After seeing the door close again, it took a good while before a figure quietly emerged from the kitchen.
Under the faint moonlight, it turned out that the eavesdropper was none other than Qiao Hui.
Qiao Hui waited quietly for a bit longer to confirm that He Meijun and Qiao Chang had truly gone to sleep. Only then did she tiptoe back to her own room.
Fortunately, the Qiao Family was well-off, and every child in the household had their own room. Otherwise, Qiao Hui would have had no chance to sneak over to the third branch’s place in the dead of night to eavesdrop.
‘So that’s why they’ve been acting so strangely lately…’
In the darkness, Qiao Hui hadn’t lit the kerosene lamp out of fear of being discovered. Under the dim moonlight, she groped her way back to bed and lay down.
But the moment she thought about how the Qiao Family’s third branch was partnering with some big boss and making a fortune, she felt deeply uncomfortable.
She had wondered why He Meijun and Qiao Chang hadn’t been working the fields lately. It turned out they were collaborating with a big boss from Hong Kong!
Because she had been spending time with Huo Qinming in the County Town recently, Qiao Hui had heard that a certain brand of melon seeds was selling like hotcakes there.
When she first heard they were called Beauty Melon Seeds, she thought the name was quite appealing. Even though she didn’t usually eat melon seeds, she had bought some on impulse.
However, now that she knew those Beauty Melon Seeds were most likely produced by the Qiao Family’s third branch in cahoots with that big boss from Hong Kong, she suddenly found them utterly repulsive.
‘But that doesn’t add up…’
In the darkness, Qiao Hui frowned deeply. Why hadn’t she heard anything in her previous life about He Meijun teaming up with some Hong Kong boss to do business???
Could it be that she had married too early and her information was too cut off, so she had overlooked such news???
That wasn’t impossible.
After all, ever since she married Feng Xiao, she had never returned home.
And after those events later on, the Qiao Family members, including her parents, had cut ties with her completely.
For the rest of her life after that, she never went back home or had any contact with the Qiao Family again.
The only bits she knew about her little cousin Qiao Shu doing well came from seeing her on TV, in newspapers, or in the media…
At this thought, a pang of regret stirred in Qiao Hui’s heart. If she had known she would get a second chance at life, she would have made sure to figure out everything that had happened in the Qiao Family over the years—especially how they made money!
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be in this situation now, forced to watch helplessly as the third branch she despised the most raked in the cash, while she hadn’t managed to connect with the Hong Kong boss in advance!
‘No…’
She couldn’t let Qiao Shu’s parents keep making big money with that Hong Kong big boss.
If the third branch really struck it rich, then even without Huo Qinming as her super-rich husband, Qiao Shu could still become a second-generation rich kid thanks to her parents and live well!
In that case, how could she end up in that irredeemable hell after Feng Xiao’s death?!
So, she absolutely could not let He Meijun and Qiao Chang get ahead…
But how could she stop them from making more money…
After racking her brains seriously for a while, Qiao Hui finally came up with a perfect idea that wouldn’t even require her to show her face.
‘Got it…’
In her memory, her own Third Aunt He Meijun had a truly awful natal family.
That family was extremely problematic. They were city folk and not poor by any means, yet they treated their one and only daughter He Meijun with all sorts of abuse.
Logically speaking, He Meijun’s mother had already borne three sons before her. Sure, favoring sons over daughters was common, but surely they wouldn’t mistreat their youngest daughter that badly!
Making their only daughter go down to the countryside in place of her tall, sturdy brothers was one thing, but they hadn’t even prepared any proper luggage for her.
She remembered her own mother sometimes complaining that He Meijun had grown so robust because of how well they had raised her.
Apparently, when He Meijun first arrived in their village as a sent-down youth, she was so scrawny she didn’t look like a city girl—not even like someone from a slightly well-off family in their village. The luggage she brought was just a pile of rags.
If the brigade secretary hadn’t said she was an educated youth sent down to support the countryside, the villagers would have taken her for a little beggar.
In any case, in her understanding, He Meijun never spoke of her natal family and had no contact with them over the years.
Oh, wait—no, she recalled that a few years back, He Meijun’s natal family had sent her a letter, but the contents weren’t good; it seemed like they were asking for money…
At this thought, a sinister smile crept across Qiao Hui’s face.
She figured that if her Third Aunt’s trashy natal family learned that their niece had married into a powerful family in the Capital, and that their daughter was now doing business with a big boss from Hong Kong and striking it rich, they would turn into bloodsuckers and latch on!
If that family went and caused a scene with the Hong Kong big boss, maybe He Meijun and Qiao Chang would be despised by him. Not wanting to deal with such trouble, he might just cut ties with them???
Without the support of the Hong Kong big boss, two people like He Meijun and Qiao Chang who only knew how to farm—how could they possibly make money on their own…
After mulling it over, Qiao Hui decided that first thing tomorrow morning, she would go to the educated youths in town who had come down with He Meijun and stayed after marrying locals, to quietly inquire about where her Third Aunt had come from.
If she couldn’t find out He Meijun’s origins that way, she would go ask old Branch Secretary. Once she got the address, she would write a letter and send it off.
She was certain that family would come running the moment they knew He Meijun had made it big…
Qiao Hui, who had been tossing and turning earlier over the third branch making big money, fell right asleep as soon as this plan to sabotage them came to mind.
The next morning when she woke up early, instead of heading straight to the County Town to find Huo Qinming as usual, she went to town to track down those educated youths from He Meijun’s batch who had stayed behind after getting married.
And sure enough, her inquiries paid off—she got the address and even overheard some gossip about He Meijun’s family.
‘Your Third Aunt is just too stubborn. If you ask me, why hold grudges against your own parents like that? Every family favors their sons more. Besides, with so many sons in Auntie He’s family, they must be saving up to get wives for the sons and grandsons. Why fuss with those brothers and nephews who have the right parts between their legs…’
If the topic hadn’t been He Meijun, Qiao Hui would have argued fiercely with the old woman in front of her.
What did she mean favoring sons was right? What did she mean you couldn’t compete with those who had dicks?
What utter bullshit.
But since they were discussing He Meijun’s family affairs, and she despised everyone in the Qiao Family’s third branch anyway, Qiao Hui said nothing.
After listening quietly to this female educated youth who had come down to the countryside with He Meijun talk about her family matters, she finally left.
However, when Qiao Hui wrote the letter and saw that He Meijun’s family address was in a city in the south, she felt quite surprised.
She couldn’t understand why a family from the city, with both parents working and clearly not poor, would mistreat He Meijun so badly.
It was as if the daughter had been picked up off the street and wasn’t their own flesh and blood…
Qiao Hui just grumbled about it casually in her mind and didn’t dwell on it.
After finishing the letter, she bought stamps at the post office and mailed it off.
‘Hope the letter gets there quick…’
Qiao Hui muttered to herself inwardly.
At this moment, He Meijun and Qiao Chang had no idea about Qiao Hui’s scheme against their family. After finishing breakfast, they hurriedly took their money to the credit union and deposited it.
Only after depositing all the money did He Meijun and Qiao Chang feel a bit more at ease.
“Child’s dad, let’s earn a bit more money and then go buy a house in the Capital first.”