Thinking of her pitiful younger brother and Qiao Yanqiu’s vicious kick, Xu Chunyan’s eyes darkened with resentnt.
Aunt Zhang took Xu Chunyan’s hand and patted the back of it gently. "Second Daughter-in-law Jing, how many years have you been married to Jing Er? And how many years have I worked in this house? I know Qiao Yanqiu better than you do. As long as it’s sothing she doesn’t care about, you can take whatever you want. For example, money."
Qin i looked up at the eaves. ’It seems Aunt Zhang wasn’t wrong. My mother-in-law really does see money as dirt.’
’Age and experience really do win out! No wonder Aunt Zhang has managed to stay in this house. Aunt Zhang abused Jing Qi, but Jing Qi never said a word. How could Mrs. Xie ever imagine that Aunt Zhang would abuse him?’
’Considering the relationship between Aunt Zhang and Jing Qi, his change in personality, his violent temper, his aggression... and the fact that he had no injuries while Aunt Zhang did... it was obvious who would be seen as the abuser and who the victim.’
’Over ti, even if Jing Qi did have injuries, people would assu they were self-inflicted—especially since he genuinely had a tendency to self-harm.’
Aunt Zhang’s voice sounded again. "As long as you don’t cross Qiao Yanqiu’s bottom line, she’ll let you run wild. She sees you as nothing more than a clown putting on a show. She turns a blind eye to most things, and even if she does see them, she doesn’t take them to heart. That’s why she’s ignored your provocations all these years. Every ti your family cos to cause a scene, she just gives them money. The Qiao Family is so rich that she simply doesn’t care about money."
Xu Chunyan fell silent. She had no rebuttal to Aunt Zhang’s words.
’Comparisons really are the thief of joy. You rack your brains trying to get money, yet soone else couldn’t care less about it.’
"Auntie, can you really tolerate how Qin i treated you?" Xu Chunyan asked, unable to accept it.
"Whether I can or not, I have to," Aunt Zhang said, her voice resolute. She knew exactly what to report and what to endure. If Qin i had beaten her black and blue, she wouldn’t have needed to say a word—anyone with eyes could see it, unless they were willfully blind.
’Qin i is a formidable opponent. To deal with her, I have to outsmart her. I can’t be reckless like Xu Chunyan.’
"Do I have to endure it too?" Xu Chunyan asked resentfully, still not resigned to it.
"You must endure," Aunt Zhang firmly said those three words.
Qin i scoffed silently, her voice inaudible. ’The very character for "endure" has a knife hanging over a heart. Let’s see how long you can endure. There’s always a breaking point, unless you’re a Ninja Turtle.’
No longer interested in listening, Qin i stood up and prepared to walk away.
"Who’s out there?" Xu Chunyan was facing the window, while Aunt Zhang had her back to it.
Showing none of the awkwardness of being caught eavesdropping, Qin i turned around, poised and at ease, and looked at the two panicked won inside. She even smiled and gave them a little wave.
"You were eavesdropping on us? Qin i, you’re despicable!" Xu Chunyan hated Qin i to the core and wanted to rush over and tear her to shreds.
Aunt Zhang spun around and looked warily behind Qin i. Seeing that she was alone, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
’My status is just Jie Jianguo’s sister-in-law. Jie Jianguo and Qiao Yanqiu only let work here for my deceased sister’s sake. Xu Chunyan, on the other hand, is at least Jing Er’s wife. She has the standing to lock horns with Qin i in public.’
’If I want to challenge Qin i, I can only do it in private, and on the condition that she won’t go tattling.’
"Second Sister-in-law, have you already forgotten what your aunt said?" Qin i flashed a sarcastic smile and added provocatively, "Endure, endure, endure. You have to endure."
"Qin i," Xu Chunyan gritted out, her eyes filled with a tide of rage that threatened to drown Qin i.
Aunt Zhang shot a look at Xu Chunyan, growing even more frustrated with her own lack of alertness. ’Qin i had been hiding outside the window eavesdropping, and I hadn’t sensed a thing. Thank goodness it was Qin i. If it had been Qiao Yanqiu, I’d have been kicked out.’
’During work hours, besides Jing Qi, no one else is usually here.’
Qin i raised her hand, twirling the keys she was holding, and walked toward her room, humming a little tune.
She unlocked the door with her key, pushed it open, and went inside. She grabbed ten dicinal plasters, ca out, locked the door, and left, still humming her tune.
Qin i went over to Second Auntie’s ho. She didn’t see Jie Jingshan in the yard, so she went to the kitchen. Second Auntie was teaching Jie Jingshan how to stir-fry.
"Second Auntie, is this right?" Jie Jingshan sat in her wheelchair. The stove was a bit high, so she had to sit up straight just to be able to hold the spatula and stir the vegetables in the wok.
"Oh, Jing Qi! The Jie Family has money, and the Qiao Family has even more. I heard the Qiao Family has servants in droves! You were born to a life of luxury; you don’t need to learn how to cook at all," Granny Guo, who was also in the kitchen making lunch, said.
This kitchen was shared by three families. Ma’s mother, Father Ma, and Ma Tianshun all had to work, so aside from breakfast and dinner, they ate lunch at the factory. That ant only Granny Guo and Second Auntie were there to make lunch.
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