How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 312 - 314: Pinky Promise_1
Chapter 312: Chapter 314: Pinky Promise_1
Ma Ling changed into a skirt and walked in front of the two, "The fit is pretty good; just not sure about the effect."
Li Qiao looked her over; the light white color made her look youthful and radiant, "It’s quite nice."
Xun Dong said, "Aren’t the clothes you changed out of still in my office? Hurry up and take them. If my wife randomly checks and finds women’s clothes in my office, I won’t be able to explain."
Li Qiao pursed her lips and laughed.
Ma Ling returned to Xun Dong’s office to fetch her clothes and before leaving, she noticed a stack of ice pop vouchers on his desk. She grabbed a handful, "Director Xun, are we distributing ice pop vouchers?"
"You’ve got sharp eyes. Hand them over!"
Ma Ling obediently handed them over.
Xun Dong counted them and divided them equally among the three of them.
Li Qiao received her vouchers and thought to herself that they were just what she needed to exchange for ice pops for her little nephews.
Just as she was about to put them away, Xun Dong said, "My wife is pregnant and shouldn’t eat cold stuff, so I’m giving yours to you two."
"Thanks," Li Qiao accepted without refusing.
After dividing the ice pop vouchers with Ma Ling, they left the department and revisited the eldest sister’s house.
The villagers were touching the fabric and all smiling happily.
"This fabric is nice, huh? Sturdy and durable, one yuan fifty per meter, such a bargain! Here’s the deal, Top Scholar, I’ll take six meters."
"Me too, I’ll take six meters."
While Li Qiao was playing with the kids, she immediately took out her notebook upon hearing this, "There’s only one roll of fabric left, and you both were already noted for three meters each, you can’t add more. Eldest sister, eldest aunt, please start cutting."
"Isn’t there thirty meters in total? Don’t be so stingy!"
"Is this about being stingy? What about the rest of us if you take it all?" someone in the back complained.
"Top Scholar, do you still have fabric?"
"Just this one roll," Li Qiao said.
"Why don’t you bring in more? One roll at a time, how can that be enough to divide?" the villagers said.
Li Jiaoyang said, "My sister isn’t a merchant; she has to rely on acquaintances to buy the fabric. The journey back and forth is long and inconvenient, plus, doesn’t she have to call in a favor to get the fabric? It’s not easy." Implicit in his words, could you repay the favors she owes?
The villagers didn’t answer. Their point seemed to have some merit.
After everyone agreed, Li Jiaoyang and Mrs. Song began cutting and dividing the fabric.
.....
Li Qiao took the children to a small shop to exchange the ice pop vouchers for ice pops.
The shopkeeper looked at the vouchers and said they couldn’t be used.
"This is Xiangfang Ice Cream Factory, but our ice pops come from Xinle."
Li Qiao was embarrassed; she hadn’t thought that the ice pop brands would differ, "How much is each pop, then?"
"Red bean pops are ten cents for two, and ice pops are two cents each."
Li Qiao took out money to buy a bagful.
The children started eating as soon as they left the store.
The eldest said, "Third Aunt, can you stay at my house tonight? I want to sleep with you."
Li Qiao replied, "Your house doesn’t have a spare room for me to stay in, but since I don’t have to work tomorrow, I can take you to the city to play." She hadn’t yet invited her eldest sister’s family over since moving into her new house, which really wasn’t proper.
"Third Aunt, I want to go too," the second oldest said.
The youngest also clamored to join.
Li Qiao said, "I can only take one of you; you three can play rock-paper-scissors to decide."
Ultimately, the youngest won.
The eldest and the second oldest lost to the young one and cried, their ice pops no longer tasting sweet.
Li Qiao carried the ice pops back to the Song Family and saw that everyone got a share.
After tasting Li Qiao’s ice pops, the slight grievances they had against her earlier dispersed.
"Top Scholar is different from ordinary people, so generous."
Li Qiao thought to herself, if I don’t buy you guys popsicles, you wouldn’t know what to say about me. She said, "If you eat my popsicle, you have to be nicer to my sister in the future."
"Of course, marrying into our village, nobody would mistreat her."
