How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 163 - 165: Good Granddaughter-in-law_1

Li Qiao rode her bicycle to the entrance of the village and, sure enough, saw lights shining in the direction of home.

Old Mrs. Qin chided, "Why so late? You had me worried sick." Seeing her granddaughter-in-law, she finally felt at ease.

Li Qiao was glad she had rushed home through the night; otherwise, her grandmother wouldn’t have been able to sleep. She was deeply moved, feeling fortunate to have a relative in another world who cared for her so deeply.

She said with a soft smile, "There was some overtime work at the office. You should have gone to bed earlier."

"How could I sleep without hearing from you? Have you had dinner?"

Li Qiao: "I have." There was no shortage of food at the department, and they even had duck tonight.

"There’s hot water in the pot. Mix it yourself for a wash. I’m off to sleep," Old Mrs. Qin said with a yawn as she went inside.

"Alright."

After tidying up and washing, Li Qiao went inside to sleep. The earthen house was a bit warm, so she left the door open, tucked in the mosquito net, and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, she was woken up by the chatter and laughter of her aunts. Opening her eyes but not wanting to get up, she rolled over and daydreamed.

Soon after, she heard Yu Feng’s voice: "Did your Li Qiao only come back home last night after midnight? Is that bicycle new?"

Old Mrs. Qin looked up and replied, "She’s busy with work; the unit provided it for her."

Yun Feng felt envious; the department even gave away bicycles last month. Intending to stir the pot with gossip, she admonished with a seasoned and self-important demeanor, "What’s there to be busy about late at night? I’ve heard that people working there all have high education levels, at least high school graduates. You’d better keep an eye on Li Qiao, lest she gets snatched away by someone."

Old Mrs. Qin was having none of it: "Nonsense! Who knows better than you the kind of person my dutiful granddaughter-in-law is?" If the eldest grandson would steal someone, she surely wouldn’t.

Yu Feng pursed her lips: "Don’t believe me then. You’ll regret it when the time comes."

Old Mrs. Qin felt so angry she wanted to hit someone.

Li Qiao coughed twice: "Yesterday we solved the Peony Commune’s sunken pond case, and I had to write a summary report at the last minute, so I was late." She told Old Mrs. Qin that Liu Er had provided some clues, "I’ll have to make a trip to the city to apply for some rewards for Liu Er."

Old Mrs. Qin: "Go ahead with your work and don’t mind the nonsense others say." She shot Yu Feng a warning glance.

Yu Feng scoffed and walked away, swaying her hips.

Just you wait!

Li Qiao and Qin Jin are bound to divorce! And when that time comes, you’ll have nowhere to cry!

....

Around 8:30.

Hu Xiufang came to visit, wearing a new floral shirt and sporting two large braids hanging in front of her chest. "This is a genuinely good shirt, very expensive; my sister-in-law made it. Knowing I was going to meet someone, she insisted I wear it. Hehe, do I look nice?"

Li Qiao smiled, feeling honored. "You look good."

The two rode bikes into the city together, Li Qiao taking Hu Xiufang to visit the office first.

Hu Xiufang surveyed her surroundings: "The work environment here is really good, they even have ceiling fans above."

Li Qiao: "Sitting underneath them while working can be pretty stressful." She was always afraid the ceiling fan might fall down and give someone a haircut.

"What are you working on?"

Li Qiao: "Writing an application."

Hu Xiufang sat beside her and watched; it was a reward application. She glanced at it and then walked over to the rear window, "Li Qiao, you even have a persimmon tree here, and it’s bearing fruit."

"Not that I’ll get to eat any," Li Qiao finished checking the application and handed it to the department next door. She asked Liao Fan, "My classmate is here, can she take a look now?"

"Sure," Liao Fan said as he put away the documents on his desk, and walked with Li Qiao towards the forensic department.

Once there, Hu Xiufang was sitting in Li Qiao’s place.

