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Back to the 80s: A Marriage of Convenience
Tao Tao's voice was quite loud as he rushed into the Qi Family yard, looking as if he had been greatly startled, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"What happened?" Zhao Jingang, who was walking around the yard to strengthen his physical fitness while finishing a piece of clothing, asked upon hearing Tao Tao's panicked shout.
"Outside the door, outside the door!" Tao Tao pointed towards the entrance, not being overly dramatic but purely acting on instinctive crisis awareness.
"Hmm?" Tao Tao's reaction was too surprising, causing Zhao Jin to glance towards the door. Soon after, Cheng Fangfang entered, pulling along Qi Tingting.
Seeing Cheng Fangfang and Qi Tingting, Zhao Jin's mood soured. Especially with the sly expressions on their faces, it immediately put Zhao Jin on high alert.
Having been through a lot, Zhao Jin noticed that Qi Tingting showed no signs of shyness at all. He frowned and turned to glance at Tao Tao. Meanwhile, Cheng Fangfang did not hide her intentions in the slightest; with a beaming smile, she pulled Qi Tingting closer to Tao Tao and said, "Tao Tao probably doesn't know me yet! Look, we are all family, and there seems to have been a misunderstanding. Let me introduce myself first. I am Qi Zheng's Second Aunt, your dear Second Aunt."
"Here, this is my eldest daughter, Qi Zheng's cousin. This is Tingting, Qi Tingting."
Tao Tao was a bit dazed and stunned, instinctively looking towards Qi Zheng.
Oh dear Brother Qi, can someone explain to him what is going on in this situation? He already has someone he likes; this is something he must avoid!
Even if Tao Tao was naive, he wouldn't misunderstand that this was an arrangement by Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin.
Originally, Qian Yue was introduced to him by Zhao Jin. Moreover, Tao Tao trusted Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin's character immensely and soon sought help from Qi Zheng.
Qi Zheng was busy working on the third batch of furniture at that moment. This batch included both office and home furniture. Uncle Tao had complete trust in Qi Zheng; he only set a delivery date and allowed Qi Zheng to exercise his creativity freely.
Qi Zheng is the kind of person who holds himself to extremely high standards. He would not take advantage of the convenience given to him by Uncle Tao and treat it carelessly. He would also never become arrogant just because the furniture he made was popular and profitable, disregarding Uncle Tao.
On the contrary, the more trust Uncle Tao placed in him, the more meticulous Qi Zheng became.
For Qi Zheng, staying true to his principles is always more important than making money.
Only in this way can he truly honor Uncle Tao's trust and provide a better life and future for his family.
Therefore, Qi Zheng has been diligently working hard to speed up his progress while meticulously crafting even more perfect wooden pieces.
Due to Qi Zheng's enthusiasm, Qi Dayong, Qi Ze, and Zhao Zhenqi have also shown great motivation. Under Qi Zheng's leadership, their skills have become increasingly proficient, and their progress is undeniable.
However, amidst this flourishing situation, the arrival of Cheng Fangfang and Qi Tingting was not well received.
Especially since Cheng Fangfang made her intentions so obvious, Qi Zheng stood up with a cold expression and walked over.
Seeing Qi Zheng approach, Cheng Fangfang felt no embarrassment at all. Instead, she looked at Qi Zheng with great enthusiasm and urged, "Qi Zheng, your friend is quite good! This guy is a catch; you should encourage your cousin to spend more time with him."
Cheng Fangfang had done some research on Tao Tao. She knew that Tao Tao was from the county, worked at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and was an only child with wealthy parents...
No matter how she looked at it, Cheng Fangfang believed that Tao Tao was her ideal choice for a son-in-law. Such a good match must be reserved for their family’s Qi Tingting!
This point was something Cheng Fangfang was very insistent on; she did not want to give up.
Thus, Cheng Fangfang took the initiative to approach Tao Tao. Taking advantage of another visit by Tao Tao to the Qi Family, she even brought along Qi Tingting to introduce her to him. She didn’t even mind facing Qi Zheng's cold demeanor.
In Cheng Fangfang's view, this time she was willing to go all out for Qi Tingting's lifelong happiness. As long as Qi Zheng was willing to help facilitate the marriage, she could lower herself and say good things to Qi Zheng's family; she could accept it!
Cheng Fangfang thought this through and made such a decision. However, she forgot to confirm with Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin in advance.
