The brigade leader glanced at Qiao Qiao and continued, "I was thinking of helping Zhao Zhiqing find a family to share a room with, but Qiao Qiao took the initiative to say that she would stay at the Xia family's house, so I brought her here to take a look."
He was speechless at Qiao Qiao's lack of self-awareness. He couldn't understand why Qiao Qiao thought the Xia family would be willing to accept her.
In the past, the educated youth had had some unpleasant experiences when they shared meals with the villagers, but then they remembered that this time it was Qiao Qiao herself who asked to stay at the Xia family's house.
In addition, the youth home really couldn't accommodate so many people, and no one was willing to pay for repairs to that small room.
So he agreed to Qiao Qiao's request and brought her over to ask what the Xia family thought.
Before the brigade leader could finish speaking, Li Cao exploded: "We can't accommodate everyone here! My Yuanbao and Jinbao are already crammed into one room! Mom, say something! How can we possibly house so many people?"
Moreover, Qiao Qiao has never worked in the fields since she was a child. Now that she's come back as an educated youth, she can't work and earn her own food. She might have to eat and drink at their house.
Old Mrs. Xia naturally thought of this as well. After hesitating for a moment, she said to the brigade leader, "Brigade leader, it's not that I'm heartless, but Qiao Qiao wanted to go back to the city to find her biological parents. Now she's no longer our Xia family's granddaughter, so we won't raise her."
Grandma Xia glanced at Xia Wan, thinking she would say something, but to her surprise, Xia Wan turned and went into Xia Jianguo's room without even glancing at them.
When Qiao Qiao heard her say that, a look of disdain flashed in her eyes. She had no interest in the meager earnings of the Xia family.
But she smiled and said, "Grandma, don't worry, I brought money with me when I went to the countryside. I won't take advantage of the family."
She still has 1,600 yuan in her hand. She just hopes that this shallow old lady won't take advantage of her. She doesn't really expect to gain any advantage from the Xia family.
Li Cao wanted to say something, but was stopped by Grandma Xia.
“That works too. Let Qiao Qiao stay in the old house. But we have to make this clear, Brigade Leader. She can’t just stay in this house for free. Since she’s no longer my granddaughter, she should get the same treatment as the educated youth.”
Old Mrs. Xia was ruthless. It was already a great favor that she allowed Qiao Qiao to stay at their house. If she hadn't wanted this girl to cause Xia Wan some trouble, she wouldn't have accepted such a person.
The brigade leader knew that the educated youth had previously shared meals with the village, paying rent and their own food rations. He wanted to ask Grandma Xia what her requirements were.
Grandma Xia immediately said, "Of course, you can't stay at our house for free. We'll give you 50 yuan a year, plus your own food rations."
When Li Cao heard that it was fifty yuan, she didn't object anymore. After all, it was fifty yuan. If they really had that much money, they could squeeze in. It wasn't like they were squeezing her out. Besides, Chun Tao and the other two girls didn't even fill the room.
Grandma Xia's words shocked everyone present. Qiao Qiao was staying here, but she could only share a room with Xia Chunxi and the others, which meant she was only occupying a place to sleep.
In the past, other educated youth only needed to pay a few yuan to share meals with their fellow villagers, but now Grandma Xia is asking for fifty yuan directly, which is really outrageous.
However, no one spoke up at this point. Whether or not Qiao Qiao was willing to contribute was her own business, and the captain had no intention of interfering.
In his opinion, Qiao Qiao would not agree, since if she couldn't stay at the Xia family's house, she could go to another family's house.
Moreover, if they really had fifty yuan, they could have directly repaired the houses in the educated youth compound. Why would they still be willing to squeeze into a thatched hut with others?
Qiao Qiao must be crazy to agree to pay fifty yuan.
The captain was waiting for Qiao Qiao to refuse, but to his surprise, she agreed immediately.
"Okay, I'll do whatever Grandma says."
Grandma Xia's complexion improved considerably, and she continued to make demands: "And from now on, when we cook, my family won't cook for you. If you want to eat with us, you'll have to take turns cooking, otherwise you'll have to cook for yourself. You can borrow pots, but not other ones."
The cooking utensils are all consumables and cost money. Even the firewood was recently collected, and she couldn't bear to let this brat use it.
Qiao Qiao gritted her teeth in anger, but when she thought about how Xia Jianguo and Xia Tao would protect her in the future, she readily agreed.
"Okay, I understand, Grandma."
She had a wonderful fantasy, but she didn't know how difficult the days ahead would be.
The captain looked at Qiao Qiao with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot for a long time, but still couldn't bear to let the Xia family take advantage of the girl like this, so he spoke up to remind her.
“Qiao, it won’t cost that much to fix that small room in the educated youth compound. Why don’t you pay for it yourself? Then you can have your own room.”
The captain's words weren't exactly tactful; he practically pointed his finger at her and said the Xia family had cheated her. Unfortunately, Qiao Qiao didn't appreciate it.
"No need, Captain. I'll just stay at home. My dad and brother will take care of me."
The captain had no choice but to stop saying anything unpleasant since both sides had already agreed to the terms.
He shook his head, said goodbye, and left.
Zhao Jiaojiao, on the other hand, was just watching the show and offered to help Qiao Qiao move her luggage into the house, but Qiao Qiao refused.
"Jiaojiao, you should go back first. We can talk about it later."
Qiao Qiao wore her emotions on her sleeve. She never hid anything from Zhao Jiaojiao. Anyway, that idiot wouldn't dare to turn against her now.
Seeing that she looked unwell, Zhao Jiaojiao had no choice but to return to the educated youth settlement first.
Qiao Qiao made a move to carry her things back to the original house, but was stopped by Old Lady Xia.
"Qiao girl, the room Yuanbao used to live in is now occupied by Xia Wan alone. Why don't you move there and live with Xia Wan?"
Grandma Xia was plotting something; she wanted to find an opportunity for Qiao Qiao and Xia Wan to clash, preferably to fight.
That brat Qiao Qiao is quite cunning. I wonder who Xia Jianguo will side with if they really clash with Xia Wan.
They still don't know how Qiao Qiao cursed Xia Jianguo when she left. They thought Xia Jianguo would remember the years of affection he had shown her and would help her out.
Then they can just watch Xia Jianguo's family make a scene. Anyway, those two brats are no pushovers, and who knows who will kick whom out.
When Qiao Qiao heard Old Madam Xia say that Xia Wan was staying in such a nice room, she couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. She had never stayed in such a nice room when she was in the Xia family.
Even though Xia Jianguo and Xia Tao doted on her and treated her very well back then, she still had to squeeze into that damp thatched hut with Xia Chunxi and the others.
Unexpectedly, Xia Wan had only been back for a short time when she took over Xia Yuanbao's room. It seems she underestimated this little bitch.
"Okay, Grandma, I'll move the things over first, and then I'll go see my dad."
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