How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s
Chapter 268 - 270: Cold Words_1

Chapter 268: Chapter 270: Cold Words_1

Qin Jin remained silent.

Old Mrs. Qin didn’t continue to ask, she was busy enjoying the performances.

Around one o’clock in the afternoon, the entire talent show selection finally ended.

Old Mrs. Qin said contentedly, "The school’s performances are still the most spectacular, I’ll come again next time there’s a show."

Li Qiao laughed, "I guess there’s only this one for the whole year."

In her previous school, there had been shows for New Year’s Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival, but that’s not the case here; even the festive Chinese New Year didn’t have a gala.

As the family of three was leaving, they ran into Old Mr. Xue and his family. He generously praised them, "Qiaoqiao and Jin performed really well, there’s only one act for each department, you two are definitely in, Sufen’s flute piece wasn’t outstanding, I’m afraid it won’t be chosen." Among the dozens of acts, only their sword play performance stood out to him.

If Sufen weren’t his granddaughter, he probably wouldn’t even remember what she performed.

With Xue Lingqing backing her, Sufen was not at all worried about the outcome.

Jiang Wanqiu complained, "Why do you always encourage others and undermine your own family? I think Sufen’s performance was the best."

Old Mr. Xue scoffed, "There were many better than hers."

You, you!" Jiang Wanqiu was so angry she couldn’t speak; her granddaughter had performed earnestly, and not only did he not offer encouragement, he even made such cold remarks!

Is this how a grandfather should act?

Old Mrs. Qin tried to smooth things over, "Sufen’s act was quite good, there was also a group dance that was lovely, with each girl looking bright and beautiful."

Old Mr. Xue teased, "Jingyi, did you take a fancy to any of them? Ask your uncle to set you up with one."

Xue Jingyi: "I’ve taken a fancy to all of them, I want every single one."

Li Qiao and Old Mrs. Qin snickered.

"You little punk! As indecent as a hoodlum," Old Mr. Xue raised his walking stick as if to hit him, and Xue Jingyi took the opportunity to run. If it weren’t for his grandmother holding onto him, he would have left right after Sufen’s performance.

It was too noisy inside for him to bear.

"Jin, come here, I have something to tell you," called Xue Jingyi, running ahead.

Qin Jin was suspicious, what did he want with him?

After he followed,

Xue Jingyi carefully extracted the film roll, "All the photos here are of you and Qiaoqiao, make sure you take care of them and develop them yourself, don’t expose them, okay?"

Qin Jin was surprised and delighted, he had planned to find someone to take photos early in the morning but had forgotten due to the busyness. He was about to go directly to the photo studio with Qiaoqiao in their costumes to get photos taken. He took the film roll, puzzled and cautious as he asked, "Why were you snapping pictures of me and Qiaoqiao?" Was it to specially capture Qiaoqiao?

That doesn’t make sense either.

Why give him the film roll if it was meant to take pictures of Qiaoqiao?

"You both performed so well I couldn’t help myself, remember to give me a couple of prints after they are developed."

Qin Jin, "Alright then." He said to Old Mrs. Qin and Li Qiao, "You go home first, I need to run an errand."

Old Mrs. Qin, "Go wherever you want."

Qin Jin, "..."

At the mouth of the alley, the two families went their separate ways. After stepping into the courtyard, Old Mrs. Qin couldn’t wait to ask Li Qiao, "Why does Jin have such a dislike for Sufen, even saying something as severe as ’virtue does not match position’?"

Li Qiao weighed her words carefully and gave a succinct account of what had happened.

Old Mrs. Qin became furious. Someone had dared to insult her grandson as crude and good-for-nothing. Had she been eating Xue family’s rice? Thinking back to the flute piece, not only was it harsh to the ears, Sufen’s features were no longer as handsome as before, making her quite off-putting. "How about Lingqing and Jingyi? They haven’t looked down on Jin, have they?"

Li Qiao, "No, Professor Xue is very nice, always willing to answer questions. Xue is also good, very warm-hearted."

It was likely that Madam Xue raised Sufen, to be competitive and fond of power and influence.

Old Mrs. Qin said, "They must be like your Sir Xue, who was always willing to answer questions and had a warm heart when he was young. Not like your Madam Xue, showy and status-conscious, and she liked to gossip about others. But she doesn’t have any truly bad intentions."

