Chapter 29 He and Fatty already had a child.
In the afternoon sunlight, Qiao Xingyue stood in the guardhouse, looking hopefully at the honest and kind-hearted guard, Xiao Li.
She thought she would soon find out the name of the man she had slept with five years ago, and soon she could bring An'an and Ningning to meet their father. Her heart was in her throat as she waited for Xiao Li's answer.
Anyway, as long as we wait for Xiao Zhang to come back from yesterday's shift, we'll definitely be able to find out who that man is.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Li frowned, scratched his head, and didn't say anything, "..."
"Xiao Li, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with Xiao Zhang that keeps him away from duty?" Seeing Xiao Li's reaction, Qiao Xingyue felt a pang of unease.
Anticipating that things might not go too smoothly, she hurriedly asked, "Xiao Li, when exactly is Xiao Zhang coming to be on duty?"
Xiao Li said somewhat embarrassedly, "Comrade Qiao, it's really unfortunate, Xiao Zhang went back to his hometown yesterday."
"Huh?" Qiao Xingyue's mood suddenly turned gloomy.
A gust of wind blew by, scattering the expectation and smile on her face, leaving only a look of sorrow and confusion.
"What bad timing! When will Xiao Zhang be back? Did he tell you before he left?"
The honest and reliable Xiao Li said again, "Comrade Qiao, Xiao Zhang isn't coming back. Xiao Zhang's mother is sick, and I heard she's quite ill. He'll be staying in his hometown to take care of his bedridden mother from now on."
"Xiao Li, do you know where Xiao Zhang's hometown is?"
"I'm sorry, Comrade Qiao, I really don't know."
This is really bad news.
Qiao Xingyue's mood suddenly sank to the bottom.
My mind went blank for a moment, and I couldn't react for a while.
When she came to her senses, she let out a deep sigh.
Why does she always seem to encounter such bad luck?
When she first transmigrated, Fatty's mother fed her veterinary drugs for breeding pigs, and she ended up sleeping with a strange man in a daze.
She was kicked out by Fatty's mother again and almost died in childbirth.
Having barely survived, with two children and Ningning suffering from severe asthma, the three of them lived an extremely impoverished life, nearly starving to death several times.
Now we finally know that An An and Ning Ning's father is still alive, but the clues have gone cold again.
Suddenly, it felt as if a heavy stone had fallen on my chest.
But after a few seconds of contemplation, she quickly rallied.
Since the trail ends here, let's not dwell on it for now. At least we know that Fatty's man is indeed still alive.
Right now, I should focus on working hard at Aunt Lan's house, taking good care of the two kids, saving up money as soon as possible to pay for Ningning's medical treatment, and then help her take the college entrance examination, get a diploma, and find a better path for the future.
With that thought in mind, Qiao Xingyue stopped worrying. She thanked the gatekeeper, Xiao Li, and turned to go back to the Xie family home.
Inside the main room of the Xie family home.
An'an sat peacefully on a small bamboo stool, while Aunt Lan squatted in front of the two children.
Ningning was wearing a new pair of shoes, and Aunt Lan lifted An'an's legs onto her knees, putting on a pair of new shoes exactly like Ningning's.
Seeing the two children wearing their new shoes, Aunt Lan was extremely pleased. "The new shoes fit perfectly. Do An'an and Ningning like them?"
"We love it!" The two children nodded in unison, their faces beaming with bright smiles.
Qiao Xingyue witnessed this scene, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She knew that sewing shoe soles and making new shoes was very strenuous, and even with a thimble, the sharp point of the needle could easily prick one's hand. Aunt Lan not only made new shoes for the two children, but also made a pair for her. This was not her employer, but clearly like her own mother.
Qiao Xingyue was deeply moved when Jiang Chunyan, who was next to Aunt Lan, anxiously tugged at Aunt Lan's sleeve.
"Huang Guilan, are you even listening to me? It was clearly your nanny who seduced my Yongqiang. She couldn't stand the loneliness and went to the cornfield with Yongqiang. How can she still falsely accuse my Yongqiang of being a rapist?"
Jiang Yongqiang has been detained in the detention center for two days now. Jiang Chunyan has tried to see him several times but has been unable to find out anything about him. She is extremely worried.
