☆ 14. That Marriage Proposal

“Oh, okay, then Qiuqiu will stay in the room for a while.”

Qiuqiu now knows that when adults want to talk without children around, they will find an excuse to send her away, so she obediently agreed.

However, she didn’t leave right away. She looked at her mother and then at her grandfather, quietly asking about her soda bottle, “Mom, can I bring the orange soda into the room to finish it?”

“Of course you can.”

Before Ji Meng could respond, Ji Qinghe answered first.

It was just a bottle of soda, yet the child treasured it like a gem. Ji Qinghe couldn’t help but recall when he took Qiuqiu to the pastry shop, and the little girl’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the row of sodas on the counter, wanting one but holding back from asking. His eyes felt a bit moist.

He had been absent for many years as a father and had also missed many years of being a loving grandfather to his granddaughter.

“Qiuqiu, you can take the soda into your room. Once you finish it, Grandpa will buy more.”

“Okay, thank you, Grandpa.”

Qiuqiu nodded obediently but still didn’t leave. She blinked her big eyes at her mother, wanting her to nod as well.

Ji Meng glanced at the bottle in her hand. It was only one bottle of soda, and she had shared some with her grandfather and mother, leaving very little left. She paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded, “That’s fine, baby, but you can’t spill it on the bed. After you finish, be sure to put the bottle away, otherwise, there will be ants.”

“Mm, Qiuqiu knows! Thank you, Mom. Now Qiuqiu will go back to the room.”

Qiuqiu happily curved her eyebrows and went back to her room, holding the soda.

“Qiuqiu is really sensible, Mengmeng, you’ve taught her very well.” Looking at Qiuqiu’s small, cheerful figure, Ji Qinghe couldn’t help but say.

“Yeah, she’s very good, I don’t have to worry much when I’m with her,” Ji Meng replied with a smile.

“Take good care of her, this child will definitely succeed in the future,” Ji Qinghe said again.

“Mm,” Ji Meng nodded and added, “But she doesn’t need to be successful, as long as she’s happy, that’s enough.”

After spending this time together, Ji Meng had completely regarded Qiuqiu as her own child, as if she had carried her for ten months and given birth to her herself.

A mother’s expectation for her child is simply for their happiness, especially since Qiuqiu had such a hard life in her past life, Ji Meng hoped that this life would be easy and joyful for her.

As Ji Meng spoke about Qiuqiu, her delicate and beautiful face took on a gentle expression.

Ji Qinghe watched from the side, feeling a slight dryness in his throat.

When the accident happened, his daughter was only twelve, worrying about what she would eat or wear the next day. In the blink of an eye, she had grown into an adult and had become a mother herself. He, as a father, had been absent for too many years and felt incompetent.

“She will be happy. Mengmeng is a good mother, she will do better than Dad,” he said after a moment of silence.

“Unlike Dad, who couldn’t even protect you and your brother.”

Ji Meng held the bowl in her hands tightly. She glanced up at Ji Qinghe and opened her mouth, not knowing how to comfort him.

After a brief pause, she asked, “How did my brother pass away?”

In the memories of her original body, Ji Qiao had always treated her well, even after going to the countryside, he would find ways to send her money.

But the original body had hated the family of her uncle, hated her father, and had even extended that hatred to her brother, who had tried to persuade her.

After marrying Su Cheng, she had reduced her contact with Ji Qiao.

Later, Ji Qinghe returned to the city, wanting the original body to come back. Her brother wrote to persuade her twice, but the original body became angry and simply didn’t reply. Aside from food and necessities, all her letters were returned.

Ji Meng had no information about this older brother.

She didn’t understand why he hadn’t returned to the city for so long.

The book didn’t mention it either.

“He passed away from acute encephalitis.”

When talking about his son, Ji Qinghe fell silent again.

“He worked at the town hospital. There were few doctors there, and he was working non-stop. He had to take care of the family and study to prepare for this year’s college entrance exam in July, but he didn’t pay attention to his health…”

Years ago, Ji Qinghe had offended the director of the revolutionary committee. His seventeen-year-old son, Ji Qiao, was implicated and sent to the countryside before he graduated from high school, to one of the most difficult areas at that time.

During the initial period after going to the countryside, Ji Qiao had a hard life. He had to find ways to send money back to support his younger sister while also trying to find out where his father, Ji Qinghe, had gone.

Fortunately, Ji Qiao was intelligent from a young age and had some talent in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. He learned medicine from Ji Qinghe and, after going to the countryside, managed to work as a village doctor. Later, he saved a leader in the town by chance and was allowed to become a doctor there.