Since she knew that facilitating this marriage required Qi Zheng's help, why didn't she think to inform Qi Zheng beforehand? At the very least, they could have communicated with each other.
Was she really "lowering herself" by directly bringing Qi Tingting to confront Tao Tao?
Not at all! Cheng Fangfang was simply acting without prior consultation.
Or perhaps, she didn't truly regard Qi Zheng highly. Deep down, she believed that as long as Qi Tingting was present and Tao Tao could see her in person, there would be no problem at all.
Cheng Fangfang had great confidence in her daughter. With a beautiful girl like Tingting in her family, why wouldn't Tao Tao like her?
Of course, Tao Tao would not like Qi Tingting. Regardless of how beautiful or good-looking Qi Tingting might be, Tao Tao was already engaged and had someone else in mind.
Therefore, whether Qi Tingting was Qi Zheng's cousin or how she looked had no impact on Tao Tao whatsoever.
"Second Aunt, Tao Tao already has a partner," Zhao Jin originally did not intend to speak up. However, since Cheng Fangfang had laid everything bare and made it so obvious, it was hard for Zhao Jin to pretend she hadn't heard.
Marriage is a significant matter; Zhao Jin wouldn't deliberately keep Qi Tingting hanging just because she didn't like her. She wouldn't wait until Qi Tingting had worked hard only to sit back and watch the fun.
In Zhao Jin's view, while she certainly didn't like Qi Tingting, there was no direct conflict of interest between them. Regardless of her feelings toward Qi Tingting, when it came to Tao Tao, Zhao Jin had no intention of hiding the truth or scheming against Qi Tingting.
Thus, Zhao Jin straightforwardly stated the facts to prevent Qi Tingting from wasting her efforts.
However, it was clear that Zhao Jin's intentions and goodwill were not understood by Qi Tingting, nor did she want to understand them.
As soon as Qi Tingting heard that Zhao Jin was unwilling to help, her expression immediately fell, and she stomped her foot in displeasure towards Cheng Fangfang.
Cheng Fangfang was also quite unhappy. This was clearly a great opportunity for everyone, so why did Zhao Jin have to be against Qi Tingting marrying well?
With an annoyed snort, Cheng Fangfang didn't even look at Zhao Jin and directly confronted Qi Zheng: "Qi Zheng, you need to think this through. Our Tingting is your cousin. Your cousin is getting married, and as her older cousin, shouldn't you be more supportive?"
Cheng Fangfang clearly did not realize that before this matter even began, she had offended a crucial key figure.
What was she thinking? Did she really believe that after treating Zhao Jin this way, Qi Zheng would still give her a good face?
Indeed, there are some people who never learn from their mistakes.
Like Cheng Fangfang, who had previously clashed with Zhao Jin and had seen how Qi Zheng's family treated Zhao Jin well. Yet, she simply brushed it off and didn't take it to heart.
Thus, it was destined that Cheng Fangfang could only fail.
"Tao Tao, you handle this yourself." Not wanting to waste time with Cheng Fangfang, Qi Zheng shot a cold glance at Tao Tao.
Tao Tao felt innocent. However, the situation indeed arose because of him.
After witnessing Cheng Fangfang's disregard for Zhao Jin's attitude, Tao Tao had no good impression of this Aunt Qi he was meeting for the first time.
Nevertheless, Tao Tao still politely and gently explained to Cheng Fangfang: "I'm sorry. I have already made arrangements for my marriage and will be getting married soon."
"Isn't it just an engagement? Oh, what's the big deal? Our family had an engagement with Zhao Jin before, and in the end, we still married Zhao Jin, didn't we?" Cheng Fangfang's words, which everyone thought would end the topic, were dismissed as trivial. Using Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin as examples, Cheng Fangfang's tone was particularly high-spirited: "Tao Tao, your aunt treats you like family, that's why I'm sharing some heartfelt advice with you. As a young man, when you marry, you should definitely choose someone beautiful and someone you like. You can't just randomly pick someone and waste your own life. That would be such a loss!"
Cheng Fangfang was convinced of her own beliefs, and Tao Tao opened his mouth to argue. However, Cheng Fangfang didn't give him a chance to speak and continued her lengthy monologue: "Just look at our Tingting; she's so charming and beautiful! She knows how to dress up and has great taste in life. Even though Tingting comes from the countryside, she resembles city girls perfectly. Trust me, you won't regret it!"
Whether Tao Tao would regret listening to Cheng Fangfang, he didn't know. But he was certain that if he really married Qi Tingting, he would regret it for a lifetime.
