Chapter 86: Provoking Hatred

Old Man Qian didn’t directly bring out the evidence of Zhang Zhongping’s bribery, but he did send clues to Zhang Zhongping’s opponent. When Qian Jingtong felt that there was no hope of reconciliation with her father and brother, she returned to Yangcheng with dissatisfaction, only to be greeted by her husband’s imprisonment and the confiscation of their property. She could only live with her in-laws and three children in a small rented room. They could only eat coarse grains and salted vegetables every day. How could Qian Jingtong, who was used to a good life, bear this?

So, one night, Qian Jingtong took the last bit of money from the family, abandoned her children and in-laws, and sneaked to Hong Kong. After she ran out of money, she accidentally got caught in a firefight between two gangs. Coincidentally, she accidentally saved a gang leader. This gang leader was powerful but lustful and greedy. He had a lot of women at home, and Qian Jingtong fought tooth and nail with them for favor, ending up disfigured and blind, her fate miserable. Let’s not talk about the aftermath for now, let’s focus on the present.

After Qian Xiaolan chased away Qian Jingtong and her children, they returned to the courtyard, and no one spoke. Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Qian Xiaolan hugged Rong Qian’s arm and leaned against her shoulder affectionately, “Mom, I miss you so much!” Qian Jingming couldn’t help but tap her head lightly, “You only miss Mom, don’t you miss Dad?” Qian Xiaolan laughed, “I miss both of you, how could I come to Beijing to find you without missing you?”

Hearing her mention this, Old Man Rong laughed, “Lanlan’s luck is really bad, she called us all that day, and no one answered. It scared them both, they thought something happened to us, and they bought tickets to fly here overnight.” The elders were touched and full of relief. Old Man Qian patted Qian Xiaolan’s head, his voice full of affection, “Good child, you made us worry. Yanqing, you’ve worked hard, let’s have a good drink tonight, grandpa and grandson.”

 “Grandpa, it’s my duty.” Gu Yanqing’s words pleased the elders. The atmosphere in the courtyard gradually became lively because of their words. Seeing this, Qian Xiaolan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and went out with Rong Qian to buy groceries for dinner. Gu Yanqing stayed behind to chat with the two old men and his father-in-law.

Rong Qian took Qian Xiaolan to the nearest farmers’ market. It was already late afternoon, and most of the goods in the market had been sold. After walking around, they only bought two bunches of green vegetables, four or five potatoes, two pounds of eggs, half a pound of wood ear mushrooms, and nothing else. Rong Qian was helpless, “We came too late, let’s just make do with dinner.” Qian Xiaolan winked at her, “Mom, don’t worry, we’ll go back.” The two turned around and went home, and when they were about to reach home, Qian Xiaolan led Rong Qian into a secluded alley, took out a chicken, two pork ribs, a sea bass, and a net bag of prawns from her space. Seeing so much food, Rong Qian suddenly remembered that Qian Xiaolan had a space.

She looked out and gestured to Qian Xiaolan. Does my son-in-law know this secret? Qian Xiaolan shook her head with a smile. Rong Qian patted her shoulder reassuringly. The mother and daughter went back home and went straight into the kitchen to get busy. Rong Qian boiled water, Gu Yanqing cleaned the fish, when the water boiled, Gu Yanqing cleaned the chicken, Rong Qian cooked rice, and Qian Xiaolan processed the other ingredients.

The three of them worked together, and the kitchen was soon filled with the aroma of food. The three old men in the courtyard, plus Qian Rongsheng who had just got off work, couldn’t help but glance at the kitchen when they smelled the aroma. Old Man Qian even forgot to put the chess pieces in the right place. When he saw Qian Xiaolan bringing the dishes to the table, Old Man Qian quickly threw away the chess pieces in his hand, and the chessboard was instantly disrupted. Old Man Rong scolded angrily, “You old rascal, you’re cheating again! Next time I play chess with you, I’ll take your surname!” Old Man Qian stood up, walked towards the hall with his hands behind his back, “Humph! You’ve been taking my surname for eight hundred years, what’s the difference?” “When did I ever take your surname? My surname is Rong, always has been!”

Qian Jingming and his son walked behind them, all holding back their laughter. These two old fools! Old Man Qian saw the dishes on the table and was delighted, “Wow, dinner is so sumptuous! Potato braised chicken, sweet and sour pork ribs, fish head tofu soup, pan-fried sea bass, braised prawns, and stir-fried green vegetables.”

Old Man Rong was surprised, “At this time, you can still buy so many vegetables, it seems like you’re lucky!” Compared to Old Man Qian, who didn’t have to cook or eat, Old Man Rong had been buying groceries and cooking for himself for the past few months. Naturally, he knew that there were hardly any vegetables left in the market in the afternoon.

Rong Qian was afraid that they would keep talking and expose Qian Xiaolan in front of Gu Yanqing, so she quickly changed the subject, “Lanlan, are you staying with us in the big courtyard tonight, or are you staying here with Grandpa?” Qian Xiaolan looked at Old Man Rong, who was obviously reluctant to leave, and smiled, “Mom, Grandpa’s illness hasn’t fully recovered yet, we’ll stay here for another night, and go to the big courtyard tomorrow night to get acquainted.” Rong Qian wanted her daughter and son-in-law to go home now, but she was also worried about leaving her old father alone here, so she looked at Qian Jingming.

 Qian Jingming said directly, “Why don’t Dad go back with us? Lanlan hasn’t lived in the big courtyard yet, and we’ll be leaving soon, it’ll be difficult to come back later. Why don’t we go today and stay in the big courtyard for a few more days, so that you can get to know everyone.” The people in the big courtyard will be working in various parts of the country, these are all connections in the future, maybe you’ll need them someday. Old Man Rong didn’t want to go to the big courtyard, it was heavily guarded and he felt uncomfortable living there.

But when he heard Qian Jingming’s words, he immediately understood the key point, so he didn’t refuse. He packed a few days’ worth of clothes, Gu Yanqing and Qian Rongsheng carried their luggage, locked the door and went to the big courtyard.

It’s a good thing they went to the big courtyard, because Qian Jingtong couldn’t get into the big courtyard for the next few days, so she kept knocking on the door here, but no one answered. On the contrary, the people in the nearby houses were almost driven crazy by Qian Jingtong’s constant noise and almost called the police. After Qian Xiaolan and the others registered at the entrance of the big courtyard, Old Man Qian smiled and let Qian Xiaolan support him as he walked.

 Then, every time he met someone, he would show off. “Old Wang, have you eaten? Let me introduce you to my granddaughter, my own granddaughter! This child suffered for ten years outside, but she didn’t go bad, she’s very well-behaved and sensible. Don’t look at her young age, her medical skills are very good, almost as good as her mother! I remember your granddaughter is a nurse in the military hospital? Medical professionals are a family, bring your granddaughter to our house to play sometime.” “Hey, Old Sun! I have a granddaughter too, my own granddaughter! My granddaughter is very agile, I think she can compare with your grandson.”

“Old Li, look, this is my granddaughter, you said your granddaughter is a good cook, let the two sisters exchange skills sometime.” “That Old Lin…” That night, Old Man Qian showed off Qian Xiaolan, and then showed off Gu Yanqing, wherever he went, he brought a wave of hatred. The young couple was so embarrassed that they wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in!