When Qiao Qiqi entered the courtyard, she saw Qin Baojun, who had only one leg, sitting there with a distressed expression. He took two deep drags on his pipe, and with his other hand, he made a gesture to help Cui Fengzhen up, but then withdrew it halfway through with a complicated look in his eyes.
Although they were far apart, Qiao Qiqi could clearly see the intense struggle in her father-in-law's eyes.
She quickly walked into the courtyard and stood beside Qin Baojun. Her gaze swept over Cui Fengzhen on the ground, and she asked worriedly, "Dad, are you alright?"
Qin Baojun was surprised that she would come over, and he quickly tried to stand up.
"What brings you here, child?" she said, quickly looking out of the yard.
Cui Fengzhen had been making a scene for half a day, disturbing the neighbors, and several people were watching the commotion from outside the yard.
Others wanted to help, but were pulled back by those around them, who whispered, "You know what kind of temper Cui Fengzhen has. There's a limit to helping others; you might just get yourself into trouble. It's better to forget it!"
Qin Baojun had noticed that group of people long ago. He had gotten used to losing face over the years. Every time Cui Fengzhen made an unreasonable request, there would be a scene at home.
At first, he felt ashamed and guilty towards his wife and children, but now, Qin Baojun has gradually become numb.
But Qin Baojun could disregard his wife and children, yet he could not disregard Qiao Qiqi.
He was extremely satisfied with this daughter-in-law, especially considering that Qiao Qiqi's father was Qiao Weiguo, he was even more determined not to let her get involved in this mess.
Thinking of this, Qin Baojun disregarded his leg injury and immediately pushed Qiao Qiqi out, saying, "Children shouldn't interfere in adult matters. You should go back quickly; your father can handle things here himself."
Qiao Qiqi saw through Qin Baojun's thoughts and was touched. She immediately grabbed Qin Baojun's arm.
“Dad, I’m not a child anymore. I’ve married Qin Huai, so I’m your family’s daughter-in-law. You’re Qin Huai’s father, which makes you my father too. It’s only right that I stand up for you.”
Before Qin Baojun could speak, Qiao Qiqi had already turned to look at Cui Fengzhen on the ground.
"Now that I'm married to Qin Huai, I'll call you Grandma. I heard from the villagers that you were beaten out of your home by your aunt. Since you've come here with your luggage, you mean you want my in-laws to take you in, right?"
Cui Fengzhen's crying stopped abruptly.
She cried the whole time she arrived, talking about how unfilial her eldest son and daughter-in-law were and how miserable she was. Although she wanted to force Qin Baojun to take her in, she didn't mention that at all, and instead kept pointing to Qin Baojun to bring it up himself.
Seeing that Qin Baojun remained silent, Qiao Qiqi spoke up instead...
Cui Fengzhen's eyes darted around, and she quickly glanced in Qin Baojun's direction.
Since the topic had already come to this point, Cui Fengzhen decided to play along. She quickly pinched her thigh secretly, looked at Qin Baojun with teary eyes, and cried, "Son, if you don't take care of me, I really won't be able to live."
They spoke pitifully, but their coercive intent was already evident.
With so many villagers watching, if Qin Baojun dared to refuse, he would be guilty of being unfilial.
This was exactly the effect Cui Fengzhen wanted. A triumphant smile flashed across her eyes as she became 100% certain that Qin Baojun would take her in.
Qin Baojun's expression became even more pained.
Qiao Qiqi, seeing this, suddenly said readily, "Great! I think it's no problem to take you in! You are an elder in our family, and my in-laws have no reason not to take you in."
"sad……"
Qin Baojun frowned, and seeing that Qiao Qiqi had agreed so readily, he immediately wanted to object.
“Dad.” Qiao Qiqi gently squeezed Qin Baojun’s hand twice. “You’ve been a soldier, and Qin Huai has always told me that you value filial piety the most. Although what Grandma did in the past was indeed too much, now that she’s been kicked out by Uncle’s family, you have no choice but to put aside past grievances and take her in. Otherwise, the whole village will gossip about you behind your back.”
"?" A hint of doubt flashed across Qin Baojun's eyes.
Seeing Qiao Qiqi blink at him quickly twice, as if she had her own plans, his expression became somewhat conflicted.
Qiao Qiqi stopped looking at him and instead went forward to help Cui Fengzhen, who was sitting on the ground, up. She said with a filial expression, "Grandma, the ground is cold. You are old and can't sit on the ground for too long. Otherwise, you will get sick from the cold."
Cui Fengzhen looked at Qiao Qiqi, who was smiling broadly, and felt something was off.
She had no prior interaction with this girl, but she remembered how arrogant and domineering the girl had been when she last visited the Qin family.
At that time, Cui Fengzhen judged her to be someone who was difficult to control.
Especially after hearing that Lu Xiufen's expulsion from the Qiao family was mostly orchestrated by Qiao Qiqi, Cui Fengzhen became even more wary of her.
But when Cui Fengzhen saw Qiao Qiqi again and saw her speaking up for her, she was somewhat confused.
How come the person who was so difficult to me last time is suddenly so easy to talk to?
How did they suddenly change their minds?
After thinking for a while, Cui Fengzhen finally came up with a possibility.
Everyone in the village knew that Qiao Qiqi was a lazy woman. When she was a girl at home, she never left the fields and was supported by her father. After getting married, she became even more lazy. Not only did she go to the city every few days, but she also squandered her husband's money to buy her mother a sewing machine.
When Cui Fengzhen heard about this, she immediately rushed over, but was held back by Ma Guizhi.
Seeing Qiao Qiqi showing her goodwill, Cui Fengzhen immediately realized that Qiao Qiqi knew she was being supported by Qin Huai, which was why she didn't dare to act recklessly in front of her.
Thinking of this, Cui Fengzhen immediately gained confidence and said to Qiao Qiqi in a condescending manner, "Alright, considering how filial you are, I'll let bygones be bygones for what happened last time."
"Oh, thank you so much, Grandma. Please sit down and rest. Let me massage your shoulders." Qiao Qiqi helped Cui Fengzhen to sit down next to Qin Baojun, and her soft, boneless hands landed on Cui Fengzhen's shoulders as she spoke, and she began to massage them vigorously.
Qin Baojun's brows remained furrowed the entire time as he watched her fawn over her.
But Qiao Qiqi didn't care at all and continued to flatter, "Grandma, these things are all yours, they're your clothes, right? When my mother-in-law comes back, I'll have her clean up the west room for you right away."
Seeing that she was so sensible, Cui Fengzhen felt pleased and immediately replied, "Okay."
"Why don't we just not wait for my mother-in-law to come back? It'll be dark by the time she gets back. Let me take it inside for you!" Qiao Qiqi said, letting go of her hand and picking up the luggage from the ground to take it into the house.
Qin Baojun, watching, finally couldn't sit still any longer and stood up. "Qiqi, this matter still needs Huai'er and his mother to come back and discuss it before making a decision. We can't make a hasty decision..."
Accompanied by a scraping sound.
Qin Baojun's words were interrupted.
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