Chapter 32: The Fish Were All Taken Care Of

Qiu Qianjin pushed open the gate of his grandparents’ house. “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m here.”

Years ago, after the three Qiu brothers got married, they began to quarrel constantly. The household was filled with arguments every day, and it only got worse after Qiu Qianjin was born.

Eventually, once the eldest and youngest daughters of the Qiu family were married off, the three brothers decided to divide the household.

The responsibility of caring for the elderly parents fell to the eldest brother, since he was the firstborn son.

As soon as Qianjin and her mother arrived, Eldest Aunt Qiu’s expression darkened.

She muttered in discontent, “This is the fourth time this week you’ve come mooching meals. Don’t you have any shame?”

Qianjin promptly set down the bamboo basket he was carrying and took out two silver carp, one large and one small.

Ignoring his aunt’s words, he smiled brightly. “Auntie, I caught some fish today. Let’s have stewed fish tonight.”

Seeing the mother and son bringing fish, her expression instantly changed into one of delight.
“Well, look at that—how capable you’ve become, even bringing food over.”

The elderly couple quickly came out of their room after hearing their grandson’s voice. When they learned he had brought fish, Grandpa Qiu frowned immediately.

“You went to the reservoir?”

Grandma Qiu was terrified. She pulled Qianjin over, checking him up and down. Only after confirming he wasn’t hurt did she breathe a sigh of relief.

“Jinzi, my precious grandson, the ice on the reservoir isn’t solid right now. Why would you take such a risk? Our family isn’t so desperate that we need you to risk your life for food. You must never do something that dangerous again, understand?”

Faced with the doting concern of his grandparents, Jinzi’s tone turned slightly coquettish.

“Grandpa, Grandma, we had a whole group of people. Everyone tied ropes around their waists. We wouldn’t fall through.”

“No more going to the reservoir next time. If you want fish, have your grandpa buy one from the supply store.”

Cheng Hongying, seeing how this kid had won over the elders with just a few words, simply greeted them and went to help her sister-in-law.

Eldest Aunt Qiu scoffed as soon as she saw her. “So how long do you and your son plan to freeload meals here?”

Grandma Qiu frowned and scolded her without holding back. “Eldest daughter-in-law, didn’t you see my grandson brought two fish? Even if they were freeloading, they’re not eating your food. Whatever money your father-in-law and I have, we’ll spend it on our grandson. That’s none of your concern. And you, second daughter-in-law—haven’t you been coming over a lot lately? What’s going on in your house? Is it really that bad? Where’s all your money gone?”

Cheng Hongying’s face turned red with embarrassment. “I went to visit Yinuo recently. She’s a woman raising two kids alone. Life’s not easy for her, so I left the money with her.”

Old Master Qiu frowned but didn’t say anything more.

Qiu Ju snuck a glance at her second aunt, her eyes full of envy.

Watching the old couple welcome Jinzi into the house, Eldest Aunt Qiu was filled with jealousy. If only she had a son—how would Qiu Qianjin get any attention then?

Eldest Uncle Qiu’s family had three daughters in total. The eldest, Qiu Hua, and the second, Qiu Ye, were both married. Only the youngest, Qiu Ju, remained at home.

She worked from morning till night alongside her mother, so much so that she could barely stand straight from exhaustion.

Eldest Aunt Qiu muttered, “Second sister-in-law, I’m not trying to criticize, but once a girl is married, she belongs to her husband’s family. The money you gave her is basically a gift to her in-laws. You must really not know what to do with your money.”

Aside from the elderly couple, no one else in the family knew that Qiu Yinuo was a widow.

That was the only reason Old Master Qiu held his tongue after hearing the money had gone to her.

The eldest sister-in-law resented and envied her because she had given birth to the only grandson of the Qiu family. Deep down, she wished her life would turn out worse than anyone else’s.

As for the third sister-in-law, she wasn’t a bad person, but she had a loose tongue.

If she found out about something, it was as good as the whole village knowing.

“It’s my money—I can give it to whoever I want,” Cheng Hongying said.

It had started as a well-meaning suggestion, but Cheng Hongying’s ungrateful response lit a fire in Eldest Aunt Qiu.

“Fine, give it to whoever you want! Just don’t come freeloading meals from my house!”

“Sister-in-law, can you really say our parents haven’t helped you this month? I might be eating our in-laws’ food, but I’m not touching anything from your household. You’ve taken all the benefits and now you’re still complaining?”

Exposed, Eldest Aunt Qiu growled defensively, her voice sharp but lacking conviction. “Stop making up nonsense.”

Just as the two sisters-in-law were about to escalate their argument, someone outside shouted,
“Second Qiu’s wife! Your daughter Yinuo is back with the kids!”

“What?!”

Cheng Hongying froze for a moment. Before she left, that stubborn girl had acted so tough—how had she ended up coming back with the kids in just a few days?

But the moment she thought of her two grandsons, her excitement surged and she slapped her thigh with joy.

Meanwhile, Qiu Qianjin helped his grandparents outside, his face lit with delight. He turned to the person who brought the news.

“Are you sure it’s my sister?”

“Seems like it! She said her name is Qiu Yinuo.” After all, the girl had put on so much weight she was barely recognizable—clearly living a good life out there.

They still remembered how Qiu Yinuo had looked two years ago when she left—so skinny she was practically skin and bones. Seeing her again now, they almost didn’t recognize her.

Cheng Hongying rushed out with joy, not even sparing her own son a glance.

“Grandpa, Grandma, I’m heading back too. I won’t be staying for dinner tonight.”

Old Master Qiu waved him off. “Go on, then.”

Qiu Qianjin dashed out excitedly. Eldest Aunt Qiu, seeing that both mother and son had left, felt smug at the thought of having the fish all to herself tonight.

She hadn’t expected to one day benefit from the second branch of the family.

Just as she was about to return and wash the fish again in happiness, Qiu Qianjin suddenly rushed back, grabbed the basin of fish—already cleaned—and lifted it up with a grin.

“Thanks, Auntie. You’re actually quite nice for cleaning the fish so well! That small one’s for Grandpa and Grandma. Don’t go sneaking bites, okay?”

With a blur of motion, he took a few large strides and was gone.

It took a moment for Eldest Aunt Qiu to recover, trembling with fury. “Qiu Qianjin, how could you? I cleaned that fish and you just took it!”

Meanwhile, Qiu Yinuo and He Ziqing each carried two large bags of luggage, with a chubby baby in their arms.

As they stepped into the village, the previously chatting villagers fell silent.

They looked the two of them up and down—strangers. Definitely unfamiliar faces.

In a rural village, strangers were always met with caution.

Someone asked, “Young lady, who are you looking for?”

Qiu Yinuo recognized Auntie Wang—the village’s most notorious gossip.

She had just been gossiping about her moments ago. Even from eight meters away, Qiu Yinuo had heard her own name being mentioned.

“Auntie Wang, don’t you recognize me?”

Auntie Wang looked shocked. “You… you know me?”

“I’m Qiu Yinuo!”

Auntie Wang was even more stunned, her pupils practically quivering as she looked Qiu Yinuo up and down.

“You’re Qiu Yinuo, Qiu Lao’er’s daughter?”

“Of course I am. Who else in this village is named Qiu Yinuo?”

Auntie Wang gasped. “My goodness, Yinuo! It’s been two years, hasn’t it? Where on earth have you been living the good life?”

She patted Qiu Yinuo’s thick shoulder—how much good food must she have eaten to plump up like this?