Chapter 1371: Confession Without Being Forced?

Chapter 1371 -1243: Confession Without Being Forced?

The winter afternoon sun was nice and warm, but once a gust of wind hit you in the face, it still stung like needles, and every word you spoke came out in little white puffs.

After Yi Jiefang and his wife came in, it was like they’d agreed on the time—before the set time in the evening, the other three couples also arrived one after another.

Qi Meizhen hunched her neck and was the last to come in, hurriedly greeted everyone, then bolted straight to the big hall where everyone had gathered and warmed her hands by the stove.

Zhou Jiao handed her a cup of hot water, signaling her to hold it and warm her hands first.

“Jiao Jiao, you’re still the nicest.”

“We’re not bad either. Come on, sisters, let’s serve her and get her changed.”

“Wrong word.” Qi Meizhen rolled her eyes at them with a smile, took off her coat and tossed it on the chair. “When did you all get here? I thought we two were the earliest.”

“We went by the old man’s place first. They were taking their noon nap, so we headed out. Where’d you go? Today’s temperature isn’t bad, how’d you end up frozen like this?”

Ding Datou’s wife shot Qi Meizhen a sideways look. “She wants style not warmth. Wearing such a thin coat, of course she’s freezing.”

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be my bestie? Don’t expose me like that.”

Geng Dazhi’s wife glanced at the coat on the back of the chair and asked in puzzlement, “Didn’t you just have that cotton-padded jacket made? Looks really good—why aren’t you wearing that one?”

Qi Meizhen thumped her chest. “I had a rush of blood to the head and gave it away.”

Seeing how distressed she looked, the other four burst out laughing, gloating. Serves you right! Always showing off!

“That’s it, friendship over!”

“Who’d you give it to this time?”

“Who else? I saw Wan Xiaogu wearing that red set back to the Big Courtyard a few days ago. I thought she’d asked the tailor to copy your jacket.”

“Well then, nothing to complain about—you should’ve given it. If Wan Xiaogu thinks highly of it, you ought to feel honored. She really can’t be bothered with ordinary tacky stuff.”

Qi Meizhen flipped her eyes. “Listen to you, talking like my aunt is so unreliable. I’ve gotten plenty of good things off her, just wanted to give something back. In the end I didn’t give a new one, I ended up peeling off what I was wearing. You tell me, what the hell is that?”

“Only you could manage a gift like that. Amazing!”

The few of them laughed uproariously.

Over on the guys’ side, Wan Dayong knocked on the coffee table in front of him. “Hey, hey, don’t bully my wife!”

The words were barely out of his mouth before the buddies beside him pounced on him.

“Oh-ho, his ears are fine. Press his knees, hurry up, press his knees.”

“Idiot! Definitely not kneeling as punishment—didn’t you see him bouncing around when he came in?”

Zhang Guoqing and Yi Jiefang shouted in unison, “His waist!”

The whole room exploded in laughter.

Does this count as ratting himself out without being asked?

After horsing around, the bunch of forty-something old guys finally stopped their assault, cracked open the bottles, and didn’t bother with bowls—passed them around, each taking a swig straight from the bottle.

As for the fragrant pastries, they self-righteously consoled themselves that those were women’s stuff. With pig’s ears and lamb spine to go with their drink, life couldn’t be more pleasant.

Zhang Guoqing asked curiously, “Those female thugs that got executed—did you guys see them?”

Ding Datou shook his head without hesitation. “Nope. Heard they weren’t much to look at.”

“You went to see?” Yi Jiefang stuffed a chunk of meat into his mouth and stared at him. Too bad they were dead—he and Old Zhang had really wanted to go check out the scene.

“No, the sentencing rally was packed. I’m a proper man, didn’t feel right joining the crowd just for fun. I heard they were basically those little chicks from years back.”

Geng Dazhi shook his head. “We’ve got a young guy at my unit who went to have a look. He came back saying some of them were actually pretty good-looking.”

