Chapter 14: Change of Person

When Lin Qiao first met Xu Li, he felt that she was much younger than he had imagined, and he was not wrong.

Xu Li is nearly ten years younger than Mr. Ji. She is the second wife that Mr. Ji married after his first wife passed away, with the help of his leader.

At that time, Master Ji had already reached a certain level, but because of an injury, he stayed in the rear to recuperate. Xu Li was a teacher at a local middle school. There were not enough medical staff in the rear, so she helped take care of Master Ji for a while, and the two of them became acquainted.

At that time, Mr. Ji's wife had passed away for several years, and there was no one to take care of Ji Jun and his mother at home, so he just said it directly if he had feelings for her.

The leader helped to bring the subordinates together, and Xu Li had no objection, so the marriage was settled.

Later, Master Ji's son recovered from his injury and went to the front line. Xu Li stayed behind to help him take care of the family. It was at that time that Ji Jun almost got into trouble.

Because of the serious situation, Xu Li never had children. It was not until she was over 30 that she finally got pregnant with Ji Duo.

Ji Jun felt very guilty about this and respected Xu Li in public and in private. People who didn't know the truth couldn't tell that he was not Xu Li's biological son. He treated Ji Duo, a brother who was more than ten years younger than him, better than his own son, which made Ye Minshu complain.

Seeing that Ji Jun was still going to beat her for Xu Li, she covered her face and threw herself into Ji Jun's arms.

"Go ahead and hit me! Go ahead and hit me! You've forgotten everything I said to you when you went to the art troupe to pursue me!"

Ye Minshu was originally a dancer, and even after switching to a management position, she still maintained a slim figure. Her collision was not very powerful, but her cry made Ji Jun's anger, which had reached its peak, feel like a basin of cold water was poured on him, and he could not let go of his hand.

Who hasn’t had a time of youth and passion?

He also went to the art troupe every day to deliver gifts to Ye Minshu and married her despite the pressure from his family.

At that time, Master Ji disagreed, thinking that Ye Minshu was too picky and scheming, and wanted Xu Li to find him a teacher at school.

As a married couple for more than 20 years, Ye Minshu knew how to say the best words to control her husband. She immediately cried, "I know that my father has always looked down on me. He thinks that those of us who come from the art troupe are just like the actors in the old society. It's also me who has caused trouble for you. I haven't been able to help you in all these years. I want to find a good one for Xiaoze, but I'm afraid that he will follow our old path."

After saying this, Ji Jun couldn't fight any longer. He sighed and sat back down on the sofa.

Ye Minshu also knew that this man had to be smoothed over, so she sat down next to him and took the initiative to admit her fault. "I was wrong about this, but I didn't really mean to blame the second brother. I just thought that the girl had told the second brother about this, and there was no way she would marry Xiaoze in the future. This was all done by me alone, and it has nothing to do with you. When our father's anger subsides a little, I will go and apologize to him."

"With the rumors out there, I'm afraid Qiaoqiao and Xiaoze's marriage won't be possible."

At the Ji family, Old Master Ji, who had remained silent since his son and daughter-in-law left, also said this.

If Ji Ze really married Lin Qiao, would it be rumored that the nephew took his uncle's wife, or the uncle took his nephew's wife?

Although Ye Minshu's move was not brilliant, it was effective. At least no matter how angry Mr. Ji was, he could not do anything about this marriage.

The old man picked up the tea bowl and wanted to take a sip, but found that the tea had already gone cold, so he put it back on the tea table. "I told you at the beginning that she was too cunning and I couldn't control her, but I didn't listen. I have been controlled by her all these years."

Ji Jun is not like Ji Duo. To put it nicely, he has a gentle temperament, but to put it bluntly, he is easily influenced.

The old man didn't mind his son finding a powerful wife, but this wife had to be broad-minded and knowledgeable, and on the same page with their family. "I think the eldest son's wife is getting more and more conceited. She relies on the fact that the eldest son can't do anything to her, and she's even plotting against the second son."

