Chapter 30 Qin Qiaorou and Ming Xi followed, completely bewildered...
Mingxi followed the young policeman to the police station, completely bewildered. When the police asked about the "blood gourd," wait, the "blood gourd" actually had a famous name.
"Blood Gourd" is actually named Jia Jianxin. He is the younger brother of Jia Jianshe, the man Qin Qiaorou married, making him Qin Qiaorou's brother-in-law.
Just two days ago, Jia Jianshe drank too much and passed out outside. Unfortunately for him, he fell face-down in a stinking ditch, his face submerged in the water. Because it was late and dark, no one discovered him all night. His body was already cold when he was found the next morning.
Actually, this matter had nothing to do with Qin Qiaorou, but the Jia family didn't think so. The Jia family felt that Jia Jianshe went out drinking and didn't come home all night, and Qin Qiaorou, as Jia Jianshe's wife, didn't care at all. If she had cared about Jia Jianshe, she would have gone out to look for him at night, and maybe Jia Jianshe wouldn't be dead.
The person who hated Qin Qiaorou the most was Grandmother Jia. Ignoring the people in the courtyard's attempts to stop her, she beat Qin Qiaorou severely, almost killing her. In the end, the neighbors couldn't bear to watch and took her to the hospital.
That's why someone came to the hospital yesterday and asked Ge Heping to go see Qin Qiaorou.
When Qin Qiaorou went to the hospital for treatment, she had to pay medical bills. She had no money, and her neighbors didn't want to be taken advantage of and pay for her. When they went to Qin Qiaorou's parents' house to ask for money, they said directly, "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl." Qin Qiaorou was no longer part of their family, and they wouldn't take care of her.
Finally, in a daze, Qin Qiaorou asked her neighbor to find Ge Heping. Ge Heping went to the hospital and indeed paid Qin Qiaorou's medical bills.
The only remaining questions are why Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou were discharged from the hospital, and where they went after their discharge.
These two questions were answered after Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou arrived at the police station.
It turned out that after paying the fees yesterday, Ge Heping had been staying at the hospital with Qin Qiaorou. When the two elders of the Jia family heard about this, they went to the hospital and made a scene. They insisted that Qin Qiaorou and Ge Heping had an improper relationship and that Jia Jianshe was killed by the two of them.
Ge Heping may seem to have a good temper, but when things get serious, he can't stand being treated badly. He gave the two elders of the Jia family a good humiliation on the spot, which made them leave in a huff.
But there was nothing they could do. The hospital was crowded and noisy; many people had witnessed the Jia family elders' outburst. Even if they eventually ran away in anger, gossip would still circulate. Qin Qiaorou was naturally meticulous, and Ge Heping was worried she would overthink things, which would hinder her recovery, so he discharged her early this morning. This was what the Jia family called an elopement.
Ge Heping's original intention was to send Qin Qiaorou back to her parents' home to recuperate, but the Qin family treated her like a plague carrier and shut the door. No matter what Ge Heping said outside, or how much Qin Qiaorou begged, the Qin family had no intention of letting her in.
Left with no other option, Ge Heping took Qin Qiaorou back to the tenement.
Having figured all this out, Mingxi looked at Qin Qiaorou with curiosity.
She had never met Qin Qiaorou, but over the years, legends about her had circulated in the courtyard. People said Ge Heping was infatuated with her, obsessed with her, and after their breakup, he was depressed for over half a year, unable to forget her. In everyone's eyes, she was a seductive vixen, a femme fatale.
However, Qin Qiaorou is not very pretty.
Objectively speaking, Qin Qiaorou wasn't ugly. She looked to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, extremely thin, almost like a stick. Her face was a classic oval shape, but perhaps due to her injuries or lack of rest, her complexion was sallow and bloodless, and her large eyes, nestled in their sockets, lacked any sparkle. She looked extremely haggard. Even ignoring the bruises on her face and the horrifying scar on her forehead, her appearance could at best be described as pretty, far from the femme fatale that the people in the courtyard described.
"You're all making a complete mess of things!"
Upon hearing of a murder case, the junior police officer went to summon the police station chief, only to find out after a series of questions that the so-called murder case had never occurred.