“That makes sense. Think about it—if they’d all been so ugly it made you shiver…” Wan Dayong shook his head, the rest of his meaning obvious.

Ding Datou reflexively countered, “Not necessarily. There’s always someone who’s into that type.”

Zhang Guoqing sneaked a glance at Zhou Jiao, knocked on the coffee table. “Comrade, these thoughts are no good. This is a serious matter—how did you end up going off on a tangent?”

Geng Dazhi chuckled under his breath. “Because those two grew up sharing one pair of pants.”

“Back then I had several pairs of brand-new pants—who here hasn’t worn them? You lot are all disasters. Thanks to you, I almost went to class bare-assed.”

“I didn’t!”

“Get lost! You were always the first to grab them!”

“Hahaha… Dayong isn’t wronging you. Back then you were the only one with a girlfriend. Weren’t you just like a peacock, forever showing off in front of your girl?”

“Can’t be brothers with you lot anymore!”

“Come on, it’s fine. Once they all had wives, weren’t they the same? All just as bad.”

“Da Zhi, learn to see through but not point it out, okay?”

“Don’t know how! And you even went and stole flowers for your wife. I stood lookout for you. I almost got caught because of you.”

“I learned that from Xiao Wu.”

“Exactly. The key is all of you learned it. All the same rotten behavior.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I had no choice. A fine, upright youngster like me got led astray by you lot.”

“Shameless bastard, get him!”

Birds of a feather flock together; people find their own kind.

Twenty years have gone by, and the five brothers are still just as young at heart, still just as shameless.

Muttering on and on wasn’t enough—they started wrestling again. All that ruckus left the five older sisters on the other side of the hall half laughing, half crying.

Qi Meizhen curled her lip. “Let them mess around. Ten years from now, even if they want to, they won’t have the strength.”

“Ten years? I say even twenty years from now they’ll still be able to kick up a fuss. My Old Ding—you lot don’t know. At home, he’s at it every day, teasing the kids.”

“Must be lively.”

“Noisy as hell!”

“They’re all the same—they’re all cut from one mold. My kids love their dad best too. Whatever happens, the first thing they say is ‘I’ll talk to my dad about it.'”

Zhou Jiao smiled. “That’s not a bad thing. Just don’t flaunt it too much outside, or people might start scheming. Nowadays, some young girls have very crooked minds.”

With her saying that, the few of them sighed. “That’s why being a woman is harder than being a man. Busy nonstop with everything inside and outside the home, and on top of that, we have to guard against someone prying off a corner of our marriage.”

“Exactly. You and Jiao Jiao are still okay—Da Yi and Xiao Wu are both in the army, discipline is strict. Did you notice my man?”

With Qi Meizhen saying that, everyone looked at her, confused.

“From when I first met him till now, he hasn’t aged a bit. He’s nearly fifty, and when he’s out on the street and runs into some girl asking for directions, she calls him ‘big brother.'”

Zhou Jiao quietly reminded her, “He’s not even forty-five yet.” So don’t call him nearly fifty—that makes him sound like an old coot, creepy just to hear it.

“And you’re still very young too.”

Qi Meizhen pulled a long face. “Jiao Jiao, I’m not young anymore. Look at the corners of my eyes—I don’t even dare laugh too happily, I’m about to get wrinkles. How much of that toner do you have left?”

“Right, that toner you mixed yourself?”

“I—”

“What ‘I’? You’re running low too, I know! Jiao Jiao, I’m telling the truth here, all the sisters are waiting.”

Zhou Jiao rolled her eyes at them, speechless. All that talking, turns out they were waiting for this. “Fine, I’ll give you some next weekend. Don’t give it away to anyone.”

“Heh heh, I’d be stupid to give it away! If you weren’t so flush with money, I’d already be trying to talk you into investing in a factory down in the Special Zone, specialize in making skincare products.”

“So we can unleash a whole swarm of little vixens?”