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Back to the 80s: A Marriage of Convenience
Grandma Zhao knows that Zhao Lei likes Qi Yuehong and that he does not like Qi Juanjuan.
However, between Qi Juanjuan and Qi Yuehong, Grandma Zhao's thoughts have undergone a different change.
Originally, Grandma Zhao did not think much of Qi Juanjuan. But compared to the rising status of Qi Zheng's Family, Grandma Zhao became increasingly worried that once Qi Yuehong married Zhao Lei, it would ultimately be Zhao Lei who would be unable to hold his head high.
After all, from the current situation, the Qi Family is much better off than their Zhao Family.
Moreover, Qi Yuehong is still a high school student, having studied three more years than Zhao Lei, which might make her even more proud and less obedient.
Such a gap will surely become more apparent as they spend more time living under one roof.
Grandma Zhao still loves her grandson more. Especially Zhao Lei, who is simply Grandma Zhao's lifeblood and treasure; no one can compare.
Thus, after comparing the advantages and disadvantages of Qi Yuehong and Qi Juanjuan, Grandma Zhao switched sides again.
Even if marrying Qi Yuehong could bring more benefits to Zhao Lei, Grandma Zhao still gave up on that idea.
She sees things clearly now. As the biological mother of Zhao Guoqiang, she has not seen him enjoy a good life while thinking of her. Zhao Lei is merely a son-in-law of Qi Zheng's Family; how could Qi Zheng care about Zhao Lei's well-being?
Therefore, rather than marrying the living ancestor Qi Yuehong and having to support her highly, it would be better to marry Qi Juanjuan, who could take good care of their Zhao Lei.
With such thoughts in mind, Grandma Zhao gradually leaned towards Qi Juanjuan under her persistent efforts to please.
Of course, Grandma Zhao still considers Zhao Lei's feelings.
Even though she is extremely dissatisfied with Qi Yuehong in her heart, Grandma Zhao did not stop Zhao Lei from seeking out Qi Yuehong.
After all, they are not married yet; Zhao Lei can do as he pleases. If in the future Zhao Lei really marries Qi Juanjuan and she cannot control his heart, then that is simply because Qi Juanjuan lacks the ability or skill—she cannot blame anyone else.
Indeed, Grandma Zhao is so biased and unreasonable. Even though she acknowledges Qi Juanjuan as her granddaughter-in-law both verbally and in her heart, she still thinks about letting Zhao Lei act even more recklessly.
There's nothing to be done; after all, Zhao Lei just likes Qi Yuehong! If Qi Juanjuan is really that unwilling, she should put in more effort to win Zhao Lei's heart. If she doesn't have that capability, then she shouldn't complain that Zhao Lei is ungrateful.
It's not like anyone is forcing Qi Juanjuan to like their Zhao Lei. This is all voluntary on her part!
Fortunately, Qi Juanjuan doesn't know Grandma Qi's thoughts. If she did, she'd probably be furious!
As for whether Qi Juanjuan would give up on Zhao Lei because of this, only she knows in her heart. For now, outsiders can't dictate Qi Juanjuan's decisions. It all depends on how she feels.
What does Qi Juanjuan think? At this moment, she's about to explode with anger. Despite it being Qi Yuehong's graduation banquet, she couldn't care less and started causing a scene.
The most unfortunate person to be targeted by Qi Juanjuan isn't Grandma Qi but Zhao Jin.
Strictly speaking, it would have been more normal and reasonable for Qi Juanjuan to confront Grandma Qi.
After all, Grandma Qi is the head of the entire Qi Family and the most qualified to make decisions for the younger generation.
However, Qi Juanjuan insists on seeking out Zhao Jin instead. In her mind, Zhao Jin is the one who can run this family and take charge. Looking for anyone else would be pointless.
Once she successfully makes Zhao Jin dislike Qi Yuehong, it won't be so easy for Qi Yuehong to have a good life in the future.
Who doesn't know that the reason the Qi Family has prospered ultimately traces back to Zhao Jin?
If it weren't for Qi Zheng marrying Zhao Jin and her being generous enough to contribute her dowry to help the Qi Family, where would they find someone as outstanding as Qi Yuehong now?
Clearly, before Zhao Jin married Qi Zheng, the Qi Zheng's Family was struggling financially, and Qi Yuehong couldn't compare to her at all.
This is why Qi Juanjuan is so fixated on her sister-in-law Zhao Jin and values her highly.