Jia Jianshe's death was an accident, as confirmed by the forensic examination and recorded by the local police station.
The claim that Qin Qiaorou and Ge Heping conspired to harm Jia Jianshe is unfounded, but it is a fact that the Ge family deliberately injured Qin Qiaorou, and the injuries covering Qin Qiaorou's body are evidence of this.
The police station chief, his face ashen, said, "You're making a complete mess of this! Jia Jianxin, your brother died in an accident. Didn't our police station and the neighborhood committee explain this to your family clearly?"
Mingxi looked at Jia Jianxin, who suddenly straightened up and said, "Yes, that's what I was saying..."
Police station chief: "What are you all doing! You even dare to hit people? Do you want to spend a few days in jail?"
Jia Jianxin stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence, and finally lowered his head guiltily.
The director's gaze swept over the group following Jia Jianxin: "And you guys! Don't you have any brains? You just believe whatever Jia Jianxin says? You even dared to start a fight. Do you all want to go to jail with Jia Jianxin?"
The people behind Jia Jianxin all lowered their heads.
The director took a deep breath and then turned his gaze to Mingxi and her group. Mingxi felt the director's gaze and gave him a flattering smile. Aunt He followed suit and smiled in a similar manner.
Director: ...
The scene was so offensive that he silently looked away.
"Ahem, you comrades acted too impulsively. If the Jia family was in the wrong, you could have called the police. Why did you have to resort to violence yourselves? If this..."
Mingxi frowned.
"Chief, are you saying that these middle-aged women behind me should just stand there and wait for the police to arrive, while a bunch of burly men with weapons in their hands, looking menacing and ready to attack, stand still?"
The police station chief choked, "Hey, young comrade, that's not what I meant."
Mingxi nodded, a bright smile on her face: "Hmm, so what do you mean?"
The police station chief was rendered speechless by Mingxi's retort, and all the long-winded arguments he had prepared had to be swallowed back down.
"Ahem, no matter what, fighting is wrong, but since neither of you was deliberately causing trouble, I'll let it go this time. However, if this happens again, I'll definitely put you in jail for a few days. Do you understand?"
Mingxi curled her lip, thinking, "Isn't this just trying to smooth things over?"
However, she knew when to stop, since they weren't the ones who would suffer losses in a fight, so she didn't say anything.
Jia Jianxin's side was not convinced. They had suffered a great loss today, so how could they just let it go like this!
But when the director gave them a single glance, they chickened out.
Jia Jianxin nodded and bowed: "Director, you're right, we'll all listen to you."
"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go back now." The station chief waved his hand, and just as the two sides were about to leave, the station chief suddenly remembered something and said, "Jia Jianxin, when you go back, don't forget to tell your parents that your brother's death has nothing to do with Comrade Qin. If they continue to make trouble for Comrade Qin because of this, then I won't let them off the hook either!"
Jia Jianxin: "Oh, don't worry about that, I promise I'll talk to my parents about it when I get back..."
Mingxi curled her lip, too lazy to listen to Jia Jianxin's nonsense, and led Aunt He and her group out of the police station. Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou also followed Mingxi out.
Mingxi's gaze lingered on Qin Qiaorou for a second before turning to the older women.
"Aunties, shall we go home?"
Aunt He: "Let's go, let's go back quickly. I've been so busy this morning, I'm exhausted. I need to go back and rest for a while."
Upon hearing this, Ge Heping quickly stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you ladies."
Aunt Ma: "Oh, don't be so polite. It's no trouble at all. But Heping, next time you can't come home at night, don't forget to send a message home. You have no idea how worried your mother is at home."
Ge Heping quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, I'll definitely remember next time."
Aunt Ma patted Ge Heping on the shoulder: "Just remember that. Let's go home."
Everyone went home together, and on the way back, they all wisely refrained from asking about Qin Qiaorou.
They didn't ask her why she didn't go back to the Jia family with Jia Jianxin, nor why she went home with Ge Heping. Even Aunt He, who was originally indignant, couldn't say anything.