Ji Qiao was good-looking, and while working as a sent-down youth in the village, many people were attracted to him.

After learning that he could become a doctor in the town, even more people pursued him.

One of them was Qingyu’s mother.

Ji Qinghe didn’t know how the two of them got together. He received a letter from his son six years ago, announcing his marriage. Then, when his granddaughter was born, he sent another letter to the farm.

Inside was a photo of his granddaughter, Ji Qingyu.

Three years ago, Ji Qinghe was rescued by his old friend, Fu Xin, and returned to the city. Because of the life-saving grace, Fu Xin also helped him reclaim the pharmacy and the courtyard.

Ji Qinghe had mistreated his children a lot over the years. After returning to the city, he planned to bring both children back.

At that time, the college entrance examination had not yet resumed, and he didn’t have much money, not enough to secure jobs for both his son and daughter. He thought of using the route of the traditional Chinese medicine clinic to find a way for his youngest daughter to return to the city first.

However, his youngest daughter resented him and was unwilling to come back.

He thought about having his son return first, then saving money to find a job for his youngest daughter.

But his son couldn’t return.

According to the existing policy, since his son had a job at the town hospital, he couldn’t come back to the city unless he was transferred.

But how easy would it be to transfer from the town to the provincial hospital?

He thought of many ways, even using connections from the Fu family, but nothing worked.

Later, when the college entrance examination was restored and the traditional Chinese medicine clinic successfully affiliated with the hospital, he wanted his son to return and take the exam.

However, his son refused. One reason was that he couldn’t leave his job at the hospital, and the other was that his father-in-law was worried that he might abandon his family, so he wouldn’t allow him to leave.

He wasn’t even allowed to take the college entrance exam.

When Ji Qinghe found out about this, the exam had already ended.

His son missed his first opportunity to take the college entrance examination, and he felt very distressed. He specifically went to the place where his son had been sent down to make assurances to his in-laws that no matter what, his son would never abandon his family.

He was sincere in his attitude, offered a lot of money, and even paid an additional betrothal gift for his son.

But the other party only agreed to let his son take the college entrance examination next year and refused to allow him to return to the city just like that.

Ji Qinghe could guess their intentions. If his son were to get into college after the college entrance examination and dared to abandon his wife and child, they could make a scene.

But by returning to the city, they had no place to cause trouble and no guarantees.

There was also a granddaughter between his son and daughter-in-law, and the Ji family could not abandon their wife and daughter. Reluctantly, Ji Qinghe agreed.

The following year, his son successfully participated in the college entrance examination.

Unfortunately, in the second year, the number of participants increased, the admission score rose, and the questions became more difficult. His son was busy with work and taking care of the family, so he had little time to study and did not get accepted.

Now in the third year, he sent his son a lot of reference materials, hoping he could pass.

His son also wrote to him, saying that he would definitely be accepted this year and would return to the provincial city with his wife and Qingyu to reunite with him.

He even mentioned that when he returned, he would personally go to Xiaopan Town to bring his younger sister back home.

Who would have thought that instead of receiving news of his son getting into college, he would first receive the terrible news of his son’s death?

“If I had known that his father-in-law wouldn’t allow him to take the college entrance examination, I wouldn’t have interfered,” Ji Qinghe said, suppressing his regret with a sigh.

“It doesn’t matter if he didn’t get into college. It’s fine if he doesn’t return to the city. As long as we can live, that’s enough…”

Ji Meng bit her lip, she didn’t expect this outcome. She knew a little about acute encephalitis, it generally doesn’t easily occur in adults.

For her elder brother to get this illness, there were probably multiple reasons: a poor work environment, excessive fatigue, a weakened immune system, and exposure to pathogens and fungal infections…

This was a death that could have been avoided.

“This has nothing to do with you. The college entrance examination was for your brother to return to the city. The conditions were harsh for him there, and it was all for Qingyu, he definitely wanted to come back to the city.”

“Moreover, acute encephalitis mainly relates to my brother being infected by pathogens. Overexertion is a secondary cause. Don’t take everything upon yourself, my brother wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

Ji Meng took out the handkerchief she had previously retrieved from her clothing pocket and handed it to Ji Qinghe, offering him some comfort.

“My brother likely contracted this illness at the hospital. Didn’t they provide any explanation?”

“They did. Your brother’s contributions to the town hospital are well recognized. When I went there, I called Uncle Fu, and he inquired about it too. The hospital determined it as a work-related death and provided some compensation as well.”

Ji Qinghe accepted the handkerchief but couldn’t bring himself to use it. He wiped his eyes with his hand and replied hoarsely.

