How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 299 - 301: Reality_1

Old Mr. Xue returned to his room to take a nap, but the noise from the living room TV made it hard to sleep, so he hobbled with his cane over to the Qin family.

Li Qiao and Old Mrs. Qin were sitting under the canopy in the courtyard, cutting fabric, when a dog wagged its tail as it passed in front of Li Qiao. She turned her head to see Old Mr. Xue stepping over the threshold, "Sir Xue is here, please have a seat." She hurriedly moved a chair and poured tea.

Old Mr. Xue said, "I couldn’t sleep at home, so I came over to stroll around. Don’t you take naps?"

Old Mrs. Qin replied, "Not sleepy yet."

Old Mr. Xue watched the work in their hands. "So many clothes, all the same color and size? Are they for Qiaoqiao to wear? You change them so often, people must think you never change at all."

Li Qiao smiled and deliberately lowered her voice, "We’re doing a little business. The night market is especially lively, and clothes sell well there."

Old Mr. Xue was surprised, "Whose idea was that? That’s quite bold."

"Jin. He said the management of private trading has loosened up now," Li Qiao explained, acknowledging that Qin Jin indeed had a talent for business, not just in finding opportunities, but also in securing enough supplies.

Grandma’s execution ability was also very strong.

They made designs here and produced goods there.

Old Mr. Xue cautioned, "Be careful. Getting caught might mean a fine at best, but it can cause big troubles with your job."

Li Qiao nodded seriously, "Okay, we’ll be careful."

They sold very little, so if there truly was an inspection, it was particularly easy to run away, and if they couldn’t escape, they could pretend to be customers.

At worst, they would lose a bit of money.

She and Qin Jin had discussed the consequences.

....

About an hour later, Jiang Wanqiu came by.

Old Mrs. Qin had taken the cut fabric to the neighbor’s house half an hour ago.

At this time, under the canopy, Li Qiao was reading the newspaper out loud for Sir Xue to listen to.

Sir Xue was resting with his eyes closed on the recliner, almost asleep, when he was startled awake by Jiang Wanqiu’s shrill voice. "You old fart, don’t you have your own house to sleep in? Why nap at someone else’s place?"

Li Qiao glanced up, and Old Mr. Xue looked alert, not at all sleepy. "Madam Xue is here. I was just reading the newspaper. Sir Xue said he hadn’t seen today’s paper and asked me to read it out loud. Please, have a seat."

"No need to sit," Jiang Wanqiu said. "Your Sir Xue told me you’re buying a house and settling down here. Pretty impressive, eh?"

"Not so impressive, just an ordinary person," Li Qiao said with a bright smile.

Jiang Wanqiu found Li Qiao’s smile annoying. Could an average person save up thousands to buy a house in one year? Too much modesty is tantamount to boasting. "If I were your grandmother-in-law, I’d cherish you too. After all, this daughter-in-law is like a money tree for the family. See, you’ve even bought a house."

Old Mr. Xue heard the divisiveness in Jiang Wanqiu’s words, "Don’t listen to your Madam Xue. She’s just a troublemaker."

"What nonsense are you talking?"

Li Qiao chuckled, "The year before last, I took the college entrance exam but didn’t pass. Thanks to grandma paying for school fees, I was able to go back to school. Jin took care of living expenses, often gone for most of a month. He didn’t expect me to pass, let alone consider me a money tree."

The implication was clear: you’re being overly suspicious.

Jiang Wanqiu’s expression turned awkward, and she coughed twice, "Old Xue, let’s go home. It’s getting late."

Sir Xue also planned to leave.

Li Qiao saw the couple out. Once they had walked away, she turned and stepped back to her original spot, finished reading the newspaper, and went inside to grab the fabric to cut according to the pattern.

When Qin Jin got off work, he snatched the scissors from her hand, "You don’t need to do this. In a day or two at most, Fugui and Liu Er will come over. Then there will be plenty of people to make clothes."

"But they don’t know how to make clothes."

Qin Jin replied, "Their wives do. They’ll bring their wives along."