Anyone with eyes could see the injuries on Qin Qiaorou's body. The Jia family had clearly gone all out to kill her. If she went back to the Jia family today, it was uncertain whether she would even survive.
As Mingxi and his group walked to the entrance of the courtyard, before they even entered, they saw Aunt Lan standing at the gate.
Aunt Lan had a tough time. She was anxious all morning, and finally waited for Ge Heping to come home, only to have him called away by the police shortly after arriving. She heard it was related to a murder case, and Aunt Lan almost fainted again.
Ever since Ge Heping left with the police, she had been feeling uneasy. Now that she saw Ge Heping return, she immediately rushed up to him: "How is it? How is Heping? What did the police say?"
Ge Heping reassured her, "It's alright, Mom, don't worry. We're fine. It was a misunderstanding. The police called us in for questioning and then released us."
Aunt Lan gripped Ge Heping's arm tightly: "It's alright, it's alright. Come on, let's go home. Mom will cook you something delicious when we get home. You haven't had a proper meal since tonight, have you?"
"I ate, Mom, I ate."
Aunt Lan: "Eat some more after you've already eaten."
Aunt Lan pulled Ge Heping towards home. Ge Heping paused, scratched the back of his head, and said, "Mom, let's not rush to eat. Um, when we get home, please tidy up my brother's room first, and then find a set of bedding for Qiaorou. Qiaorou will be staying with us for a while."
Aunt Lan stopped abruptly.
She turned her head, her eyes wide, and said incredulously, "What did you say?!"
"No, I don't agree!" Aunt Lan pointed at Qin Qiaorou. She had been deliberately ignoring Qin Qiaorou before, but now she couldn't ignore her anymore.
She raised her voice: "Do you think it's appropriate for a married woman to live in another man's house?!"
Ge Heping had already anticipated that his mother wouldn't easily agree to this, so he stepped forward, pulled Aunt Lan aside, and whispered, "Mom, listen to me, Qiaorou has had a tough time. Her husband died a couple of days ago, and her in-laws are blaming her for it, wishing they could force her to die. Look at the injuries on her body, they were all inflicted by her mother-in-law."
Aunt Lan glanced at Qin Qiaorou and saw a wound on her forehead that was nearly an inch long. She felt a little sorry for her, but she still looked away with a straight face.
"But she still has her family, right? Even if her family can't afford it, she can stay in a guesthouse. It's definitely not our family's turn!"
Ge Heping: "Mom, Qiaorou's family doesn't care about her at all. I took Qiaorou to the Qin family today, and we called outside their door for a long time, but they wouldn't open the door for her. As for the guesthouse, Qiaorou has no money. After she got married, her job was handed over to her younger brother, and Jia Jianshe doesn't give her any money either. Now, apart from our family, she has nowhere else to go."
Aunt Lan: "If there's nowhere else to go, we'll sleep under bridges or on the streets. We just can't let them stay at our house!"
She already disliked Qin Qiaorou and didn't want Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou to get involved together again, especially since Qin Qiaorou was now a widow.
It's said that there's a lot of gossip around a widow's house. If Qin Qiaorou, a widow who just lost her husband, were to move into their house like this, who knows what kind of rumors would spread outside!
Aunt Lan said firmly, "I absolutely do not agree to her moving into our house. This house is either her or me. You choose: do you want her or your mother?"
Ge Heping said helplessly, "Mom!"
How could he choose? He certainly couldn't abandon his own mother, but Qin Qiaorou only had him to rely on. If he couldn't even stay at his home, Qin Qiaorou would really have nowhere to go.
Ge Heping was caught in a dilemma. He looked at Qin Qiaorou, then at Aunt Lan, and finally collapsed to his knees, burying his face in his hands.
Aunt Lan: "Qin Qiaorou, you should leave. You are not welcome in our home."
Qin Qiaorou raised her pale face and nodded blankly, her eyes vacant: "I understand, Auntie, I'm sorry to have bothered you."
She turned around, her thin body swaying as she walked out, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
A hint of reluctance flashed in Aunt Lan's eyes, but she forced herself to harden her heart. Her son, Heping, wasn't married yet, and she couldn't let him get involved with a widow like this!