It's definitely not wrong to approach Zhao Jin first about everything. "Sister-in-law, you spent so much money supporting Qi Yuehong through high school and into college just so she could marry a country man who didn't even graduate high school? If that's really your plan, why waste money supporting her through these three years of high school?" Qi Juanjuan didn't explicitly name Zhao Lei, but she knew that Zhao Jin knew exactly who she was referring to.
Zhao Jin indeed knows who Qi Juanjuan is. However, at this moment, facing Qi Juanjuan's aggressive confrontation, Zhao Jin feels more confused than anything else.
Is she crazy? They just returned to Willow Leaf Village, how did they get involved with Zhao Lei again?
Is it Zhao Lei causing trouble for their family’s Yuehong again? When will this end? It’s clear that their Yuehong has nothing to do with Zhao Lei, and it’s impossible for there to be any connection.
Zhao Jin cannot help but distrust Zhao Lei's character. So, upon hearing about Qi Juanjuan causing a scene, Zhao Jin instinctively thinks of Zhao Lei.
If it weren't for Zhao Lei coming over, there would be no reason for Qi Juanjuan to suddenly show up and cause trouble.
As for what Qi Juanjuan said about Qi Yuehong, Zhao Jin didn’t take it to heart at all and certainly wouldn’t let it bother her.
A parent loves their own child. To Zhao Jin, Qi Yuehong is just the child who needs love. In this situation, it’s clear that Qi Juanjuan's complaint wouldn’t be so easily accepted.
However, Qi Juanjuan didn’t mean to back down; instead, she became even more agitated: “Sister-in-law, I’m doing this for your own good. I feel sorry for how hard you work to earn money, but Qi Yuehong doesn’t take it seriously at all. Qi Yuehong, she…”
“My Yuehong is doing just fine!” Seeing that Qi Juanjuan was relentless, Zhao Jin unceremoniously interrupted her malicious slander, “If my Yuehong wasn’t studying hard, how could she possibly achieve first place? And not just any first place, but the top in the entire province! That’s not something just anyone can achieve.”
“Well… that was just a fluke.” Of course, Qi Juanjuan knew that it was an incredible achievement for Qi Yuehong to rank first in the province. But at this moment, she couldn’t hear any praises for Qi Yuehong. Stamping her foot, she began to argue back.
“A fluke?” Zhao Jin was directly amused by Qi Juanjuan's words. “Alright then, if you can also have such a fluke, I’ll support you through high school and college. How about that?”
Qi Juanjuan was instantly left speechless. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. There was simply no way to boast about studying against Zhao Jin, especially when compared to Qi Yuehong’s intelligence.
Who knows what kind of knowledge those books contain? She couldn’t understand a single word and had no interest in them at all, let alone taking exams or doing exercises. It was simply a matter of life and death for her; she wouldn’t do it.
“Alright. If there’s nothing else, go home and play. Our family is very busy today, so I won’t entertain you.” Waving her hand, Zhao Jin intended to send Qi Juanjuan away.
Getting up, she had also heard about the current situation of Qi Erzhu’s family.
Ever since Qi Tingting was arrested, the arrogance of the Qi Erzhu family had disappeared completely.
Qi Erzhu's family was not doing well, and Zhao Jin had no intention of adding fuel to the fire or making things worse for Qi Juanjuan.
Moreover, matters of the heart cannot simply be changed by human will.
For instance, Qi Yuehong did not like Zhao Lei, and conversely, Zhao Lei did not like Qi Juanjuan. In this triangular relationship, Qi Juanjuan was destined to be the one who could not emerge victorious. Just watching, Zhao Jin already felt sympathy for Qi Juanjuan.
Qi Juanjuan was truly unwilling to accept this, which was why she came to find Zhao Jin. She knew very well that Zhao Jin would definitely lean towards Qi Yuehong, but she couldn't help but come anyway, just to vent her pent-up anger.
Little did she expect that instead of calming her anger, it only intensified?
After holding back for a while, Qi Juanjuan finally managed to squeeze out a couple of provocative complaints: "You just keep siding with Qi Yuehong! I’ll be waiting to see how regretful you’ll be!"
Aren't all sisters-in-law enemies? How could Zhao Jin treat Qi Yuehong so kindly without any reservations? This really infuriated Qi Juanjuan.
"You don't need to worry about that," Zhao Jin said. Her trust in the Qijia Family was not something that could be easily swayed by a few words from Qi Juanjuan.
On the contrary, at this moment, Zhao Jin had some advice for Qi Juanjuan: "As for regret, I thought your family had already set a precedent. You should know better than anyone and should learn to restrain yourself appropriately. Stop causing trouble everywhere and don’t..."
