Chapter 12 Inquiry

What is embarrassment?

That's called embarrassment.

Lin Qiao was about to explain it clearly, but when the little girl shouted, he couldn't explain it clearly anymore.

Ji Duo's face was not very good either. He quickly buttoned up two more buttons and said, "Ji Ling, stop."

His voice was not loud, but the little girl did not dare to run away. She covered her eyes with her hands and said, "I told you, I didn't see anything."

"Why are you here so late?"

Ji Duo didn't respond to her. Sometimes he was frank.

is the best explanation, especially when the other party is just overthinking.

Ji Ling really opened her hands a little and continued to answer him, "I don't know what my dad and mom were talking about. They closed the door and acted mysteriously. They also didn't let me do my homework in the study. I felt bored staying at home, so I came here."

Seeing the man being frank, Lin Qiao's heat faded a little. "I'll go back now that I've returned the clothes."

Ji Duo nodded and said to Ji Ling, "You will stay in your parents' room tonight."

"Why?" Ji Ling was surprised at first, then she saw Lin Qiao going to the backyard, her eyes suddenly widened, "She, she still lives in our house! You let me live in my parents' room, isn't it true that someone already lives in my house?"

The little girl is young, but she is very clever.

Ji Duo didn't say yes or no, "Did you eat dinner? If not, ask your Aunt Zhang to make you something."

"I ate." Seeing Ji Duo going back to the house, Ji Ling followed him a few steps with her schoolbag in her arms, blinking, "Uncle, is that your girlfriend?"

As soon as Lin Qiao left, she asked these questions. Ji Duo frowned and glanced at her, "Who told you this?"

"If she's not your type, why is she living in our house?" Ji Ling laughed, her big eyes sparkling. "Uncle, am I right?"

Ji Duo should have explained that this was Ji Ze's childhood sweetheart, but Ji Ze, Ji Jun and Ye Minshu were obviously unwilling to do so. This matter had not yet been finalized, so there was no need to tell the child. They only said, "She is the granddaughter of Grandpa's old comrade-in-arms."

Ji Ling obviously didn't believe it, but she couldn't get any information out of her uncle since he didn't want to talk about it.

She rolled her eyes and moved a few inches closer, "Uncle, next time you take off your clothes, can you close the door?"

The little girl acted like an adult and sighed, "This is just me. It would be embarrassing if others saw me."

"What have you been reading recently?" Ji Duo put his hands on the door and suddenly turned around.

Ji Ling's eyes suddenly started to wander, "No, nothing."

"Is it one of those cherry blossom TV dramas?"

After the reform and opening up, there were more and more TV sets in homes, and a large number of cherry blossom TV dramas began to flow into the country, especially romance dramas. We had just experienced the decade of extreme suppression of relationships between men and women, and the more passionate the love, the more people were intoxicated by watching them.

Ji Duo was not interested in what other people were watching, but Ji Ling was only in junior high school this year, "Is it because your mother didn't allow you to watch that you came here?"

"No, no way." Although Ji Ling said the denial, her head drooped even lower.

Ji Duo could see it, and he fastened his cufflinks tightly, "Then come in, I'll see where you've left off in your homework."

Probably no matter what era, what students fear most is hearing about homework, especially when the person asking about it is her cold-faced uncle.

Ji Ling was visibly hesitating, "Why don't I go back? My uncle is so busy, it's rare for him to have a few days off..."

Before she could finish her words, she met Ji Duo's calm gaze and immediately swallowed them back, feeling like she wanted to cry but had no tears.

Grandpa was in the hospital, so grandma was definitely not at home. She had calculated that there would be no one around, but she never expected to run into the muzzle of her uncle's gun...

When Lin Qiao saw Ji Ling again the next day, the little girl had lost the energy she had the night before.

Maybe she didn't get enough sleep, she drank the porridge with her eyes half closed, and her little head was nodding.

Aunt Zhang was standing beside him, smiling lovingly, "Eat this, the yolk of this duck egg is big." When she saw Lin Qiao, she served her a bowl of porridge as well.

Lin Qiao thanked him and took it, only to realize that Ji Duo was not at the dinner table.

