"I’m disgusted," Jie Jingchen answered in a low voice.
Jie Jinghun didn’t understand. "What do you an?" he pressed.
"Qin i used Jingchen’s hand to reset Second Sister-in-law’s brother’s jaw," Jie Jingshan explained.
Jie Jinghun had seen Xu Chunwang’s disgusting state after his jaw was dislocated. At the thought of all that drool, he gave Jie Jingchen a sympathetic look.
Never mind Jie Jingchen; even just thinking about it made him feel sick.
Mr. and Mrs. Xie returned ho and were surprised to see the money on the stone table. Mr. Xie knew his second son and daughter-in-law had brought Xu Chunwang to the Jie family ho for Qin i to reset his jaw. In fact, he had deliberately co ho late because of it.
Mrs. Xie’s eyes swept over the money on the table. She smiled at Qin i. "This is more than a thousand, isn’t it?"
"I decided to raise the price. I doubled it," Qin i said matter-of-factly.
Mrs. Xie was stunned for a mont, then praised her, "Brilliant! Just what I’d expect from my daughter-in-law."
Mr. Xie rubbed his forehead. Ever since Qin i had a complete falling out with the Xu family, she had stopped tolerating his second son’s family.
"Xiao i, put the money away." Mr. Xie’s voice was kindly, yet carried a commanding tone.
"There’s no hurry," Qin i said.
Mr. Xie raised his eyebrows. For Qin i to disobey him was undoubtedly a blow to his pride. His expression darkened, and he looked at Jie Jingchen. "Jing Si."
"It’s no use calling on . She won’t listen to what I say, but I’ll listen to whatever she says," Jie Jingchen made his stance clear.
Mr. Xie completely lost face. His fourth son was a rebel through and through, and the wife he married was just as defiant.
Mrs. Xie shot her husband a displeased glare. "What’s the rush? I think the money looks quite nice sitting there. It’s easy on the eyes."
"Dear, this isn’t easy on the eyes, it’s an eyesore." Mr. Xie was helpless. His authority as a father had been challenged, and his wife was protecting their son and daughter-in-law. Angry but not daring to voice it, he warned, "If Jing Wu sees this much money, he’ll get ideas."
"Jie Jianguo, what do you an by that? You’re Jing Wu’s father. Is it appropriate for a father to badmouth his own son like that?" Mrs. Xie was fiercely protective.
"Dear, don’t you, as his mother, know exactly what kind of person Jing Wu is?" Mr. Xie retorted, not in an accusatory way, but simply stating a fact.
Just as Mrs. Xie was about to argue back, Jie Jingjue returned, humming a little tune on his bicycle with Hu Wan’er riding on the back.
Speak of the devil.
"Cousin Wan’er, you can get off first." Jie Jingjue stopped the bike, planting one foot on the ground as he waited for Hu Wan’er to dismount. Only after she was off did he lift the bicycle over the threshold.
"Be careful, Fifth Cousin," Hu Wan’er urged.
Jie Jingjue froze mid-motion with the bicycle. Seeing everyone in the courtyard staring at him, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly explained, "Don’t get the wrong idea! I just happened to run into Cousin Wan’er after work. She’s new to the city and doesn’t know her way around, so I brought her ho. I definitely didn’t skip work to spend the day with her."
Dressed in a skirt, Hu Wan’er stood there demurely, not making a move.
"Wan’er, aren’t you cold wearing a skirt in this weather?" Mrs. Xie asked, her brow furrowed.
Qin i glanced at Hu Wan’er, a flash of contempt and scorn in her eyes.
"It wasn’t cold at noon, but it’s a little chilly now." Hu Wan’er was genuinely cold; her voice even trembled a little as she spoke.
"Hurry back to your room and put on a jacket," Mr. Xie said.
"Okay, Uncle." Hu Wan’er ran toward the room she shared with Aunt Zhang. As she passed the group, the money on the stone table was so dazzling it almost blinded her. ’So much money!’
A flash of greed appeared in her eyes, but she quickly hid it when she t Qin i’s gaze.
"Jing Wu," Qin i called out.
"Yes, Sister-in-law?" Jie Jingjue asked, pushing the bicycle to its usual spot.
"Co over here." Qin i smiled and beckoned to him.
Except for Jie Jingchen and Jie Jingshan, the other three didn’t understand her intention and began to wonder, ’Is Qin i going to give so of the money she earned to Jing Wu?’
"Just a second," Jie Jingjue said.
"Xiao i." Mrs. Xie shot Qin i a aningful look. Just as Mr. Xie had said, she knew perfectly well what kind of character her own son had.
If Jing Wu got his eyes on this money, he would rack his brains to get his hands on it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Xie knew this from experience; they gave him no small sum of money every month.
"Mom, what are you worried about?" Jie Jingchen asked in a low voice.
Mrs. Xie glared at Jie Jingchen, demanding irritably, "What am I worried about? Don’t you have any idea?"
Qin i had only recently joined the Jie family and didn’t know Jing Wu, but shouldn’t Jingchen know his own younger brother?
Of course, he knew. But Jie Jingchen said nothing, his thin lips curling into a wicked smile.
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