Chapter 41

Now Lian Fengying is very glad that Tanaka Mei came along.

Tanaka Mei continued to nag at her, "You know my younger sister has misunderstood me and doesn't like the two of us. So when the time comes, just go in by yourself, and we'll be waiting nearby. If you can convince my younger sister, you can come out and call us, okay, Mom?"

Tian Zhongmei and Qin Jun had already thought this through. They had previously offended Qin Xiang, and they didn't know if Qin Xiang's anger had subsided. They decided to let Lian Fengying take the lead. If she could persuade them, that would be great; they could also benefit from it. Even if she couldn't, they wouldn't lose anything. It would also be a good opportunity to show Lian Fengying and the villagers that Qin Xiang only cared about money and not family.

Hearing her say this, Lian Fengying felt a little nervous. She had gone out this time without telling Qin Baotian. If Qin Baotian knew about this, she didn't know how he would scold her.

But then she thought it through. After all, she was Qin Xiang's mother. There was nothing wrong with a mother visiting her daughter and thinking about her.

Lian Fengying breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Don't worry. Although Xiangxiang is a little stubborn about getting married, she is still very filial to me and your father."

Tian Zhongmei didn't quite believe this, but she had heard that Qin Xiang was a ruthless businessman. Why would a girl like her earn so much money? She needed a man to manage the finances. A second marriage wouldn't be a good idea, nor would it be safe. Wasn't her own brother the perfect candidate?

So Tanaka Mei had a beautiful idea. She thought that the money was hers and she could do whatever she wanted. How wonderful it would be.

"Go quickly, Qin Jun and I will be waiting for your good news here."

Encouraged, Lian Fengying breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the courtyard where Qin Xiang lived, looking back every three steps.

But when she got there, she was stunned. There was a big lock on the door, and no one was at home.

"Where have you been? Did you go to the market and not come back?" Lian Fengying came back disappointed and said to Tian Zhongmei, "There's no one at home. Did you go to the market and not come back?"

Qin Jun frowned, "That's possible. Then you can go wait at the door. We won't go back tonight."

"Ah?" Lian Fengying really wanted to say that she should go back, but Qin Jun was not happy. After thinking about it, he realized that Lian Fengying had come back and it was not easy for her to come here, so she really couldn't just leave like that, so he squatted at the door and waited.

In winter, it gets dark early, and they leave home late. Actually, Tian Zhongmei and Qin Jun had come up with the idea of staying overnight at Qin Xiang's place since it was too late. As long as she didn't leave, there was a chance. Could Qin Xiang still chase them out in the middle of the night?

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. They waited from the afternoon until dark but no one came back.

Lian Fengying and Tanaka Mei were cold and hungry. Lian Fengying was the kind of person who devoted herself to others. She gave all the good cloth and cotton in the house to her husband and son. Her own cotton-padded clothes were still the same old ones, which were thin, hard and not very warm. She had been frozen through after being frozen for so long.

Lian Fengying went to find Qin Jun tremblingly, "Why don't we go back? We don't know when the third brother and your sister will be back. If all else fails, we can go to the second brother's place..."

"I can't go to the second brother's place." Qin Jun felt particularly uncomfortable when he thought of Qin Hai's half-smile. He would rather deal with the third brother than Qin Hai. They say that a dog that bites doesn't bark, and Qin Hai is just that kind of person. He has been as cunning as honeycomb coal since he was a child. He is completely different from the third brother who rushes around recklessly. Qin Jun is most afraid of Qin Hai. "Mom, Qin Xiang has made her home here. Sooner or later, when she comes back, we will wait here. How can she stay out all night?"

Lian Fengying hesitated, sighed, and squatted again.

It happened that Mrs. Liu Meifeng was out buying soy sauce when she saw two people peeking at the entrance of the alley. She became alert and took a closer look. Oh my god, there was also someone squatting at the gate of her yard. Could they be robbers?

