Chapter 31 requires working with Zhao Sulan and Mingxi...
Under the watchful eyes of Zhao Sulan and Mingxi, Ge Heping's face slowly turned red. He raised his hand to scratch the back of his head and stammered, "Auntie, Mingxi, you...you shouldn't talk nonsense. Qin Qiaorou and I are just ordinary friends. I've never thought about anything like being together."
Mingxi rolled her eyes.
Come on, I heard Qin Qiaorou was in the hospital and abandoned her blind date and ran away. You call that a normal friendship?
Zhao Sulan: "You think you can hide it from me? You think you can hide it from me?"
Anyone with eyes could see the unusual relationship between Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou.
She glanced at Ge Heping and said, "I've been through this before, and I can see right through your thoughts. I'm not trying to find out anything, I just feel sorry for your mother."
Zhao Sulan sighed and said, "Your mother has had a hard life. Even if you don't say it all these years, I know you must resent her, thinking that if it weren't for her, you and Qin Qiaorou would have gotten together long ago, right?"
Ge Heping opened his mouth as if to say something, but Zhao Sulan waved her hand: "Don't speak yet. Even if you don't say it on your face, you have to admit in your heart that you must have resented your mother. To be fair, your mother was a bit impulsive back then, but she was only thinking of you. I guess your mother didn't tell you that when she and your father went to the Qin family to discuss the marriage, in addition to the bride price, the Qin family also made a request, which was that your brother arrange for Qin Qiaorou's younger brother to be admitted to the army."
Mingxi suddenly turned around and looked at Zhao Sulan.
Is that even possible?!
Besides Mingxi, Ge Heping was also surprised, staring wide-eyed at Zhao Sulan.
Zhao Sulan: "Your mother didn't tell you about this, right? She didn't want you to worry. You know, the military isn't a place just anyone can get into, and back then your brother was just a platoon leader, he didn't have much influence in the army, so your mother didn't agree to it. The Qin family objected, and they immediately scolded your brother for being incompetent, saying he'd served for years for nothing and would probably die on the battlefield anyway. That's how your mother started arguing with the Qin family, and you know what happened next. In the heat of the argument, the Qin family said Qin Qiaorou wasn't worried about getting married, and your mother said you weren't worried about finding a husband either, and that's how the two sides broke up..."
Ge Heping stood frozen in place, his expression frozen. For so many years, his mother had never told him any of these things, and he had no idea.
Zhao Sulan: "Besides being angry that the Qin family was unreasonable, your mother was also worried that after you married Qin Qiaorou, the Qin family would take that same unreasonableness out on you. That's why she reacted so strongly when she saw Qin Qiaorou this time. She wasn't targeting Qin Qiaorou; she was just afraid that those bloodsuckers in the Qin family would cling to you."
It took Ge Heping a while to process Zhao Sulan's words. He blinked awkwardly and said in a hoarse voice, "Aunt Zhao, I understand what you mean."
Zhao Sulan didn't bother to think about whether Ge Heping truly understood or was pretending. Anyway, as an outsider, that was all she could say.
"I'm glad you understand. I've already said so much today, but I still want to say one more thing: whatever you plan to do, I hope you can talk to your mother properly before making a decision. Your mother has had a hard time all these years."
After Zhao Sulan finished speaking, she kicked Ge Heping out of the house.
Having worked as a matchmaker for so many years, the thing she knows best is not to meddle too much in other people's family affairs.
Zhao Sulan turned to Mingxi and began to nag, "Don't follow my example. If you're going to be a matchmaker, just be a matchmaker and introduce people to potential partners. Don't make empty promises or meddle in other people's family affairs, or they'll come to you for any problems later. I'm only saying a few words to Ge Heping because of your Aunt Lan; otherwise, I wouldn't have said a word."
Mingxi nodded obediently.
Mingxi had no intention of interfering in Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou's relationship, but Ge Heping still brought Qin Qiaorou to their door the next day.
Mingxi opened the door and was taken aback when she saw Ge Heping and Qin Qiaorou carrying things in their hands: "Brother Heping, what's this?"
Ge Heping: "Well, I took Qiaorou to Grandma Ning's place to rent a house today, and we rented it smoothly. Qiaorou said she wanted to thank Aunt Zhao, because if it weren't for Aunt Zhao's introduction, we definitely wouldn't have been able to rent the house so easily."