"Maimiao does a good job with needlework, and Liu Er’s wife is also diligent. Is Li Jianguo coming? Has he found someone yet?" Li Qiao said.

"He’s coming, no, apparently after running into some losses, a girl who was interested in him doesn’t pay attention to him anymore. Women, they are so practical, except for you," Qin Jin said.

Li Qiao chuckled, "Don’t flatter me, okay? I’m quite practical myself."

"Then why do you still stick with me when I’m so poor?"

"Because you have independent thinking, are ambitious, and can do household chores...." Li Qiao listed a pile of advantages.

Qin Jin felt flattered and laughed out loud. The next second, he regained his rationality, "I’m not that good either. I like to drink, fight, Li Jianguo is much better than me; he is also quite handsome. Why don’t women like him?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Maybe his fate hasn’t arrived yet. It’s hard for a poor and inarticulate man to attract a girl’s attention," Li Qiao paused before saying, "Li Jianguo himself must be pretty picky." Village bachelors, other than personal reasons, a large part of them are picky.

When they were just over twenty, they were too proud to settle. As they got older without any other skills, inarticulate and clumsy, they began to compromise and prepared to settle, but most of their age-mates were already married, and the younger ones didn’t want someone older.

Qin Jin: "That’s not right. Why are we worrying about Li Jianguo? We’re not his parents. Are you hungry? I’ll go make something for you."

"Not hungry, I have a poor appetite these days because of the heat, and I don’t really want to eat. Moreover, every time I smell cooking oil, I feel like vomiting. How about you make me some rice porridge instead?"

"Could it be that you’re...?" Old Mrs. Qin came into the yard holding the finished clothes and quickly approached, "What about your studies if you are?" On one hand were the studies, on the other was the great-grandchild; she didn’t want to give up either.

Li Qiao looked bewildered, "What are you talking about?" She was a bit slow to react, and then realized, "No, I’m not. I just went to the bathroom and saw that I got my period. It’s purely because of the heat."

Old Mrs. Qin laughed, "I was too nervous." Her gaze shifted to the cut fabric, "You did all this? Are you tired? Don’t do it again next time."

"I’m idle anyway," Li Qiao said.

....

For dinner, Qin Jin made egg noodles. After eating, the family of three, along with their dog, went for a walk behind the new house.

Li Qiao pointed with her little hand, "Jin, that mansion is our new house, shall we go take a look?"

She wanted to bring him last night, but grandmother was busy cutting fabric, and he was back in the room working on test papers, so she didn’t mention it. Today there was spare time.

"Looks nice, let’s go."

The family of three went through the three-foot alley and arrived at the front door, where Li Qiao pulled out the keys to unlock it.

Qin Jin looked around, "Very good, I’ll have Fugui and the others move the goods here tomorrow."

Li Qiao: "You’re going to store goods in such a nice house?"

Qin Jin counter-asked, "If not for storing goods, do you want to move in?"

Li Qiao was at a loss for words; the house was indeed not ready to live in, there was nothing inside, and the walls in the rooms were moldy and peeling.

The ceiling exposed beams and rows of reeds; she planned to repaint the walls and install a ceiling. She wondered where to buy wallpaper, and it would be even better if she could buy some to put up.

Qin Jin said, "After we clear out the fabric in hand, I’ll start working on the renovations, how about that?"

"Sure," Li Qiao truly loathed the landlord’s nasty face and wanted to move out as soon as possible.

All the flowers in the yard would be transplanted here then.

Without the flowers to accentuate it, she wondered how he would manage to rent out the house for a good price.

After leaving the new house, Old Mrs. Qin brought up the matter of Li Qiao returning to her parents’ home, "Jin, you should escort her. I’ve thought it over and I don’t feel at ease."

Qin Jin nodded, "I don’t feel at ease either." He took a few steps and then said, "Is it possible to move our household registration now? If it is, I’ll go back to the hometown with you to handle it."

"I’ll ask Sir Xue tomorrow about the documents needed for moving the registration."

The two of them discussed the household registration matter and decided what to do before turning back home.

.....