Chapter 14

Seeing that her daughter was angry, Bao Huihua did not dare to refuse anymore, but she also did not dare to accept these things rashly.

He gestured twice at Qiao Baozhu and went to make lunch.

It was a rare occasion for her daughter to come back, so she had to take the bus back to the farm in the afternoon. Bao Huihua prepared an especially sumptuous lunch.

I stewed a big carp, roasted half a pot of meat, stir-fried a plate of celery and shredded potatoes, and fried four eggs.

Bao Huihua was reluctant to order her daughter around, so while the meat was stewing, she trotted out to buy four steamed buns made of 2-ounce flour.

After Qiao Changhai came back, the family of three started to eat.

Qiao Baozhu held a steamed bun made of two kneading layers of flour in her hand, looked at the steamed bread in the hands of her adoptive father and mother, and sighed inwardly.

Given their frugal lifestyle of only eating steamed bread and pickles throughout their lives, it’s no wonder that the old couple were able to accumulate such a huge fortune.

“Dad, don’t just eat shredded potatoes, eat some meat.”

Qiao Baozhu picked up a large piece of meat and stuffed it into Qiao Changhai’s bowl. Qiao Changhai smiled and put the meat back into the bowl.

“I have a bad stomach and can’t digest meat. You’re young and have good digestion, so eat more.”

Qiao Baozhu frowned: “There’s so much meat, I can’t finish it.”

“If you can’t finish it, ask your mother to put it in a lunch box and take it away for you when you leave.”

Qiao Changhai said it with confidence, and Qiao Baozhu in the previous life also felt at ease. But now it is different. Qiao Baozhu is no longer the selfish and unfilial daughter who only cares about her biological parents.

“I can’t eat it if I take it back. That family always snatches it away. It’s better to let you two eat it. It can replenish your body. It’s better than giving it to those ungrateful wolves.”

Qiao Changhai and his wife looked at each other, and both of them were surprised at Qiao Baozhu’s transformation.

“My girl, how did they bully you over there? I see you are quite unhappy when you came back this time.”

Qiao Baozhu knew that her adoptive father had always been very shrewd. Her change of attitude towards the second wife must have attracted his attention. Instead of letting the old man investigate it himself, it would be better to tell him the truth directly.

She put down her chopsticks and said to her adoptive father with an unhappy look on her face: “I just went out with my mother to buy fabric and ran into Shen Xiao.”

When Qiao Changhai heard this, his expression became serious. He put down his chopsticks and listened to his daughter’s complaint seriously.

Qiao Baozhu recounted to her adoptive father what Bai Hongmei and her three children had done, as well as what Shen Xiao had said to her.

Forget it. She sighed softly, “My biased parents must have heard about the rumors about Bai Hongmei and Shen Xiao, so they agreed to Qiao Xifeng’s divorce.”

“They were reluctant to let Qiao Xifeng fall into the fire pit, but they also didn’t want to offend Shen Xiao, so they gave me up. In the past, they told me that life was hard at that time, and they had no choice but to send me away. What about now? They are reluctant to let go of Shen Xiao, a piece of fat meat, and they are afraid that Xifeng will suffer if she marries him, so they have bad intentions on me.”

“You think I’m a fool? You think I’m stupid and brainless?”

Seeing his daughter’s angry expression and excited tone, Qiao Changhai knew that his second brother and sister-in-law had really hurt the child this time.

He smiled and patted Qiao Baozhu’s hand, and gently advised: “Don’t be angry. It’s a good thing that you can figure it out one day earlier. Come, have a piece of fish.”

Qiao Baozhu picked up a piece of fried egg and put it in Qiao Changhai’s bowl, and then picked up another piece and put it in Bao Huihua’s bowl.

“Mom and Dad, you should eat more too. As long as you take good care of your body and live to be a hundred years old without any disease or disaster, it will be a blessing for our family.”

Qiao Changhai and Bao Huihua were extremely happy that their daughter was filial and willing to be close to them.

The two of them were in perfect harmony and neither of them spoiled the fun. They ate whatever their daughter asked them to eat without refusing.

After finishing the meal, Qiao Baozhu took the initiative to wash the dishes.

Seeing that it was almost time, Qiao Changhai urged Qiao Baozhu to go to the train station quickly.

“Tomorrow is your wedding day. Go back and prepare your new clothes. I will take the rest of the dowry over tomorrow morning.”

Qiao Baozhu was stunned and blurted out: “Where are you going to take the things?”

In his previous life, Qiao Changhai didn’t prepare much dowry, just some pots, pans, and utensils, which were sent over the day before the wedding.

This time when she was reborn, the groom was replaced, and even Qiao Baozhu didn’t know where the bridal chamber was.

“Hey, kid, you’re just talking nonsense. Shen Xiao is the battalion commander, and the regiment must have allocated a room for him. It’s just that your marriage was too hasty, and I guess the other side didn’t prepare anything.”

Qiao Changhai waved his hand at his daughter and said, “I’ll ask Huang Xing to go over and check out the new house first.”

After saying this, Qiao Changhai’s face was gloomy and his expression was unhappy: “This Shen Xiao is really something. He is getting married tomorrow, but now he is not busy in the bridal chamber, but comes to help the widow.”

“If you were healthy, I wouldn’t agree to this marriage.”

Qiao Baozhu smiled awkwardly and couldn’t help but speak up for Shen Xiao: “It was our fault in the marriage exchange. It’s good that Shen Xiao didn’t cause any trouble.”

“But it can be seen that both of us have ulterior motives for this marriage.”

Upon hearing her daughter say this, Bao Huihua felt extremely upset. She opened her mouth and uttered a few “ahhh” words to her husband.

The more Qiao Changhai listened, the uglier his expression became. He frowned and said in a muffled voice, “Your mother hit the nail on the head. You’re so depressed before you even get married. I don’t know what your life will be like in the future.”

Qiao Baozhu was optimistic: “We both have salaries, so we can definitely live better than others. If we can’t make ends meet in the future, we can just get divorced. I can’t have children anyway. Without children to hold me back, I will move back to the city after the divorce.”

“As long as my parents don’t dislike me…”

Qiao Baozhu looked at her adoptive father’s face cautiously. Her unorthodox ideas were not accepted by the world even in later generations.

Unexpectedly, Qiao Changhai was not angry at all, but instead had a hint of joy in his eyes.

“That’s right. Living together isn’t easy. Let’s wait and see for two years. If you’re not happy with him, we can divorce him and come back. Then I can go to the orphanage and get a baby, and we can live as a family of four.”

Bao Huihua’s eyes lit up when she heard this and she gave her husband a thumbs up, obviously agreeing with the idea.

Qiao Baozhu was stunned, and a warm feeling surged in her heart.

Unexpectedly, after she revealed that she was ill and could not have children, her adoptive parents became more tolerant of her.

Qiao Baozhu secretly made up her mind to make more money so that her adoptive parents could live a stable life sooner and no longer worry about her.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, Qiao Baozhu boarded the train back to the farm.

When she came here, she could save money by riding on a freight train, but when she went back, she had to buy a ticket to enter the station.

It was 8:40 in the evening when Qiao Baozhu returned to the farm.

As soon as I walked into the dormitory compound, I saw my biological mother Ge Liuping standing at the door.

Ge Liuping saw Qiao Baozhu at a glance and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she screamed in a shrill, angry voice.

“San Ya! You unlucky thing, where have you been fooling around? Why did you come back after dark?”