Chapter 18

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

After Chu Qiao was dragged home, she went back to her own room and stopped crying. She needed to take a nap, and fighting was tiring.

In the living room, He Jihong’s face was dark and red. Chu Yuanzhi tried smiling and saying nice things, but He Jihong ignored him. Her face was getting darker and darker.

“She looks down on such a good partner like Gu Jianshe. Does she wants to marry the emperor? Hmph, she’s already 21 years old, and she doesn’t have a job. She stays at home every day to eat free meals? Chu Yuanzhi, how much do you earn?”

He Jihong couldn’t be bothered to pretend to be virtuous, so she decided to speak the truth. Back then, it was her mother who insisted that she pretend to be virtuous. Not only could she get a free nanny, but she could also earn a betrothal gift. She could also get a good reputation, killing three birds with one stone.

Moreover, Chu Qiao was also an honest person. It wasn’t hard for her to be a stepmother, but rather, she was quite comfortable. He Jihong was also happy to pretend. But now that Chu Qiao wasn’t cooperating, she couldn’t continue pretending. She wasn’t a gentle and virtuous person to begin with.

“Then let her move out to live, so that you won’t be bothered by it,” Chu Peng said coldly. There was impatience in his eyes.

He Jihong was stunned and a little flustered. She was afraid of her son. After all, she had to rely on him once she was old.

“Little Peng, you don’t know…”

He Jihong wanted to explain, but Chu Peng interrupted her. “Since you see her and get angry, let her move out. The house will also be peaceful.”

“Mom doesn’t mean that. What would it look like if she moved out?”

Of course, He Jihong was not happy. If she moved out, how could she earn money from the betrothal gifts? She had lived for five years in vain.

“Then stop arguing and making others see us as a joke!”

Chu Peng’s expression became even colder, and his eyes were full of mockery. He Jihong became even more flustered. She wanted to say a few words for herself, but Chu Peng entered his room. Chu Qiao was not there either, so she could only glare at Chu Yuanzhi and enter the bedroom with a sullen face. She slammed the door shut.

Chu Yuanzhi smiled helplessly and picked up the porcelain plates and dishes on the floor. His days were really not peaceful. He really had to marry Chu Qiao off, or else he would feel wronged if she stayed at home.

Chu Qiao, who was in the house, heard everything clearly and sneered silently. She definitely couldn’t stay in this house anymore. He Jihong regarded her as a thorn in her side, and now that they had fallen out, the man she would introduce next time might not even be as good as Gu Jianshe.

She couldn’t go back to the countryside either. Her uncle and aunt were greedy for money, and their actions were even worse. She didn’t know what kind of man they would sell her to.

The best way was to move her household registration to the city and set up a single household. That way, she could live independently. With the household registration in her hands, no one could threaten her.

But now, she had no money on hand and couldn’t afford to buy a house. She had to think of a way to earn money in a short time. She knew how to cook dim sum, medicinal cuisine, and also knew how to play the piano and guzheng. She even knew a little about flower arrangement and tea ceremony.

In her previous life, she had not been a rich wife for nothing. She had learned how to play the piano when she was practicing with Gu Jianshe’s two sons. Those two little bastards had not learned it yet, but she had learned it well. The piano teacher had even said that she had a talent for music. She had some interest in playing music herself, so she signed up for a guzheng class. She had learned it quite well and could entertain people.

Flower arrangement and tea ceremony were things that she had learned when she had nothing to do. They were all elegant things. She did not learn them well or badly. She could put on a few airs.

She was best at making dim sum and medicinal cuisine. However, earning money by relying on this would be too slow. She could not earn much money by selling food in a short period of time. She was afraid that He Jihong would not accept her and would play tricks behind her back, promising her to a trashy man.

There was another matter that was quite urgent. Chu Yuanzhi’s family property had been confiscated a few years ago. Although it was not much, it was not little either. It would be returned in a few days. There were two properties. One was a bungalow with a courtyard. The location was very good, the area was also very large. It was a little shabby now, but it would be worth a lot of money in the future.

