How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 329 - 331: Gift_1

"Yu Cuiying said, ’You’re so lucky. When we were younger, we couldn’t rely on our parents, and in our old age, we have no children to lean on.’ At over forty, she still had to leave her hometown, which she actually didn’t want to do at all, but her family got all excited when they heard about the hundred or so bucks a month, especially the new daughter-in-law, who urged everyone to persuade her."

People say mother-in-laws can be evil, but she didn’t turn evil; instead, the daughter-in-law ended up leading her by the nose.

Li Qiao interrupted the two women’s conversation, "Auntie, let’s eat."

Yu Cuiying smiled, "Eh."

Old Mrs. Qin added food to her bowl, "Relax here like you would at home. Don’t be polite."

"I’m not being polite." Yu Cuiying tasted the food and praised its flavor, "Jin is really capable." The village always claimed that men who cook have no prospects, and she suspected that it was the men who started this saying.

Because they didn’t want to do it, they made up rumors to deceive women.

Otherwise, how could Qin Jin be doing better and better?

After the meal, Li Qiao walked Yu Cuiying back to the new courtyard and then took her dog out for a walk. Under the big trees by the roadside, she saw a familiar figure and called out, "Professor Xue."

Xue Lingqing turned his head and smiled, "When did you get back?"

Li Qiao unhitched the leash from the dog’s neck and replied with a smile, "Just got back today." She paused before adding, "I heard from Jin that you got married. Congratulations. When’s the wedding celebration?"

Xue Lingqing lifted his wrist, curled it into a light fist, and coughed into it; in fact, he hadn’t seen the girl. The old man had said she was very pretty, and the only one in the vicinity who could compare was Li Qiao.

Xue Sufen also said the girl was terribly fierce and knew some kind of witchcraft; a single prick from her needle could ruin a person.

He had been a bit busy, staying at school without going home, and after finding out about the marriage, he was so angry he didn’t want to return. By the time he had mentally prepared himself, the girl had already left, leaving nothing behind.

It was as if she had never existed, with only the marriage certificate inside the drawer of his room to remind him that he was married.

She was just a young girl; he had no idea where she could go. He thought about looking for her, but didn’t know where to start.

Because of this matter, his mother beat her chest and stamped her feet at home every day, cursing the old man for duping him. freēwēbnovel.com

In reality, she was the instigator.

While others were well-off, she couldn’t wait to ingratiate herself.

And when others fell on hard times, she reneged on the marriage. Who does that?

"With the wife gone, what celebration?" he said.

Li Qiao: "Gone? Isn’t it that she left? You don’t know where she went?"

"Yeah, I don’t know."

Li Qiao felt both sympathetic and sad for the experiences of the two young people.

Professor Xue, as someone who had received higher education and studied abroad, sought freedom in love and marriage but was forcefully arranged into matrimony by his family.

And the girl, faced with a mother-in-law like Madam Xue and without a man to support her, how could she stay at home?

She fell silent.

Xue Lingqing wasn’t interested in continuing the topic and shifted the conversation, "Have you been handling cases back in your hometown this whole time?"

Li Qiao nodded.

Xue Lingqing showed some interest, "What kind of cases? Can you tell me?"

"Of course, I can." Li Qiao adjusted her mood and vividly described her case handling experience to him, and even told him about her nickname. In the end, she said, "They call me ’Old Monster.’ Can you believe that?"

Xue Lingqing’s laughter deepened in his eyes, "It is a bit annoying. Will you go back there again?"

"Hard to say, they have people for every position now. They called me in because one of them was arranged to go study," said Li Qiao. Studying has its benefits, just like Director Xun.

After a month of studying, he got a raise.

The position stayed the same, but the title went up a level.

Now it’s Xu Feng’s turn to study; after a little while, he’s likely to get promoted too.

So she realized that anyone dispatched for study was because they were valued, and promotions and salary increases surely followed. This little experience, she had to summarize it for Jin.

As the evening darkened, the two of them headed home.

Li Qiao first took the dog back to the new courtyard and then returned to her own small courtyard.

As she entered the room, she saw Qin Jin lying on his side in his briefs, revealing his well-defined upper body. He waved at her, "I’m all clean."

Li Qiao chuckled, like a lady from a TV brothel beckoning to clients. "There’s something off about you."

"What’s off about me? I’m perfectly fine." Qin Jin got up and sat, reaching out to pull her toward him.

Li Qiao stepped back, "Don’t you have work tomorrow? You should get some rest early."

Qin Jin said, "There’s no rush with work."

Li Qiao ignored him and sat on the bed to dry her hair after her bath.

A pair of large hands wrapped around her waist from behind.

Li Qiao smacked his hand away forcefully, he winced and drew back, complaining, "You’ve changed."

Li Qiao retorted, "You’re the one who’s changed. Don’t you see me drying my hair?"

"I just saw you chatting and laughing with Professor Xue. What’s that all about? I barely bump into him once every ten days or a fortnight, and there you are, running into him the moment you arrive," Qin Jin said with a hint of jealousy.

Li Qiao held her forehead, "...I bumped into him while walking the dog, how could you not see that?"

Qin Jin: "..."

...

Li Qiao went to sleep after drying her hair, and the next day Qin Jin went to work, and she returned to the university to register.

After collecting her books, she put them in her dormitory.

Ma Hongxiang had already arrived, and Li Qiao noticed a potted rose on the balcony with two buds. "It looks familiar."

"It’s the one you gave me. I was worried it would be stolen at home, so I brought it over," Ma Hongxiang said.

Li Qiao smiled, "We have a lot more at home. If you like, I’ll give you a couple more."

"No need," Ma Hongxiang replied as she took out a paper package from her storage cabinet and handed it to Li Qiao, "This is a specialty from my hometown. Don’t look down on it."

Li Qiao opened it and recognized it as black goji berries, of quite good quality. She looked at her in shock, "These are expensive, aren’t they? How much would they cost to buy?"

"I picked them myself from the wild," Ma Hongxiang said a little embarrassed.

Her monthly allowance was actually quite generous, but her parents’ health wasn’t very good.

Medicine each month could cost up to seven or eight yuan.

Add to that the relatives who, knowing she had money from university, would come to borrow money every now and then.

Her parents were soft-hearted and easily swayed by a few kind words.

Her own life was hard, and yet she had to save money to give to others, so she barely managed to save any money throughout the year.

Affording a decent gift to give to someone was also out of reach.

This semester she didn’t plan to send much money home, deciding to keep some for herself in case of emergencies.

Li Qiao asked, "From the wild? Is there a lot?"

"Uh, quite a bit. We were too poor for snacks at home, so I’d go back and eat these," Ma Hongxiang explained.

Li Qiao suggested, "You could write a letter home, and if you have a lot, send it here. I’ll help you sell them to improve your life a bit."

Ma Hongxiang was slightly surprised, "You can sell these? Okay, I’ll write that letter right away. If we really make money, you can have half."

"Deal." Li Qiao naturally wouldn’t refuse a good opportunity. After a while in the dorm, she took the goji berries home to fetch some bedding.

Carrying her bedding back to campus, she tripped at the mouth of an alley and stumbled forward. A strong arm pulled her and steadied her stance, but the bedding and mats fell to the ground.

The other person helped her pick them up.

While thanking them, Li Qiao got a clear look at the other person’s appearance: around eighteen or nineteen years old with a clean face, light brows, a handsome nose, rosy lips, long waist-reaching black hair loosely tied, and dressed in loose, casual clothes.

Quite the beauty.

"Thank you, beautiful," she said.