Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 334

Li Yong could tell at a glance that Zhao Tiesheng was guilty. After watching Zhao Tiesheng go from feeling guilty to standing tall and proud after saying he was going to send Da'e to school, Li Yong couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that Zhao Tiesheng was also unreasonable. It was just a pity for Da'e, who looked so clever and quick-witted. If he were sent to study hard, he would definitely have a bright future.

Li Yong didn't say anything more. After all, it was a family matter, and as an outsider, it wasn't appropriate for him to interfere too much.

Cheng Jinxiang felt a little guilty watching Zhao Da'e eat the candy. The family didn't have much money, so she had never bought anything good for Zhao Da'e to eat, including candy that children love. Watching Zhao Da'e eat the candy that Uncle Li gave her, Cheng Jinxiang secretly vowed that when life got better, she would definitely buy candy for the family so that her two daughters could have enough to eat.

Two more hours passed. Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Qingmin stood by the door, holding his briefcase and listening. He couldn't hear anything outside, so he guessed that Zhao Tiesheng and the others must have left. After all, it had been three hours; he wouldn't have been able to wait that long if it were him.

Thinking of this, Li Qingmin relaxed. Zhao Chunqin was sleeping in the room.

He still needs to handle some official business.

Gently grasp the doorknob and press down; it will inevitably make a "click" sound. Li Qingmin even held his breath a little, and then relaxed instantly when he saw that there was no one outside the door. Great, no one is here. It seems that Zhao Tiesheng and his family have left.

Meanwhile, Zhao Tiesheng was leaning against the door, trying to hear the knocking, but after waiting for a while, he also became drowsy.

The moment Li Qingmin opened the door, Zhao Tiesheng was immediately startled awake. When he realized what was happening, Zhao Tiesheng immediately got up and opened the door.

As soon as Zhao Tiesheng opened the door, he saw Li Qingmin carrying a briefcase, preparing to close the door and leave.

Zhao Tiesheng's eyes blazed with anger. He said there must be someone inside, and it was Li Qingmin. This person was clearly inside, but he came to knock on the door and pretended not to hear.

The two men stared at each other, and Li Qingmin's pupils widened in shock as he stammered, "Second Brother... what are you still doing here?"

Li Qingmin blurted out those words without thinking, feeling guilty. He instinctively wanted to close the door, but Zhao Tiesheng was faster, using his foot to block the door to prevent Li Qingmin from slipping away. Then he called into the living room, "Big Goose, Jinxiang, come out quickly, I see Qingmin."

Zhao Tiesheng was very strong. He grabbed Li Qingmin while using his foot to brace the door. He yelled at Li Qingmin, "Since you're home, why didn't you open the door for me? Do you know how long I've been waiting for you outside? Don't you even consider me your second brother? You bastard...!"

Zhao Tie angrily cursed. He had waited for three hours, afraid to fall asleep for fear that he would not be able to find Li Qingmin and his wife.

Cheng Jinxiang was dozing off on the sofa with Zhao Da'e in her arms, but she was so tired that Li Yong brought out blankets for them to rest in the living room. However, Cheng Jinxiang was startled awake by Zhao Tiesheng's shouts. She was a light sleeper and could wake up immediately at the slightest noise. After waking up, she woke Da'e up again.

"Come on, goose, go help your father."

After saying that, Cheng Jinxiang ran outside and saw Zhao Tiesheng blocking the door with one foot and grabbing Li Qingmin's arm with the other, preventing him from escaping into the room.

Cheng Jinxiang was furious. What a Li Qingmin! It was he who made her whole family wait outside for so long!

Cheng Jinxiang immediately stepped forward and slapped Li Qingmin's face repeatedly with his hands, using too much force and leaving several scratch marks on Li Qingmin's face.

While hitting him, Cheng Jinxiang cursed, "Li Qingmin, you and Zhao Chunqin, hurry up and pay back the money you borrowed from our family, forty thousand yuan, a full forty thousand yuan! Pay back the money now! Do you hear me? Pay it back now! I never agreed to lend you the money, and you took it without my permission. Do you really think we're easy to talk to?"

At first, the couple were easy to talk to, so anyone could step on them.

Under the combined attack of the two, Li Qingmin was unable to withstand it and was pulled out by them. Li Qingmin kept crying out in pain, and his face was covered in bruises. The couple each punched him, and they both felt resentful. If they didn't vent their anger now, it would only make them feel worse.

"Stop hitting! Stop hitting! Second brother and sister-in-law, let's talk this out."