After the words came out, no one responded for a long time.

The old man couldn't help but look at Xu Li.

Xu Li still didn't say anything, she just picked up his tea bowl and brewed a cup of bitter gourd tea for him, which was even more effective in reducing internal heat.

This is obviously angry.

That's right, she only has Ji Duo as her son, who has done nothing but helped the eldest brother's family clean up a lot of messes. As a result, that family not only didn't show any gratitude, but also pushed the blame on him. Even if he has a good temper, he would be angry.

The old man wanted to say something to soften his attitude, but he was so stubborn that asking him to coax his wife was more uncomfortable than stabbing him twice.

Now is not the time to dwell on these things. Master Ji hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you think Qiaoqiao knows that the man she is engaged to is Xiaoze?"

As a couple for many years, Xu Li could understand what he meant. She looked up in astonishment, "You want to...

"Whether she knows it or not, we have to let her be with the second brother. Otherwise, if this rumor spreads, and the marriage fails, Qiao Qiao, a girl who lives in our house and is engaged to our family, will have to avoid us in the future. She is unfamiliar with Yandu, where can she avoid us? This is not repaying a favor, but revenge."

The old man sighed.

He got up and found the deed that Ji Duo had returned. "It just so happens that their names are similar, so there's no need to change them."

He said this with a bit of sarcasm in his tone, "If there hadn't been such a thing as child marriage at that time, I would have suspected that the eldest son's wife said something like Xiaoze lacked water in the five elements and insisted on giving him such a name. She had anticipated this day and was preparing in advance."

Generally, when naming a child, the father's name is two characters long, while the child's name is mostly three characters long. The name Ji Ze is too similar to Ji Duo.

Xu Li was still digesting his idea and didn't say anything.

Old Master Ji looked at her and couldn't help but speak a little cautiously, "You wouldn't mind that Qiao Qiao came from the countryside, right?"

"You talk as if you're not from the countryside." Xu Li rolled her eyes at him, feeling deflated. "As for Qiao Qiao, she's a nice person, and not uneducated. I have nothing to complain about her. I'm just worried that the second child won't agree. And Qiao Qiao, judging from her attitude towards the eldest child's family these days, it's possible that she doesn't know who she's going to marry. After all, the two children were still young at the time, and we didn't mention it in the letter, but what if? She's still a generation apart from the second child."

"Generation isn't a problem. Our two families aren't really related. Second brother..."

This is indeed a problem. After all, Ji Duo is a stubborn person. He has never looked at any girl introduced to him before. It seems like he is going to be single for the rest of his life.

The old man pinched his brows with a headache, "When the second son comes back, I will talk to him in person."

As soon as I mentioned Ji Duo, the gate outside the hospital rang and Ji Duo strode in. "Have you completed the discharge procedures?"

He had something to do today and couldn't pick him up. My father thought this minor illness was not a big deal and didn't bother him. Unexpectedly, he still came back.

Old Master Ji couldn't help but take a closer look at his son.

Ye Minshu had a beautiful face and was a top beauty in the art troupe back then, otherwise she wouldn't have fascinated Ji Jun so much. Ji Ze took after her and had very handsome features, but in the eyes of the old man, he still lacked a bit of masculinity.

Ji Duo was exactly what the old man wanted: tall, handsome, and with a fierce and powerful military demeanor.

Since they don't like Qiao Qiao, there's no need for them to marry her.

The old man snorted in his heart and began to give his son a task, "I have something to do, go to the nearby high school and bring Qiao Qiao back."

"Sister Zhang is not at home?" This time Ji Duo did not respond immediately.

"I asked you to go, but you still don't want to go?" Old Master Ji glared at him, "Xiao Zhang still has to cook, how can he have that much time?"

It’s not that Ji Duo was unwilling to go, but he had been avoiding contact with Lin Qiao in the past few days.

