Chapter 273 - 104: My Granny Is Warming Up Her Throat
Jie Jingchen froze. He’d been careless.
Qin Mei was impressed. ’Granny could find a loophole in anything.’
"A maternal grandson is still a grandson," Qin Mei couldn’t help but say.
"A maternal grandson belongs to another family. Only a son’s son is truly one of your own. Does your maternal grandfather have any sons’ sons?" Granny retorted sarcastically.
Qin Mei instantly understood the deep-seated preference for sons over daughters. Their way of thinking was outdated. To them, a married daughter was like spilt water—once she married out, she belonged to another family, and so did her children.
Their worldviews were too different. Qin Mei didn’t bother arguing with Granny; it was pointless to reason against such deeply ingrained beliefs.
Jie Jingchen didn’t linger on the topic. He changed the subject, saying, "My maternal grandparents may have only had one daughter—my mom—but they have plenty of nephews. They could just adopt one to inherit the family business. That way, the Qiao Family wouldn’t become the Jie Family."
Granny was instantly displeased. "Nonsense! It’s not like they don’t have a daughter. An adopted nephew isn’t your own flesh and blood. There will always be a barrier."
If a nephew inherited the family business, the Jie Family would get nothing out of it. All their efforts would be for naught, like trying to draw water with a bamboo basket.
"A barrier wouldn’t matter," Jie Jingchen said, unfazed.
Her fierce demeanor vanished in an instant. Looking at Jie Jingchen with a kind, benevolent expression, Granny began to reason with him patiently. "That’s easy for you to say, but a barrier like that is a serious problem. Jing Si, you’re still young! You’ve never had to worry about where your next meal is coming from. I think you should go to Xiangjiang and see your grandparents. You need to talk them out of this idea. They have a daughter, and nowadays men and women are equal! A daughter can inherit the family business. Since they have a daughter and maternal grandsons, they can’t just hand over their massive fortune to a nephew. That would be unfair to your mother, to you, to Jing Wu, and to Jing Qi."
’Was she trying the good cop, bad cop routine?’ Qin Mei glanced at Jie Jingchen.
Just a moment ago, Granny had been mocking his maternal grandparents for not having a son, insisting that a daughter’s son belonged to another family. But the instant she heard the Qiao family fortune might go to a nephew, her attitude did a complete one-eighty.
"’A married daughter is like spilt water.’ ’A maternal grandson belongs to another family; only a son’s son is truly one of your own.’ My mother is a daughter, Jing Wu and I are maternal grandsons, and Jing Qi is a maternal granddaughter. We aren’t fit to inherit the Qiao family fortune. An adopted nephew is a much better choice. At least, his surname would be Qiao." Jie Jingchen heavily stressed his final words.
Granny was struck speechless by his retort. Her daughter-in-law, Qiao Yanqiu, might be disobedient, but at least she gave her money. This grandson, Jie Jingchen, was not only disobedient but also gave her nothing. Jing Wu, her other grandson, was an even more hopeless case—she’d be lucky if he didn’t come asking *her* for money. As for Jing Qi, what kind of money could a little slip of a girl have? Granny was the one who had to give *her* a red envelope for the New Year.
"A daughter you carried for months is surely closer to you than a nephew. And a maternal grandson is still a grandson," Granny said brazenly.
Listening to Granny’s shameless words, Qin Mei wondered, ’Does she feel no shame at all for contradicting herself so blatantly?’
Jie Jingchen pondered for a few seconds before saying to Granny, "Granny, I’ll consider what you’ve said."
Granny was stunned. Jing Si was actually listening to her? That little brat was always so rebellious; when had she ever successfully convinced him of anything? Usually, he just managed to provoke her to the brink of an aneurysm.
’Something’s fishy,’ she thought. ’There’s definitely something fishy going on.’
"Granny, I have an idea. Would you like to hear it?" Jie Jingchen asked.
’Don’t listen,’ her instincts screamed. Experience told her this brat was definitely up to no good. But the thought of the Qiao family fortune was too tempting. After weighing her options, Granny asked, "What idea?"
A wicked, charming smirk played on Jie Jingchen’s thin lips, and a glint of amusement flashed in his eyes.
"Dad can marry into the Qiao Family. Then Jing Wu, Jing Qi, and I will all change our surname to Qiao." Before he even finished speaking, Jie Jingchen was already moving. He walked over to Qin Mei, grabbed her by the wrist, and started pulling her toward the kitchen, pushing Jing Qi along with his other hand.
Granny’s face went slack, and she stared into space as if she’d misheard. She shot a sideways glance at Xu Chunyan. "What did Jing Si just say?"
"Granny..." Xu Chunyan looked distressed.
"Say it," Granny commanded imperiously.
Xu Chunyan took a deep breath and repeated his words. "He said Dad should marry into the Qiao Family, and Jing Si, Jing Wu, and Jing Qi should change their surname to Qiao."
Granny flew into a rage, bolting up from her wicker chair. "Jie Jingchen!"
"Granny, calm down! Don’t work yourself up like this," Xu Chunyan soothed, helping the old woman back into her chair. Seeing her gasping for breath, Xu Chunyan gently rubbed her back and said to her son, "Xiao You, hurry and get your great-granny a glass of water."
"Hmph!" Jie You crossed his arms, his little mouth set in a pout. He tilted his head up angrily, his cherubic face a mask of misery over the beggar’s chicken he never got to eat.