Li Qingmin was truly unable to withstand the attack and hurriedly waved his hands in surrender. Only then did Zhao Tiesheng stop, grabbing Li Qingmin's collar and asking, "Where's Chunqin? Where is she?"

Zhao Tiesheng planned to discuss the repayment of the money with Zhao Chunqin after they returned together, and also to complain about Li Qingmin's refusal to open the door.

Li Qingmin glanced guiltily at the room, then swallowed hard and stammered, "Chunqin, she...she went on a business trip."

Business trip? Zhao Tiesheng was puzzled. If Zhao Chunqin was on a business trip, it would be difficult to ask Li Qingmin for money.

According to Zhao Tiesheng's understanding, Zhao Chunqin usually made the decisions between Li Qingmin and Zhao Chunqin, and she also controlled the money. If Zhao Chunqin was not around, it would be difficult to ask for money.

Seeing that Li Qingmin was thinking, Li Qingmin pleaded, "Second brother, why don't you come find Chunqin again later? She's not here now. If you ask me for money, I can't come up with it. You know, all the money is in Chunqin's hands."

Cheng Jinxiang didn't believe it and spat directly in Li Qingmin's face, "Pah! I don't believe you don't have a single penny. You have to give me all your money today, no matter what!"

Cheng Jinxiang knew that if he went to find Zhao Chunqin and Li Qingmin in a few more days, he might not be able to find them anymore, and the matter of getting money to build a new house would be dropped. It was best to get some of the money back today.

Li Qingmin's face stiffened. He disgustedly wiped the saliva off his face, cursing inwardly, "No wonder she's a shrew from the countryside. Not only is she strong, but she's also rude, spitting directly in people's faces. What a shrew!"

Despite his dissatisfaction, Li Qingmin dared not voice it, as he was no match for the other party, especially since they were a couple, and his small frame was no match for them.

Zhao Da'e peeked into the room. Lunch was still on the table—three dishes and a soup—and two freshly washed bowls. Pointing directly at the bowls, Zhao Da'e said, "Mom and Dad, Uncle is lying. There are two bowls on the table, which means there's definitely another person in this room. And Uncle clearly glanced into the room just now; maybe that person is inside and too afraid to come out."

Zhao Tiesheng listened carefully and looked towards the kitchen. He found two bowls on the sink with some water stains on them, and three dishes and a soup on the table. They looked like they had been cooked at noon. When he thought about Li Qingmin saying that Zhao Chunqin was away on a business trip, Zhao Tiesheng's first reaction was to suspect that Li Qingmin was having an affair and had brought another woman back to the house.

The thought of this possibility enraged Zhao Tiesheng. He kicked Li Qingmin in the waist, knocking him to the ground, and cursed, "You, Li Qingmin, how dare you cheat on my little sister and bring a woman home? You've really gone too far! Are you taking advantage of my little sister's lack of family support?"

Li Qingmin was kicked to the ground, his waist aching terribly. He rubbed his back in pain, looking up at Zhao Tiesheng with a bewildered expression. What was going on? When did he steal food? He hadn't done anything to betray Zhao Chunqin; it was all a misunderstanding.

But Li Qingmin opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He couldn't very well say that the person in the room was Zhao Chunqin, could he? Wouldn't that contradict the lie he had just told? If Zhao Tiesheng found out that Zhao Chunqin was actually in the room, who knew what kind of trouble would ensue.

To make matters worse, Zhao Da'e added fuel to the fire, saying, "Dad, look! This uncle is obviously guilty. He doesn't even want to explain. He must have done something to wrong Aunt."

Zhao Tiesheng's face was ugly. He kicked Li Qingmin in the waist several times and cursed, "You, Li Qingmin, I knew you wouldn't open the door for me at noon. So you were afraid I would catch your mistress and find out about your affair. I'm telling you, you're finished. Today I'm going to catch this mistress, make you divorce my sister, and take it to the authorities so you can get fired!"

Zhao Tiesheng's voice was so loud that it could be heard on both the upper and lower floors.

With words like "lover," "divorce," and "cheating" appearing, neighbors opened their doors a crack and peeked out to watch the drama unfold. What was going on? How could it be so exciting? Even residents from upstairs and downstairs quietly slipped down to see what was happening.

After making those harsh words, Zhao Tiesheng kicked Li Qingmin one last time before heading to the room to catch Li Qingmin's "little lover."