Mingxi waved her hand: "Hey, it's nothing, my mom just said a word."
"Then I must thank Aunt Zhao." The speaker was Qin Qiaorou.
After a day apart, Qin Qiaorou's wounds had faded somewhat, but the horrifying scar on her forehead was still as conspicuous as ever.
Mingxi thought for a moment, then welcomed the two people inside.
It's impolite not to offer someone a cup of tea when they're carrying something.
"My mom isn't back yet. Please sit down and have some water."
Mingxi had some reservations about Ge Heping, but she still sympathized with Qin Qiaorou.
She poured a glass of water for the two of them and asked curiously, "Comrade Qin, now that you've rented the house, are you going back to the Jia family to move your things? If you need any help, just let me know."
Qin Qiaorou's hands trembled as she held the cup: "Thank you, Comrade Ming, but please don't trouble yourself. I have nothing to move. The Jia family doesn't agree to let me go back to get my things. I went back yesterday, but they wouldn't let me in. They said that I only brought one set of clothes with me when I married into the family, and since I'm going to leave with another man, I should take that set of clothes with me too."
"What the hell!"
Mingxi frowned.
Why wouldn't the Jia family let Qin Qiaorou move her things?
Since Jia Jianshe is gone, Qin Qiaorou should rightfully have a share of his estate. Not only should she have a share of the Jia family's property, but she should also have a share of Jia Jianshe's former workplace. The Jia family's decision to kick Qin Qiaorou out is clearly an attempt to exploit her family's inability to inherit anything.
Thinking about how the Jia couple had relentlessly tormented Qin Qiaorou to the point of near death, Mingxi couldn't help but speculate about a conspiracy.
Could it be that the Jia family's original intention was to exploit those who had no descendants?
Mingxi couldn't help but ask, "What about the workstations? Did the Jia family say how Jia Jianshe's workstations would be allocated?"
"Workstation?" Qin Qiaorou was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that her workstation could be related to her.
Seeing her like this, Mingxi simply made things clear: "Jia Jianshe was your man. He's gone, and you two don't have any children. The first heirs to this job are you and his parents. You have a share of this job. Even if his parents want to take it, they'll have to pay you to buy your share."
Qin Qiaorou's empty, numb eyes suddenly lit up, and she murmured, "There's still a workstation for me?"
Mingxi: "That's right, not just your workstation, but also the things in your and Jia Jianshe's homes should be yours too."
Mingxi's words struck Qin Qiaorou like a bolt of lightning, shattering her usual understanding. She stammered, "I don't know, I don't know... They told me I didn't bring anything with me when I married into the family, and I can't take anything with me when I leave. They said those things belong to the Jia family, and since Jia Jianshe is gone, it's Jia Jianxin's turn. It has nothing to do with me, and they told me not to think about it..."
"What a load of bull! What does Jia Jianxin have to do with me?"
Mingxi didn't say that without a reason.
The day she left the police station, Aunt He went to inquire about the Jia family. She was surprised to learn that the entire Jia family was no good.
The Jia family was not wealthy. A few years ago, only Old Man Jia had a job, working as a boiler operator in a cannery, earning only twenty or thirty yuan a month. The family struggled to make ends meet, and the rest of the family had to take odd jobs to supplement the family income.
Since the Jia family was of modest means, how did they manage to come up with a dowry of over six hundred yuan to marry Qin Qiaorou from the Qin family?
This all started with Jia Jianshe's injury. The Jia family was not wealthy, and Jia Jianshe and Jia Jianxin dropped out of school after junior high and worked odd jobs everywhere. On one occasion, when Jia Jianshe was working as a temporary worker loading and unloading goods at a cannery, a shelf collapsed and hit his leg, causing a comminuted fracture.
Although the cannery workers took him to the hospital in time, he was left with sequelae and became a cripple. It was not noticeable when he was standing, but he walked with a limp.
Because of this, the cannery compensated Jia Jianshe with a work position, turning him from a temporary worker into a permanent employee, and changing his job from a hard-working loader to a quiet warehouse worker.
In addition, the cannery also subsidized Jia Jianshe with a house in the family compound and 600 yuan.
The six hundred yuan was the bride price that Jia Jianshe paid to marry Qin Qiaorou, and the house was the house the two lived in after their marriage.
