TPW – Chapter 15 Watch Me

Today, lunch was being cooked by Qiao Lu’s mother, Lu Xiuhua.

While steaming the staple food in the pot, Lu Xiuhua took out some white flour she usually didn’t like to use and made white flour steamed buns. She also stir-fried some winter bamboo shoots that Qiao Yuefu had dug from the mountain. There were a few potatoes left at home, so she stewed those together. Originally, she wanted to cut up some fresh pork that Qiao Lu had brought back to stew as well, but Niu Qiaoli refused, saying she wanted to salt and cure the pork to keep it until the New Year to eat as fresh cured meat. She was afraid they wouldn’t be able to afford meat during the Spring Festival.

In reality, she had quite a bit of money in her hand—enough to buy meat for the holiday.

In the end, Lu Xiuhua had no choice but to take down some old cured meat hanging from the beams—no one knew how many years it had been air-dried—washed it, and prepared to cook it and slice it for lunch.

Since it was the first time Qiao Lu’s fiancé was visiting, they had to make some kind of meat dish; otherwise, there would be hardly anything to eat.

Of course, Lu Xiuhua was mainly worried that Xu Haizhou might think the Qiao family didn’t take him seriously as a future son-in-law. If that happened, he might treat her daughter badly in the future… so she had to treat him well.

Qiao Lu felt a sour pang in her heart when she saw the unfinished rough cornmeal buns from the previous meal.

“Mom, I heard from my sister that she sends you five yuan every month. How come things are worse at home than before I left?” Five yuan could definitely buy refined grain, but this coarse grain made your throat scratchy.

Lu Xiuhua whispered, “Don’t say that in front of your sister-in-law.”

“She’s like that?” Qiao Lu naturally meant Niu Qiaoli.

She had thought that after she and Qiao An left, her sister-in-law would treat her parents-in-law better, but apparently, nothing improved even after she left.

Her brother was really useless too—he couldn’t control his own wife at all. What was the point of having a son then?

Qiao Lu was so angry her head felt like it was about to explode. “Mom, you never told us this! My sister’s money is for you guys, not for my sister-in-law to enjoy! My sister and her husband work so hard at the factory. If things keep going like this, she won’t send money anymore!”

Being scolded by her daughter, Lu Xiuhua looked a little helpless. “This… this… sigh.”

After the meal, Qiao Lu took Xu Haizhou on a walk around the village. Unfortunately, the villagers were far too “enthusiastic,” grabbing at them with endless questions. Qiao Lu hurriedly made excuses and dragged her son and Xu Haizhou down a remote path.

They planned to return to the city after dinner. Although there was a room at home for her, she had secretly checked it before, and it had already been turned into a storage room.

No doubt it was her sister-in-law’s doing, probably hoping she wouldn’t come back again.

She sighed, feeling helpless.

“Haizhou, what do you think… my sister-in-law treats my parents like this, and my parents are such softies. It’s almost impossible for them to stand up for themselves. How can we teach her a lesson? I can’t just leave things like this. I’m worried about them.”

Since returning home, this had been bothering her. After all, she had taken over the original body, and within her ability, she still wanted to help the old couple.

Xu Haizhou thought for a moment, then smiled mysteriously. “Just watch me.”

Somehow, even though he didn’t say exactly what he planned, his words somehow felt reliable and reassuring.

After finishing their village walk and arriving at the Qiao family courtyard, they heard loud arguing coming from her brother’s room. It seemed the couple was fighting again.

Qiao Lu was used to it and didn’t pay much attention, but as she passed by the door, she couldn’t help overhearing their conversation.

“I’m not going! You want me to clean that big room, but you don’t clean all that junk piled up! Isn’t that your sister?”

“What’s ‘your sister’ or ‘my sister’? You’re my wife! Qiao Lu is also your sister! If we don’t clean that room, where will those three sleep for three nights?”

“I don’t care where they sleep, just don’t let them sleep in my room.”

“Look at you. Why are you like this?”

“That’s just how I am! You knew me from day one!”

“Fine, if you won’t go, I’ll go!”

The argument stopped, footsteps continued, and Qiao Lu quickly pulled Xu Haizhou into the main room.

As soon as Qiao Guobin came out, he saw the three of them inside and walked in, surprised. “Qiao Lu? Already done with your walk?”

Qiao Lu smiled, “Yes, just a casual stroll.”