"I don't need you pointing fingers at me!" Qi Juanjuan was most annoyed when someone brought up Qiting.
Originally, she thought that since all the bad things were done by Qiting, it had nothing to do with her and wouldn't reflect poorly on her.
But now, Qi Juanjuan no longer thought that way.
She was very aware that because she was Qiting's younger sister, people would instinctively think badly of her. When something bad happened, they would immediately bring up Qiting as if they wanted to punish her as well.
Zhao Jin was exactly like that at this moment. What "precedent"? What "should learn to restrain"? If she didn't learn, what could Zhao Jin do about it?
"Oh. That's fine then. I never intended to give you advice anyway." In response to Qi Juanjuan's anger, Zhao Jin remained remarkably calm.
Qi Juanjuan was not Qi Yuehong. Did she really think that she was someone who liked to meddle in others' affairs? She only spoke up because she felt compelled to do a good deed now and then.
Since Qi Juanjuan was ungrateful, Zhao Jin naturally wouldn’t say anything more. Without a word, she firmly closed her mouth.
Nodding slightly, Zhao Jin gestured towards the door with her lips, indicating for Qi Juanjuan to leave on her own. Naturally, there was nothing she needed to point out to Qi Juanjuan, and she wouldn’t say another word to her.
Qi Juanjuan's expression instantly turned extremely ugly.
From the very beginning, Zhao Jin had not been friendly towards her. Clearly, her personality was more lively and likable than Qi Yuehong's, yet Zhao Jin had always only focused on her younger sister, Qi Yuehong.
When Zhao Jin went to school back then, she only brought food for Qi Yuehong and gave her living expenses solely to Qi Yuehong. Even though they were in the same class, Zhao Jin never seemed to notice her and never took care of her at all.
The more she thought about it, the more Qi Juanjuan felt that Zhao Jin held a grudge against her. Suddenly feeling extremely unwilling to accept this, she glared fiercely at Zhao Jin and said, "What are you so proud of? You had to pay a dowry just to marry into the Qi Family; what do you have to be arrogant about?"
Zhao Jin did not expect Qi Juanjuan to suddenly turn the focus onto her and felt quite innocent.
Pursing her lips, Zhao Jin blinked and shrugged, "So what? What does that have to do with you? I’m happy to spend my dowry money on Qi Zheng or the Qijia Family; does that bother you? I'm not spending your money, so why are you acting like a hero here?"
"I..." When it came to verbal skills, Qi Juanjuan was far inferior to Zhao Jin. At this moment as well. After just a few exchanges, Qi Juanjuan was already at a loss for words.
Once again silenced, the resentment in Qi Juanjuan’s heart was evident as she stared at Zhao Jin with eyes that seemed ready to burst into flames.
Zhao Jin didn’t mind being hated by Qi Juanjuan. After all, she wasn’t some kind of crowd-pleaser or currency that everyone would like.
Moreover, she really had no affection for Qi Juanjuan’s family. If Qi Juanjuan could recognize this and keep a distance from them in the future, Zhao Jin would actually be quite pleased.
That was how Zhao Jin thought, but Qi Juanjuan didn’t want to do that.
She had mustered up the courage to confront Zhao Jin after all. How could she just give up like that?
It was at this moment that Cheng Fangfang finally arrived.
Today was a banquet hosted by the Qi Zheng Family; Cheng Fangfang certainly didn’t want to be late! She had prepared for a long time at home before bringing over a large bowl of pork!
As soon as she stepped through the door of the Qi Zheng Family, she saw Qi Juanjuan confronting Zhao Jin.
Cheng Fangfang was no longer the person who blindly believed her own child was the best.
With Qi Tingting's troublemaking in the past, when Qi Juanjuan caused another scene, Cheng Fangfang instinctively frowned.
She couldn't let this go! She couldn't be lenient! Cheng Fangfang was also afraid of raising another Qi Tingting. At that point, she wouldn't even know who to cry to.
Thinking this, Cheng Fangfang gritted her teeth and hurried over without bothering to show off in front of Grandma Qi. "Qi Juanjuan, what are you doing here? Go home!"
Cheng Fangfang came over demanding that she leave without asking for any context or understanding the situation. How could Qi Juanjuan comply?
"Mom, you're just in time. I'm reasoning with Sister-in-law! You might as well listen too?" Without a doubt, Qi Juanjuan was trying to pull Cheng Fangfang in as an ally.
If it were the old Cheng Fangfang, she might have nodded immediately without a second thought.