I heard that the Jia family has always disliked Qin Qiaorou because of this.
As Jia Jianshe's relatives, they didn't get a single penny of the compensation for the canned goods; Jia Jianshe used it all to marry Qin Qiaorou. No wonder they weren't happy.
And then there's Jia Jianshe. Don't let the money he spent to marry Qin Qiaorou fool you; he's a terrible person. Because of his lameness, Jia Jianshe is incredibly ashamed. He gets angry and lashes out at strangers who even glance at his feet, let alone his own family. A neighbor from the same courtyard said that after the wedding, Jia Jianshe argued with Qin Qiaorou every few days. Several times, in a fit of rage, he grabbed Qin Qiaorou by the neck and demanded to know if she looked down on him for being disabled. The neighbors had to pull Jia Jianshe away; otherwise, Qin Qiaorou would have been strangled to death.
This is all what Mingxi heard from Aunt He this morning. Aunt He talked on and on about the Jia family's affairs for half an hour in the courtyard.
Mingxi even thought that Aunt He should go into intelligence work.
However, thanks to Aunt He, Mingxi was able to figure out the Jia family's affairs.
Objectively speaking, the house, property, and work station left by Jia Jianshe were not paid for by the Jia family. Even if the Jia family could get a share according to the law, there is no reason for them to own it all!
Mingxi explained the reasoning behind this to Qin Qiaorou in the simplest terms. The other party remained silent for a while, but Ge Heping spoke up: "That's true, but the Jia family is unreasonable. If Qiaorou asks for a job and money, they may not give it to her."
Mingxi: "Then we should contact the Women's Federation, the Trade Union, the street leaders, and the factory leaders."
She refused to believe that none of these people could stand up for Qin Qiaorou.
Mingxi: "Even if none of that works, we can still go to newspapers and reporters, make a big fuss about it, and then no one will be left unattended."
"This isn't a good idea." Ge Heping hesitated. If things got out of hand, Qin Qiaorou would inevitably be the subject of gossip.
Qin Qiaorou gritted her teeth and nodded: "Okay! I'll go!"
She is currently penniless and unemployed. The money for her daytime rent is paid by Ge Heping. This is manageable for a short time, but she can't rely on Ge Heping to support her forever.
Qin Qiaorou didn't necessarily want to take over Jia Jianshe's job; she just wanted what she deserved to get through this period.
Mingxi gave Qin Qiaorou some advice: "Go find the people from the neighborhood committee first. If they don't care, then go to the Women's Federation and ask them to go to the factory. Otherwise, if you go by yourself, the factory might not care."
Qin Qiaorou nodded, biting her lip, and asked hesitantly, "Comrade Ming, can you come with me to the street office?"
She said, "I don't know much, and I'm afraid the people in the neighborhood won't do anything. I want you to come with me to give me some courage. Don't worry, you don't need to say anything for me, just come with me."
Fearing that Mingxi would refuse, she quickly added, "I won't let you come with me for nothing. I'll pay for it, I'll pay for it."
Mingxi: "Hey, it's such a small thing, why do you need to pay me? I'll go with you."
She had agreed not to interfere in other people's business, but Mingxi couldn't help but feel kind-hearted.
Mingxi: "It's too late today, let's go tomorrow. I'll go with you tomorrow."
Qin Qiaorou immediately nodded: "Okay!"
"Thank you, Comrade Ming, thank you!" She grasped Mingxi's hand, expressing her sincere gratitude.
Seeing Qin Qiaorou and Mingxi reach an agreement, Ge Heping hurriedly interjected, "Me too, me too! Qiaorou, I'll go with you too. I'll ask someone to let me know in a bit, and I'll go to the Women's Federation with you tomorrow."
Qin Qiaorou gently pushed Ge Heping away: "Go to work tomorrow. You've already taken two days off. If you don't go to work soon, your boss will have a problem with you."
Ge Heping: "It's alright. If they have opinions, so be it. At worst, they'll just deduct my salary. Let them deduct it. What if the Jia family attacks you again if I don't follow you?"
Mingxi was incredibly annoyed by his constant babbling.
This grown man isn't as decisive and efficient as Qin Qiaorou.