She heard that the girl who rented her house was making money as a self-employed person.

That's her house, she can't have thieves there.

In the past, Mrs. Liu would have called for help directly, but after Qin Xiang reported the incident to the police, she became more cautious and knew to seek help from the police when there was danger.

Qin Jun and his wife were paying attention to the movements in Qin Xiang's courtyard and didn't notice the old lady behind them at all.

When Mrs. Liu heard the two say that it was impossible to climb over the wall, she completely understood that these people were thieves, so she simply crouched down and went to the nearby public security bureau.

When they arrived at the Public Security Bureau, the people there were just about to go off duty. Old Lady Liu saw the tall police officer she had met before and quickly grabbed him and said, "Comrade Public Security, there's a thief in my yard, and he's trying to climb over the wall to get in."

When the tall policeman heard about this, he quickly called the other people and went straight to the courtyard.

Qin Jun and Tanaka Mei were indeed discussing this matter with Lian Fengying.

Qin Jun said, "Anyway, this is the yard where your daughter lives. You, as a mother, can't stay out in the cold after coming all this way to see her. Let's at least go in and make a fire, have a meal, and warm up inside. Qin Xiang is the most filial to you and Dad, and she will definitely not blame you."

Lian Fengying's mind wasn't clear to begin with, so she actually thought Qin Jun's words made sense. "Then let's go in?"

But even Fengying couldn't climb the wall, so the Qin army had to come.

So the Qin army climbed up the wall and struggled to pull Tanaka Mei in from the inside.

Then, before Lian Fengying could be taken in, the police arrived and caught her red-handed.

Okay, there’s no need to go into the house, just go directly to the police station.

All three were peasants, naturally afraid of the police. Even Qin Jun, who considered himself somewhat knowledgeable, was terrified. His face turned pale, and he sank to his knees, begging for mercy. "Comrade Public Security, we didn't break the law. We were just climbing our own wall."

"Yes, yes, it's our own wall." Tanaka Mei pulled Lian Fengying and asked her to explain quickly.

Before Lian Fengying could speak, Old Lady Liu spat in Tian Zhongmei's face, "Your wall? That's my yard. How could I not know who I rented it to?"

Lian Fengying hurriedly explained, "Qin Xiang is my daughter. My daughter is Qin Xiang. Isn't her yard our Qin family's yard? It's not wrong for us to call it our own home."

Since her daughter has paid to rent it, it belongs to the Qin family.

Old Lady Liu and the police were dumbfounded. They had never thought there were such people in the world. The police officer looked at Qin Jun and said, "This is a new society. You should get up first."

Qin Jun stood up tremblingly, "Comrade Public Security, that's my sister's home. She rented it, so it's ours. It's illegal for us to climb over our own wall."

"Bah, how shameless!" Old Lady Liu raged. "Qin Xiang said when she rented the house that it was only for her and her third brother to live in it, so I don't recognize anyone else. You are just thieves and robbers."

"How can he be a thief? That's my house."

Tanaka Mei started arguing with Old Lady Liu.

The public security officer was so confused that he shouted, "Everyone stop. Talk slowly if you have something to say."

While the Public Security Bureau was still confused, Qin Xiang and Qin Yang had already received their goods, 800 pieces of clothing, packed into three sacks. When they arrived, they specially found a tricycle and drove them directly to Qin Yang's room in the guesthouse.

Qin Yang said, "I'll just stay here with the goods and won't go out. You can go out and buy some food later and come back to eat in the house."

Qin Xiang nodded, "Okay."

It was already late, so Qin Xiang hurried out to buy food. When she came back and the brother and sister were eating, Qin Xiang touched her eyelids and said, "Third brother, my eyelids are twitching all the time."

Qin Yang raised his head and glanced, "Right eye?"

Qin Xiang nodded, "Right eye."

