Ever since she’d crossed over to this era, she hadn’t had a chance to eat pork ribs. Back with the Sun Family, Sun’s mother was incredibly frugal; when she bought at, she only ever got fatty cuts or pork belly. She would absolutely never buy ribs. In Sun’s mother’s eyes, the at itself was the only thing of substance. Ribs had little at and lots of bone, and the bones just added to the weight, so she never even considered buying them.
Second Auntie was annoyed, but she still managed to squeeze out a smile when she saw Jie Jingchen. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the items he was carrying, but she put on a stern face to scold him. "Jing Si, I’ve told you before, don’t bring anything when you co over to eat."
Jie Jingchen stepped forward and handed the items to Second Auntie, glancing sideways at Qin i. "My wife has been craving your braised pork ribs."
"..." Qin i felt wronged. ’When did I ever say that?’
Second Auntie paused, then broke into a smile and took the items from Jie Jingchen’s hands. "Well, alright then. I’ll go make the braised pork ribs right now. Do you want to sit here in the courtyard, or go inside?"
"Go on, Second Auntie. Don’t worry about us," Jie Jingchen said.
"Alright." Second Auntie took the items and turned to go back inside, her expression imdiately clouding over again. ’Five yuan! If we’re frugal, that’s enough to cover our family’s food for ten days.’
He Yufeng went inside to get so stools. "Jing Si, Fourth Wife of Jing, please sit."
"Thank you, Sister-in-law." Jie Jingchen took a stool and handed it to Qin i first.
Seeing how considerate Jie Jingchen was toward Qin i, He Yufeng said with a smile, "You two get along so well."
’Get along so well? Us?’ Qin i blinked, glancing at Jie Jingchen from the corner of her eye. Seeing him so calm and composed, she pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. To He Yufeng, she said, "Thank you, Sister-in-law."
"Fourth Wife of Jing, I should be the one thanking you," He Yufeng said. "If it weren’t for you... if sothing had happened to the Hero’s wife and the baby in her belly, I can’t even imagine what the consequences would have been." She shuddered with lingering fear just thinking about it; her eldest son had run into the Hero’s wife’s stomach, and she had been scared out of her wits.
Qin i just smiled and changed the subject. Noticing that He Yufeng’s two sons were nowhere to be seen in the courtyard, she asked casually, "Where are the children?"
"They’re inside. I didn’t let them co out to play," He Yufeng explained. "They got a bad scare, too."
"All children are mischievous," Qin i said. "But when they do sothing wrong, they need to be corrected. When they cause trouble, they must be taught a lesson, and when they do sothing right, they should be praised. You can’t just blindly indulge a child. Excessive indulgence and doting can ruin their entire life."
Listening to her speak so cogently, a slight smile touched the corners of Jie Jingchen’s lips.
’She’s only eighteen, yet she has such a sound attitude when it cos to a child’s education.’
"The Fourth Wife of Jing is right," He Yufeng agreed. "You two stay seated. I’m going to go help in the kitchen."
"Thank you, Sister-in-law." Qin i watched He Yufeng’s retreating back, feeling a wave of emotion. "Sigh. They’re both mothers, yet when it cos to raising children, He Yufeng’s philosophy is so sound. Xu Chunyan is a teacher, of all things, yet the way she’s raising her own son is so problematic."
At the ntion of Jie You, both Jie Jingchen and Jie Jingshan fell silent. One was Jie You’s paternal aunt, the other his fourth paternal uncle. Jie Jingchen wanted to overstep his bounds and intervene, but unfortunately, Xu Chunyan was fiercely protective of her child.
Qin i was rely musing aloud and hadn’t expected the siblings to weigh in.
Qin i held up the five-yuan bill and flicked it with her finger. ’Earning money with my own two hands for the first ti... it feels pretty good.’
"It feels so good to earn money." Qin i bead as she folded the bill, tucked it into her coat pocket, and gave the pocket a satisfied pat.
When Second Auntie’s son, Fang Youcai, got ho from work, He Yufeng told him what had happened. Fang Youcai flew into a rage. He stord into the house, grabbed his eldest son by the arm, and dragged him to Su Kexin’s room. With a single kick, he forced the boy to his knees. The little fellow started wailing, but Fang Youcai ignored him, forcing his son to apologize.
Sobbing, the little boy mumbled an apology to Su Kexin. His father’s actions had not only startled Granny Guo and Su Kexin, but had given Qin i a fright as well.
’I only reminded He Yufeng to discipline her child, but Fang Youcai’s actions are far too violent. A light spanking is one thing, but a savage beating is going way too far. I don’t support beating a child in a fit of rage. When you’re that emotional, you don’t know your own strength. The child might not die, but there’s a real risk of being permanently injured.’
"Youcai, that’s enough! Hurry and take Xiao Ping ho," Granny Guo said, trying to quickly usher them out. "It was just a scare. No real harm was done."
"Brother Fang, please don’t hit Xiao Ping anymore," Su Kexin chid in from the bed, her voice a little weak. "Thanks to the Fourth Wife of Jing, I’m fine now."
Only then did Fang Youcai relent. He dragged his eldest son out, and Granny Guo imdiately shut the room door behind them.
Fang Youcai dragged his eldest son in front of Qin i and barked, "Kneel! Kowtow to Aunt Jing Si!"
Fang Xiaoping imdiately obeyed, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to Qin i over and over.
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