"Huang Guilan, are you going to do anything about this or not?"
With her back to the main room door, Huang Guilan didn't see Qiao Xingyue who had already entered. As she stood up, she was furious. "Jiang Chunyan, it was clearly your Yongqiang who coveted my Xingyue because she was so cute. He hid in the cornfield and forcibly dragged Xingyue into the cornfield, intending to do something wicked to her. How can you turn around and accuse me?"
How could Jiang Chunyan twist the truth like this? Mingxingyue was clearly the victim, but we've become the victim of Mingxingyue.
Just as Huang Guilan was trembling with anger and didn't know how to deal with Jiang Chunyan, Qiao Xingyue came up behind her, first comforted her, and then glared at Jiang Chunyan with sharp eyes.
"Aunt Jiang, you say I seduced Jiang Yongqiang, can you produce any evidence? If you can't, I'll tell the police you're blatantly spreading rumors and insulting my reputation. Let's see if the police will arrest you then."
Although there is no crime of defamation in this era, people who spread rumors and insult others' reputations will still be punished.
Qiao Xingyue stood ramrod straight in front of Jiang Chunyan, exuding a powerful aura of fearlessness: "Furthermore, the police have already investigated Jiang Yongqiang's crime scene, and Jiang Yongqiang admitted that he dragged me into the cornfield. If you're not satisfied, then produce evidence that I seduced Jiang Yongqiang and go to the police station to reason with them. If you can't produce evidence, then don't try to slander me here with nonsense."
This, this... Jiang Chunyan has no evidence at all. She's used to being unreasonable and always leaves others speechless. But Qiao Xingyue's entry into the main room left her speechless.
"Where am I supposed to find evidence?"
"Without evidence, it's just spreading rumors. Aunt Jiang, do you want to go to the police station with me?"
"You, I, I..." Can't she just shut up?
Seeing Jiang Chunyan speechless, Huang Guilan felt a surge of satisfaction and declared, "Chunyan, if you continue to slander my Xingyue, we can no longer be sisters."
Huang Guilan didn't care for these sisters who took advantage of her kindness and sucked her blood like leeches.
"Huang Guilan, you ungrateful wretch! My husband lost his life saving Commander Xie, and now you're going to turn against me because of your family's maid?"
Huang Guilan got angry, but her voice was still soft. "What, Chunyan? Just because your man saved my man's life, you speak without any regard for right or wrong, does that mean I have to follow suit and speak without any regard for right or wrong?"
"How am I wrong? Yongqiang is my nephew. Is it wrong for me to speak up for him?"
Huang Guilan said with a serious expression, "Whether it's right or wrong is not up to you to decide. Anyway, after the public security organs finish their investigation and evidence collection, they will transfer it to the court, and the court will make its own judgment then."
Upon hearing that the matter was to be transferred to the court, Jiang Chunyan realized the seriousness of the situation. She knew that confronting Huang Guilan and Qiao Xingyue head-on was definitely not going to work, and it seemed she would have to think of another way.
At this moment, Deng Yingying, who was reviewing her lessons on the second floor, came downstairs. Two days ago, she deliberately revealed Qiao Xingyue's whereabouts to Yongqiang, hoping that Yongqiang would defile Qiao Xingyue. As a result, Qiao Xingyue was not only unharmed, but also beat Yongqiang up and sent him to the police station.
Despite feeling a surge of anger, Deng Yingying stepped forward with remarkable understanding, soothing Qiao Xingyue's emotions. "Sister Xingyue, I'm sorry! Yongqiang was wrong, and so was my mother. My mother shouldn't have slandered you like that. I apologize on her behalf. Sister Xingyue is so magnanimous, she definitely won't take it to heart, right?"
Huang Guilan sensed something was wrong.
This tone sounds so much like that word Xingyue taught her—moral blackmail! Yes! That's moral blackmail. Deng Yingying deliberately praised Xingyue for her magnanimity; if Xingyue were to argue, it would be Xingyue's fault.
If Deng Yingying had said that before, Huang Guilan would have thought Deng Yingying was a sensible and good daughter. But hearing it now, Huang Guilan's face immediately fell. "Yingying, it's wrong for your mother to slander Xingyue, but it's right for you to tell Jiang Yongqiang where Xingyue is. Although I have no evidence to prove that you did it on purpose, your apology sounds so fake. Alright, stop pretending. Once the organization allocates your house, you and your daughter can move out."
