Father Qiao froze.“So… you’re not getting divorced anymore?”
Qiao Meili had been planning to use this opportunity to have a serious talk with her father.
“Qiao Wanqing, can you even control your son?!”
Before she finished speaking, an angry voice rang out from outside. The person hadn’t arrived yet, but his voice had already reached the courtyard.
It was Brigade Leader Qian Jinghong, striding furiously toward the Qiao family’s small yard.
Following closely behind him was Qiao Yingyong, Qiao Meili’s older brother.
The moment Qiao Meili saw this scene, she knew what had happened.
Her brother must have gone and harassed a female educated youth again.
According to the original plot of the novel, their entire family was basically cannon fodder.
Her brother was a lazy good‑for‑nothing. Not working was one thing, but whenever he had nothing to do, he liked hanging around the educated youth point, teasing the female educated youths. It wasn’t that he insisted on doing anything physical—he just liked verbally flirting with them.
Nothing had happened earlier only because Brigade Leader Qian Jinghong had been protecting them. Back then, Qiao Old Master had once helped him, so Qian Jinghong had always looked after the Qiao family.
Unfortunately, the whole family was a classic case of “good-for-nothings who couldn’t be propped up.”
Later on, when something did go wrong, it was because the brigade leader hadn’t been watching closely. Her brother chased after a female educated youth, and while she was running, she fell, hit her head on a stone, bled heavily, and didn’t survive after being sent to the hospital.
“You went and harassed another female educated youth again?”Qiao Wanqing had a terrible headache whenever it came to this son of his.
Qiao Yingyong gave an awkward laugh, rubbing his hands together.“No, no, I didn’t.”
“At a time like this, all of you—”
Every time Qian Jinghong stepped into the Qiao family’s yard, his heart skipped a beat. He genuinely suspected that sooner or later he’d be dragged to his death by this family.
“Enough! Stop causing trouble! All of you, go back into the house!”Qian Jinghong roared, clenching his fists.
Father and son, Qiao Wanqing and Qiao Yingyong, were still somewhat intimidated by the brigade leader. They obediently turned and went inside.
Seeing this, Qian Jinghong felt a bit less angry. His gaze swept the room, then he frowned.“Where’s Qiao Meili?”
Qiao Meili was still lying on the bed. Hearing this, she didn’t dare delay. She quickly put on her shoes and got up. Compared to her brainless family, the brigade leader was clearly the more reliable one.
“I’m here.”
Qian Jinghong glanced at her. She used to wear flashy, colorful cheongsams all the time, but today she was dressed plainly.
Still, she was a fool.
Back then, the fact that she had been able to marry a soldier was absolutely the right decision.
After all, the Xiao family’s old master was a veteran who had fought the Japanese and was covered in honors. A straw-brained woman like Qiao Meili being able to marry Xiao Heng was entirely thanks to Qiao Old Master’s connections.
Who would’ve thought this foolish girl wouldn’t cherish the opportunity? Married for over five years, she had spent three and a half of them living at her parents’ home, and now she was even threatening death and refusing to follow her husband to the army.
Utterly stupid!
In times like these, what could protect a family better than a soldier?
“Tell me, what exactly do you people want? You refuse to go to work, yet when you sit idle at home, you keep causing trouble for me. What do you want, exactly?”
The poor brigade leader looked like he was about to cry when facing this family.
“And look around this house! Those two vases, this furniture… and the clothes you’re wearing. Do you really think this is appropriate?”
No one spoke.
Qian Jinghong continued,“Hide all these things. No—burn them all!”
At that, several faces showed pain and reluctance. Qiao Wanqing rubbed the ring on his finger and said,“Brigade Leader, is there really no other way? These are heirlooms passed down from our ancestors. If they’re destroyed in my hands, how will I face them in the afterlife?”
Qian Jinghong snorted coldly.“What’s more important—those things, or your lives? You know the Shen family in the neighboring commune. They insisted on protecting their belongings and refused to hand them over. One son had his leg broken, another had his head smashed open. Now the whole family’s been driven out to live in a pigsty.”
Qiao Yingyong asked,“Is it really that serious?”
Just seeing him made Qian Jinghong angry. Useless, uneducated, playing with cats and walking dogs was one thing—but he even dared to provoke female educated youths.“And especially you—if you dare harass female educated youths again, watch out you don’t get shot!”
Qiao Yingyong shrank back, his neck stiffening.
Seeing their heads hanging low, Qian Jinghong didn’t feel good either. But this was simply how things were—what choice did anyone have?
“I’ll put my words here clearly. The situation outside is extremely severe. You need to understand that yourselves. I don’t care how you think or how you deal with it—anything in your house that can’t be seen by others, destroy what you can, hide what you can. Don’t cling to these things and lose your lives over them.”
Still, no one spoke.
Qiao Meili knew the brigade leader was right. No matter what, wealth was just something external. If you lost your life, what use were those things?
