Qin i gazed at him without a word.
"Do you really like this courtyard?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"I really do." Qin i nodded. She ant it.
Jie Jingchen curled a finger and gently scraped the tip of her nose. "Try to get on Mom’s good side. Maybe she’ll give it to you."
"Get on her good side?" Qin i was stunned for a mont. "Isn’t this courtyard from the machinery factory? The one they assigned to your father?"
"No." Jie Jingchen released her wrist and stepped into the house.
Qin i stood frozen in astonishnt. When she saw Jie Jingchen go inside, she hurried after him, closed the door, and pressed, "Jie Jingchen, explain yourself."
"The housing assigned by the machinery factory isn’t here. This courtyard belongs to Mom." Jie Jingchen paused, then added, "To be precise, it belongs to the Qiao Family. This is their ancestral ho. The Qiao Family moved to Xiangjiang, and later..."
Jie Jingchen didn’t finish, but Qin i understood what he ant.
A flicker of regret crossed Jie Jingchen’s deep eyes. "Mom said this place has been changed a lot. Her father had to pull so strings to get this courtyard back. She refused the marriage her parents had arranged for her, left Xiangjiang, and married Dad. They were worried she would inevitably run into conflict with her mother-in-law while living with her husband’s family, so they gave her this courtyard."
Qin i was thrilled. ’This courtyard is my mother-in-law’s prenuptial property! That ans there are two fewer competitors.’
Qin i swallowed. "Jie Jingchen, from what you’re saying, the true heirs to this courtyard are just you, Jie Jingjue, and Jie Jingshan. Jie Jingwei and Jie Jinghun only moved in with... with Dad. We can set Dad aside, but Jie Jingwei and Jie Jinghun are basically living under soone else’s roof. For soone living on another’s charity, Xu Chunyan is still so arrogant. Does she have no sha?"
"Not many people know who this courtyard really belongs to. I don’t think Second Brother ever told his wife," Jie Jingchen said.
This was the Qiao Family’s property, but the Jie Family had lived here for so long they probably assud it was theirs. On second thought, Qin i understood. Everyone was surnad Jie; only Mom was surnad Qiao. With the minority yielding to the majority, this had beco the Jie Family’s ho.
"Qin i, as for this business with the courtyard, you should just listen and let it be," Jie Jingchen reminded her.
Qin i shot Jie Jingchen an irritated glare. "Do I look like a complete idiot to you?"
’In this sensitive era, it’s better not to dig too deep into it,’ she thought. ’If you keep digging, who knows what you’ll unearth. The Qiao Family had the foresight to move to Xiangjiang ahead of ti. Otherwise, their fate would have been tragic.’
Jie Jingchen’s thin lips curved into a faint smile. ’She’s so sharp since losing her mory. You only need to hint at things, and she understands the deeper aning and all the risks involved.’
"Jing Si," Second Aunt’s voice called from the courtyard.
"Second Aunt is here." Qin i reacted instantly. She jumped onto the bed, pulled the quilt over herself, snatched the towel from the pillow, and hastily wrapped it around her head.
Seeing this, Jie Jingchen’s lip twitched. He reached out to lift the quilt at her feet.
"What are you doing?" Qin i pinned the quilt down with her feet, not letting him lift it.
"You didn’t take your shoes off," Jie Jingchen reminded her.
Qin i froze. Only after his reminder did she realize she’d forgotten to take off her shoes.
Before Qin i could react, Jie Jingchen had already taken off her shoes for her and placed them neatly beside the bed.
Jie Jingchen took off her shoes for her. Qin i stared blankly. ’When did we beco this intimate?’
"Second Sister," Mrs. Xie said, coming out to greet her.
Seeing his mother go outside, Jie Jingchen stopped what he was doing and returned to sit by the bed.
"Doctor Qiao, you’re ho too?" Second Aunt was a little surprised to see Mrs. Xie; she usually didn’t get off work this early. Thinking of Qin i’s miscarriage, Second Aunt began to console her sadly, "Doctor Qiao, don’t be too heartbroken. You weren’t fated to have this child. It was a man-made disaster, but it was also destiny. The young couple is still young. Once they’ve recovered, they can give you seventeen or eighteen grandchildren."
Qin i wanted to retort. ’Seventeen or eighteen? Do they think I’m a pig?’
"Second Sister, let’s hope so," Mrs. Xie replied with an elegant smile.
