Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 415 - 284 Petty Woman

Chapter 415: Chapter 284 Petty Woman

The Zhou family rented a house in the suburbs, where Lin Yanqiu squatted on the floor, rubbing away the stains on the cement ground bit by bit, Liang Xiaohong was in charge of the stairs, Zhou Huakang and Zhou Xikang took care of the windows, Zhou Gangping and Zhou Shanping were responsible for washing the rags... In the middle of the house, stood a woman around fifty years old, with thick brows, small eyes, and short hair that reached her ears, dressed in a dark blue velveteen suit. She looked around like a supervisor; she was Qin Xiangyi.

Her gaze settled on the spot Lin Yanqiu had just wiped. There, a thumb-sized stain remained. Qin Xiangyi stepped forward, her foot on the rag, incidentally stepping on one of Lin Yanqiu’s hands, "If this were your own house, would you be so careless?"

Even if Lin Yanqiu had not been favored by her mother as a child, she had never been subjected to such treatment. The veins on her forehead stood out, but she slowly withdrew her hand and asked, her voice devoid of inflection, "Where did I not satisfy you?"

"Behind you." Qin Xiangyi stepped back, her toe pointing to the patch of dirt, "How could you miss such a big stain?"

Lin Yanqiu turned back around and rubbed hard against the stain. After a moment, she looked up at Qin Xiangyi, "This is the dead ash from your house. If you’re capable, why don’t you try wiping it off for me to see."

"If you don’t want to live here, I’m not insisting..." Qin Xiangyi smiled, raising her eyebrows, "I’ve said it many times, this house has been renovated and has never been lived in, it’s new.

"At the time I rented it to you, it was because I saw you had nowhere to go and felt pity, but if you don’t take care of this house, I’d rather not rent it at all. After all, I don’t lack this bit of money."

She had heard these threatening words so many times a day that Lin Yanqiu no longer had an angry reaction to them. Since she had to wipe either way, she might as well bring over a small stool and slowly grind away at the stain.

"Hey, is this how you work?" Qin Xiangyi was dissatisfied again.

Zhou Xikang and Zhou Huakang exchanged glances, dropped the rags in their hands, and jumped down from the window.

Liang Xiaohong, Zhou Gangping, and Zhou Shanping also put down their work and gathered around.

Seeing this, Qin Xiangyi was not afraid, "What are you trying to do? Bully me with numbers? I rent my house to you and I am to blame? If you dare to touch me, just try."

Zhou Xikang didn’t even glance at Qin Xiangyi and stepped forward to help Lin Yanqiu up, "Mom, let’s go stay at a hotel first."

Zhou Huakang hurriedly said, "Eldest Uncle’s Wife, my classmate has an empty house, but there are only two rooms. It doesn’t matter, let’s move there and put up a communal bed. The conditions might be poorer, but it’s better than listening to dogs barking every day."

"What did you say?" Qin Xiangyi poked Zhou Huakang with a finger, "Have the nerve to say that again."

"I’ll say it, aren’t you from a similar background? How can you look down on people like that? No, by saying that, I’m really insulting dogs. At least dogs know who they’re close to. You, you’re actually related to my Eldest Uncle’s Wife. To treat her this way, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?

"I’m telling you, you’re still standing here fine not because the gods want to forgive you, but because they’re waiting to count your sins and punish you all at once, to send you straight to hell!"

Knowing Qin Xiangyi was extremely superstitious, Zhou Huakang deliberately scared her. And sure enough, upon hearing what Zhou Huakang said, Qin Xiangyi’s outstretched hand suddenly froze in mid-air, and she quickly glanced around.

Seeing this, Liang Xiaohong quickly added fuel to the fire, "Sister Qin, you should take retribution seriously. Besides, things like that are better believed than not, it’s good to be careful."

At that moment, however, Qin Xiangyi had already come back to her senses. She hated Lin Yanqiu down to the bone and had finally gotten such a good opportunity, how could she let it go? She sneered, "If we’re talking about retribution, all I see is that she has already gotten hers. Do you really think I’ll forget all the nasty things she’s done to me before just because you blabber nonsense for a bit? Don’t you think that’s a bit naive?"

Zhou Gangping sighed softly, "Sister-in-law, you’ve been putting up with this every day for our sake. I think if this continues, she’ll only get worse. We should move. Xiao Xi is right, we can first go to a hotel, and we’ll figure out the rest later."