Seeing Qin Qiaorou about to leave unsteadily, Ge Heping couldn't sit still any longer. He suddenly stood up and said, "Qiaorou, wait for me!"
He shouted and took off to catch up with Qin Qiaorou.
Aunt Lan stared at the scene before her, a bad feeling rising in her heart. She reached out to grab Ge Heping, but in the end she grabbed nothing. Ge Heping chased after her first.
"Peace, peace, come back!"
In response to Aunt Lan's question, Ge Heping once again turned and left.
As Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou walked out of the alley, Aunt Lan's shoulders slumped, and half of her energy vanished.
Mingxi saw it clearly: in that instant, Aunt Lan seemed to have aged ten years.
Everyone wanted to comfort Aunt Lan, but no one knew what to say in this situation. In the end, Mingxi and Aunt Ma helped Aunt Lan home together.
When Zhao Sulan came home from get off work that evening, after hearing Mingxi's story, she sighed deeply and lamented, "Children are all debts!"
Mingxi pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Mom, you can't generalize and condemn all people. Ge Heping is Ge Heping, but I'm not like him!"
Mingxi hugged Zhao Sulan's arm and swayed, saying, "Ge Heping is like a piece of barbecued pork, but I'm your warmest and most protective cotton-padded jacket, Mom, don't you agree?"
Zhao Sulan: "Yes, yes, you're right."
Mingxi: "Then Mom, don't you think you should make something delicious for your warmest little cotton-padded jacket?"
Zhao Sulan knew that Mingxi's coquettishness meant something was up, and sure enough, she was craving something sweet today.
Mingxi: "Mom, I want to eat meat pies!"
Zhao Sulan: "Want some meat pies? We're out of meat. If you had told me earlier, I would have gone to the market to buy some after get off work. I don't know if there will be any left now."
Despite saying that, Zhao Sulan had already started putting on her coat, clearly intending to go to the market to see if she could buy any meat.
"Mom, no need." Mingxi chuckled, like a cunning little fox: "I bought some meat, a little over two jin, less than three jin, is that enough?"
Zhao Sulan: ...
Who in their family would use three pounds of meat to make a single meat pie?
Extravagant, far too extravagant!
Zhao Sulan turned into the kitchen: "That's enough, we won't need any of this. I'll cut it in half, and I'll marinate the rest..."
Mingxi: "Mom, Mom, don't marinate it, don't marinate it. Marinated meat doesn't taste good. Let's just chop it into minced meat and make meat patties. Even if we can't finish it tonight, we can still eat it tomorrow."
"You're just picky."
Zhao Sulan said something to Mingxi in a light tone, but she was a spoiled child after all, and didn't say anything more about leaving the meat to marinate.
During this period, Mingxi kept brainwashing Zhao Sulan, telling her that money can't be taken with you when you die, that it's meaningless to save money and not spend it, and that she should eat well, drink well, and take good care of her health so that she could continue to make money.
Otherwise, Zhao Sulan would probably be in excruciating pain.
It's worth noting that Zhao Sulan and her daughter used to be willing to spend money on food, but the majority of the money was spent on Mingxi; Zhao Sulan herself was reluctant to eat out.
During her last check-up at the hospital, the doctor mentioned that Zhao Sulan had mild malnutrition and anemia. Zhao Sulan didn't take this minor issue seriously, but Mingxi couldn't.
She has been trying various ways to trick Zhao Sulan into improving her life, and so far, she has made some progress.
Mingxi and Zhao Sulan were busy in the kitchen when someone suddenly came in. Mingxi heard the noise and peeked out.
"Brother Heping, what brings you here?"
Mingxi thought Ge Heping would leave again like yesterday, never to return, but unexpectedly Ge Heping actually returned to the hospital that night.
Ge Heping: "Xiaoming, where's Aunt Zhao?"
Mingxi: "My mom is cooking. Heping, are you looking for my mom? I'll call her for you."
"Mom, Brother Heping wants to see you!"
"Coming, coming." Zhao Sulan wiped her hands as she came out of the kitchen. Seeing Ge Heping, she smiled politely: "Heping, is there something you need from me?"