"My uncle left early in the morning. He said he had something to do." Ji Ling yawned as she mixed the egg yolk into the porridge. She noticed Lin Qiao's gaze and rubbed her eyes hard. She looked at Lin Qiao with a bit of confusion, "Are you really the granddaughter of my grandfather's comrade-in-arms?"

"Did he tell you that?"

Lin Qiao was not surprised. Seeing the little girl nod, he smiled and took a bite of the pancake, "My grandpa and Grandpa Ji are indeed old comrades-in-arms. We were in the same platoon during the Anti-Japanese War. Later, when we fought against Chiang Kai-shek, my grandpa was also Grandpa Ji's bodyguard."

Aunt Zhang’s cooking skills are pretty good. The pancakes she makes are of just the right thickness. She sprinkles some chopped green onions on them and can eat two with porridge.

"Did I really misunderstand?" Ji Ling poked the porridge with chopsticks in disappointment. The duck egg yolk that she usually liked didn't taste good anymore.

Children are very thoughtful, so Lin Qiao didn't want to explain it over and over again. She smiled and asked her, "What year are you in this year?"

"First grade." When Ji Ling mentioned going to school, she thought of last night's experience and couldn't help curling her lips. "Sister, you have graduated, right? If you haven't graduated, be careful. My uncle likes to check other people's homework the most. If you see him, you must stay away from him."

"Didn't he examine you last night?" Lin Qiao laughed.

She really couldn't imagine what it would be like for a cold person like Ji Duo to sit at the table and check homework. Wouldn't he scare people so much that they wouldn't write?

Ji Ling obviously didn't want to recall it, and finished her porridge in a few mouthfuls, "I'm going to school!"

When she left, Lin Qiao and Aunt Zhang were the only ones left at home.

Lin Qiao had nothing to do anyway, so she chatted with Aunt Zhang while eating, "Aunt, are you from Yandu? Your accent doesn't sound like it."

Maybe because the first meeting was not pleasant, Aunt Zhang was always a little reserved when facing Lin Qiao. "No, I'm from Baoding, and I got married here later."

"That should have been many years ago. You must be very familiar with Yandu, right?"

Lin Qiao held up his chin, and his aggressive eyes curved slightly, which reduced the sense of distance a lot.

Aunt Zhang lowered her head to clean up Ji Ling's dishes and chopsticks. "I'm not very familiar with her. I used to live in Tongzhou and only came to the Ji family in recent years."

"Don't you need to help take care of your grandchildren?"

"No need, my grandson has his mother."

Speaking of her grandson, Aunt Zhang finally couldn't stop smiling. "My son works as a chef in a state-owned hotel. He earns a decent salary."

The salary is indeed good if one person can stay at home to take care of the children.

The chefs in state-owned hotels have skills, so even if there is a job shortage in the future, it will be easier for them to find jobs than others.

Lin Qiao raised her eyebrows and said, "That's amazing. Auntie's cooking is so delicious. Your son must have inherited your style."

"He didn't take after me. His father was a real cook. He used to be an apprentice at the Eighth Floor. It's a pity that he passed away early and didn't catch up with the good times."

After chatting for a few days, Aunt Zhang gradually relaxed when she realized that Lin Qiao was easy to get along with.

Lin Qiao asked about the employment situation in Yandu, "I wonder if it's easy to find a job."

"It depends on what you do. Temporary workers are easy to find. There are construction projects everywhere and construction sites are short of people. But regular workers are not so easy to find. So many educated youth came back at once in the past two years. How could we arrange for them all? I know some people are still waiting for news at home."

Aunt Zhang looked at Lin Qiao in confusion, as if she didn't understand why she would have to worry about finding a job with the support of the Ji family.

However, Lin Qiao did not intend to cause trouble to the Ji family in every way.

After all, the life-saving grace was a favor, and it was also Mr. Lin's duty as a security guard. It was Mr. Ji who was willing to remember this favor and took the initiative to propose the marriage.

It was reasonable for her to ask the Ji family to fulfill the engagement. If she also wanted a household registration and a job, that would be repaying a favor.

Lin Qiao is not a very ambitious person, but he will still work hard when it comes to survival.

Otherwise, if she had discovered that the employment trend was not good, she would not have cram and worked hard for more than four months to get a postgraduate degree.

Then, because her supervisor was too picky, she had to revise the paper several times, and finally said that the first version was still the best. She stayed up all night to finish it...

