Qi, do you usually buy groceries yourself?"

"Yes, Xin’s leg isn’t very good. In the winter, it starts to hurt badly after just a short walk. It’s an old injury from her youth. If it weren’t for the ancestral prescriptions, her leg would have been useless long ago."

The first half of the sentence was explaining why he buys the groceries, and the latter half was clearly explaining why, as an heirloom Chinese medicine practitioner, he couldn’t heal his sister’s leg.

This Old Master is truly adorable!

Chuxia’s lips curled into an involuntary smile: "Actually, you decided long ago to take me as your apprentice, right?"

"Who said that?" The Old Master gave her a sharp look, "The assessment isn’t over, and changes can happen at any time. Even now, don’t assume it’s set in stone.

If you don’t perform well, regardless of innate talent or acquired effort, as long as even a little bit falls short of my expectations, you’ll be dismissed at any time."

"Is it fun to keep scaring people like this?" Chuxia looked at him with a face full of grievance, "Or, do you just not trust me and think that if you give me a certain answer, I won’t behave well?"

Uncle Qi: "..."

"See, I got it right, didn’t I? Uncle Qi, from now on I am your apprentice, the person closest to you besides Elder Aunt Qi. You have to trust me, don’t keep testing me."

Uncle Qi: "..."

"Do you agree with what I said?"

"Ahem..." Unable to help it, Uncle Qi coughed lightly, looking at Chuxia with speechlessness, "I’ve lived such a long life, and you are the thickest-skinned girl I’ve ever met."

Chuxia beamed with joy, "Thank you for the compliment."

Uncle Qi: "..."

"Uncle Qi, are you stunned already?" Chuxia looked at the Old Master with emotion, "If you meet my friends, what would your reaction be? Their skin is much thicker than mine."

"Thicker skinned than you?" The Old Master raised an eyebrow, "That might just be what you think."

"Oh, by the way, Qian Yan came by just now..." Chuxia quickly switched topics. She didn’t want to admit that, fundamentally, she was the thickest-skinned.

After listening to Chuxia recount everything that happened after Qian Yan came over, the Old Master sighed, "I can’t say who’s right or wrong about other people’s family matters, but your grandaunt is right. If possible, speak well of the mother and daughter to Elder Wan. They truly have a difficult time."

...

Meanwhile, Qian Yan finally waited for Wan Yuqiong to come home for lunch. Her father wasn’t home, so she directly questioned Wan Yuqiong about why she deceived her.

"Who told you?" Wan Yuqiong frowned.

"Mom..." Qian Yan looked at Wan Yuqiong with disappointment, "Your attitude means you admit what I said is true, right? In other words, you admit you were deceiving me, right?"

Wan Yuqiong sighed deeply and stayed silent.

"Mom, why would you do this? For years, I’ve hated Grandpa with you, thinking he’s a heartless elder who only cares about himself, willing to help outsiders rather than be close to his family.

Now I understand that all of this was under your deliberate guidance, and in reality, it wasn’t like this at all. He’s your biological father, why would you treat him this way?

If it weren’t like this, maybe Grandpa would have helped us, and we wouldn’t be in this situation now. My classmates all have good jobs, but I’m at home with nothing to do. Do you understand how I feel?

Now, except at Grandpa and Grandma Qi’s, I don’t dare to lift my head anywhere else. I’m afraid of seeing people’s mocking gazes, afraid of being asked about my job, afraid of being asked about my marriage.

Before, I blamed all of this on Grandpa. Now I realize that the one I should really blame is you, my biological mother! Now I’m even doubting if I am your biological daughter. Otherwise, how can you watch me suffer so much and do nothing?"

"Yanyan, I’m sorry..." Wan Yuqiong looked at her daughter in pain, "Mommy is sorry to you, but you absolutely cannot doubt Mommy’s love for you..."

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