Hearing this, Xia Liang scoffed, "Aunt Wang said she wasn't slandering me, but you said I'm having an affair. Isn't this bullying me? I shouldn't have married a soldier. He's away from home all year round, and when his wife is being bullied, he can't stand up for her. Now, people are coming to our door to bully her too." She then looked like she was about to cry. Those around her, hearing her say she shouldn't have married a soldier, suddenly felt they might have gone too far. Her husband was out there protecting the country, and it was indeed a bit unfair for a bunch of grown men to bully his wife.
Seeing that things were going wrong, Aunt Qi dropped the pretense and said directly, "You little hussy, that's not what you said back then. When you slandered me, Aunt Wang, and Aunt Zhu, you spoke with absolute certainty. We're so old, and we still get slandered? What? Just because we don't have men in the army?" Xia Liang sneered, "Then please tell me, Aunt Qi, why would I slander you, Aunt Wang, and Aunt Zhu? It takes two to tango, after all." Aunt Qi was practically jumping for joy, almost pointing her finger at Xia Liang's nose, saying, "The three of us were talking about you behind your back, but that's the truth! We didn't tell a single lie." Xia Liang smiled insincerely, "Then Aunt Qi, why don't you tell me about my affair? Who is that person? When did we do anything shady?"
Aunt Qi felt that Xia Liang was asking for trouble, and she counted on her fingers: "Aren't you very close to the Ji family boy? Are there often shady men coming and going in your house? Are there two unrelated men living in your house? I'm not wronging you, am I? Have you done something shameful?" The more Aunt Qi talked, the more smug she became, as if she had already caught Xia Liang in bed with another man.
Xia Liang looked at her with a sneer: "So Aunt Qi also admits that you and Second Master Qi did something shady?" The other two were made up by Xia Liang, but the fact that Aunt Qi and Second Master Qi were arguing in the alley was true. Xia Liang had really seen it. Aunt Qi went crazy again: "I was just delivering something to my brother-in-law, and you're spewing filth and slandering me." Xia Liang sneered: "I just asked Ji Xiao to come and help, and hired two martial arts instructors to teach my daughter martial arts. As for the shady men you mentioned, they are all Ji Xiao's friends, hired to help me move goods. How does that mean I have an improper relationship with them? Have you forgotten that this is a new society, not an era where you can say whatever you want! Remember, don't try to smear me behind my back again. If I get angry, I can't guarantee what I might do."
Aunt Qi jumped up and down arrogantly, saying, "I'd like to see how you dare to be so impolite. You're just a country bumpkin. If you hadn't married into the Gu family, you'd be farming in the countryside your whole life! Bah! You think you can act like a big shot in the city? That's laughable!" She then burst into laughter, as if she was amused by Xia Liang's joke.
Xia Liang wasn't annoyed. She simply called Chen Yanling over, whispered something in her ear, and Chen Yanling nodded and went inside. Seeing Xia Liang acting so mysteriously, the crowd wondered what she was up to. Some people thought that Xia Liang was different now than before. Although she graduated from a prestigious university and people looked up to her, she hadn't entered politics after graduation, so they figured she wouldn't amount to much. In people's eyes nowadays, only becoming an official was the way to success; even if a self-employed person made money, it was considered undignified.
A few minutes later, Chen Yanling came out and nodded to Xia Liang. Xia Liang knew that the matter was settled. She continued watching Aunt Qi jumping around, cursing as she did so: "You little whore, you want to teach me a lesson? Why are you scared now? Humph! I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice, and you dare to slander me? You're really arrogant!" Aunt Zhu, who hadn't spoken until now, saw Xia Liang's silence and assumed she was afraid. Seeing Aunt Qi's fierce temper, she also started trembling and joined Aunt Qi and Aunt Wang in cursing at Xia Liang.
About fifteen minutes later, the sound of a bicycle bell rang out. Everyone turned around and saw it was Aunt Qi's son. Someone asked curiously, "Qi's son, what are you doing here at this hour instead of working?" It was working hours, and these old folks had specifically taken time off to handle this matter. Now that they saw Aunt Qi's son, how could they not be curious?
Aunt Qi's son ignored everyone and went straight to Aunt Qi's side: "Mom, what are you doing?" He was at work today when the team leader suddenly called him out, saying that the boss wanted to see him. At first, he thought that he had been caught slacking off, but then he thought that couldn't be! What could be so important that it would bother the boss? But the team leader asked him to go to the boss's office. Although he was confused, he still went obediently.
Knocking on the door of the leader's office, the leader went straight to the point: "Xiao Qi! I heard that your mother is a very capable person, and she can probably arrange a better job for you. I'm afraid we can't accommodate such a big shot like you here. We'll make up your salary for this month. Pack your things and go home!" As he spoke, he picked up the phone on his desk and made a call, completely ignoring Qi Mingyun standing to the side.
Qi Mingyun was completely bewildered! How could he not know what kind of person his mother was? To put it bluntly, his mother was not only unreasonable but also liked to take advantage of others. Of course, he didn't see these things as major problems, but his mother couldn't possibly be anyone important, let alone arrange a job for him. He got this job by taking his mother's place. If his mother could arrange a job, why would she go through all this trouble? Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it and decided to go back and ask his mother what was going on. But when he got home, he found the house locked. His father must have gone to work. His mother usually sat under the big tree at the alley entrance, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He heard a commotion coming from the Gu family's house at the far end of the alley, so he looked over there to see if she was there. Sure enough, before he even got there, he heard his mother cursing someone with a foul mouth!
When Aunt Qi saw her son return, she asked with concern, "Why are you back so early? Is there no work at the factory?" Qi Mingyun's face was terribly gloomy, and Aunt Qi noticed something was wrong. "What's wrong?" Qi Mingyun said with a dark face, "I was fired from the factory. The manager said my mother can arrange a better job for me. The factory can't tolerate someone like me." Hearing her son's words, Aunt Qi felt as if the sky had fallen. Her son's job was being taken by someone else. If her son also lost his job, how would the family support themselves on her husband's meager salary?
Aunt Qi's legs buckled, and Aunt Zhu and Aunt Wang beside her immediately supported her, saying, "Aunt Qi, are you alright? You have to hold on!"
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