Li Jiaoyang laughed with her eyes curved. Her little sister had really grown up, not only looking out for her but also knowing how to protect her. She gave the neatly exchanged money to her. Li Qiao casually put it into her bag, "Eldest sister, your family’s third child wants to follow me to the city."
"How is that not going to cause trouble?" Li Jiaoyang disagreed.
The child started to cry.
Li Jiaoyang coaxed for a long time until the child agreed to stay at home. The eldest son said, "Mom, if brother isn’t going, let me go."
"You? I am anxious just thinking about it," Li Jiaoyang said.
Young children can’t keep their mouths shut. What if he stays in Qiaoqiao’s room and comes back saying all sorts of things?
The second child got unhappy, demanding that Li Jiaoyang couldn’t be partial.
Li Qiao said, "Whoever chooses to stay, I will give her a dime."
"I’ll stay."
"I’ll stay."
The two girls competed for the money.
Li Qiao found it amusing. She had thought they really liked her, but it turned out they would ditch her for a dime.
"The eldest can follow your third aunt to the city to broaden his horizons. The second stays at home, and I’ll give you a dime," Li Jiaoyang said.
The eldest was still a bit unhappy, but then he thought of following his third aunt and the possibility of getting tasty treats, and felt it wouldn’t be a loss.
.....
Li Qiao stayed for lunch at the Song Family, and when she was leaving, Li Jiaoyang pulled the eldest daughter aside for a thorough briefing—like not to run around when there, not to spout nonsense after coming back, especially not to mention the city trip in front of her maternal grandparents, otherwise, there would be no pretty skirt bought by her third aunt for her.
The eldest readily agreed, boarded Li Qiao’s car, and didn’t look back. "Third aunt, can I still have popsicles when I go to the city?"
"Of course, you can, but you won’t get any today."
Li Qiao drove the eldest into the city to the courtyard house.
Stepping into the courtyard, the eldest scanned around and pointed at the grapes under the vine trellis, "Third aunt, can I eat these?"
"You can," Li Qiao stepped on a stool and picked a large bunch of them. "Just wash them yourself."
"Okay." The eldest took the grapes and efficiently rinsed them under the tap.
Li Qiao waited to eat.
After washing the grapes, the eldest placed them in front of Li Qiao, grabbed a bunch for herself, and while eating started to look around the room, "Third aunt, is this where you live? It’s so big, and the floor is so clean. Your chairs and table are much better than ours, and so is the kitchen. Can I live here forever?"
Li Qiao said, "Ask your mom when you go home tomorrow." The eldest was very diligent and could take care of himself; Li Qiao wouldn’t have to worry about him, so staying was also fine. "Come out and eat."
"Coming." The eldest stepped out of the room and sat down next to Li Qiao. "Is the room next to the window where you and my third uncle sleep? Where is third uncle?"
"He’s in Beijing." Li Qiao felt like teasing the child. "Is your third uncle handsome?"
"What’s handsome?"
Li Qiao chuckled, "Handsome means good-looking."
"Not good-looking, too tall. I saw him during the New Year; looking up at his neck made me uncomfortable. I only remember his very noticeable nostrils, not as pretty as you. I hope I’ll grow up to look like you." The eldest stared at Li Qiao’s face with stars in her eyes.
Li Qiao laughed so hard she caught her breath. Couldn’t you look from a distance? Of course, if you run up to him and look up, you’d only see his nostrils. And besides, that’s a high nose bridge!
Silly kid! Dreaming of looking like her.
Suppressing her laughter, she said, "You’re pretty handsome yourself." Both the eldest sister and brother-in-law were good-looking, the eldest sister had fair skin, and the child had inherited their best features, with long legs too; he would definitely be slim and tall in the future. "How are your grades? Did you pass your end-of-term exams?"
"Definitely passed, yeah. My parents said if our grades are too poor, we are not allowed to tell anyone our third aunt is the Top Scholar, to avoid embarrassing you. I am now the tenth in our class; I used to be at the bottom."
Li Qiao laughed happily, "Keep it up, alright? When you become the top student, I’ll take you to Beijing to have fun."
"Pinky swear."
"Pinky swear, hang for a hundred years, no changing..."
"...."
....