"Yeah, Sister-in-law, seeing you suffering like this for us also makes us feel bad," Zhou Shanping, a man of few words but solid action, said. Then, he turned back to the room and started packing up his belongings on his own.

"If you want to move out, of course, I have no objection, but as for the rent, I won’t refund a single cent. It was clearly written in black and white when we signed the contract." Qin Xiangyi casually stood at the door and called over her brother Qin Xiangjiang who had come with her, "Little brother, come and check their luggage, don’t let them take away anything from our house."

Lin Yanqiu glanced dismissively at Qin Xiangyi. "Do you think the Zhou family is finished for good?" she found that the biggest change brought to her recently was her improved temper. In the past, she would have been furious by now, yet at this moment, she was angry but still able to reason with people. She wondered what Zhou Jingping would think if he saw this side of her.

In all the years she had been married into the Zhou family, she had always been well protected, and her personality remained just like when she was a daughter living at her parent’s home. Unexpectedly, she had changed her temperament now that she was older.

With that said, her mother-in-law should give it a try; her temper was even more aggressive and volatile than hers. Alas, here she was, daydreaming about such things. Lin Yanqiu couldn’t help but touch her forehead and laugh wryly.

Qin Xiangyi, misinterpreting her response, assumed she was overly agitated and somewhat delirious from the provocation. She felt a thrill of excitement and followed Lin Yanqiu’s line of thought, asking, "What, do you think the Zhou family can return to its former glory?"

"Not just to its former state, it will be even better," Lin Yanqiu said with a sidelong glance. "In the future, this is how I will look at you, understand?"

Qin Xiangyi leaned lazily against the doorway. "Sure, I’ll wait and see. But for now, you’d better get through this situation first."

"Qin Xiangyi, did your mother not teach you any manners or etiquette?"

"Do I need to follow those when dealing with you?"

"It’s not..." Lin Yanqiu said with a smile and a wave of her hand. "I never expected you to be well-mannered towards me. If you really understood etiquette, you wouldn’t have done what you did today.

I just thought I’d kindly remind you that your posture is a signature move of a courtesan in a brothel, leaning against a building and selling smiles; the way you are standing now, hmm, you’re quite precise in it."

"Nonsense!" Qin Xiangyi said, but she immediately stood up straight and stopped leaning against the doorframe.

When it was time to actually pack up, everyone realized how unrealistic it was to think they could move out immediately.

All sorts of luggage needed to be transported at a cost, and staying in a hotel also cost money. Even if they were to stay with Zhou Huakang and Zhou Xue, they couldn’t do without money, but they had no extra cash left after paying the rent...

Indeed, keeping one’s mouth shut is a very important thing. After enjoying the satisfaction of bold words, they faced doubled humiliation.

Watching everyone go back to their cleaning duties, Qin Xiangyi’s lips curled into a scornful smile. From now on whether they could be squeezed or molded depended entirely on her mood. Lin Yanqiu, you never imagined you’d fall to this level, did you?

Seeing Lin Yanqiu kneeling there, moving inch by inch to clean the cement floor until it shone, Qin Xiangyi’s face contorted with laughter.

There is no hardship that cannot be endured, but could they really throw away the heirlooms passed down through generations? If they dared to discard them, she would dare to pick them up! This was the secondary fundamental reason behind her desperate efforts to humiliate them.

The primary reason was, of course, to retaliate for the humiliation Lin Yanqiu had inflicted on her in the past.

Zhou Xikang and Zhou Huakang were cleaning windows and occasionally looking back at Lin Yanqiu, feeling mortified. If it weren’t for their impulsive actions, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point. Indeed, a moment of patience can prevent a great disaster, and retreating one step can make the sea and sky boundless; that is the truth.

Now that the situation had gone this far, Qin Xiangyi had openly told everyone she intended to target Lin Yanqiu. They knew better than to compete for her tasks or help her, or else they couldn’t blame her for not playing nice.

Regrettably, as she said these words, they had no power to resist. They were like fish on a chopping block, and that was exactly how it felt.

Suddenly, a clear sound of a car stopping came from outside. Everyone’s movements halted, and as they were about to get up, Qin Xiangyi’s voice rang out: "I’ll be going home in a bit. Hurry up and fix any spots I’m not happy with. I believe you don’t want to see me more than necessary, right?"

What she wanted was for the guests coming to visit the Zhou family members to witness their most disheveled state! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)