Tao Tao wasn't a fickle person. After years of finally finding someone he liked, he was about to get married and was feeling quite happy! Suddenly being caught up in this situation with Cheng Fangfang and her daughter left him speechless.
"Auntie, really, there's no need. I already..." Without thinking much, Tao Tao intended to refuse. "Why won't you listen? I'm an elder; do you think I would deceive you? You're still young and haven't seen many girls; you don't know who is better for you or more suitable. My Tingting is truly one in a hundred; you won't find anyone else like her in Willow Leaf Village." Cheng Fangfang was determined to marry Qi Tingting off to Tao Tao and had plenty of self-praising words prepared.
Tao Tao felt utterly helpless. He genuinely came just to deliver some milk for his future godchildren; he never expected to get entangled in this matter.
"My Second Aunt believes in breaking ten temples rather than breaking one marriage. Isn't what you're doing a bit unkind?" Seeing that Tao Tao was pitifully entangled, Zhao Jin spoke up.
Upon hearing Zhao Jin's voice, Cheng Fangfang couldn't help but feel angry.
"Jin, how can you say that? You're also Tingting's sister-in-law; at this time, you're not even saying a good word for Tingting—what kind of Sister-in-law are you?" Cheng Fangfang thought that at least Zhao Jin and Qi Zheng would support them when dealing with outsiders.
After all, Qi Tingting also shares the Qi surname, doesn't she?
However, neither Qi Zheng nor Zhao Jin was willing to help, which was simply outrageous! "Second Aunt, can we talk some sense here? Just because I am Qi Tingting's cousin-in-law, does that mean I have to help her commit murder and arson? Do I have to do all the bad things? If that's the case, I'd rather not recognize Qi Tingting as my sister anymore!" Cheng Fangfang's words were so ridiculous that Zhao Jin couldn't help but scoff in response.
"What murder and arson? Am I even talking about that with you right now? My Tingting is such a good girl; are you really bothered by her marrying someone? What exactly are you trying to achieve here? Are you intentionally trying to see my Tingting unhappy?" In the end, Cheng Fangfang even dropped the questioning tone and concluded with a definitive statement, taking on a righteous demeanor as she accused Zhao Jin.
Faced with Cheng Fangfang's unreasonable antics, Zhao Jin wasn't angry and didn't bother to argue with her.
Shrugging her shoulders, Zhao Jin completely ignored Cheng Fangfang and turned to Tao Tao. "Why are you bringing things over again? It's too embarrassing to keep accepting your gifts."
"What's embarrassing about it? I'm just caring for my godson and goddaughter!" Tao Tao chuckled and took the opportunity to break free from Cheng Fangfang, walking toward Zhao Jin.
"Tao Tao!" Unfortunately, while Tao Tao avoided Cheng Fangfang, he didn't expect Qi Tingting to come rushing over.
Qi Tingting directly hugged Tao Tao's arm and sweetly said, "Tao Tao, you're such a nice person!"
To be honest, Tao Tao had met many girls. But someone like Qi Tingting was definitely a first for him.
As if encountering something dirty, Tao Tao quickly pulled his arm away, hurriedly stuffing the items he brought into Qi Zheng's hands before turning to leave.
"Brother Qi, Sister-in-law, I'll come back next time to see my godson and goddaughter." Although Tao Tao said this, looking at his hurried retreating figure made Zhao Jin feel that it was likely that Tao Tao wouldn't want to come back to the Qi Family for a long time.
Or perhaps, unless Qi Tingting got married, Willow Leaf Village might become a psychological shadow for Tao Tao.
Watching Tao Tao leave, no one from the Qi Family spoke up to stop him. Given the current situation, it really wasn't appropriate for Tao Tao to stay any longer.
Cheng Fangfang and her daughter, Tingting, really wanted to call out to Tao Tao. Unfortunately, Tao Tao avoided them like they were venomous snakes and naturally ignored them, running away like an arrow.
Tingting was very unhappy. She never expected that Tao Tao would just leave like that. Unable to contain herself, she stomped her foot and vented her frustration at Cheng Fangfang: "Mom, look!"
Cheng Fangfang was not blind; she saw everything. But what could she do about it? It was clear that Tao Tao did not like Tingting and had no interest in her. Even if she had some influence, it was impossible for her to change Tao Tao's feelings.
However, while dealing with Tao Tao was difficult, handling Zhao Jin and Qi Zheng was a matter of a few words.
