Chapter 331: Doting Third Brother (1)
That old fellow had done this on purpose. He was clearly telling her that if she wanted the whole set, she would need to bring some good things to exchange.
Gu Qingyao knew that she would need to use a lot of resources in order to obtain the rest. The old man could tell that she liked it, and was not short of resources. So he had deliberately given her the prettiest necklace in order to bait her!
Never mind. She liked it!
As long as it was a good article, she did not mind bringing out more good things to exchange.
But Gu Qingyao was thinking that this old man would probably be harder to deal with in the future. She would have to prepare some nice food, and perhaps she could obtain more treasures from him!
She had met a tycoon!
Gu Qingyao sat on the bed, a pile of bracelets in front of her.
That's right, a pile!
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There were probably thirty to forty of them. The cheapest one would be worth 10,000 yuan in the future.
The old man had given her the bracelet in exchange for a few meat buns. He had casually handed it to her, as if he could simply produce another one and fling it at her.
It looked as if the old people on this side of the town were richer. They were also better connected and had more foresight. So they had hidden more goods.
There were over thirty bracelets on the bed, over forty rings and some earrings and necklaces. The most valuable of these were two top-quality bangles which would be worth a few million in the future.
Gu Qingyao happily put away her things. She felt as if she was running a jewelry shop.
But the problem was that all the things she had obtained were precious stones or diamond jewelry.
She had not managed to obtain any gold jewelry.
Precious stones were currently worthless. But gold was hard currency and these old people were very sharp. They did not use any of their gold. They kept it all!
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They only brought out what was currently useless.
People who could produce so many precious stones would probably have plenty of gold too.
But Gu Qingyao did not care. If they did not give her gold, then so be it! To her, precious stones were just as good. In any case, the Gu family was not short of gold.
Before she came, Father had brought her to get some of the Gu family's wealth. It was safest to put it with her. For the purpose of security, Father had slowly brought her much of the Gu family's wealth over the past half a year.
Now she had more than thirty boxes in her interspace. Most of them were antiques, paintings or calligraphy. There were also two boxes of jewelry and four boxes of gold ingots.
Father said that there were more at home, but those had been hidden with even greater secrecy. Since they had remained undiscovered after so many years, he would not take them out for now, but just leave them there.
The Gu family's ancestors were from an important family. Grandma was an only daughter, and had been born in one of the best and most wealthy families, so the Gu family's wealth was truly formidable. Even though much had been lost, what they had left was still substantial.
Gu Qingyao tidied all these things away, then hurried to check on her goods. She noticed that she was running short of cloth sacks for holding food, so she hurried to make another dozen.
Business had been brisk the two times she had gone to the black market in the city. She could not control herself and had exchanged too many things, so she was almost out of bags.
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She had plenty of cloth in her interspace, and also a sewing machine. Gu Qingyao sat at her machine and sewed swiftly. When she was done, she thought of how to get a hold of the entire set of ruby jewelry from that old man.
The next day, when Gu Qingyao got out of bed, Gu Jinlin was already making breakfast in the kitchen.
"Third Brother, why are you up so early? You came back so late last night."
Chapter 332: Doting Third Brother (2)
Gu Jinlin smiled. "Don't worry, I can make breakfast. You cook every day. If we exhaust you, Younger Uncle and Father will have my hide."
Gu Qingyao was amused. "No, cooking is not at all tiring."
"I still can't bear to let you do all this!"
"What are we eating?" Gu Qingyao stretched her neck to peek.
Gu Jinlin replied, "Porridge and pancakes."
There was mixed grain porridge cooking in the pot and Gu Jinlin was making rye flour pancakes. For vegetables, they had a dish of preserved vegetables and a dish of pickled beans. He had also cooked an egg each for Gu Qingyao and the two children.
When Gu Qingyao arrived, she had brought thirty eggs with her, some meat, and some fine grain.
Zhou Ping's heart ached to see that they had used up three eggs for breakfast. Also, her son had woken up early to make breakfast. She felt that Gu Qingyao had come here to play instead of taking care of them.
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Their family still had to feed her. If the food was slightly inferior, her husband and son's hearts would ache. They spent all day thinking about how to get some good food for her.
Zhou Ping looked at her eldest son. "Jinlin! You've been busy at work lately, you should eat better. You look rather pale lately. Don't exhaust yourself."