Deng Yingying looked aggrieved, "Aunt Lan, I didn't..."
Huang Guilan got angry, but her voice was still soft, "You know in your heart whether it's true or not."
"Xingyue, don't get angry with this kind of person, it's not worth it. Come on, Aunt Lan made new clothes for you three, come to my room and try them on to see if they fit."
As she spoke, Huang Guilan called out to An'an and Ningning, and then took Qiao Xingyue's hand and led her into the house.
Her room was on the right side of the main room. Not wanting Jiang Chunyan and Deng Yingying to follow her in, Huang Guilan locked the door as soon as she entered.
There was a Butterfly brand sewing machine in the room, and neatly stacked new clothes on the spotless table. They were made by Huang Guilan for Qiao Xingyue and the two children. From cutting, drawing patterns, and making templates to sewing, piecing, and embroidering, Huang Guilan did it all herself.
An An and Ning Ning wore the same style as Xing Yue: a light yellow floral shirt and flared polyester pants, which was the most popular and fashionable style at the time. In modern terms, this was matching parent-child outfits.
Huang Guilan insisted that the three of them change into the new clothes.
The three of them were already strikingly beautiful, and after they changed into their new, brightly colored clothes, Huang Guilan couldn't help but be impressed.
Huang Guilan used to think that if she could have a daughter, or if her sons could give her a granddaughter, she would definitely dress the girl up beautifully.
But she had neither a daughter nor a granddaughter! Alas, what a pity!
Looking at Qiao Xingyue and her two children in their new clothes, Huang Guilan felt a mixture of maternal and maternal affection in her eyes, and she couldn't be happier.
"Hmm, not bad, looks good!"
"Aunt Lan, this is too expensive. Please deduct the cost of the fabric and the labor fee from my salary this month, otherwise we cannot accept it."
"What's wrong, Xingyue? You said you want An'an and Ningning to treat me like their own grandmother, but you don't allow a grandmother to make new clothes for her granddaughters? If you keep treating Aunt Lan like a stranger, Aunt Lan will get angry."
"Aunt Lan, but..."
"No buts, from now on we're family. Xingyue, you always have a way to deal with Jiang Chunyan when she's being unreasonable. But she just framed you like that, and I was completely helpless. I wanted to get justice for you, but I could only watch helplessly. Please teach me how to deal with Jiang Chunyan in the future?"
“Aunt Lan, in the future, when you are slandered, you don’t need to prove yourself. You should ask the other party to provide evidence. Just like now, you don’t need to prove to Jiang Chunyang that I didn’t seduce Jiang Yongqiang. Just ask her to provide evidence that I did seduce Jiang Yongqiang. If she can’t provide evidence, then she is just making false accusations. In short, don’t get caught up in proving yourself.”
"I understand!" Huang Guilan exclaimed in realization, looking at Qiao Xingyue with admiration. "Xingyue, you are not only smart, but your logical thinking is also clearer than that of ordinary people. Aunt Lan admires you."
She's a university professor, but her mind isn't as sharp as Xingyue's.
Her fourth son is also the smartest of her five sons. If Xingyue is willing to marry her fourth son after he and Pangya divorce, their child will definitely be as smart as An'an and Ningning.
If Xingyue wants to be with Lao Si, the prerequisite is that Lao Si has to get a divorce as soon as possible.
Xie Zhongming didn't go back to the Xie family home for dinner that evening; he was busy until after 8 p.m. before he finally stepped into the main room of the Xie family home.
Under the 15-watt light bulb in the main room, Deng Yingying was flipping through her high school review materials. When she saw Xie Zhongming return, she immediately took her notebook and went up to him. "Brother Zhongming, I don't know how to solve this problem. Can you teach me?"
Xie Zhongming, his tall and upright figure, stopped, but didn't even glance at Deng Yingying. "If you don't understand something, you can ask my dad or my mom. They both know."
