Chapter 69
Lunch was rice, four dishes and one soup, with fish, meat, and eggs. It was very rich.
Li Hehua smiled and brought them bowls and chopsticks. “Qiming, Qingzhi, sit down and eat. Don’t be polite.”
Seeing that the few children were a little reserved, Ye Qingzhi took a bowl and served each of them a large bowl of rice. “We’re all family. Of course we won’t be polite.”
Seeing that half the pot of rice was gone, Yang Fuzhen’s heart ached. Especially since those three little rascals were not her biological grandsons.
“We’ve already split the family, so we’re two families. You should know the proper etiquette,” Yang Fuzhen said, shooting Ye Qingzhi a glare.
He Qiming frowned and was about to speak when he was pulled by Ye Qingzhi’s arm. “Dad, Ma, I’m sorry. Because of my dad’s matter, I forgot to give you the retirement money the day before yesterday. I’ll give it to you next month.”
She had thought that since she was going back to her hometown, she might as well give them cash. But since they were going to cause trouble, they shouldn’t blame her for making an issue of the retirement money.
He Qiming’s forward-leaning body drew back. He picked up his bowl and started to eat, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Of course, He Dali and Yang Fuzhen could hear that this was Ye Qingzhi threatening them.
She was telling them that the financial power of the second branch was in her hands. Whether they could get the money smoothly every month depended on her mood.
Yang Fuzhen stood up in anger and pointed at Ye Qingzhi, saying sharply, “You don’t want to give the retirement money? It was written clearly on the separation papers. What, you want to go back on your word?”
Ye Qingzhi’s eyes reddened. She looked at He Qiming with some fear and said with a wronged expression, “Ma, what are you talking about? I just had too many things this month and was thinking of giving it to you next month. And… and I’ve seen the separation papers. This five yuan a month for retirement is to be given after you’re sixty. The second branch has given the retirement money, so your and Dad’s retirement is all taken care of by the first and third branches. It’s because our Qiming is filial that he’s giving the retirement money early.”
Thanks to the ex-wife, who was worried about having to serve tea and water to He Dali and the others in the future, she had strongly requested that it be written in the separation papers that since the second branch had already given so much retirement money, they would not be responsible for their retirement.
In other words, when He Dali and Yang Fuzhen were old, the second branch would not have to support them, and they would not have to serve them when they were sick.
“You…” Yang Fuzhen was so angry she couldn’t speak.
Ye Qingzhi ate calmly. Hmph, she would withhold the retirement money for three months first. If they dared to make an issue of the separation papers, then that was even better. She would just give them the retirement money after they were sixty.
No, wait. She had to deduct what she had given these few years. She would give them the money after it was offset.
“Alright, the second son’s family rarely comes back. What nonsense are you talking about? Second son’s wife, your mother is not talking about you. Hurry up and eat. The food won’t be good when it’s cold,” He Dali said, glaring at Yang Fuzhen and speaking to Ye Qingzhi politely.
Ye Qingzhi’s lips curved into a smile, and she said obediently, “I know.”
After that, no one caused any more trouble, and they could finally have a peaceful meal.
After putting down their bowls and chopsticks and confirming that the few children were full, He Qiming and Ye Qingzhi got up to leave.
“Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, you should eat here tonight too. The potatoes have just been harvested. We’ll cook potato and bottle gourd. Don’t Jingyan and Yangyang love this?” Wang Xiuhua said with a chuckle.
Yang Fuzhen frowned unhappily. It was fine for He Qiming and He Jingyang to eat, but for Ye Qingzhi and He Jingyan and the others to eat, her heart was bleeding.
“No need. We’re going to the commune to buy some grain in a bit. We’ll cook ourselves at night,” Ye Qingzhi said, glancing at He Dali and Yang Fuzhen. “After all, we’ve already split the family. How can we keep eating here?”
“What are you talking about, Sister-in-law? Even if we’ve split the family, we’re still one family,” Li Hehua said, unable to help but complain about Yang Fuzhen in her heart. It was fine for her to act bossy in front of her and Wang Xiuhua, but why did she have to cause trouble in front of the second branch?
But He Qiming was also capable. The two wives he had married were not easy to deal with.
No, wait. Ye Qingzhi was much more capable than Xu Baoli. Xu Baoli had even given birth to a son, yet she had not been able to get He Qiming to take her to the army.
What about Ye Qingzhi? Before she had even married into the family, she had coaxed He Qiming into submitting a report to join the army. After they went to the base, He Qiming had probably handed over the financial power.
From the looks of it just now, Ye Qingzhi had completely controlled He Qiming. In the future, if they wanted to get any benefits from the second branch, they would have to coax this sister-in-law, Ye Qingzhi, first.
Ye Qingzhi looked at Li Hehua with a smile. As long as they didn’t cause trouble, she was not unreasonable.
They did not go home. The two of them took the children to the commune to buy things.
While waiting for the bus, Ye Qingzhi felt a gaze on her from behind. When she looked back, she found nothing.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Ye Qingzhi look back twice, He Qiming also looked back.
“I keep feeling like someone is staring at me. I don’t know who,” Ye Qingzhi said, moving forward a little and standing next to He Qiming, just enough to block the view of the people behind them. Sure enough, the feeling of being stared at was gone. “Someone was just staring at me.”
He Qiming pretended to look back at the children and scanned the area. There were three people he didn’t know, probably from other villages. From their village, there were He Dashan and He Yongyao.