Gu Qingyao turned to look at her third brother and felt that he did indeed seem a little more haggard than before. He had a lot of work lately! He had not rested well. He should indeed eat better food to nourish himself.
But Third Brother did not return in the afternoon and often came back at midnight. He seldom ate at home.
"That's right, Third Brother. You should take care of yourself. Here, have this egg to build up your strength."
Gu Qingyao placed her boiled egg in front of Gu Jinlin.
Gu Jinlin smiled and returned the egg to her. "No need! I've been busy at work lately. After this period is over, I'll be all right. You eat it. I'm in good health. Don't worry!"
Zhou Ping's expression was ugly.
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Gu Qingyao also cared for Third Brother. Although he was not as rich as Fourth Brother and did not give her as much pocket money or nice things as Second or Fourth Brother, he still doted on her. It was just that he was poorer.
He did not dote on her any less than the other cousins.
Gu Qingyao wanted to give him the egg, but he adamantly refused. She had no choice but to eat it in the end.
Zhou Ping's expression grew even uglier.
In the afternoon, Gu Qingyao let the two children play by themselves while she went to the grocery store for some things.
Considering all she had, she had no need to shortchange her own family. He was good to her and she also enjoyed being good to him.
During this period, Third Brother had worked overtime every day and was indeed looking more haggard. He did not get to eat the food they cooked at home. How could there be anything good in the canteen?
So she went out to buy some things. When she returned, she would cook a good meal to nourish Third Brother.
She was early and there were still quite a lot of items in the grocery store. She asked for two kilograms of pork collar, two kilograms of pork ribs, a fish, a slice of winter melon, some green vegetables, and two carrots. Only then did she return home with her basket on her arm.
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Actually, she had all these things in her interspace, but she could not just take them out casually. There were other people in the household, not just her. So she had to make a special trip to the grocery store to buy these.
When she got back, she saw a familiar figure,
This area was an established housing estate. Although it was not too old, it had many buildings and many people lived here, crowded together.
There were more alleys here. Besides the buildings, the rest were small alleys and these were older. As a whole, the area looked rather disorderly.
She had just seen a familiar figure being dragged into a small alley by someone else.
Chapter 333: A Chance Meeting With Mingyue – Be My Sister-In-Law (1)
Gu Qingyao hurried over.
In the alley, Ji Mingyue was glaring at someone. "Zhang Qiang, will you stop it? Why do you keep pestering me?"
The other person was called Zhang Qiang. He was a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. In the current conservative climate, he looked rather slovenly and did not appear to be a good person.
He looked at Ji Mingyue's pretty face and smiled pleasantly. "Yue Yue, I only..."
"Don't call me Yue Yue. Comrade Zhang Qiang, please show some respect."
Ji Mingyue was very angry. This Zhang Qiang was always bothering her. Her parents had clearly hinted that he was not a good person, but he continued to pester her shamelessly.
If not for the fact that she had many older brothers and a good job, this Zhang Qiang would probably have forced himself on her already. Vile creature!
Zhang Qiang continued to smile pleasantly. "Don't be like that! Mingyue, we've known each other for so long and I've always thought well of you. Why don't we be a couple? I will certainly treat you well and bring you to eat good food every day. All right?"
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Ji Mingyue was disgusted. "No need. My family will buy me anything I want. Also, I don't really want anything. In times like these, I'm content to have a full belly and warm clothes. Thank you!
"I'm busy, I have to go!"
Ji Mingyue tried to leave when she finished speaking.
But Zhang Qiang suddenly blocked her way. Not only that, he even pushed her against the wall and pressed against her. He stroked her hand and leered at her. "Mingyue, I really like you. Be with me! When you're with me, I guarantee that you will lead a good life. Let me kiss you..."
He had pursued this young girl for a long time. He had known Ji Mingyue for many years and had first become acquainted with her in Nancheng. When she moved here, he had followed because he had relatives here too.
He had pursued her for so long. He could not wait any longer.
He, Zhang Qiang, had so many women, but he had pursued her the longest!
"Ah... let me go..." Ji Mingyue screamed in fright.
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At that moment, Gu Qingyao arrived on the scene. When she saw what was going on, Gu Qingyao angrily pulled Zhang Qiang aside and kicked him.