Lin Qiao can't put everything on the male lead. She only has a high school diploma now, which seems to be enough in this era. In another ten years, she will face the wave of unemployment that has destroyed countless families. If she wants to live a stable life, she must study for a few more years and graduate from college.

As for doing business...

This does not require any academic qualifications, but it is not as easy as described in novels.

First of all, the business that makes money is in the hands of those who have information gaps. Ordinary people want to do it, but they can't find a way. It's even more difficult for her, a time traveler, to be in Yandu, where she is unfamiliar with the place. She doesn't even know where to start a small business.

Just as I was thinking about it, Xu Li came back with a few bags in her hands, "Qiaoqiao, come here and take a look at these clothes."

She took out her clothes, all of which were the latest popular styles in Yandu, as well as a pair of sneakers and a pair of pointed high heels.

"I just passed by the mall and saw something you could wear, so I bought it. Try it on, and if it doesn't work I'll take it back and change it."

Buy it first, and then take it back for another exchange if it doesn't work. I was afraid that Lin Qiao would feel embarrassed to accept it, so I did it on purpose.

Lin Qiao knew her good intentions and did not refuse. She pulled him to try them one by one.

The reform and opening up had just begun in 1980, and there were only a few styles of clothes. However, that pair of Warrior sneakers were much more comfortable to wear than Lin Qiao's Jiefang shoes.

The Liberation shoes at that time were not the kind that Lin Qiao wore during military training. The soles were very thin, and most of the roads in those days were dirt roads, so your feet would hurt if you walked a little further. Warrior shoes are definitely not as good as those sports brands that came later, but the soles are thick and comfortable enough.

"It's a little loose, just put on a pair of insoles."

Xu Li went back to the room and found a pair of insoles for Lin Qiao, then picked up the pair of high heels and said, "These don't fit my feet. I'll exchange them for a smaller pair..."

Then she asked Lin Qiao: "You've been here for a few days, but I haven't taken you around. Do you want to go to a movie or a concert?"

"I told you that you have a girlfriend, but your grandfather still asked you to go out with her?"

When Ye Minshu got home from get off work that night, she heard Ji Ze's news and was shocked. "She is a country girl, how can she know what a concert is? Is your grandfather too old and confused?"

Ji Jun was watching the news nearby and couldn't help frowning when he heard this. "What are you talking about?"

Ye Minshu was shocked that she had said something wrong. "I didn't mean to say that. I was worried about Xiaoze. She has only been here for a few days, but my father is like a drug addict. He knows that Xiaoze has a partner, but he still wants Xiaoze to marry her."

"Isn't that fake?" Ji Jun's words almost choked her to death.

Ye Minshu took a deep breath, "The key is not the question of truth or falsehood, but our father's attitude. She hasn't even entered the house yet, and our father is like this. If she really enters the house in the future, with our father supporting her, won't Xiaoze have no place to stand?"

This hit the nail on the head. Ji Jun also felt that the old man was too strong this time as he did not care about their wishes at all.

He was only about 30 years old then, but now he is middle-aged, and has been an official for many years. He has different ideas about the same thing. A girl who is too opinionated and instigates the old man is not his type.

"What should we do? We can't not ask Xiaoze to go, right?"

Frowning again, after so many years as father and son, Ji Jun was still reluctant to disobey his grandfather.

"If you really can't do it, then go." Ji Ze rubbed his hair irritably, "It's not like we're going to get the marriage certificate anyway, so there's nothing that can happen if we go."

"How can that be? If it happens once, there will be a second time, a third time..."

Ye Minshu obviously disagreed, but there was nothing better to do.

As she was getting anxious, she caught a glimpse of a small figure moving out of the room. She immediately raised her voice and asked, "Ji Ling, where are you going?"

"I, I'm going to my grandfather's house. My uncle is teaching me how to do my homework."

This is pure nonsense. Ji Ling just felt that the atmosphere at home was not right and was afraid that she couldn't watch TV, so she wanted to try her luck.

Ye Minshu really scolded her after hearing this, "Your uncle is so busy, why did you ask him to teach you how to do your homework?"

He suddenly stopped talking halfway, "Yeah, how could I forget that Lao Er is also single..."