Chapter 20 Xingyue, were you very fat before?

I don't know if Jiang Yongqiang recognized her.

Qiao Xingyue recalled the time four years ago when she had just given birth to An'an and Ningning less than two months ago. She took Ningning to the provincial capital for medical treatment and encountered Jiang Yongqiang, who tried to assault her, in a dilapidated temple. At that time, she had not yet lost all her weight and weighed about 140 pounds.

She is indeed a chubby girl.

Holding the clothes she had taken down from the bamboo pole, she nodded slightly. "I was indeed a little fatter before, but that was a long time ago."

As she spoke, she unconsciously hugged the clothes in her hands tighter, forcing a smile at the corners of her mouth.

Xie Zhongming knew that women were very conscious of their image and, fearing it would embarrass her, he didn't ask her about her past as a chubby girl.

"Comrade Qiao, did you know Jiang Yongqiang before?"

"It's a long story, and it's not a good thing, so I won't go into it."

At the time, she was in a hurry to take Ningning to the hospital for treatment; otherwise, she would have definitely called the police and asked them to arrest Jiang Yongqiang, that scoundrel. Hooliganism was a serious crime in those days. However, she had neither witnesses nor evidence to accuse Jiang Yongqiang of hooligans, so it wasn't that easy.

"Well, Comrade Qiao, now that you've registered for the college entrance examination, you should focus on your studies. As for Jiang Yongqiang, my parents and I will take care of things. Our family will not let Jiang Yongqiang try anything funny with you again."

"Okay, thank you very much, comrade." Qiao Xingyue felt a warm glow in her heart, and with this feeling of gratitude, she continued to collect the clothes.

Seeing that she was carrying a large bundle of dried clothes that she couldn't hold any more, Xie Zhongming stepped forward and helped her put them away.

He was a tall man, 1.88 meters, with broad shoulders and a straight back. When he raised his hand, the muscles in his forearms were slightly taut under his sleeves. He easily took down the clothes from the bamboo pole and also took down the two bed sheets that she couldn't reach.

At the entrance of the main room, Huang Guilan watched this scene: Xingyue and her fourth son stood in the afterglow of the setting sun, one handsome and tall as a mountain, the other beautiful and petite.

What a perfect match they are!

Now that's what a couple should look like!

If the two of them could remarry, they would definitely develop feelings for each other, and their lives would surely be better. Huang Guilan thought about how that chubby girl from the countryside, weighing over 200 pounds and lazy, had ruined her fourth son's life, and it made her quite worried.

The two put away their clothes and headed towards the main room. Xie Zhongming saw Huang Guilan and called out to her, "Mom, was Jiang Yongqiang invited by Aunt Jiang today?"

"Hmm." Huang Guilan said softly, her voice still gentle as she got angry. "Your Aunt Jiang is always coming up with bad ideas."

After a moment of contemplation, Xie Zhongming, whose face was tense, said, "I understand."

The clothes, sheets, and blankets he was carrying all belonged to his grandmother, so he took them to the old lady's room.

Huang Guilan was left behind. Qiao Xingyue took the clothes from her hands and said, "Xingyue, give these to Aunt Lan."

"Okay." Qiao Xingyue handed over the clothes. "Then I'll go down to the kitchen."

Tonight, she made noodles with minced pork. She stir-fried two kinds of minced pork: one spicy and one savory, because Commander Xie and Division Commander Xie could handle spicy food, but Aunt Lan couldn't. Both flavors were made with diced pork, stir-fried with sauce, then diced potatoes, carrots, and wood ear mushrooms, stewed until very tender, and then topped with a rich and flavorful broth.

When Huang Guilan entered the kitchen, she saw Qiao Xingyue pouring the sauce with broth into a bowl of noodles. The aroma made Huang Guilan's mouth water. "It smells so good! Xingyue, Aunt Lan wants to chat with you for a while."

"Aunt Lan, what's wrong?" Qiao Xingyue stopped pouring the sauce.

“Xingyue, the reasons why Zhongming got married are complicated, and he and his wife have never had any real feelings for each other. Moreover, Zhongming is also preparing for a divorce. Aunt Lan is trying to say…”

Look at her, she's afraid that Xingyue doesn't have feelings for her fourth son, afraid that Xingyue will reject her. When Huang Guilan gets nervous, she doesn't know what to say.

