Chapter 182: Freeloading at Her Parents’ Home

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Freeloading at Her Parents’ Home

"That pest is finally gone. The air feels so much cleaner."

Watching the oxcart slowly recede into the distance, Lu Tingting couldn’t help but comment.

Jiang Moli turned to look at her. "My dear niece, how about I give you a chance for revenge?"

Lu Tingting stared at her suspiciously. "What rotten idea have you cooked up now?"

"Weren’t you the one who suspected Jiang Qing sent that telegram to your family last time? You can give her a taste of her own medicine. Send a telegram to her in-laws telling them she was expelled from school and is already on her way home."

Lu Tingting’s eyes lit up.

...

Li Hongying had recently found a job sweeping the streets.

It wasn’t even seven in the morning, and she was already swinging a large broom, SWOOSH SWOOSH, sweeping the street. Suddenly, she heard a vaguely familiar "Mom" from behind her.

She assumed it was a passerby. ’This girl’s voice sounds a lot like my daughter’s,’ she thought.

Only when Jiang Qing called out to her again did she slowly turn around.

Staring at Jiang Qing, who was so dark and thin she looked like a little monkey, Li Hongying could barely recognize her. "Xiao Qing? Why... why are you back? When did you get here?"

In the baozi shop.

Jiang Qing held a tea egg in her left hand and a large meat bun in her right, eating ravenously.

Li Hongying’s heart ached with pity as she watched. ’How long has my daughter been starving?’

"Xiao Qing, eat slower. Have some congee, don’t choke."

Jiang Qing stuffed half a tea egg into her mouth and said while chewing, "Mom, I want another meat bun."

Li Hongying didn’t say anything.

’My daughter is pregnant, so it’s normal for her to have a big appetite,’ she thought.

After eating five large meat buns in a row, Jiang Qing finally felt like she was coming back to life.

Heaven knew how long it had been since she had last eaten meat.

"Xiao Qing, why did you come back so suddenly?"

Jiang Qing didn’t answer, asking instead, "Mom, where are you guys living now?"

Li Hongying hesitated for a moment but still told her that she and Jiang Dahai were living in the military family housing.

Jiang Qing was furious. "Then why did you lie to me before and say you were living with relatives?"

Seeing her daughter’s temper flare, Li Hongying quickly explained, "I didn’t mean to lie to you. Back then, your Uncle Jiang’s house had just been taken back by the factory. He was worried that people would gossip and it would affect Xiao Lu, so we kept it a secret."

Jiang Qing sneered, "Am I an outsider?"

Li Hongying was tongue-tied, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Jiang Qing understood perfectly. "It was Jiang Dahai who told you not to say anything, right? What, was he afraid that I, his married-out stepdaughter, would come back to freeload?"

"Your Uncle Jiang isn’t that kind of person."

Jiang Qing said, "Fine then. Take me there now. I’m going to stay at my mother’s home for a while."

Li Hongying was at a loss. "You... you’re not going back to your in-laws’?"

"Jia Ming’s father is blind in one eye. Who knows how much he hates me? If I go back, do you think they’ll let me live in peace?"

Realizing this was her worry, Li Hongying tried to comfort her. "You’re carrying Jia Ming’s child now. If you go back and apologize properly, they’ll forgive you..."

Jiang Qing cut her off impatiently. "I said I don’t want to go back! Can you stop nagging?!"

Li Hongying was stunned silent by her daughter’s shouting. After a moment, she mumbled, "The apartment belongs to Xiao Lu’s unit. It’s already against the rules for your Uncle Jiang and me to be living there. If you move in too, wouldn’t that just cause trouble for Xiao Lu?"

"So you’re just going to abandon me? You might as well not have given birth to me!"

Jiang Qing’s tears came instantly, and she cried sorrowfully. "My in-laws won’t have me, and now even my own mother won’t take me in. What’s the point of me living? I might as well just die, so I won’t be an eyesore to you all..."

...

Jiang Dahai came home from work.

Seeing Jiang Qing on the sofa, he casually said to Li Hongying, "Did a relative from back home come to visit?"