"Qi Zheng, Zhao Jin, I’m entrusting the marriage between my Tingting and Tao Tao to both of you." Cheng Fangfang was thick-skinned enough and completely self-centered. She knew that her relationship with Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin was not close, yet she still shouted this out.
Zhao Jin couldn't help but scoff: "Sorry, but I'm powerless." Hearing Zhao Jin's response, Cheng Fangfang immediately became displeased: "What kind of attitude is that? You don’t think about your own family when good things come your way. How can you be so selfish? Or do you not consider the Qijia Family as relatives at all? Zhao Jin, do you have no conscience? How well has Grandma Qi and Qi Zheng's parents treated you? You enjoy such great fortune in the Qi Family, yet you still bite the hand that feeds you and don’t think about the Qijia Family?"
"Second Aunt!" Before Zhao Jin could respond, Qi Zheng coldly reprimanded her.
Faced with Qi Zheng's cold demeanor, Cheng Fangfang sheepishly closed her mouth. However, at the same time, her gaze towards Zhao Jin became increasingly fierce.
To be honest, before this moment, Zhao Jin had no intention of confronting Cheng Fangfang again.
After all, they had already had a confrontation once before. Zhao Jin knew what kind of person Cheng Fangfang was and was too lazy to waste words on her. She wanted to avoid getting upset and affecting her unborn child.
But it was clear that she and Cheng Fangfang were destined to never coexist peacefully.
Fortunately, Cheng Fangfang was not close to Qi Zheng's family; otherwise, Zhao Jin would truly feel a headache coming on.
Facing Cheng Fangfang's unfriendly gaze, Zhao Jin forced a smile and decided to turn around and head back to her room.
She was currently pregnant, and her emotions couldn't fluctuate too much. Otherwise, she would be the one suffering, along with the child in her womb. As for Cheng Fangfang, she would only find joy in the situation.
Therefore, to avoid being the subject of Cheng Fangfang's mockery, Zhao Jin decisively chose to retreat. It was better than losing her temper and causing a scene with Cheng Fangfang, which would be too costly.
Seeing Zhao Jin heading back to her room, Cheng Fangfang was extremely displeased. Without thinking, she rushed over a few steps and reached out her hands, intending to confront Zhao Jin.
In the past, when Zhao Jin wasn't pregnant, Cheng Fangfang's actions might have only drawn resentment but wouldn't have caused an uproar.
However, now that Zhao Jin was carrying two babies, it was completely inappropriate for Cheng Fangfang to lay hands on her knowing this.
Qi Zheng was quick-witted and reacted swiftly, immediately blocking Cheng Fangfang while also protecting Zhao Jin.
Onlookers Grandma Qi and Zhou Ju gasped in shock, truly frightened by the situation. "Get out! Cheng Fangfang, you need to leave right now! You are not allowed to come to our home anymore! Otherwise, I will break your legs!" Grandma Qi was genuinely furious. The usually kind elderly woman threw the broom she was holding at Cheng Fangfang and scolded her while driving her out.
While Grandma Qi was furious, Zhou Ju was equally upset. Although she did nothing but follow Grandma Qi closely as if trying to prevent her from falling, her silence spoke volumes about her disdain for Cheng Fangfang.
Cheng Fangfang didn't expect Grandma Qi to suddenly act against her. She also didn't anticipate that Zhou Ju, this Sister-in-law, would not only fail to intervene but would actually assist Grandma Qi.
Indeed, in Cheng Fangfang's eyes, Zhou Ju's inaction was tantamount to helping Grandma Qi attack her. For this reason, Cheng Fangfang loathed Zhou Ju and wished she could confront her right then and there.
However, Cheng Fangfang was self-aware enough. Standing in the Qi Zheng family's yard, she knew she couldn't possibly take on Zhou Ju.
Cheng Fangfang held her breath and left. When she returned to find Qi Erzhu for help, she was determined to make things clear with Qi Zheng's Family.
Did they really think they could bully her just because she was alone? Qi Zheng's Family was going too far!
Moreover, she had intended to have a good conversation with Qi Zheng's Family. She never expected that this family would be so ungrateful and take themselves too seriously.
In any case, Cheng Fangfang was set on securing Tao Tao as her son-in-law. She would do everything in her power to facilitate the marriage between Tao Tao and Qi Tingting. If it ultimately didn't happen, it would definitely be Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin's fault for not helping. Cheng Fangfang was determined to confront Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin!
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