These past few days, it's not just Jiang Chunyan who wants to introduce Xingyue to potential partners; many of the aunties in the compound also want to do so.

Huang Guilan didn't agree, so she never mentioned this to Xingyue.

She seemed afraid that Xingyue would be snatched away by someone else, so she asked, "Xingyue, what do you think of my fourth child?"

Qiao Xingyue continued pouring the sauce into the noodle bowl in front of the stove. She already understood Aunt Lan's thoughts. She deliberately said, "Aunt Lan, Comrade Xie is a very good person. He is upright, honest, responsible, and has a good set of values. I treat him like an older brother."

Oh no, Xingyue really didn't have feelings for Zhongming.

It seems that Zhongming needs to get a divorce first before she can continue to try to bring Zhongming and Xingyue together.

Huang Guilan then tentatively asked, "Xingyue, recently quite a few aunties in the compound have wanted to introduce you to potential partners. Aunt Lan doesn't know what you think, but if you..."

"Aunt Lan, I have no plans to date." Qiao Xingyue interrupted. "Aunt Lan, if any other aunties want to introduce me to someone like Aunt Jiang, please just turn them down for me. Right now, I just want to do my job well at Aunt Lan's house, then take the college entrance exam, have a more stable job in the future, and raise An Anning to be a useful member of society."

This put Huang Guilan at ease. As long as Xingyue didn't plan to date anyone else, she would have a chance once her fourth son and Pangya got divorced.

Huang Guilan felt relieved and said with a smile, "Xingyue, Zhongming's sister-in-law will be bringing her two children over in a little while. The eldest son and his wife are going on a long trip, so the two kids will be staying with me for the time being. I'll have to cook extra food for them, so I'll have to trouble you."

Qiao Xingyue carried the cooked noodles out of the main room. "Aunt Lan, this is all I should do, it's no trouble at all. Are your two children boys and girls?"

“Boys. My second son’s wife gave birth to two boys.” Huang Guilan also helped carry a bowl of noodles and followed them into the main room.

Seeing this, Deng Yingying quickly went to the kitchen to help out. She wanted to say something, but Aunt Lan was only focused on chatting with Qiao Xingyue, so she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"Aunt Lan, you are so blessed. You have five sons and four grandsons."

"What kind of blessing is this? Aunt Lan always wanted to have a daughter, but all five of them were sons. She wanted a granddaughter, but her eldest and second eldest daughters-in-law had four sons in a row. Aunt Lan is so unlucky, she has neither a daughter nor a granddaughter. If An'an and Ningning could be Aunt Lan's granddaughter, I would wake up laughing in my dreams."

In this era, it was common to favor sons over daughters, but Aunt Lan's family preferred girls, which was quite unusual.

Just now, Aunt Lan asked her in front of the stove what she thought of Comrade Xie, and even specifically mentioned that Comrade Xie was about to get divorced—was she planning to have her date Comrade Xie after his divorce?

The Xie family all like An An and Ning Ning very much and take special care of her. It would be a blessing for her and An An and Ning Ning to be with a responsible man like Comrade Xie.

Look at her, how could she have such high hopes? Even if Comrade Xie really wants a divorce, he still has a wife now.

Qiao Xingyue clenched her fist tightly as she held the bowl of noodles, quickly suppressing all those inappropriate thoughts.

During dinner, Jiang Chunyan mentioned it again at the table, "Guilan, Commander Xie, my Yongqiang is honest and kind, tall and handsome, and he's never been married. This Qiao Xingyue..."

"Aunt Jiang, stop having such wicked thoughts!" Xie Zhongming was the first to speak.

He interrupted Jiang Chunyan, stopping his hand from picking at the noodles, and scrutinized her with icy eyes. "What kind of person is Jiang Yongqiang? Aunt Jiang, don't you know? If he were a good person, he wouldn't be over thirty and still unable to find a wife. If my dad hadn't arranged a logistics soldier job for him in the logistics department, he would be idle all day, lazy and good-for-nothing, and wouldn't even have enough to eat. A person like that isn't even worthy of carrying Comrade Qiao's shoes."

"Zhongming, how could you slander my Yongqiang like this..."

Xie Zhongming said decisively, "Aunt Jiang, I have already reported to the organization that you have returned to the Jincheng Military Region compound. The logistics department will soon assign you a room, and you and Deng Yingying can move out then."