“What can you see in such a short time? Take your fiancé and go out for a walk again. I’ll tidy up the south room so you have a good place to stay tonight. If you want anything to eat, I’ll go pick it from the field.”

Qiao Lu shook her head, refusing, “No need, brother. We plan to head back to the city after dinner.”

“What? So soon? Why the rush?” Qiao Guobin hurried over, suspecting they had overheard his quarrel with Niu Qiaoli.

Qiao Lu lied calmly, without blinking.

“There’s still a lot going on at home. Tomorrow morning I have to take An’an to kindergarten. We haven’t told the teacher, and if he skips class, the teacher will have a bad impression of him.”

Ah, that was the reason. Qiao Guobin’s mind eased halfway.

“Hah! Who cares if they go to kindergarten or not? We rural kids mostly don’t. What’s there to be afraid of?”

“Really can’t stay. We have to go back tonight.” Qiao Lu pushed her brother out the gate. “Could you please bring some radishes back? I’m craving radishes.”

“Not staying one more night? Stay an extra day.”

Qiao Lu shook her head, “Haizhou has to work tomorrow. Staying longer means losing several yuan.”

Hearing the lost money, Qiao Guobin was too scared to say anything and quickly went to the vegetable patch to pull some radishes for her.

“Alright then, I won’t keep you. There’s still your favorite sweet garlic in the kitchen. I’ll make it all for you tonight.”

Since Qiao Lu wasn’t staying at home, Niu Qiaoli happily took over the dinner preparations. Xu Haizhou said he wanted to give a bride price to her mother, and took the opportunity to pull Lu Xiuhua and Qiao Yuefu inside for a talk.

As soon as the door locked, a thick stack of bills seemed to magically appear from his pocket.

Two hundred! Twenty crisp bills!

Not only Qiao Lu’s parents, but even Qiao Lu herself was stunned.

Is selling things at a stall really this profitable? How much else was he hiding from her?

“No, no, we can’t accept this!” Qiao Lu’s parents panicked, hastily pushing his hand away.

The old couple had never seen this much money in their lives. When Qiao Yan married into the city, her husband gave fifty yuan, which was already quite a lot. Compared to that, two hundred was astronomical.

Xu Haizhou took Qiao Yuefu’s hand and pressed the money into it: “We came in a hurry and didn’t buy much. Please accept this bride price.”

Qiao Yuefu was at a loss for words, so he turned to look at his wife.

Lu Xiuhua quickly refused, “We don’t need so much! We’re marrying off a daughter, not selling one. Besides, life in the countryside doesn’t cost much all year round. This money would just be wasted on us. You two need it more than we do. Don’t forget, there’s also Qiao An—there are lots of expenses everywhere.”

Xu Haizhou smiled and shook his head. “Raising Qiao An wasn’t easy, so the bride price must be given. This amount is within what I can afford. I’m not showing off. I know my limits.”

“You ‘know your limits’? I think you don’t! If you did, you wouldn’t have brought this much!” Lu Xiuhua frowned.

Even though Qiao Lu thought it was too much, she still persuaded her parents to accept it.

“Please take it. After marriage, I’ll settle in the city and can’t be by your side to care for you. And with a daughter-in-law like yours, if you don’t carry some money, you won’t have a penny even if you get sick or have to go to the clinic.”

Since it was Xu Haizhou’s initiative to give it, he must have thought it through carefully before offering such an amount. She believed he wasn’t impulsive.

Besides, if he regretted this two hundred later or had conflicts with her, it would at least let her see his true colors early on.

“Well…” Qiao Lu’s parents felt awkward. It was indeed too much, but with Xu Haizhou’s firm attitude, refusing seemed impossible.

“Take it. It’s a lot of money, but it shows how much Haizhou values me, right?”

It was also a way to honor the original owner’s late parents. No matter how confused her parents were, the original owner was spoiled by the Qiao family before age eleven. On this point alone, Qiao Lu had no right to blame them.

She spoke earnestly: “Buy some good food. Just don’t let my sister-in-law see it. You’ve already been good enough to her. Don’t feel guilty.”

Lu Xiuhua looked at Qiao Lu; her youngest daughter hadn’t changed at all in her memory, but she seemed more grown-up now.

Last time her brother-in-law came to pick her up, this girl was eager to fly away like she had wings. Now, her demeanor was totally different.

Now she had a plan and cared for her parents.

Lu Xiuhua’s feelings were complicated but she finally relented.

“Don’t worry, even if you kill me, this money won’t go to your sister-in-law!”