There was also a three-story house. It was smaller in size and the location was also very good. These two properties belonged to Chu Yuanzhi. In his previous life, he wanted to give one to each of his children. The house would be given to Chu Peng, and the bungalow would be given to Chu Qiao.

However, in his previous life, Chu Qiao’s household register was not in Shanghai. She had a rural household register. It just so happened that there was a policy at this time. A rural register could not receive a property in the city because it could not be transferred. (The specific details of this policy can not be found. I have consulted some elders, and it seems to be true, but I can not be 100% sure. This book is set as the background of this policy.)

Chu Yuanzhi wanted to transfer his daughter’s household register to the family, but He Jihong did not agree. She rejected it every way she could. In the end, she coaxed Chu Yuanzhi to give the bungalow to her daughter, Xu Bilian, and transfer it to Xu Bilian’s name.

Because of this, Chu Yuanzhi felt guilty and gave the medicinal recipe that He Jihong looked down on to Chu Qiao. The bungalow was demolished before Chu Qiao died, and Xu Bilian made a large sum of money. She even got a few rehousing units and kept showing off in front of her.

This house was a thorn in Chu Qiao’s heart. In this life, she had to get the house, and she couldn’t let Xu Bilian get away with it anymore.

Chu Qiao thought about it. The return of the property should be in October, and time was running out. She had to make the most of the time to buy a house and move her account, but how was she going to earn money?

She sighed heavily. Chu Qiao was worried to death. She wasn’t a particularly smart person to begin with. Even though she was reborn, her brain didn’t become smarter. She couldn’t study, and she barely graduated from high school, but she couldn’t get into university.

In her past life, she read some novels about rebirth. After her rebirth, the female protagonist became omnipotent. She entered a famous university, started a company, and earned money. She was doing well, surrounded by a group of outstanding men. All of them liked the female protagonist, then, the most outstanding and handsome person who knew how to earn money was the female protagonist’s husband. After getting married, she lived a blissful and blissful life.

Right, in the novel, the female protagonist not only learned how to earn money, but she was also good at giving birth. Twins were the standard, and three or four of them were very common. It was easier than eating, unlike her, who was useless and lost her life after giving birth to a child. Sigh!

Chu Qiao sighed again. Other people’s lives were so awesome, but how could she be in such a miserable state? She didn’t know how to earn money even if she racked her brains!

Chu Qiao decided to go out in the afternoon to see if she could find a way to earn money. If she really couldn’t, she could only set up a stall to sell snacks. However, she had to buy some things first, and she also had to rent a room. Chu Qiao couldn’t help but smile bitterly. She was now penniless. She didn’t even have the money to rent a room.

In the next room, Chu Yuanzhi and his wife were talking. He Jihong was still angry. She sat on the bed with a sullen face and didn’t say anything. Chu Yuanzhi smiled apologetically and said a lot of sweet words. Only then did He Jihong’s face ease up a little, and she rolled her eyes at him. She said angrily, “I was being kind, but you and your daughter treated me like a donkey. Humph, your daughter usually doesn’t say a word. At the critical moment, she bit me and even said in front of the neighbors that I forced her to be a stepmother. When I go to work tomorrow, people will definitely say that I’m a vicious stepmother. How can I have any face?”

“If anyone dares to say anything, I’ll scold him to death. Wife, you’re the most virtuous and magnanimous person. Don’t lower yourself to the level of that child, Qiao Qiao. When she’s anxious, she won’t speak. Don’t be angry. If you’re angry, you’ll have another crow’s feet.”

Chu Yuanzhi fanned her with his cattail leaf fan and was extremely attentive. When He Jihong heard the crow’s feet comment, she hurriedly looked at herself in the mirror. Her face, which had been maintained quite well, was now oily and yellow. Compared to Chu Yuanzhi, who was as beautiful as a flower beside her… it was as if she was a generation behind..