"Let go. You're pretty bold! How dare you bully a girl in broad daylight. Do you want to die?"
Gu Qingyao was trained and her kick forced Zhang Qiang to retreat several steps. He clutched his stomach in pain, unable to straighten up.
His brothers were shocked!
Was this their Elder Brother Qiang?
They had never met anyone who dared to hit him!
Ji Mingyue was pale with fright. She crouched beside Gu Qingyao.
Zhang Qiang raised his head. When he saw Gu Qingyao's pretty face, he was so mesmerized that he forgot about his pain.
Gu Qingyao immediately frowned at his disgusting expression. She had not had time to disguise herself. She did not know what was going on. The moment she arrived, she had seen that fellow bullying Ji Mingyue, so she cast her inhibitions aside and struck.
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But this bastard's expression when he looked at her face was truly disgusting.
Gu Qingyao's little face grew chilly. She grew imposing, and a murderous light shone in her eyes. She glared at the surrounding louts in such an intimidating way that they backed away. They felt a chill rising up their spine which froze them to the bone.
"You had better get lost if you don't want to die. You must be tired of living to bully a young girl in broad daylight!"
Chapter 334: A Chance Meeting With Mingyue – Be My Sister-In-Law (2)
Gu Qingyao took Ji Mingyue's hand. "Let's go."
Ji Mingyue followed Gu Qingyao's lead and turned to leave, but Zhang Qiang snapped out of his trance. "Hey, hold on..."
When one of his minions heard that, he hurriedly reached out to catch hold of Gu Qingyao.
He had only just stretched out his hand, but had not yet touched Gu Qingyao, when she caught him with a flick of her wrist, and sent him flying with a kick.
"Ow..."
The fellow shouted in pain. He flew backwards and crashed into several people behind him.
Ji Mingyue was stunned by this sight!
My God!
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She was too incredible!
"Get lost!" Gu Qingyao spoke like a boss.
Zhang Qiang was clearly terrified by Gu Qingyao's skills. He stopped and Gu Qingyao led Ji Mingyue away.
Ji Mingyue looked at the girl walking next to her, who was even younger than herself. She stared at her unblinkingly. "You... why are you so incredible?"
Gu Qingyao turned to look at her and laughed. "You think I'm awesome, don't you!"
Ji Mingyue nodded frantically.
Gu Qingyao smiled. Ji Mingyue was still so adorable.
She had known Ji Mingyue in her previous life, but at that time, they were in the capital. Ji Mingyue liked Mo Beihan, but Mo Beihan liked Gu Qingyun. So Ji Mingyue had disliked her intensely at first.
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However, this young girl's life had taken an unfortunate turn later on. Some playboy kept pestering her, which gained her a bad reputation, so she remained single.
Fortunately, her family continued to protect her, so she did not have to sink to marrying that playboy.
However, many people in the capital had mocked her, especially Bai Youran. Bai Youran also liked Mo Beihan, so she had been very hostile towards Ji Mingyue and had often taunted her.
Ji Mingyue was a very direct person. Later on, her family had persuaded her to accept an honest fellow who did not care about her reputation. He trusted her and was willing to dote on her. He was even willing to let Ji Mingyue remain in her natal home for the long-term.
The Ji family was delighted but realized later on that this man was not sincere towards Ji Mingyue. He was merely interested in the Ji family's standing and wealth. Fortunately, Ji Mingyue had not yet married him, so they broke off the engagement.
Later on, Ji Mingyue's reputation grew even worse. She did not seek another partner but left the country instead. She seldom returned after that, but remained single.
In her previous life, Ji Mingyue had remained single until the time of her car accident.
She had a fairly good relationship with this girl.
At first, both of them had been hurt by lies and slander. Bai Youran viewed them as enemies and tried her best to destroy their reputation among the ladies of society. Ji Mingyue had indeed liked Mo Beihan when she was young, but after a long time, when she saw that Mo Beihan remained faithful to Gu Qingyao, she gave up.
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She slowly forgot about it, and the two of them grew quite close later on.
When she found out about Gu Qingyao's circumstances, she was exasperated and expected better from Gu Qingyao.
Ji Mingyue felt that it was no big deal if she and Mo Beihan had really slept together, what more when nothing had happened between them.
In any case, both families agreed to the match, and they liked each other. When they grew up, they could just get married. What was the big deal?