Li Qiao neither agreed nor disagreed.

Old Mrs. Qin went to the kitchen and cut up a mango, "Qiaoqiao, come and eat."

Li Qiao ate with small bites.

"I used to love eating this when I was a child, it’s sweet and fragrant," Old Mrs. Qin said.

Li Qiao, "When you were a child? You could eat mangos back then?" Wouldn’t it be difficult to transport tropical fruit? Even now, tropical fruit is rarely seen here.

It’s generally pears, apples, plums, and apricots, with grapes being less common, but they are all natural and free from pollution, both fragrant and sweet.

They will rot after a few days, including the vegetables; what’s bought in the morning wilts by the afternoon.

Unlike the fruits and vegetables decades later that can stay fresh for ten days or even half a month.

"Your great-grandfather used to bring some when he went on long hauls with his goods, and we could only enjoy them once a year," Old Mrs. Qin reminisced.

Being young was truly wonderful.

I was doted on by my parents and older brother, and I never faced any hardships in my marital home after getting married.

Perhaps because I had spent the best days of my life in the first half, in the later half, I only had Jin to rely on. Thankfully, now I also have a granddaughter-in-law to keep me company.

Li Qiao sensitively detected a trace of faint melancholy in Old Mrs. Qin’s brows. Was she also thinking of her own parents?

It seems no matter the age, people will always yearn for their relatives. This time around Qingming Festival, we didn’t sweep the ancestral graves at granny’s place.

Aren’t they from the same place?

Could granny’s family have gone abroad?

Back then, the wealthy would almost always go overseas.

Maybe the Qin family was planning to leave too, but for various reasons, it didn’t happen, and later they paid the price.

That’s what she speculated.

But it wasn’t right to ask Old Mrs. Qin outright for confirmation; in case she was wrong, it might upset the elderly lady. "We can buy the fruit from the store; I’ll go get more once we finish these."

"That’s expensive, isn’t it? No need," said Old Mrs. Qin.

Li Qiao: "It’s not as if we eat them every day." After thinking for a moment, she went back to her room, took out her allowance from last week, and handed it to Old Mrs. Qin: "From now on, I will take care of the household expenses."

Old Mrs. Qin refused: "The savings I have are enough, and Jin has his salary. We’ll ask you when we need it; take good care of your own money." She couldn’t bear to spend her granddaughter-in-law’s money; how hard it must be to study so much. She wasn’t like that Li Shengcai who didn’t know how to cherish his own daughter, asking outright for fifteen yuan.

In the city, including room and board, they spent less than twenty a month.

How much could it possibly be in the village?

Ten yuan was more than enough for a family to eat and drink well for a whole month.

Greedy and never satisfied!

Back then, all she thought about was not letting them affect her granddaughter-in-law’s future, but in a moment of folly, she had agreed.

After calming down, she was filled with regret.

Now that Jin’s business had failed, he likely couldn’t pay either.

Li Qiao: "Okay then." She put away the money and sat down with Old Mrs. Qin for a leisurely chat.

......

After Qin Jin sent off the examination papers to be developed at the photo studio, he came home and mentioned the matter of Xue Jingyi taking photographs.

Li Qiao laughed: "Wouldn’t Xue Sufen be furious if she knew?"

"I’m furious, too," Qin Jin said indignantly. "Xue was openly photographing you, and I bet there were also plenty doing it on the sly." He saw several people with cameras in there.

Old Mrs. Qin: "It’s good they were taking photos; it shows Qiaoqiao’s program is popular."

Qin Jin: "It’s because they think she’s good-looking and want to get to know her, to pursue her."

"I don’t have anyone pursuing me at school," Li Qiao said. "And few people want to be pen pals with me; and the pen pals I have are all girls. I met two of them on the train when we started college. We wrote one letter, and then there was no follow-up."

It might also be that they never received her replies.

Thinking she was not interested in continuing the correspondence, they tactfully stopped writing.

Qin Jin: "Really? Then why do quite a few people want to be my pen pals as soon as I enter your school?"

Old Mrs. Qin: "Maybe you just don’t look serious enough."

Li Qiao bent over laughing.

Qin Jin: "...."

......