Since the cabbage was large, Qiao Qiqi cut off half of it and cooked a big pot of it. Before finishing work, she took a portion for both sets of parents. After cooking, she immediately sent a big bowl to each set of parents before returning to eat with Fang Jingru.
After we finished eating and cleaning up, it got dark.
That's how it is in the countryside; a day passes quickly amidst the hustle and bustle.
After taking a shower, the two lay down.
The next morning, Qiao Qiqi didn't go out and spent two hours tidying up the vegetables in the garden.
The "autumn tiger" is no joke; although it's autumn, the scorching sun makes people feel even more uncomfortable than in summer.
Qiao Qiqi was working in the garden wearing a sun hat, her face turning red from the heat. She thought about how Wang Guihua had never worn the hat she had given her, and how working in the fields at this time of year must be unbearable. Moreover, the Qin family didn't even have a water bottle, so she was unlikely to get a sip of water.
Qiao Qiqi couldn't sit still any longer after thinking about all this. She took out Qin Huai's water jug, washed it clean, filled it with spiritual spring water, and carried it to the field.
Fang Jingru learned that Qiao Qiqi was going to make steamed buns for lunch, so she stayed home to chop the filling instead of going to the dough.
As Qiao Qiqi walked, she inquired about Wang Guihua's location. When she learned that Wang Guihua was drying corn kernels, she immediately rushed there. Today, Wang Guihua had been assigned to work with several other educated youths.
The news that Qin Huai had found his relatives had already spread throughout the village, and the old women in the countryside were busy with their work and talking about it all these days.
Before Qiao Qiqi returned, the villagers talked most about Qin Huai's filial piety. Now that Qin Baojun and Wang Guihua's good days are coming, Qin Huai will definitely bring the two of them to Beijing to enjoy their happiness.
But as soon as the news of Qin Huai joining the army came back, everyone's tone immediately changed.
Some people began to speculate that his enlistment was a pretense, and that he was truly ungrateful and no longer wanted to care about Qin Baojun and Wang Guihua, saying that all the hard work Qin Baojun and Wang Guihua had done over the years had been in vain.
Upon hearing this, Wang Guihua immediately became furious, saying that her son Qin Huai was very filial! If they didn't believe her, they could investigate and see if Qin Huai had really joined the army.
When Su Shangjin learned that the villagers were saying that Qin Huai's enlistment in the army was fake, he was furious. He scolded all the gossipers and personally refuted the rumors, saying that Qin Huai had indeed joined the army and that he had mailed the paperwork to him.
With Su Shangjin's testimony, the villagers no longer dared to say that Qin Huai's enlistment in the army was fake, but after seeing Qiao Qiqi return, they secretly started gossiping about it again.
"I heard that Qin Huai's family are very influential people in Beijing. They live in a multi-story house, own several cars, and eat delicacies every day. Why would Qiao Qiqi come back if she doesn't enjoy such a good life?"
"Even if she doesn't want to come back, Qin Huai's family has to keep her. They're a respectable family. Since they've accepted Qin Huai back, they'll definitely find her a wife of equal social standing. I doubt Qin Huai and Qiao Qiqi's marriage will last long."
"That's right. Qin Huai was poor in the village before, which is why he married Qiao Qiqi. Although Qiao Qiqi is beautiful and her family is not bad, everyone in the village knows that she used to be madly in love with Hou Zhiqing. If Qin Huai hadn't been poor, why would he have married her? Now that Qin Huai has found his family, he will definitely divorce her."
"I think Qin Huai and Qiao Qiqi are a good match. Qiao Qiqi went to Beijing for quite a while before, maybe she just came back to visit..."
Everyone was talking at once, with all sorts of opinions, but most of them were not optimistic.
But they only dared to gossip in secret, not daring to let Wang Guihua hear them. She was a tigress. Last time, when some villagers said that Qiao Qiqi and Qin Huai would get divorced sooner or later, Wang Guihua heard it and gave them a good scolding! They almost got into a fight. If there hadn't been a lot of people stopping them, Wang Guihua would have scratched that person's face.
Zhang Jingya and Wu Nana happened to be working with Wang Guihua today. Hearing the whispers behind Wang Guihua's back, Wu Nana snorted coldly, "Maybe Qin Huai and Qiao Qiqi have already divorced, they just haven't told anyone. If it were me, I wouldn't say anything either. After all, if outsiders knew about something so shameful, I would never be able to hold my head up in the village."
Zhang Jingya lowered her eyes and pondered for two seconds before raising her head and saying, "Don't say that. Qiao Qiqi is quite good too."
These words immediately drew a cold sneer from Wu Nana, "Everyone in the village knows that Qiao Qiqi used to like Hou Yan. She followed Hou Yan around all the time. Hou Yan has clearly rejected her several times, but she still shamelessly kept pestering him. I heard from the villagers that Qin Huai is poor and couldn't find a wife, so he married her. If his family were better off, he wouldn't have wanted such a shameless woman like Qiao Qiqi. It's a pity that Qiao Qiqi is unlucky. Qin Huai is successful now, so divorce is only a matter of time."
Zhang Jingya lowered her head, "Don't say that about her. She's actually quite pitiful for being abandoned."
Seeing that Zhang Jingya was still speaking well of Qiao Qiqi, Wu Nana was somewhat moved. "Jingya, you are so kind. If I were the one with Hou Yan, I would never be able to stand Qiao Qiqi's shameless harassment of my man."
A cold glint flashed in Zhang Jingya's eyes as she thought: You might wish Hou Yan were your man, but unfortunately, Hou Yan is my man.
She had long seen through Wu Nana's feelings for Hou Yan, but Wu Nana wasn't good enough, and Hou Yan was too proud to be interested in her.
Not far away, Hou Yan and Xing Guangyu were turning over the corn kernels on the ground with shovels. During the drying process, the corn needs to be turned over every two hours so that the sunlight can shine on each kernel more evenly.
The work isn't particularly tiring, but it's almost never complainable either. After flipping through it once, it takes about two hours, and then you have to hurry up and flip through it a second time.
Xing Guangyu looked up at the sun overhead and said to Hou Yan, "Let's take a break too. I'll go get some water, have a drink, and then we can continue."
Hou Yan was also tired, so he nodded and stopped what he was doing. "Okay."
After Xing Guangyu brought over the water bottle, the two took a few sips. Xing Guangyu's gaze fell on the group of women chatting not far away. Suddenly, he leaned close to Hou Yan's ear and whispered, "Have you heard about Qin Huai finding his relatives? Some people say that Qiao Qiqi came back from Beijing with a woman, but Qin Huai didn't come back with her. People in the village say that Qin Huai's family are prominent figures in Beijing, and their status is different now. They're probably going to divorce Qiao Qiqi."
Hou Yan had naturally heard about this. "That woman deserved it. She even asked me for money to help that man before. Now she deserves to be dumped."
Hou Yan always felt that Qiao Qiqi's previous visit to settle scores with him was at Qin Huai's behest. After all, everyone in the village knew that Qin Huai's family was in financial difficulty, but Hou Yan could never do something as shameless as letting his woman go to her ex-suitor to ask for things from the past.
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