Chapter 228 - 89: She Pursued Me (3)
At his words, Qin Mei snapped back to her senses and licked her lips, which were sore from where Jie Jingchen had bitten them. "No, the second great-aunt wasn’t in on it."
Jie Jingchen paused in the middle of striking a match. He raised his eyes, gave Qin Mei a sidelong glance, and then went back to striking the match. "How do you know the second great-aunt’s older sister?"
"I don’t, but Jing Qi does," Qin Mei replied. Seeing that Jie Jingchen was starting the fire, she began to wash the pot.
Jie Jingchen understood. Jing Qi did indeed know the second great-aunt’s older sister.
As she washed the pot, Qin Mei explained, "Jing Qi wanted to eat pig’s trotters, but there was only one left at the butcher’s stall. We got there first, and since Jing Qi knows Uncle Li pretty well, we chatted for a bit. But then your ex-girlfriend’s aunt bought it. She was getting it to make a soup to help her daughter-in-law with lactation. Since it was for a baby, my kind heart wouldn’t let me fight her for it."
"The second great-aunt’s older sister arrived late and also wanted to buy the trotter to make soup for her granddaughter-in-law’s lactation. She asked your ex-girlfriend’s aunt if she could have half, but the aunt refused. The sister was furious but helpless. That’s when I, beautiful and kind-hearted, recommended myself. ’I suppose she figured she was just grasping at straws,’ but she took my word for it. So, I brought Jing Qi to her house and gave her granddaughter-in-law a massage. As it turned out, I wasn’t bluffing. They were endlessly grateful."
Jie Jingchen listened quietly to her nonstop chatter. He had questions, but he didn’t interrupt, waiting patiently for her to finish. When Qin Mei finally fell silent, Jie Jingchen asked, "What do you mean, ’my ex-girlfriend’s aunt’?"
Qin Mei stopped washing the pot. She gave Jie Jingchen a strange, resentful look that sent a chill down his spine. "Jie Jingchen, are you really that dense, or are you just playing dumb? Or maybe you have so many ex-girlfriends that you can’t keep track of who I’m talking about?"
Jie Jingchen felt deeply wronged, his face a mask of bewilderment.
"Teacher Lin’s aunt," Qin Mei snapped.
Jie Jingchen felt even more wronged. "Qin Mei," he retorted helplessly, "I really don’t have those kinds of feelings for Teacher Lin."
"So heartless. You may not be interested, but Teacher Lin is deeply in love with you," Qin Mei said sarcastically.
Jie Jingchen’s mood grew heavy, and he let out a faint sigh. "So you know Teacher Lin’s aunt, too."
"I don’t. Jing Qi does." Qin Mei huffed, then went back to washing the pot. When she saw that Jie Jingchen had gotten the fire going, she stopped scrubbing, walked over to him, and kicked his foot lightly. "Get up," she ordered bossily. "Let me tend the fire."
Jie Jingchen didn’t hesitate. He stood up and gave her his spot. Qin Mei tended the fire while he washed the pot.
The topic was too sensitive, so Jie Jingchen tactfully fell silent. Qin Mei didn’t want to continue the conversation either. She took a breath and said, "Jie Jingchen, there’s something I feel we need to discuss."
"What is it?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"I want to promote and build up the Qin Family’s lactation massage technique," Qin Mei said.
"The Qin Family’s lactation massage technique?" Jie Jingchen asked, confused.
"It’s the name I came up with after massaging Sister Yan Hong. What do you think? ’Qin Family Lactation Massage Technique.’ A pretty good name, right?" Qin Mei said smugly.
"Qin Mei." Jie Jingchen’s expression was grave. Looking at her joyful face, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
Her smile vanished, replaced by a serious and earnest expression. "Jie Jingchen, I know your concerns. Things have gotten much better in recent years; it’s not like it was before. I know what I’m doing. I won’t drag the Jie Family into any trouble. And besides, I’m just an unemployed drifter. What do I have to fear?"
’She wouldn’t go all out from the start. Instead, she’d lie low and build her strength quietly. No one would pay her any special attention. By the time she grew her business, the reform and opening-up policy would be announced, and she could just ride the wave.’
Qin Mei was a transmigrator, so she was certain about the coming policies from above. Jie Jingchen, however, was not. After a long moment of contemplation, he said, "Qin Mei, Mom wants to recommend you for a job at the hospital."
"I’m not going," Qin Mei refused point-blank, without a shred of hesitation.
"Why?" Jie Jingchen didn’t understand. With her outstanding medical skills, a job at the hospital was the most suitable place for her.
