Chapter 45

“I’d rather end up without relatives who sell their niece for fame and fortune.” Qiao Xinyi said boldly, “Might not keep their jobs? That’s too bad. Why isn’t it already certain they’ve lost them?” Shaking the flyers in her hand, she asked Qiao Yougen, “Isn’t what’s written on my flyers exactly what you did yesterday? Which sentence on the flyer is false? You did it and still afraid people find out? Seems like even you know what you did was wrong, huh?”

After speaking, Qiao Xinyi looked at Qian Chunhua. “Didn’t I tell you yesterday—if you leave, don’t regret it? Didn’t I give you a chance?”

“You guys started the trouble but want to blame us? There’s no such fairness in this world! You, as uncle and aunt, can sell your niece for glory, but when the niece fights back, she’s called a little beast to her face!”

“If you think what I did is wrong, fine. Let’s go find the leaders at your factory now and settle this. If your factory leaders say I, Qiao Xinyi, am wrong, I’ll write a letter and apologize in the provincial city newspaper tomorrow!”

Qiao Yougen and Qian Chunhua were left speechless by this. How could they dare to bring this matter to the factory leaders? They were counting on the leaders being too busy to pay attention.

“Qiao Xinyi is right! Qiao Yougen, you and your wife first did these immoral things, yet your whole family has the nerve to come and settle scores with Chen Yubing? If I were you, after doing such disgraceful deeds, I’d find a hole to hide in! How do you still have the face to walk outside your home?” Aunt Zhang was the first to respond.

Then she joined in scolding Qiao Laiwang, “And you’re a coward! Your wife is being bullied by your big brother’s family and you don’t help her, but instead join them to bully your own wife? Qiao Laiwang, are you even a man?”

“For all these years, even if my mom raised a dog, it would know to protect its owner. Raising you is worse than raising a dog!” Qiao Xinyi glared at Qiao Laiwang and sneered, exposing him:

“Did you start holding a grudge against my mom from the moment she cooked you porridge three times a day, or from when my mom said your salary for twenty years never supported the family?”

“You’ve had that resentment inside for a long time, but you were too afraid to curse my mom at home, let alone lay a hand on her.”

“Today, when Qiao Yougen brought his family to bully my mom, when you saw her being beaten, didn’t you feel especially pleased? Did you think your big brother’s family was taking revenge for you?”

Qiao Laiwang protested repeatedly, “I didn’t! Don’t talk nonsense!”

“If you didn’t, why did you take sides? You protect your sister-in-law but not your wife?” Qiao Xinyi shouted, “Qiao Laiwang, do you dare swear you didn’t? If you did take sides just now, may you be struck by thunder and die a terrible death! Do you dare swear it?”

“I’m your father!” Qiao Laiwang raged helplessly, “How dare you curse me like that, you beast!”

“Qiao Laiwang!” Qiao Xinyi demanded sternly, “If you aren’t guilty, why don’t you dare swear?”

“Ouch! Now I know why Qiao Laiwang stopped me from helping Chen Yubing earlier—he wanted to go there himself to take sides!” Aunt Zhang shouted.

“Qiao Laiwang, you really are the ungrateful wolf that Chen Yubing raised for twenty years and never tamed!”

That sentence stomped all over Qiao Laiwang’s dignity.

Seeing Qiao Laiwang’s guilty look, Chen Yubing finally understood. Her coldness toward him had been building day by day, until it reached the breaking point today.

“Qiao Laiwang, I want a divorce!” Chen Yubing yelled, “You really disgust me!”

Qiao Laiwang immediately fell silent, not daring to look at Chen Yubing, let alone at Qiao Xinyi.

He rubbed his stomach, tossed out one sentence, “I can’t handle your mess. I won’t get involved anymore, okay?”

Then he turned and ran back home, looking helpless.

Chen Yubing sneered. She guessed that at this moment Qiao Laiwang wouldn’t want a divorce, but she still found it ridiculous.

“Chen Yubing, if there’s a problem, the family should just sit down and talk it out. You’re all grown adults, why be so impulsive about divorce?” An older aunt nearby advised, holding the idea that it’s better to dismantle a temple than break up a marriage.

“If Qiao Laiwang hadn’t had his twenty years’ salary spent by her mother on his brothers, do you think he’d run away now?” Chen Yubing didn’t give Qiao Laiwang an inch of face. He was afraid to divorce because he had no money, not because he cared about keeping the family together.

“You’ve all been together for most of your lives. Aside from the salary issue, Qiao Laiwang isn’t bad. Twenty years have passed; he’s starting to understand now. He’ll definitely give his salary to you from now on,” the aunt kept persuading.

Qiao Xinyi was fired up. As soon as she heard this, she snapped back, “If Qiao Laiwang is so great, why doesn’t Auntie divorce and marry him yourself?” Chen Yubing, still angry, laughed at that.

The aunt’s face turned purple. “How can you talk like that, girl?”

“I’m just helping out. There was Kong Rong who gave up pears in ancient times, now my mom gives her husband up. You don’t praise my mom for being a moral model, nor praise me and the neighbors for being polite. That means you’re like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a good heart!”

“If you think it’s good, I’ll let my mom give him to you. My mom and I are doing this for your own good, to please you. So why are you still mad?” Qiao Xinyi’s one sentence after another made the aunt so angry she pulled a sour face and turned to leave.

Aunt Zhang grinned with her big teeth and slapped Qiao Xinyi’s shoulder, “You kid, you talk so annoyingly. Look how angry you made her! Don’t do that next time, or she’ll spread bad rumors about you.”

“She’s angry because she knows deep down Qiao Laiwang isn’t a good man. If I gave my mom a hundred bucks for free, see if she’d take it, or if I gave her a free bike, see if she’d leave.”

“She’s angry and turned to leave because she doesn’t value Qiao Laiwang herself. After all, she’s not the one supporting him. She just talks to make herself look virtuous, so she loves to advise.”

Qiao Xinyi snorted, “Aunt Zhang, just watch. Once I say I’ll give Qiao Laiwang to her, she’ll run faster than a rabbit.”

After saying that, Qiao Xinyi looked over at Qiao Yougen’s family standing to the side and directly threatened, “Apologize to my mom and me in front of all the neighbors, or tomorrow I’ll go to your factory and talk to your leaders about this.”

“Qiao Xinyi, you’re still an unmarried girl, so rude and ill-mannered. Aren’t you afraid you won’t get married in the future?” Qiao Jizong’s wife Huang Zhaodi patted her husband and said this, unable to hold back after hearing Qiao Xinyi’s words.

“Better not to get married than to be sold out by Qiao Yougen and Qian Chunhua. Better not to get married than to marry a useless man.” Qiao Xinyi clicked her tongue.

“Qiao Jizong, Qiao Jizu, listen to those names—what are they inheriting? What is there to inherit from the Qiao family?” Qiao Xinyi asked seriously.

“Inheriting the Qiao family tradition of making women support the family? Or inheriting the Qiao family’s ancestral shamelessness?”

Saying this, Qiao Xinyi raised three thumbs and warned, “I’ll count to three. If you don’t apologize, tonight I’ll go visit the steel mill director’s house. If your director doesn’t fire you, I’ll hang myself at his doorstep!”

Just then, the steel mill director happened to be passing by and squeezed in to join the commotion: “…”