Since receiving the news of his eldest son’s death, he had cried many times, and now his eyes were dry, there were no tears left, just a stinging sensation from the swelling.

“I gave that money to Qingyu’s mother as future support for her. They wouldn’t let me bring Qingyu back.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Meng fell silent.

From what she knew, that money would hardly benefit the female lead, Qingyu.

As a tragedy-abuse novel, the plot was truly melodramatic and heartbreaking.

In the book, not only did the female supporting character suffer, but the female lead did as well.

Qiuqiu dragged her mother and jumped to death with her, and the female lead witnessed her aunt and cousin die in front of her. Realizing that all of this was intertwined with the male lead, she could no longer love him and left the provincial city to teach in the countryside, ultimately dying in a mudslide.

The ending was equally tragic, with both characters coming from similar family backgrounds.

The original body was a cruel person who harmed her own daughter, while the female lead’s mother was a hindrance to her.

At home, the female lead’s mother was submissive, leaning more toward being a sisterly supporter, the kind that favored her brothers.

Once the money reached her hands, it would likely turn around and be taken by her maternal family to support her brothers.

In the book, the female lead had mentioned to her friends that shortly after her father passed away, her mother was remarried by several of her uncles and aunts.

The family’s circumstances weren’t bad, everyone worked in the town, and their only requirement was that Qingyu, the “burden,” couldn’t come along.

The female lead’s mother initially wanted to send her back to her grandfather’s house, but her maternal uncles were greedy for the things her grandfather sent each month and refused to let her go.

The key issue was that these people were heartless, they accepted the gifts but didn’t care for her. The female lead was treated like an old workhorse, being ordered to do everything.

She was always the first to wake up and the last to sleep at home, often going to bed hungry.

Later, when her grandfather came to visit her in the village, she boldly asked him to take her back to the city.

However, that time, her grandfather, Ji Qinghe, ended up being drained of a lot of resources.

In the book, when the original body was questioned by the female lead, Qingyu, about when she would repay her for raising her, the original body recalled that moment, which marked the beginning of her resentment towards Qingyu.

Because that money should have originally belonged to the original body.

It was the money Ji Qinghe had promised to support her investment in her husband’s business.

The original body was dissatisfied when she suddenly lost a large sum of money, so she set her sights on the traditional Chinese medicine shop, planning to exchange some inferior medicinal materials for cash, but in the end, it led to Ji Qinghe’s demise.

Unable to bear the guilt of having caused her biological father’s death, the original body placed the blame on Qingyu, believing that if it weren’t for Qingyu, the family’s money wouldn’t have disappeared, and she wouldn’t have resorted to underhanded means, leading to Ji Qinghe’s death.

“Isn’t my sister-in-law still under thirty this year? When you came back, did you discuss with her about what would happen if she wanted to remarry? How would Qingyu be taken care of?” Ji Meng pondered for a while before asking.

Money was a sensitive topic, and Ji Meng generally preferred not to touch on it, but asking about her niece’s arrangement was acceptable.

Ji Qinghe was taken aback, and then he awkwardly fidgeted with the hem of his pants.

“No discussions. Your sister-in-law’s family is hard to talk to…”

Ji Qinghe wasn’t very fond of speaking ill of others behind their backs, but he couldn’t hide his anger when it came to his daughter-in-law’s family.

“I originally wanted to bring your brother back, at least to let him rest in peace, but when I went there, they told me they had already found a burial plot and insisted I pay for it…”

Even now, Ji Qinghe was unwilling to recall how he handled his son’s funeral arrangements over there.

He rushed there without eating or drinking, and before he could even see his son, he was pressured by that group of people to hand over money for various reasons.

After finally burying his son and taking care of a series of affairs at the hospital, his daughter-in-law’s family kept bringing up the topic of how much his son’s compensation and raising Qingyu would cost.

When he suggested bringing his granddaughter back with him, his daughter-in-law fainted right in front of him. When she woke up, she cried out and cursed him, saying that she had lost her husband and that this father-in-law, whom she barely knew, wanted to take her daughter away, as if he wanted her to die.

Afterward, her family surrounded him with hoes, demanding he hand over the compensation money and leave immediately.

They practically robbed him, taking the compensation money and what little cash he had on him.

The only reason he was able to return was that a colleague of his son couldn’t bear to see it and lent him money to buy a ticket back.

“I should have asked your brother Kuizi or borrowed two people from your Uncle Fu to accompany me.”

“Your brother really… never got to come home even once before he died.” This was Ji Qinghe’s greatest pain.

He couldn’t bring his son back.