Li Qingmin touched his waist, where a sharp pain shot through him. Zhao Tiesheng had gone too far. He was filled with regret. Why did he have to make up the excuse that Zhao Chunqin was away on a business trip? He had really shot himself in the foot. Now everyone was laughing at him!

However, Li Qingmin had nothing to be afraid of. He hadn't done anything to wrong Zhao Chunqin, so there was nothing to feel guilty about. Besides, the person in the room was Zhao Chunqin.

Let Zhao Tiesheng knock on the door and see who's in this room!

Li Qingmin harbored a small vengeance in his heart. He wanted to see Zhao Tiesheng's shocked expression when he found out that his beloved younger sister was actually in the room. He wanted to show him who had prevented him from coming in at noon, and it was none other than his most cherished little sister.

Completely unaware of the situation, Zhao Tiesheng was still thinking about how to help Zhao Chunqin catch her lover. He first pressed the doorknob and found the door locked. Then, he angrily banged on the door in the room, so hard that the door panel was shaking slightly, as if it was about to be broken open by Zhao Tiesheng at any moment.

The next second, a "click" sounded, the door opened, and when Zhao Tiesheng saw that the person inside had finally come out on his own, he instinctively raised his hand to slap this "woman who was having an affair".

But when he saw the person in the room clearly, his pupils widened in shock. The reason was none other than that the person in the room was his beloved little sister, Zhao Chunqin!

At this moment, Zhao Chunqin's eyes reddened. She glanced at Li Qingmin, who had been kicked to the ground, and the neighbors who had come to watch the commotion outside the door. Zhao Chunqin felt extremely ashamed and immediately lashed out at Zhao Tiesheng, "Second brother, when are you going to stop making a scene!"

Zhao Chunqin rarely acted so fiercely towards her family. In the past, her family always pampered her, and she didn't have to do anything except study hard. She rarely lost her temper with her family. But this time, Zhao Tiesheng's actions made Zhao Chunqin feel extremely embarrassed and lose face.

When Zhao Tiesheng first saw Zhao Chunqin being fierce to him, he seemed a little flustered. He explained, "Little sister, I... I was thinking that Li Qingmin might be having an affair behind your back, so I acted rashly. I didn't know the person in the room was you."

Cheng Jinxiang was furious at Zhao Tiesheng's explanation. She couldn't help but scold, "Fool, don't be fooled! Li Qingmin just said Zhao Chunqin was away on a business trip, and then we saw someone in the house, but he didn't explain who was inside. So we naturally assumed he was having an affair. Now it's Zhao Chunqin who came out. Li Qingmin was just lying to us, making a fool of us, trying to drive us away and prevent us from getting our money. That's why he deliberately didn't open the door for us at noon, making us wait outside for hours. Now that we've caught him, he's made up a whole bunch of lies to fool us!"

Upon hearing Cheng Jinxiang's explanation, Zhao Tiesheng realized what was going on. He looked at Zhao Chunqin in disbelief, his eyes filled with doubt, resentment, disappointment, and confusion. He couldn't believe it and couldn't help but ask, "Chunqin, did you know that I've been waiting outside the door for so long?"

Faced with Zhao Tiesheng's questioning, Zhao Chunqin nervously clenched her clothes. In fact, she had been awakened when Zhao Tiesheng barged into the house. She never expected that Zhao Tiesheng could stay outside the door for several hours. She originally wanted to go out and ease the atmosphere, but Li Qingmin, that fool, said that he was on a business trip. It was not appropriate for her to go out, and she did not want to expose Li Qingmin.

Now things have gone wrong. Zhao Tiesheng suspects she has a lover and comes to bang on her door. It's the first time Zhao Chunqin has ever seen someone knock on a door like that, and she's startled for a moment. She understands that she has to go out, otherwise, if Zhao Tiesheng continues to act so recklessly, all her colleagues in the building will laugh at her.

Zhao Chunqin, somewhat exasperated, arrived at the door and shouted at the onlookers, "What are you looking at? This is a family matter. Qingmin didn't have a mistress. This is all a misunderstanding. The person who came just now was my second brother. Let's all leave now!"

After saying that, Zhao Chunqin immediately closed the door, blocking the onlookers from watching the show.

Zhao Da'e glanced at Cheng Jinxiang, who was holding her hand, and then at the closed door. Luckily, she and her mother had entered the house. If they had been outside, Zhao Chunqin probably wouldn't have cared about their feelings and would have locked them out. That wouldn't do. If Zhao Chunqin were to talk to her father alone, her own father would definitely be completely fooled.