Did something happen at home? No, that's impossible. With her father watching over her mother, nothing can happen. Her mother hasn't left the village for so many years, so it's okay if she doesn't see her.

Or did something happen in her yard?

No, even if a thief came, it would be useless. She had taken out all her money except the money she paid to Xiangyanghong Garment Factory. There were only some daily household items in the yard, and nothing valuable.

Qin Yang comforted him, "It shouldn't be a problem. The biggest problem right now is this pile of goods. I'm keeping an eye on it. It'll be fine."

Qin Xiang smiled and nodded, "Thanks to my third brother, otherwise I wouldn't be able to handle it alone."

Back in the room, Qin Xiang took out the paper and pen she carried with her and prepared to write an agreement.

Of course, she wouldn't just pay her third brother a salary. While he didn't contribute money, he did a lot of the hard work. And if it were just her alone, there would be no way to guarantee safety. There weren't cameras back then, so safety depended entirely on everyone's awareness. Even with the crackdown, there were always areas that were overlooked. With her third brother around, at least safety wasn't a concern, and she didn't have to do much of the hard work.

Qin Xie put the agreement into her bag after she finished writing it. This was her first time drafting it, and she would have to revise it later. She would give it to her third brother after the revisions were completed.

People fall asleep particularly quickly when they are tired. After receiving the goods, Qin Xiang was in a good mood and fell asleep almost as soon as she touched the pillow.

However, inside the Qingshui County Public Security Bureau, the lights were brightly on. Several police officers took turns interrogating Qin Jun and his wife, as well as Lian Fengying, and finally they did get something out of them.

However, several police officers were speechless about the result. They actually wanted to manage the money for their younger sister because she was making money. They were so shameless.

It would be fine if the mother wanted to help her daughter, but she actually wanted to bring her son to manage her daughter's money.

Old Lady Liu had a very good impression of Qin Xiang and couldn't bear to see her suffer, so she insisted on not leaving. Now, when she looked at Lian Fengying, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you really Qin Xiang's biological mother? Didn't you pick Qin Xiang up?"

Even if Lian Fengying was dumb, she understood the meaning of the old lady's words and looked a little embarrassed. "How could it be false? I carried you for ten months and raised you with great difficulty..."

"Tsk tsk, that's really unlucky." Old Mrs. Liu finally understood why Qin Xiang, a girl, ran out to rent a house alone on the second day of the Chinese New Year. It was really hard to live there with such family members.

Tanaka Mei was unhappy. "We have good intentions. As a divorced woman, she is not safe. We, as her brother and sister-in-law, should help her. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected."

Old Mrs. Liu was shocked. "She's divorced?"

"Yes, they're divorced." Tanaka Mei said disdainfully, "You're not afraid of getting a bad reputation if you rent the house to her."

Old Mrs. Liu was speechless looking at the whole family. She said directly to the police, "I think we have to wait until Xiao Qin comes back to discuss this matter. These people clearly have bad intentions. How can a brother or sister-in-law say that their sister has a bad reputation? They really hope that I won't rent the yard to their sister. It's so mean and evil. I think they are just here to rob me."

The police also mean the same thing. They can't just let the person go without the victim showing up. They caught him red-handed.

Upon hearing this, Qin Jun and Tian Zhongmei were furious. Qin Jun no longer cared about being afraid of Qin Hai and hurriedly said, "My second brother and fourth sister are in the county town. You can call them to testify for us."

When the police heard that they had to call the person over for questioning, they asked for the address and went to call the person.

Most people were asleep at this hour, so Qin Hai remained calm when he was called out. However, Huang Xiufen was startled. Upon learning the purpose of his visit, Huang Xiufen panicked. Qin Hai comforted her, saying, "It's okay. You stay home and look after the child. I'll go check on him."

Qin Hai followed him, and Qin Juan was also called out from home.

On the way, Qin Juan was very worried about Lian Fengying, Qin Jun and others.