After Xie Jiang found out what had happened, he also criticized, "Comrade Jiang Chunyan, how could you introduce Comrade Xiao Qiao to your lazy and good-for-nothing nephew? Jiang Yongqiang is not even as good as a single hair of Comrade Xiao Qiao."

"Thank you, Commander..."

Before Jiang Chunyan could finish speaking, Xie Jiang interrupted, "Comrade Jiang Chunyan, this is perfect timing. The day before yesterday, Squad Leader Feng from the mess hall told me that Jiang Yongqiang stole two jin of cured meat from the mess hall. If you push Comrade Xiao Qiao into the fire again, I'll tell Squad Leader Feng directly, don't look out for my sake, just fire Jiang Yongqiang. It'll save one bad apple from spoiling the whole bunch."

Hearing Commander Xie and his son, Regiment Commander Xie, defend her like this, Qiao Xingyue's eyes welled up with tears.

These aren't her employers; they're clearly her family.

That warm feeling was something Qiao Xingyue had never experienced since she traveled to this era.

At this moment, Jiang Chunyan became frightened. "Commander Xie, please don't! Yongqiang's father is sick and bedridden, and he's relying on Yongqiang to support him. If you order Yongqiang to be expelled, how will Yingying's second uncle's family survive? Besides, my husband, Lao Deng, sacrificed himself to save you, and you promised to take good care of my daughter and me for him."

Huang Guilan snorted and retorted, "Chunyan, over the years we've not only taken care of you and your daughter, but also your family. What, aren't you satisfied?"

Seeing this, Deng Yingying wiped away her tears and said, "Aunt Lan, it seems that my daughter and I have caused you trouble. Why don't we move out and live elsewhere?"

Huang Guilan didn't say a word of politeness and said directly, "Then you should move out. You two have really caused us a lot of trouble."

This, this… Deng Yingying was dumbfounded. Usually, whenever she squeezed out a tear, Aunt Lan would comfort her and make up for it even more for the mother and daughter.

Now that Qiao Xingyue has arrived, Aunt Lan seems to have completely changed.

How could she possibly save face?

Do we really have to move out?

Jiang Chunyan interjected confidently, "I don't care, Guilan, Commander Xie, when my husband Lao Deng died, you promised to take good care of my mother and me. If you kick us out, you're being ungrateful. Anyway, my mother and I will not move out."

...

After dark, Xie's eldest daughter-in-law, Shen Liping, returned to the main room of the Xie family home with her two sons, Xie Zhiyuan and Xie Mingyuan.

As Shen Liping stepped into the main room, Qiao Xingyue, who was tidying up, noticed that the woman looked somewhat familiar. Upon closer inspection, the more she looked, the more familiar she became – wasn't this the woman who had saved her four years ago when she was almost harmed by Jiang Yongqiang in the dilapidated temple? At the time, the couple had been traveling together and were taking shelter from the rain in the temple when they happened to encounter her, rescued her, and, upon learning that Ningning had asthma and had no money for treatment, kindly took the mother and her two children to the hospital and left them some money for life-saving treatment.

So the person who saved her back then was Xie's eldest brother and sister-in-law?

Just as Huang Guilan was about to introduce her eldest daughter-in-law to Qiao Xingyue, Qiao Xingyue's grateful gaze fell on Shen Liping. "Sister Liping, what a coincidence! You are actually Aunt Lan's eldest daughter-in-law."

“You are…” Shen Liping looked at Qiao Xingyue and felt that she looked familiar, especially her big eyes, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen her before.

When Qiao Xingyue saw her savior, her eyes welled up with tears. Grabbing Shen Liping's hand, the usually calm and composed woman suddenly became somewhat excited. "Sister Liping, it's me, Qiao Xingyue. You saved me in the dilapidated temple, and you also saved my Ningning. Have you forgotten?"

"Oh, I remember now." Shen Liping felt that this woman looked somewhat familiar. "Are you the chubby girl from the dilapidated temple?"

Huang Guilan was completely bewildered and asked, "What? Pingping, you know Xingyue? What, little chubby girl?"

Shen Liping was surprised to find that Qiao Xingyue had lost a lot of weight in the four years since they last met. She was now slim and beautiful. Looking at Qiao Xingyue's current pretty appearance, she realized why she hadn't recognized her earlier.