In order to obtain Mo Beihan, Bai Youran drugged him and offered herself to him. But Mo Beihan had nothing but contempt for her!
Ji Mingyue said that she should just make a fuss and insist that Mo Beihan take responsibility for her, marry her, and dote on her. She should boldly marry Mo Beihan and infuriate that Bai Youran.
Later on, Bai Youran had taunted Ji Mingyue for having a poor reputation, so Ji Mingyue had jeered at Bai Youran because of her incident with Mo Beihan. The two of them hated each other and Ji Mingyue always incensed Bai Youran.
Chapter 335: A Chance Meeting With Mingyue – Be My Sister-In-Law (3)
Gu Qingyao knew all these, but she could not bear to actually do anything about it.
She was different from Ji Mingyue. Ji Mingyue came from a good background. She had grown up with the loving and tender care of her family. She was frank, generous and carefree by nature.
The events she encountered later on had not really affected her family.
But she was different. In Gu family's environment, she had known from young that she must exercise caution in everything to avoid causing trouble for her family. She knew that the moment her family made a misstep, disaster might befall them.
At that point, she was still too young and immature. She had been badly frightened, and after Jiang Linshi created so much trouble for her, the entire brigade mocked her. Even her grandparents had been beaten and her father had been lamed.
The incident had affected her too badly, and she still bore the psychological scars.
Ji Mingyue was greatly impressed by Gu Qingyao's skills. She held Gu Qingyao's hand and said, "I'm Ji Mingyue. What's your name? Can we be friends?"
Gu Qingyao smiled. "My surname is Gu. Gu Qingyao."
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Ji Mingyue was taken aback. Her large, black eyes immediately brightened.
Gu Qingyao?
From the Gu family?
Could this be the Yao Yao from the Gu family that Grandma was going on about every day?
Mhm!
She was so pretty!
Ji Mingyue immediately beamed so widely that her eyes almost disappeared. She was delighted when she thought of how skilled her future sister-in-law was, and how her older brothers would be beaten up the moment they disobeyed!
She immediately forgot her fright and unhappiness.
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"You're incredible! Do you know martial arts? Who taught you?"
Gu Qingyao smiled and replied, "I only know a few lousy moves. My older cousins are much better. They taught me."
"Where are you going? Come home with me! Let me treat you to a meal, all right?"
Gu Qingyao smiled. This girl had immediately struck up a friendship with her.
"No need, I have to go home! I've just bought groceries. Are you all right?"
Ji Mingyue's expression darkened, but she quickly recovered. She had temporarily forgotten about the previous unhappy incident. Right now, the most important thing was to build a good relationship with her future sister-in-law.
"I'm fine, thanks to you! Fortunately, you rescued me. That Zhang Qiang is a nasty piece of work. In the future, both of us have to avoid him. When I get home, I'll tell my older brother and ask him to beat Zhang Qiang up!"
Zhang Qiang?
She vaguely recalled that the fellow who kept pestering Ji Mingyue in her previous life was called Zhang Qiang.
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Gu Qingyao smiled and said, "I'm glad you're fine. My home is up ahead. Why don't you come to my house! I have to deliver food to my older cousin today, so I have to cook a little earlier. You can eat with us!"
Ji Mingyue hesitated. "That... that doesn't seem right! I... oh right, I forgot to tell you, I... that little clinic over there belongs to my grandfather. My grandparents especially like a girl called Yao Yao. Is that you?"
Gu Qingyao was stunned. Those were Ji Mingyue's grandparents?
She had not known that in her previous life.
But the old lady's married name was Ji, and she only had one granddaughter, who was Ji Mingyue, and four grandsons. It was true!
Gu Qingyao replied with a smile, "If you're talking about Grandfather and Grandma Ji from that clinic, then that's me. All right, don't stand on ceremony with me. Let's go! Let's go to my house!"
Ji Mingyue immediately laughed as cunningly as a fox. All right, she could take a look at her sister-in-law's family, hehehe!
When they reached the Gu home, the two children were practicing their writing while Zhou Ping remained lying in bed.
"I'm back. Third Aunt, I've brought a friend back with me."
Zhou Ping was taken aback, but she smiled the moment she saw Ji Mingyue. "It's Mingyue! Please come in and have a seat."