She rolled up her sleeves, showing off her biceps: "Brother Heping, you should just go to work. With me here, the Jia family can't do anything. You know how strong I am."
Ge Heping glanced at Mingxi's slender arm and remained silent.
Despite her slender build, everyone in the courtyard knows how strong Mingxi is.
Not to mention that he was someone Mingxi beat up when he was a child.
Well, back when he was a kid, he was so naive. He saw that Mingxi was chubby and cute, just like the little girl in the New Year's paintings, so he couldn't resist teasing her. As a result, he got punished by Mingxi, who was only six years old at the time.
You have to understand that he was thirteen or fourteen at the time, a young boy who could be considered an adult if he were outside.
As a result, he was pinned to the ground and beaten up by Mingxi, a short and chubby girl, until he cried. He was incredibly embarrassed.
The embarrassing memories resurfaced in his mind, and Ge Heping couldn't say a word. After a long silence, he said, "Alright then, I'll go to work tomorrow."
Mingxi: "Okay, let's do it that way!"
-
The next morning, Mingxi rubbed her hair and walked out of her room when she saw someone else on her sofa.
Zhao Sulan: "You're up? I was just about to call you, but Comrade Qin said there was no rush, so I didn't go."
"Ha—" Mingxi yawned and looked at Qin Qiaorou on the sofa: "Why did you come so early?"
Qin Qiaorou suddenly stood up from the sofa: "I'm sorry, I came too early and disturbed Comrade Ming's rest."
Goodness, Mingxi was almost startled by her sudden remark. She waved her hand and said, "No, I wasn't disturbing your rest. You can sit down."
Qin Qiaorou obediently sat down, but judging from her expression, she was still somewhat uneasy.
Mingxi: "Comrade Qin, don't be nervous. Just make yourself at home and sit for a while. I'll go wash my face and be right back."
She draped a towel over herself, grabbed a washbasin, toothbrush, and toothpaste, and headed outside. After a couple of steps, she turned back and said, "Oh, by the way, you don't need to be so polite, calling me 'Comrade Ming' all the time. It's too formal. You're a few years older than me, so you can just call me Xiao Ming or my name."
“Yes, Mingtong… Mingxi,” Qin Qiaorou replied, sitting up straight instinctively.
Mingxi shook her head, picked up the washbasin and walked out of the house. As soon as she came out, Aunt He came up to her with a gossipy look on her face.
"Hey Xiaoming, I just saw Qin Qiaorou come to your house? What's she doing here? Is she going to ask you about your boyfriend? Isn't she with Heping...?"
Mingxi covered her face: "Oh dear, Aunt He, you're overthinking it. Qin Qiaorou came here to ask me to accompany her to the Women's Federation."
She briefly told Aunt He that the Jia family hadn't given Qin Qiaorou anything, and that Qin Qiaorou had been kicked out of the Jia family. Aunt He exclaimed in surprise after hearing this.
"That Jia family is absolutely inhuman!"
"They're not letting Qin Qiaorou take anything, are they trying to force her to die out there? At the very least, they should have made her give them her clothes or something, right? And they didn't even let her take any money! I heard from someone who lived in the same courtyard as Jia Jianshe that although Qin Qiaorou didn't work a regular job, she'd been doing odd jobs on the street all these years, earning money, but Jia Jianshe kept all that money. This time when she left, the Jia family didn't give her any money either?"
Mingxi shrugged: "Probably not."
If she had, Qin Qiaorou wouldn't have been unable to pay her medical bills that day and would have had to ask Ge Heping to go to the hospital to pay.
"Pah!" Aunt He spat viciously.
"If I had known the Jia family were such scoundrels, I should have hit them harder when I beat up the second son of the Jia family yesterday."
Mingxi: ...
Actually, you were quite ruthless yesterday.
Jia Jianxin was scratched so badly he was covered in blood; he probably won't be able to leave the house for the next few days.
Aunt He was filled with righteous indignation. Actually, she didn't like Qin Qiaorou, after all, if it weren't for Qin Qiaorou, He Li wouldn't have been abandoned when she was looking at potential partners with Ge Heping. But the Jia family's actions were so despicable that, compared to them, she couldn't bring herself to be angry with Qin Qiaorou.
Aunt He rubbed her hands together eagerly: "When are you going to the neighborhood committee today? I'll go with you."