When he and Qingzhi had just gotten their marriage certificate, because of the way He Yongyao had looked at Qingzhi, he had asked his aunt and had learned that Auntie Ye had originally wanted to introduce He Yongyao to Ye Qingzhi.
He had heard that the two sides had already arranged a time, but He Yongyao had refused. When Auntie Ye had complained to his aunt, his aunt had thought of him, and that was how he and Qingzhi had had their blind date.
But the way He Yongyao looked at Qingzhi was not right. If he liked her, why did he turn down the blind date back then?
With Qingzhi’s situation at that time, He Yongyao’s qualifications were not bad. The two of them might have worked out.
Thinking of this, He Qiming reached out and put his arm around Ye Qingzhi, his large hand holding her arm tightly.
“What?” This time, it was Ye Qingzhi who asked He Qiming.
“It’s nothing. I already know who it is. It’s fine. Don’t worry. It’s just some villagers being curious,” He Qiming said with a smile.
When he was at home last year, He Yongyao had been waiting at the station every day, as if he were looking for someone. Combined with the fact that he had turned down Ye Qingzhi’s blind date, it meant that he had taken a fancy to some girl but did not know her background.
So, he might have seen Qingzhi somewhere, and had fallen in love with her at first sight, and had even turned down a blind date for her. But as fate would have it, the blind date he had turned down was the object of his love at first sight?
No wonder He Yongyao had been so distraught after he had found out that they were together and had gotten their marriage certificate.
In other words, he was Qingzhi’s fated lover. They were meant to be husband and wife.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing He Qiming chuckle lightly, Ye Qingzhi looked at him with concern.
He was angry one moment, and then laughing happily the next. He seemed a little off.
Could he have been driven mad by those people at the old house?
“It’s nothing,” He Qiming said, looking at Ye Qingzhi, his face full of spring breeze.
After getting on the bus, Ye Qingzhi chose a window seat. Of course, He Qiming sat next to her. The other side of the row was snatched by the quick-witted He Yongyao. The window seat next to him was He Jingyan.
“Qiming, long time no see. Are you back this time for your father-in-law’s matter?” As He Yongyao said this, his eyes kept glancing at Ye Qingzhi. Seeing her leaning on He Qiming’s shoulder, feigning sleep, his eyes were full of regret.
Fate had played a trick on him. Ye Qingzhi should have been his wife. She might even be pregnant with his child by now.
He Qiming frowned, moved his body a little, and blocked He Yongyao’s gaze. “Yes. I was originally planning to come back for the New Year, but I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”
“Is everything handled? I heard he was beaten to death because of a fight over irrigation water. Has the culprit been caught?” Seeing that he couldn’t see Ye Qingzhi, a hint of disappointment flashed in He Yongyao’s eyes. Now, even a glance at her was a luxury.
He Qiming acted as if he hadn’t noticed his disappointment. “Yes, it’s still under investigation. I believe the culprit will be caught soon. Has Brother Yongyao not found a partner yet?”
He Yongyao pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and forced a smile. “I’d rather be single than settle for less. If it’s not the right person, it’s better to be single.”
He Qiming raised an eyebrow. What, was he still thinking of Qingzhi?
Unfortunately, Qingzhi was now his wife, and would only be his, He Qiming’s, wife in the future.
“You’ve been married for almost a year. You haven’t had a child yet?” He Yongyao had just looked at Ye Qingzhi’s belly. It didn’t look like she was pregnant.
He Qiming’s gaze darkened. He was quite observant.
“There’s no hurry for this. We don’t lack children. The main thing is that I’m often on missions, and we’re apart more than we’re together. It’s not easy for Qingzhi to get pregnant,” He Qiming said with a smile, taking all the responsibility on himself.
Just then, Ye Qingzhi tugged on He Qiming’s arm. “I’m not feeling well. Get me an orange.”
The oranges at this time were still very green, but she was not eating them for the taste, but mainly for the smell.
Her nose was filled with the fresh scent of orange, and the feeling of nausea was much better. She leaned on He Qiming’s shoulder and glanced at He Yongyao through the gap.
In fact, she had also guessed that it was He Yongyao who was staring at her. Was it because they had almost been on a blind date back then?
It couldn’t be. Back then, it was He Yongyao himself who had told Auntie Ye that he had someone he liked and was not planning to go on a blind date. Why was he still not married?
Was it because the person he liked did not like him?
Ye Qingzhi guessed wildly. In a daze, they finally arrived at the commune. When they got off the bus, she stood by the roadside for a long time before she recovered.
“Are you still not feeling well?” He Qiming asked gently.
“I’m fine,” Ye Qingzhi said, turning to look at He Yongyao. She had not expected to meet his gaze. But she did not think it was a big deal. She nodded, which was considered a greeting, and went with He Qiming and the children to the grain station to buy grain.
On the way, Ye Qingzhi did not hide it and told He Qiming about how Auntie Ye had once introduced He Yongyao to her, and also told him her speculation.
“Could it be that he wasn’t accepted by the object of his affection, and then he saw that I was successful on my blind date and that my life was going well, so he’s feeling unbalanced?” The more Ye Qingzhi thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Otherwise, why would he keep staring at her?
He Qiming was taken aback for a moment, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Then he said seriously, “Yes, it should be as you guessed. My wife is so smart.”
Seeing He Qiming agree, Ye Qingzhi nodded in satisfaction. That’s right. Of course she was smart.