Ge Heping: "Auntie, I'd like to ask if there are any places to rent around here?"
Mingxi was taken aback and asked curiously, "Brother Heping, are you moving out?"
The Ge family, consisting of three people, occupied three large brick houses in the backyard, making them one of the more spacious families in the area. Ge Heping's decision to move out certainly wasn't because there wasn't enough room at home. So, it meant he was going to live with Qin Qiaorou?
Mingxi's eyes widened. The social atmosphere wasn't as open as it would be in later years. If cohabitation wasn't handled properly, it could easily be considered indecent assault and get you arrested!
Ge Heping scratched his head: "It's not that I want to move out, I want to help Qiaorou rent a place."
He said, "Qiaorou can't go back to her mother-in-law's house, and her parents' family won't let her go back either. After thinking it over, I can only rent a house for her to live in."
Fortunately, we're not going to live together.
Mingxi breathed a sigh of relief, but then became curious: "Where is Comrade Qin now?"
Ge Heping: "She is currently staying at the home of one of our female high school classmates, but the other family's living conditions are also very tight, so it's not a long-term solution for Qiaorou to stay there."
Don't be fooled by Aunt Lan's words that Qin Qiaorou should stay at the guesthouse. In reality, these days, you can't just stay at a guesthouse if you have money; you need a letter of introduction.
Someone like Qin Qiaorou definitely wouldn't be able to get a letter of introduction from the local street office.
With no money and no letter of introduction, I can't find anywhere to stay.
Ge Heping had no other choice but to think of renting a place; he was willing to pay for the rent himself.
However, he hadn't considered renting a place before, so he didn't know where to rent nearby.
Ge Heping: "Aunt Zhao, I thought you knew a lot of people, maybe you know someone who has a spare room for rent, so I came to ask."
“Okay, I understand.” Zhao Sulan thought for a moment and said, “If you’re talking about renting a house, I really can think of a suitable one. It’s Old Lady Ning at the end of our alley. She rents out her house.”
When Ge Heping heard Zhao Sulan say this, he remembered the situation of this old lady Ning's family.
Grandma Ning is over seventy years old and is a long-time resident of Jinyu Hutong. Unlike the other residents who moved in because of housing allocation, her house is not a public house but a private house with a property certificate.
Grandma Ning's son died in battle years ago, and her daughter married and moved away. She lived alone in the three rooms of the house, which was not enough for her, so she rented out the house a few years ago to supplement her family's income.
But she has a lot of rules and is always finding fault with her tenants. She complains that the tenants' family is too noisy, that they don't take care of the furniture, or that they are not honest. So people who rent her houses usually don't stay for long.
Zhao Sulan: "The family that originally rented Grandma Ning's house found a new place and moved out a few days ago, so Grandma Ning's house is vacant again. I think you can consider it. Although Grandma Ning has many rules, she is not an unreasonable person. As long as the tenants follow the rules, she won't say anything. Moreover, Grandma Ning is a military dependent, and generally no one dares to cause trouble at her place. Comrade Qin, a young female comrade, doesn't need to be afraid to live in that courtyard."
Ge Heping thought Zhao Sulan's words made sense.
He nodded: "Okay, thank you, Aunt Zhao. I'll go check on Grandma Ning right away."
After thanking Zhao Sulan, Ge Heping was about to leave when Zhao Sulan called out to him, "Wait, Heping, don't go yet. Auntie has something to ask you."
"Hmm? Ma'am, go ahead and ask." Ge Heping stopped in his tracks.
Zhao Sulan: "What do you think about Qin Qiaorou? Her man is gone now. Do you two plan to be together in the future, or...?"
In any case, Ge Heping was a child who grew up under Zhao Sulan's watchful eye. Zhao Sulan treated him like her own nephew, so she couldn't help but show him extra concern.
Mingxi pricked up her ears and looked at Ge Heping with curiosity.
She also wanted to know what Ge Heping's plans were.
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Author's Note: Zhao Sulan sighed: Children are all debts!
Xiaoming: No, no, no! I'm Mom's sweet little darling!
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