As she heard soft footsteps and looked up, a young man in his early twenties, full of integrity, stood before her. She shyly turned her face away.

Liao Fan also felt a bit embarrassed, "So, this is your classmate?"

Li Qiao replied, "Yes, her name is Hu Xiufang." Then she said to Hu Xiufang, "This is the Liao Fan I mentioned to you, very smart." She was paler than Hu Xiufang, taller too, and didn’t move closer to her, "Are you two going out to hang out? Get to know each other?"

With a shy smile, Hu Xiufang said, "Okay."

Li Qiao said, "Hu Xiufang, if I’m not here when you come back, just go with Liao Fan to where he works and sit for a while, I need to go out."

"Sure, you go ahead with your things."

After the two left, Li Qiao locked the office door and went back to the Siheyuan.

She had previously promised Mrs. Pan to tutor her child every weekend and was running late today.

Mrs. Pan had already cut some fruit and was waiting, while her partner sat on the couch reading the newspaper.

"I thought you wouldn’t come today." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Li Qiao greeted them politely, "I got held up with something."

Mrs. Pan’s son, Nie Guangjian, was seventeen years old. His grades weren’t particularly good, but not bad either. He lacked motivation for studying and only made an effort if pushed by adults. Li Qiao looked through his study materials; they were exactly the same as when she had left them last time.

"You need to work on these materials every day."

"I don’t know how to do a lot of these," Nie Guangjian said.

Li Qiao suggested, "You could write down what you know, and think slowly about what you don’t. How could it work with just my two hours of tutoring per week?"

Mrs. Pan chimed in, scolding Nie Guangjian.

Nie Guangjian looked a bit displeased and frowned without saying a word.

Li Qiao continued from where she left off last time and stood up when time was up.

Mrs. Pan invited her to stay for dinner, but she declined, "Auntie, your brother might not love studying that much. Don’t scold him too often; it could lead to a dislike of learning. Why not take him to the countryside for a couple of days to do some physical work and keep him active?"

Mrs. Pan sighed, "I’ve taken him to do manual labor before. He says it’s more relaxing than studying."

Li Qiao was at a loss, "In two weeks, I’ll be starting school again, and after that, he’ll have to rely on himself."

"Ah, thank you for your efforts. Take these apples with you."

Li Qiao repeatedly refused as she had only tutored at their house a couple of times and felt awkward accepting such a large bag of apples.

"Take them," Mrs. Pan insisted, shoving the net bag’s string into Li Qiao’s hand and asked, "How’s Yan Xiaoyu’s situation going? Has there been a sentence?"

Li Qiao replied, "She appealed because she wasn’t satisfied."

"Thick-skinned, huh? She still won’t accept it even with conclusive evidence."

Li Qiao remarked, "Probably afraid of prison." Yan Xiaoyu’s family was still trying to pull strings, thinking it would be that easy.

.....

After chatting with Mrs. Pan for a bit, Li Qiao returned the same way she came.

Liao Fan and Hu Xiufang hadn’t returned yet, so she sat at her own desk in the office hall to read a novel while waiting, her stomach growling with hunger. She ran out to eat a bowl of noodles, and on her way back, full and satisfied, she saw the two of them chatting and laughing.

"Hu Xiufang, Liao Fan," called Li Qiao.

The two stopped at the same time, and Liao Fan said, "I have something to do, I’ll head back first."

Li Qiao replied, "Okay." Once he was far enough away, she asked, "Where did you guys go? How was the chat?"

"Just walked around nearby, it was alright. He seems nice. Need to get to know him more," Hu Xiufang said shyly.

Li Qiao felt there was a chance, "I wouldn’t introduce you to someone unattractive." It seemed there was no one unattractive in the brigade; they must have had interviews to get in, right? The nation would have screened them and those selected were sure to be fine choices.

Besides, they must be physically fit, as physical examinations were required. And at least their last three generations of families had to have a clean history.