At this hour, Qiao Xingyue should be in the old lady's room. Xie Zhongming walked over and pushed open the old lady's door without thinking. Deng Yingying wanted to follow, but Huang Guilan stopped her, saying, "Yingying, if you really have any questions you can't answer, ask Aunt Lan. Aunt Lan will teach you. Don't force yourself to get too close to your brother Zhongming, even though you know he doesn't want to be near you."
Clutching her arithmetic notebook, Deng Yingying looked extremely aggrieved. "Aunt Lan, I didn't force myself to get close to Brother Zhongming. I really did have some questions I couldn't answer."
"Alright, stop acting!" Huang Guilan looked at Deng Yingying with increasing displeasure. "You know perfectly well that your brother Zhongming was also taught by me. If you really had a problem you couldn't solve, I was sitting right in front of you and you didn't ask. Why did you have to wait until your brother Zhongming came back before you went to ask him?"
"I..." Deng Yingying was speechless, her face turning as red as a pig's belly.
Xie Jiang, who was looking at the newspaper next to her, looked up from the newspaper and glanced at Deng Yingying. "Yingying, your Aunt Lan is right. Your brother Zhongming has a wife now, it's not like before. Don't go around him all the time."
Deng Yingying had no choice but to swallow her grievances and displeasure, and then obediently replied, "Oh! Uncle Xie, I'll know what I'm doing."
Xie Zhongming pushed open the old lady's door and stood at the doorway, watching Qiao Xingyue massage her grandmother's legs.
Massage is physically demanding. After each hour-long massage, Qiao Xingyue is covered in sweat. Right now, she rolls up her sleeves, wipes her sweat, and chats with her grandmother with a smile while massaging the acupoints on her grandmother's legs.
On her fair cheeks, the several unhealed scars were particularly conspicuous—scars inflicted by corn leaves when Jiang Yongqiang dragged her into the cornfield two days ago.
Two days have passed, but Xie Zhongming is still shaken. When he looks at Qiao Xingyue now, his eyes are filled with pity that he himself doesn't even realize. "Comrade Qiao, is Grandma feeling better today?"
"Grandma Chen Suying smiled and looked at her fourth grandson, 'Zhongming, Grandma speaks clearly, doesn't she?'"
Xie Zhongming did not expect that in less than a month after Comrade Qiao treated his grandmother's body, her mouth was no longer paralyzed and she could speak much more fluently. "She is indeed much more fluent now."
Finally, after Qiao Xingyue finished massaging all the acupoints, she tidied up and said, "Grandma, you and Comrade Xie can talk. I'll go out now."
After Comrade Qiao left, the old lady beckoned Xie Zhongming to her bedside, then deliberately lowered her voice and asked, "Fourth brother, Xingyue's husband sacrificed himself a few years ago. Your third brother has always been single. What do you think about arranging for Xingyue to be a girlfriend for your third brother? I like Xingyue and An'an and Ningning."
Under the 15-watt light bulb, Xie Zhongming's forehead creased and his face darkened. "Grandma, Comrade Qiao may not necessarily like someone like Third Brother."
After chatting with his grandmother for a few minutes, Xie Zhongming deliberately changed the subject and returned to the main room shortly afterward.
Huang Guilan called Xie Zhongming into her room, locked the door, and asked, "Zhongming, did you file for divorce when Mom asked you to?"
"Mom, there's something... tricky." Xie Zhongming had been feeling down since the old lady mentioned that she was going to introduce Comrade Qiao to his third brother, and now that Fatty was mentioned, his chest felt like it was stuffed with a wet cotton ball.
"It's easy to file a divorce report. Just report the situation to the organization. What's so difficult about it?"
The 15-watt light bulb was somewhat dim, but it framed Xie Zhongming's tall figure in the bright area. The light illuminated his calm and sharp features, making him appear somewhat gloomy.
He pursed his lips, his rugged face showing a hint of helplessness. "Mom, Bei Yang said that my comrades in Kunming found out that Fatty had been to the hospital for a prenatal checkup before, and she was heavily pregnant at the time. If Fatty is still alive, she may have already given birth to my child."
Like a blow to the head, it struck Huang Guilan: "What? Fatty might have had your baby? Zhongming, you... have a baby?"
Huang Guilan was at a loss for words. "...Then, what should we do? You and Pangya have a child. Does that mean your divorce from Pangya is going to be a long way off?"
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