After all, Lin Qiao is Xiaoze's fiancée. Before, there was no other way. Only he could accompany Lin Qiao back to her hometown, and he didn't take good care of her and made her sick. But now it's different. Although what happened that night was an accident, he still has to be careful to avoid suspicion.

But after all, Mr. Ji had just been discharged from the hospital, so finding someone was not a big deal, so he went in the end.

It was not far away, and Ji Duo did not call Xiao Fang. He walked over by himself, but after turning around, he did not find anyone.

At this time, the high school was still in session, the school gate was closed, and only the sound of a semiconductor radio could be heard from the guard room. He walked over and knocked on the window, "Have you seen a girl who is about 165cm tall, with an oval face, rosy eyes, and a mole at the end of her eye?"

He described it in detail and with a serious expression. The gatekeeper thought he was here to arrest someone, so he nodded quickly, "I have seen him. He just walked around here for a long time and asked me if the school was hiring substitute teachers, what diplomas were required, and whether local hukou was required. He asked about the nearby waste collection station and then left. Comrade, do you want me to take you there?"

"No, just tell me how to get there."

Ji Duo rejected the old man's enthusiasm, and the old man was a little regretful. "Then you go along this road and turn north at the second intersection."

The so-called recycling station was actually a converted residential building. The yard was filled with all kinds of waste. When Ji Duo went there, Lin Qiao was bargaining with someone, "Can you make it cheaper? You only charge a few cents per pound when you collect it. Why are you selling it to me at such a high price?"

"You know I'm a collector." The site owner was obviously speechless, "I've never seen anyone come to the purchasing site to buy books."

"Isn't that because I didn't come? You would have seen me if I had come."

There was a pile of books at Lin Qiao's feet. They were all 32-page high school textbooks. She picked out the best ones from a pile of waste.

Ji Duo watched her bargain with the owner of the website. In the end, she bought the books for 1 cent a book. She tied them into two tall piles with ropes and walked over to help take one pile. "Why didn't you tell your family if you needed the books?"

Lin Qiao didn't expect to run into him here. She was stunned. "I just came out for a walk because I had nothing to do. I bought it when I saw it."

After much thought these days, she decided to find a less busy job to do first, review while working, and take the college entrance examination again.

After all, in the 1980s, studying could change one's destiny. With a college diploma, one had more choices than with a high school diploma.

Even though she had the original owner's memories, she didn't remember much of what the original owner had learned, and she had almost forgotten what she learned in high school, so she had to start all over again.

As for why you don’t say…

Mr. Ji is in the hospital, Xu Li spends most of her time in the hospital, and Ji Duo has been leaving early and returning late these days. Lin Qiao certainly won't bother them.

She didn't want to bother them. A set of new textbooks cost several yuan, and she couldn't afford it after four semesters. The old textbooks were still fine. In this era, everyone was short of money, and no one would tear up the books after graduation. She found them easily.

Lin Qiao smiled and changed the subject, "I was so busy picking books that I didn't notice the time. Has Master Ji been discharged from the hospital?"

"Well, I came to you for something."

"Then you have to hurry up and don't keep Master Ji waiting for too long."

The two returned to Ji's house together. Lin Qiao pointed to the backyard and said, "I'll put my things down and wash my hands and come back."

Ji Duo said nothing, and went with her to carry the book back to the room and put it down at the door.

Lin Qiao washed his hands and was about to go to the front yard when Xu Li came over and glanced at Ji Duo: "Your father is looking for you."

He was looking for Lin Qiao and then for him, and no one knew what had happened.

Ji Duo nodded and strode towards the front yard. Lin Qiao also sensed something unusual.

Sure enough, Xu Li did not leave. Instead, she closed the door and sat opposite her.

She seemed to have no idea how to start, and she stared at Lin Qiao for a long time without being able to organize her words. Lin Qiao did not urge her, but picked up the kettle and poured her a glass of water.

This calmness and composure make it seem like Xu Li has lived her life in vain.

Xu Li exhaled softly and looked into Lin Qiao's eyes, "You've been here for a few days, what do you think of our second child?"