Li Hongying was both awkward and guilty. "It’s Xiao Qing."

Hearing this, Jiang Dahai stared for a long while before finally recognizing his stepdaughter.

She wasn’t just darker; she was a lot thinner, looking like a refugee who had fled a famine.

Seeing that Jiang Dahai wasn’t angry, Li Hongying’s anxious heart could finally rest.

She knew she shouldn’t have brought her daughter home, but she couldn’t find it in her heart to abandon her.

Li Hongying set out dinner and place settings, and the three of them sat down to eat.

Jiang Qing wolfed down her food as if she hadn’t eaten meat in eight lifetimes, her chopsticks constantly grabbing for the pork.

Jiang Dahai had lived through the hard times. Seeing his stepdaughter’s ravenous eating, he knew she hadn’t had enough to eat for a long time.

While sighing over the harsh conditions in Menghai, he couldn’t help but worry about his own daughter.

’My daughter hasn’t been starved to skin and bones too, has she?’

"Xiao Qing, why did you come back all by yourself? Why didn’t you wait a few more days and come back with Moli?"

Jiang Qing didn’t answer Jiang Dahai’s question. Instead, she announced, "Uncle Jiang, I need to stay here for a while."

Her tone wasn’t one of inquiry, nor was it a plea. It was self-righteous, as if she were issuing a notice.

Li Hongying’s heart leaped into her throat.

’Bringing my daughter back was bad enough. Now she wants to stay... I’m so ashamed,’ she thought.

Jiang Dahai looked at Jiang Qing. "Your father-in-law is blind in one eye. Aren’t you going back to see him?"

Without lifting her head from her bowl, Jiang Qing said, "I’ll go back when I have time."

Seeing her act this way, Jiang Dahai lost his appetite.

He put down his chopsticks and said, "Don’t overthink things. Finish your meal, get a good night’s rest, and I’ll take you back tomorrow morning."

Jiang Qing’s head snapped up.

Jiang Dahai continued, "You’re a married woman now; it’s not appropriate to live at your mother’s house. Besides, this apartment belongs to Xiao Lu’s unit. Your mother and I are only staying here temporarily. It’s even more inappropriate for you to move in."

It felt like a slap across the face. Jiang Qing’s cheeks burned with humiliation.

She had never expected Jiang Dahai to refuse her.

’Jiang Dahai might be a hypocrite, but he always put on a good show for me, his stepdaughter,’ she thought bitterly.

"Uncle Jiang, I won’t stay long. I’ll move out as soon as I find a job."

"If you want to stay and work in the city, that’s something you need to discuss with your in-laws."

Jiang Dahai’s inflexibility made Jiang Qing both desperate and resentful.

She shot a look at Li Hongying, hoping her mother would put in a good word for her.

Li Hongying was too ashamed to speak up and could only avoid her daughter’s gaze by focusing on her food.

Jiang Qing’s eyes reddened with anger. "I’m just asking to stay for a few days! Is that such an unreasonable request? Do you have to drive me to my death before you’re satisfied?!"

"Xiao Qing, what are you saying!" Li Hongying scolded anxiously.

It would be a lie to say Jiang Dahai’s heart didn’t grow cold.

He believed he had never wronged his stepdaughter in the slightest. When she got married, he gave everything that was expected of him.

Every time his stepdaughter came back to visit, he treated her to the best food and drink.

He never expected his stepdaughter to be eternally grateful to him, her stepfather, but how could she say something so heartless?

"Xiao Qing, this is the path you chose for yourself. No one forced you to marry Zhang Jia Ming."

At this, Jiang Qing grew even angrier. "If I hadn’t married Zhang Jia Ming, would Jiang Moli have ever gotten involved with Lu Cheng? The fact that you have a military officer for a son-in-law and get to live in such a nice house is half thanks to me!"

SLAP!

Li Hongying stood up and slapped her daughter across the face. "What nonsense are you spouting! How can you say that to your Uncle Jiang! Do you have any conscience at all?"