But after the blow of Qi Tingting being caught, Cheng Fangfang's courage was indeed not as great as before.
Especially at this moment, seeing that Qi Juanjuan was up against Zhao Jin, Cheng Fangfang frowned repeatedly. "Qi Juanjuan, what's wrong with you? It's not a big deal with your Sister-in-law? Hurry up and apologize!"
Cheng Fangfang wanted to please Zhao Jin.
Zhao Jin was not an ordinary person. Not only did Zhao Jin hold a significant position in the hearts of those in the Qi Zheng Family, but the "Golden Accessories" in Zhao Jin's hands had also made quite a bit of money.
Cheng Fangfang was now very clear-headed. She knew that in the past, she hadn't recognized the situation and failed to build a good relationship with Zhao Jin, which led her to completely offend Zhao Jin. Even when benefits later came about, Zhao Jin would rather share them with unrelated relatives from her maternal family than think of their family.
It was for this reason that when the Qi Zheng Family moved away from Willow Leaf Village, their family was left out.
Just think about it; even Qi Feng could go enjoy life in the city. Why couldn't they include their family of three? Wasn't Qi Erzhu Qi Zheng's own uncle?
Moreover, with all the furniture Qi Zheng made, wouldn't adding one more helper like Qi Erzhu be a good thing? It certainly wouldn't be bad! They were genuinely trying to help and were family; how could they be turned away?
However, Qi Zheng would rather seek help from outsiders than accept assistance from his uncle Qi Erzhu. Surely, he wasn't worried that Qi Erzhu would steal his skills, right?
What a joke! If Qi Erzhu were truly capable, the standout person who learned woodworking from Great-Grandfather Qi back then would definitely not have been Qi Zheng.
It's important to note that at that time, Qi Zheng was indeed serious. How could an adult like Qi Erzhu not even measure up to a child?
Ultimately, Qi Erzhu simply wasn't cut out for it and couldn't learn any remarkable woodworking skills.
However, even if we take a step back and consider that Qi Erzhu did learn something, what difference would it make?
Qi Zheng had already earned so much money; could he not share a little with his own Second Uncle?
This was truly a rhythm that could drive them to despair!
Then looking back at the two brothers from Zhao Jinniang's family who were always enjoying the good life with Qi Zheng, and could even move to City to enjoy their fortune. If it weren't for Qi Zheng helping out financially, Cheng Fangfang wouldn't believe it even if you killed her.
It was precisely because of this disbelief that Cheng Fangfang regretted not trying to please Zhao Jin earlier and failing to mend their relationship in time.
Otherwise, who knows how happy and prosperous their family would be now!
The more Cheng Fangfang thought about it, the more she felt she had missed out significantly. Thus, when Qi Zheng's Family returned to Willow Leaf Village, she was determined to perform well.
However, before she even had a chance to show her face, Qi Juanjuan had once again offended Zhao Jin?
This was truly not something to be pleased about. On the contrary, it directly caused Cheng Fangfang to return feeling quite unhappy.
“Qi Juanjuan, can't you just behave yourself?” Cheng Fangfang scolded her daughter right away; this reaction was indeed unlike her usual style.
But at this moment, she genuinely felt this way and was fully prepared to continue expressing it.
As a result, Qi Juanjuan received a barrage of scolding and ended up crying from the frustration.
Zhao Jin could be overlooked. After all, she was an outsider, Qi Yuehong's sister-in-law, not her own. But Cheng Fangfang was her biological mother! How could she help an outsider and team up to bully her?
Qi Juanjuan felt wronged and didn't know what to do. She was on the verge of fighting back. But because it was Cheng Fangfang, she held back.
If even her own mother wouldn't support her, what could she do? She wasn't Qi Tingting, not Cheng Fangfang's favorite; she feared that if she cried and died right there, her mother wouldn't feel a bit of sorrow.
Pouting, Qi Juanjuan took a deep breath and turned her resentment towards Zhao Jin.
Or perhaps, Qi Juanjuan had completely come to hate the entire Qi Zheng family.
If they were willing to help her, how could they just stand by and watch the show? If Zhao Jin were the one at a disadvantage now, she didn't believe they would still stand firm!
Wasn't it just because the one being bullied was her that they were so indifferent?
With this thought flashing through her mind, Qi Juanjuan's mood couldn't get any worse. It was always like this. When Qi Tingting was around, the family favored Qi Tingting. Now that Qi Tingting was gone, the family still didn't favor her. Was she really picked up from outside, which is why she was so unloved and unwelcomed?
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