Chapter 34

“That boy may not be as healthy as you,” said Qiao Yougen, “but his family is well-off. His parents can even arrange a job for their daughter-in-law.”

“As for you,” he added, “when it comes down to it, the only thing you have over him is a healthier body.”

“She’s bald right now—doesn’t have a single hair on her head,” Qiao Dongmei piled on, belittling Qiao Xinyi. “She looks like a refugee she’s so thin, and she’s not even good-looking.”

“Exactly. I’m illiterate, my family is poor, my parents are nobodies, and I look like a starving refugee. So of course I’m not good enough for such a fine young man,” Qiao Xinyi said with a cold smile, staring straight at Qiao Yougen, Qian Chunhua, and Chen Ju. “But you all have much better qualifications than me—so I’m letting you go marry him.”

Then she suddenly slammed her palm on the table with a loud SMACK, making everyone around it jump in fright.

“You really think I’m new to the provincial city and don’t know who your factory’s new section chief is? Think I, Qiao Xinyi, am an easy mark and a fool to be tricked?”

“Qiao Yougen, Qian Chunhua—what kind of benefits did your section chief promise you that gave you the guts to come dance in front of me today?”

Yes, Qiao Xinyi had just arrived in the provincial capital, and she didn’t have classmates or social connections. But gossip? Everyone loves to listen to gossip. She loved it, and so did Li Xiuying.

As luck would have it, the new production section chief at the steel factory lived on the same street as Li’s family. Qiao Xinyi had once heard Li Xiuying casually mention that the new chief was desperately looking for a wife for his nearly thirty-year-old son.

“Walks a bit awkwardly? What a joke. He has severe polio. Awkward walking? He can barely walk at all!”

“And what’s this about him not being as smart as me, just a bit slow to react? That’s not slowness—he has a full-blown intellectual disability. He’s a real, actual idiot, mentally stuck at the level of a three-year-old!”

“Qiao Yougen, Qian Chunhua—you really thought you could count your beads on your abacus in my face? Want me to flip this table right into your teeth?!”

The three of them hadn’t expected Qiao Xinyi to actually know anything. Their faces turned visibly unpleasant.

Still, Qian Chunhua held her ground and shouted, “Go ahead and flip it! Don’t think just because you yell louder everyone’s afraid of you! Even if that boy has flaws, he’s still way out of your league!”

Clearly, no one believed Qiao Xinyi would really flip the table. Emboldened, Qian Chunhua raised her voice even more.

But Qiao Yunbai quickly grabbed his bowl and gave a look to Chen Yubing and Qiao Baihe. The three of them swiftly clutched their bowls, picked up their chairs, and backed away.

The others might not believe it, but Qiao Yunbai had a gut feeling—his big sister wasn’t the type to back down from anything.

And sure enough, in that very second, Qiao Xinyi grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it hard in the direction of Qiao Yougen and Qian Chunhua.

She didn’t care how many bowls and chopsticks were on it, didn’t care about the fresh pot of congee they’d just finished cooking twenty minutes earlier.

Unfortunately, it was her first time flipping a table—she lacked experience. With a loud CLANG, the table crashed to the ground, bowls and utensils flying everywhere. Only a small splash of the congee actually landed on Qiao Yougen and Qian Chunhua’s shoulders.

But it was enough to scald them both, and they yelped in pain.

“Qiao Xinyi! You animal! No manners whatsoever!” Qiao Yougen shouted in fury, his insults barely coherent. Then, raising the fist he’d been holding back all night, he lunged at her.

Qiao Xinyi shoved her bowl into Qiao Baihe’s hands, turned around, grabbed her stool—and hurled it straight at Qiao Yougen.

Qiao Yougen let out a cry of pain as the stool slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Qian Chunhua screamed and rushed forward, but Qiao Xinyi slapped her hard across the face, sending stars spinning before her eyes—she even felt her teeth loosen.

“If I don’t beat you to death today, I’m not Qiao Yougen!” he shouted, scrambling up from the floor and lunging for a chair.

Qiao Xinyi tossed her sunhat in Qiao Yunbai’s direction and bared her forehead, shouting at Qiao Yougen, “Come on! Aim right here, at my head!”

“Let me tell you, Qiao Yougen—my head’s already injured. If anyone dares to lay a finger on me today, I’ll drop dead on the spot. I’ll have my mother book me a coffin tonight, and tomorrow morning, I’ll have her carry me with the coffin to your workplace’s front door. We’ll see if I don’t ruin your entire life!”

Qiao Yougen stood frozen, chair raised, staring at the gauze still wrapped around Qiao Xinyi’s head. The way she said she’d show up with a coffin and ruin them with a false claim—it was enough to stop both him and Qian Chunhua in their tracks.

This was the kind of person who would flip a table without hesitation. Was she capable of dragging a coffin to extort them? Absolutely.

Barefoot people aren’t afraid of those wearing shoes.

Qiao Xinyi had no job, no position—nothing to lose. She didn’t care about saving face. But Qiao Yougen and Qian Chunhua still had to show up to work. They couldn’t afford to make a scene.

And besides, Qiao Xinyi did have an existing head injury. If she really collapsed, wouldn’t they end up like the Chen family—thrown in jail?

Qiao Yougen hurled the chair back to the ground, fuming with rage, but he didn’t dare take another step forward.

“This is outrageous! How did the Qiao family end up with a brute like you who dares to raise a hand against your elders?!” he shouted, shaking his wrist in frustration. “You’re not even worth arguing with!”

Then he barked at Qiao Dongmei and Qiao Chengda, “What are you still sitting there for? The food’s been tossed, and you’re still waiting around for someone to feed you? Get moving!”

With that, Qiao Yougen turned and started heading for the door.

“Not so fast!” Qiao Xinyi called after him, kicking aside a chair blocking her way. “Did I say you could leave, Qiao Yougen? You smashed my table, chairs, and all the pots and dishes—and now you think you can just wipe your ass and walk away?”

She held out her hand. “Pay for the damages before you get lost.”

“You’re crazy!” Qiao Chengda shouted. “You flipped that table. You smashed that stool. Why should we pay for it?”

“If you hadn’t messed with me, you think I’d be flipping tables for fun?” Qiao Xinyi fired back, fully justified.

“You want me to pay? In your dreams!” Qiao Yougen snarled and stormed out.

“Go ahead! But don’t regret it tomorrow!” Qiao Xinyi shouted after him at the door. Then she turned to Qiao Laiwang and Chen Ju, who were still frozen in fear. “What are you sitting there for? Waiting for ghosts to clean up the mess?”

“You made this mess! Why should we clean it?” Chen Ju finally came to her senses and jumped up.

“The four of us still need to eat. You two are just sitting around with nothing to do. Who else should be cleaning up?” Qiao Xinyi kicked away the broken bowls on the ground, grabbed an intact chair, sat down beside Chen Yubing and the others, reclaimed her bowl of rice, and continued eating like nothing had happened.

Qiao Laiwang let out a long sigh, looked at Chen Yubing, then at Qiao Baihe, then at Qiao Yunbai—only to find all three had their heads down, quietly eating. Not a single one even glanced his way.

Resigned, he went to get a broom and started sweeping.

Chen Ju looked at the mess of broken dishes on the floor, seething with a mix of anger and heartache. “You cursed wretch! You should’ve died out there! You never should’ve been brought back home! Ever since you returned, this house hasn’t had a single peaceful day!”

“You worthless jinx! You smashed all this stuff—do you know how much money it costs to buy any of it?!”