Seeing her smile, Second Aunt felt uneasy. ’How can she smile when sothing like this has happened?’ In her eyes, Mrs. Xie’s smile was clearly forced. "Doctor Qiao, you’re a good person. Good things will co to you."
Mrs. Xie wasn’t sure how to respond. Noticing the aluminum lunch boxes in Second Aunt’s hands, she imdiately understood and said gratefully, "Second Sister, thank you. You’ve gone to so much trouble."
"It’s no trouble at all, just a small effort," Second Aunt said, stuffing the lunch boxes into Mrs. Xie’s hands. "The Fourth Wife of Jing is my eldest grandson’s godmother. If she hadn’t saved the hero’s wife, my grandson would have been in huge trouble. Now that she’s had a miscarriage, you have to work and don’t have ti to care for her. And Jing Si is a man—what does he know about caring for a woman during her postpartum confinent? So, I’ll take care of her three als a day while she recovers. I’ll cook them and bring them over."
"Second Sister, that’s too much trouble. It’s a lot of work to carry it back and forth. How about this? I’ll give you money. When you buy groceries, just buy a little extra and cook here at my house. I won’t let you do it for free; I’ll pay you for your ti," Mrs. Xie said.
"That works. My family eats late anyway. I can co here and cook for them first, then go ho to make dinner," Second Aunt agreed. Then she added, "What’s this about paynt? We’re neighbors. You help , I help you—that’s how we keep the neighborhood harmonious. Besides, the Fourth Wife of Jing is my grandson’s godmother. We’re family, and family doesn’t keep score. It’s only right that I look after her while she recovers."
"Second Sister, you’re too kind-hearted, but I can’t be impolite," Mrs. Xie said, stuffing a wad of large-denomination bills and grain coupons into Second Aunt’s hand.
Second Aunt counted them. There were ten bills in total, plus a good amount of grain coupons. "Doctor Qiao, one hundred yuan is too much."
"It’s not too much at all. Just buy what you think is best. If you run out, let know," Mrs. Xie said. She walked Second Aunt out of the courtyard, then stood in the yard and called out to Jie Jingchen. "Fourth Son."
Jie Jingchen ca out, and Mrs. Xie handed him the aluminum lunch boxes.
"Starting tomorrow, Second Aunt will be coming over to cook for you two," Mrs. Xie said.
"I heard you talking," Jie Jingchen said.
"All right, then. I won’t say any more. Go get Jing Qi and eat while it’s hot." With that, Mrs. Xie went back inside.
There was one at dish, one vegetable dish, and a soup. The soup was a light chicken broth, perfect for soone recovering.
For Qin i, who couldn’t enjoy a al without so spice, it wasn’t very appetizing. Jie Jingshan, however, loved it and ate a lot.
After dinner, Jie Jingchen washed the dishes while Jie Jingshan stayed to chat with Qin i.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, are you still doing the acupuncture tomorrow?" Jie Jingshan asked.
"Of course," Qin i answered.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, when are we leaving?" Jie Jingshan asked again.
"Leaving for where?" Qin i asked, confused.
"To find Eldest Sister." Jie Jingshan looked at Qin i, her eyes full of anticipation. She had only t their eldest sister once, when she was very little. Her sister had brought her husband ho for a visit, but Jing Shan had been too young to rember much, not even what her sister looked like.
Qin i paused, then smiled. "Jing Qi, it’s not nice to eavesdrop."
"Hehe." Jie Jingshan just laughed, not the least bit embarrassed. She took Qin i’s hand and said, "Fourth Sister-in-law, I want to go find Eldest Sister, too. When are we leaving?"
"Jing Qi, long-distance travel isn’t a good idea during your treatnt," Qin i said gently. ’She must not have heard the whole conversation,’ she figured. ’She probably only heard say I’d take them to find their sister, not what Jie Jingchen said.’
Jie Jingchen didn’t agree, and now, she didn’t want to go either.
’I couldn’t handle the Sun Family’s outhouse, and there’s no way Jing Qi could, either.’
Disappointnt filled Jie Jingshan’s eyes. "But..."
"Once your leg is healed, we’ll go find Eldest Sister," Qin i interrupted.
Jie Jingshan’s eyes lit up. "Really?"
Qin i had intended to just put her off, but under that expectant gaze, even a white lie felt like a sin. "I promise."
"Okay! Once my leg is better, we’ll go find Eldest Sister!" Jie Jingshan said with a smile. Then she suddenly thought of sothing, and her head drooped. "But what if Fourth Brother says no?"
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