Qin Hai said to Qin Juan, "Just tell the truth when you get there. If you really can't say anything, I'm here for you."

Seeing that the two of them didn't say anything else, the police didn't care. When they got there, someone naturally explained the whole story to them.

After entering, Qin Jun couldn't help but flinch when he saw Qin Hai's face, but he still smiled awkwardly and said, "Second brother, please testify for us. We are all family. Climbing over your own wall is not trespassing."

"If this isn't trespassing, what is it?" Qin Hai looked at them calmly, his expression unchanged. He didn't even bother to talk to them and said directly to the police, "Comrade Public Security, our family has long been separated. My parents live separately, and my sister Qin Xiang has severed ties with my eldest brother and his wife due to some issues. So I suspect they came here with malicious intent. As for my mother, she's a little confused, and I suspect they tricked her into coming here."

Lian Fengying couldn't imagine it, and stared at the Qin army with wide eyes, "A large army..."

Qin Jun never thought that Qin Hai would say this without giving him any face. He got anxious and said, "Mom, please tell Qin Hai quickly, this is not the case."

Unfortunately, Qin Hai remained unmoved and told everyone present the details of the dispute between Qin Xiang and Qin Jun, shocking them all.

These days, ruining someone's college entrance exam is ruining their future. This person is my brother and his sister-in-law, how cruel!

Old Lady Liu looked at them and spat, "How shameless! After such a mess, you still have the nerve to come to me! Xiao Qin wants to manage people's money. Why don't you go to heaven and let God manage it directly?"

Then she looked at Lian Fengying and said, "You are not worthy of being someone's mother. You might as well be born as a motherless child. At least you don't have to worry about your own mother colluding with others to plot against you."

The old lady hated this kind of thing the most. She looked at Lian Fengying as if she were looking at garbage.

Lian Fengying also felt wronged, "I, I...but I hit him and scolded him, what else can I do? Aren't we all family..."

Her words left people speechless. The police officer said, "This is a crime. We will investigate thoroughly."

Tian Zhongmei was dumbfounded, "But Qin Xiang has already destroyed our house..."

The public security officer said, "Let's put it this way. You can ask her to compensate you for your losses."

Qin Hai glanced at the time and saw that it was already getting late. "Comrade Public Security, my mother hadn't been imprisoned yet. Can I take her away first?"

The public security officer nodded and said, "Okay, we'll investigate it carefully after Comrade Qin Xiang returns tomorrow."

"No, your eldest brother and his wife are still here." Lian Fengying refused to leave after seeing that Qin Hai didn't care about the eldest brother and his family. "If you don't take them with you, I won't leave either."

Qin Hai narrowed his eyes, "You really don't want to leave?"

Not only was Qin Jun afraid of Lao Er, even Feng Ying was afraid. She didn't dare look at Qin Hai's face and just sat there, "If they don't leave, I won't leave either."

This also threatens Qin Hai.

Qin Hai's face was not looking good. Seeing that Qin Juan wanted to speak, he pulled her back and said, "Okay, since you don't want to leave, then stay here and accompany your eldest son."

After saying that, Qin Hai pulled Qin Juan away.

Seeing them leave, Lian Fengying became anxious again, "Second brother."

Qin Hai didn't even turn his head.

Old Madam Liu was also preparing to go back. She glanced at them with disgust and said, "You are unworthy of being my mother and my brother."

Outside the Public Security Bureau, Qin Juan was a little worried, "Second brother, is it not good for Mom to be there?"

"She's not afraid, so why should you be afraid?" Qin Hai said nonchalantly, "If she wants to accompany Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law, then just let her go. If we force her to leave, she'll probably blame us."

Qin Juan has a soft personality, but she also has some ideas. After hearing what her second brother said, she didn't care.

The next morning, Qin Xiang and Qin Yang took a bus back to the county town. As soon as they arrived home, Old Lady Liu came and dropped a big bomb.

Qin Xiang was dumbfounded.