"If the Jia family throws another tantrum, I can give them a good beating to vent my anger."
Mingxi: ...
She figured Aunt He was just there to vent her anger.
Mingxi: "Aunt He, we went to the neighborhood committee to seek justice, not to resort to violence over a disagreement."
"That's hard to say. I don't think the Jia family members are reasonable people," Aunt He said dismissively.
Mingxi: ...
Seeing that Aunt He was determined to go with her, she could only nod.
"Alright, we'll call you when we leave, but you have to listen to me. We're going to reason with them. If the Jia family is unreasonable, the neighborhood committee can handle it. You absolutely mustn't start fighting right away."
The street office isn't a place you can't go to, and since Aunt He was determined to go, she couldn't stop her. So she might as well go with her and keep an eye on her.
Aunt He nodded: "I know that, don't worry."
She tossed her head dismissively.
She's seen more salt than Mingxi has eaten rice, so of course she knows what to do in this situation.
Mingxi looked at the confident Aunt He and felt a strange unease for some reason.
When she finished packing and took Qin Qiaorou and Aunt He to the neighborhood office, she understood.
That was her keen sixth sense at work.
Here's what happened: As soon as Mingxi and her group entered the street office, Aunt He rushed forward and, with lightning speed, knelt down on the ground with a "bang," grabbed the leg of one of the street office staff members, and started wailing.
"Boss, boss, please do us a favor! Otherwise, we're doomed!"
The young cadre who was being hugged by Aunt He had only been working for a short time. It was the first time he had encountered something like this, and his face turned pale. He stammered and waved his hands, "No, no, Auntie, I'm not a leader. You wait, I, I'll go and call a leader for you right away."
As he spoke, he pushed Aunt He's hand away, turned around, and ran quickly into the office cubicle, calling out a middle-aged woman in her thirties or forties with a bob haircut.
The junior staff member stammered, "Auntie, our leader is out. You can tell him whatever you need to say."
Aunt He nodded, took a deep breath, and hugged the middle-aged woman's leg: "Leader, please, please help us! Leader, if you don't help us, this comrade won't be able to live anymore! She'll have no choice but to hang herself..."
Mingxi: ...
Aunt He truly lives up to her reputation as someone who sang drum ballads in her younger days; her voice is full of energy.
The middle-aged leader's face darkened as he listened to Aunt He's shouting.
If someone were to hang themselves on the street under her jurisdiction, would she really be in a good position?
She quickly bent down and helped Aunt He up from the ground: "Auntie, don't worry, let's talk things over. As long as it's within my power to decide, I will definitely help you solve it. Don't make a scene about dying all the time."
"You said it yourself, boss. If you can make the decision, then make the decision for us." Aunt He immediately stood up, and the tears that were about to fall back down disappeared.
Middle-aged woman: "...Ahem, ma'am, please stop calling me 'leader' all the time. My surname is Wang, and I'm the director of our neighborhood office. You can just call me Xiao Wang."
"Hello, Director Wang."
The director was being modest, but she certainly couldn't just casually follow suit and call him "Xiao Wang."
Aunt He does have some sense.
Director Wang's expression softened upon hearing this form of address. She smiled and asked, "Yes, ma'am, you can tell me now. What is it that you want us to help you with?"
"Ah, this..." Aunt He winked at Mingxi, who promptly pushed Qin Qiaorou and pushed her in front of Director Wang.
Aunt He: "Director Wang, it's not me who has something to do, it's this comrade who has something to do."
"Oh?" Director Wang's eyes fell on Qin Qiaorou. She looked at Qin Qiaorou and felt that she looked familiar. She frowned and thought for a long time before she remembered that Qin Qiaorou was someone who often came to the street office to pick up work.
"Hiss, Comrade Qin? Is this Comrade Qin Qiaorou? You need something from me?"
Director Wang: "Speak, what is it?"
Her expression wasn't good. She thought to herself, "Qin Qiaorou, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Why bring outsiders here to make such a scene?"
Facing Director Wang's unfriendly gaze, Qin Qiaorou timidly spoke up: "Director Wang, I...I...I want my money, and my man's job."
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Author's Note: A brief introduction to Aunt He: an unknown drumming performance artist, a potential intelligence agent, a member of the gossip club, and a concerned citizen of Dongcheng District… (to be supplemented)
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