"Working at a hospital is exhausting," Qin Mei said, using it as an excuse.
"Qin Mei." Jie Jingchen wasn’t buying it. Her current routine of dabbling in this and that was no less tiring than working at a hospital.
’First, it was Qin’s ointment, and now the Qin Family Lactation Massage Technique. What other "Qin Family" something would she come up with next?’
"You have to wake up early for a job, and I can’t get up in the morning, especially in the winter." Qin Mei paused, then added, "In the winter, all I want to do is hibernate."
Qin Mei’s excuse left Jie Jingchen even more speechless. He was about to try and persuade her again when she hit him with a devastating question. "Jie Jingchen, can you not provide for me and Jing Qi?"
Jie Jingchen fell silent, not in agreement, but in wordless protest.
"Jie Jingchen, you’re a capable man. I believe in you. Go for it! Our days of eating meat every day depend on you." Qin Mei would rather cheer him on than consider working at a hospital. "By the way, Jie Jingchen, what’s your monthly salary?"
"Seventy yuan," Jie Jingchen answered truthfully.
’Qin Mei’s mouth twitched, and she fell silent. Seventy yuan was considered a high salary for this era. But as times changed, prices would rise while salaries stagnated, and there would even be a wave of layoffs. Qin Mei wanted to give Jie Jingchen a hint but didn’t know how to bring it up. He was a stubborn mule; if she said too much, he might think she was an enemy agent, and that would be trouble.’
’Forget it. She shouldn’t expect too much from Jie Jingchen. She would just work hard on her own, get rich quietly, and make sure their little family lived a good life.’
Jie Jingchen didn’t start cooking right away. Instead, he heated up some water. Once it was hot, he ladled it into a bucket, carried it to the indoor toilet, and told Qin Mei to take a bath and wash her hair.
Qin Mei was on her period, so Jie Jingchen normally wouldn’t approve of her washing her hair. But today was different. There were milk stains in her hair—someone else’s milk—and he couldn’t stand the smell.
While Qin Mei went to bathe and wash her hair, Jie Jingchen started cooking in the kitchen. Gao Hai came in to help, and Jie Jingchen didn’t stand on ceremony, ordering him to do this and that. In the end, Gao Hai became the head chef while Jie Jingchen tended the fire.
When they first joined the army, they both spent half a year in the kitchen squad before a discerning superior recognized their talents and had them transferred out.
"Jing Si, how did you and your wife meet? She’s so beautiful and kind, there must have been a lot of guys pursuing her. Come on, tell me, how did you manage to win her over and even marry her?" Gao Hai asked.
Jie Jingchen stared blankly into the stove fire. He didn’t know how to answer Gao Hai’s question. ’The Qin Mei after her amnesia was indeed beautiful and kind. But the Qin Mei before her amnesia... she was someone you’d want to keep a wide berth from.’
"Jing Si, we’re such close brothers. You don’t have to be so secretive with me, do you?" Seeing Jie Jingchen’s silence, Gao Hai felt a little hurt. Whether it was about work or family, he always told Jie Jingchen everything, sharing both the good and the bad.
’If Jie Jingchen were a woman, he would’ve married him in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, Jie Jingchen was a man, so they could only be the best of buddies.’
"She pursued me," Jie Jingchen finally said, using the word "pursued" to maintain a semblance of dignity for them both. The truth—that Qin Mei had drugged him, forcing him to marry her—was a secret he would take to his grave rather than share with Gao Hai.
Gao Hai nearly sliced his finger, looking at Jie Jingchen in astonishment. "Your wife pursued *you*? Do you even believe that?"
Jie Jingchen’s face was expressionless, but his gaze was as sharp as a knife. "Believe it or not."
Gao Hai put down the kitchen knife, walked over to Jie Jingchen, and leaned in close. "She really pursued you?"
Jie Jingchen’s expression flickered, but it was impossible to read his emotions.
Gao Hai clapped Jie Jingchen on the shoulder, his eyes full of envy. "You dog! Impressive, truly impressive. I’m in awe. She must have pursued you for your looks, right?"
Thinking of Qin Mei’s bold declarations back in the family compound, Jie Jingchen shuddered slightly. His expression turned cold, yet it was tinged with some other unreadable emotion.
"You two have been married for almost a year. When are you planning on having kids?" Gao Hai asked, his own face glowing with happiness as he thought of his lovely wife and beloved daughter at home.
’Is he already nagging us to have kids?’ Jie Jingchen raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "In three days, it will have been eight months since we got married."