Qian Jinghong’s emotions were complicated as well. After giving his instructions, he stood up to leave.
He had helped as much as he could. Beyond that, he could only do his duty and leave the rest to fate.
“Wait.”
Qiao Meili spoke up to stop him. She knew there were things she had to seize the opportunity for—her father and her brother were completely unreliable.
“You still have something to say?”Facing Qiao Meili, Qian Jinghong couldn’t muster a good tone. He mainly felt she was just too foolish.
Qiao Meili was already aware that, in his eyes, she was probably nothing but a fool.
But what could she do?
“Brigade Leader, I plan to go and follow the army. Can you help me issue an introduction letter, and handle my household registration and grain ration transfer? I don’t understand these things—I can only trouble you to help me take care of it.”
Just now, Qiao Meili had decided to go and follow the army. For one, she felt she needed to stay away from Zhu Hui.
For another, the Xiao family had connections, and Xiao Heng was in the military. For her family, this was at least one layer of protection.
As for what the Xiao family thought…
Back then, Grandma Xiao had barely been able to support her two children. It was her grandfather who sent money and grain every month to keep Grandma Xiao alive.
A life-saving debt like that—it’s not too much to expect the Xiao family to return the favor.
“Are you really willing to go follow the army?” Qian Jinghong, still in disbelief, asked. “Weren’t you throwing tantrums before, refusing to go?”
To avoid suspicion, Qiao Meili pretended to rub her forehead.“I… almost drowned in the river just now. I guess I suddenly understood a lot of things I didn’t understand before.”
Qian Jinghong was skeptical, but he thought it was better for her to finally grow up than remain foolish, so he didn’t probe further.
“All right. Then tidy up your things at home. I’ll handle the paperwork for you and have it ready by tomorrow.”
It was fast, but Qiao Meili understood Qian Jinghong’s urgency.“Okay.”
Qian Jinghong left immediately, and judging by his pace, he would start handling the paperwork as soon as he got out the door.
For Qiao Meili, his hurry wasn’t a bad thing—it at least settled one matter.
Now, only the Qiao family remained… this entire household.
Since she was here, she couldn’t just watch the Qiao family all get into trouble and die one by one.
So, this family had to change.
“Meili, have you thought it through? You really want to follow the army?” Father Qiao was still fingering his beloved jade ring, clearly reluctant to part with it.
“Yes. I think following the army will be fine. And the brigade leader just said…”
Qiao Meili’s voice suddenly stopped. She walked over to her father.
Father Qiao was stunned.“What is it?”
Qiao Meili smiled and suddenly reached out. Before Father Qiao could react, she took off his treasured jade ring.
“Dad, you just heard what the brigade leader said. Playing with your ring now—don’t you want to live?”
Father Qiao stared at the jade ring in pain.“But… but—”
“No more buts! Think about it—if something happens to our family, and you get sent to do hard labor, what about Mom and my sister-in-law? They’re both so beautiful—what if they fall into the wrong hands? And Ni Ni and Yuan Yuan, they’re still so young! If you can’t protect the family, how do you plan to explain it to Grandpa and our ancestors?”
She was still being gentle. According to the novel, the family’s ending was truly tragic.
But she couldn’t tell them the whole truth—that would scare them.
“Enough with the buts! Quickly sort out all the valuable things in the house. Let’s deal with them tonight.”
If the paperwork went smoothly, she might leave the day after tomorrow.
Before she went, this hidden danger had to be taken care of.
Seeing Qiao Yingyong and his wife standing idly by, Qiao Meili addressed them equally.“Brother and sister-in-law, sort out the things in your hands too. Don’t take any chances. Stay alive first, then think about the future.”
Qiao Yingyong glanced at their father and nodded gravely.
Bai Xiaohé, with her clear, innocent eyes, said,“I only have some jewelry. Nothing to deal with.”
Qiao Meili: …
Her sister-in-law was also simple-minded. Later, after her brother got into trouble, Bai Xiaohé remarried. She knew it wasn’t really Bai Xiaohé’s fault—her brother was just too reckless.
So Qiao Meili walked up to her brother again.“Brother, remember what I said. If you go and harass female educated youths again, I won’t need anyone else—I’ll personally report you to the authorities.”
Qiao Yingyong shivered, still in disbelief.“Sis… you wouldn’t really do that to me, would you?”
“Of course I would. You know I’m going to follow the army. You know the Xiao family’s status, right? Xiao Heng’s father is in the police. I heard from Xiao Heng that his father is extremely strict and impartial. If he finds out you do this, being arrested would be the least of your worries—you’ll be in deep trouble.”
Qiao Yingyong went pale.
Qiao Meili left it at that. She needed to conserve energy for the big tasks tonight.
First things first: she needed to eat. The original owner had fallen into the river at noon and was rescued after a long unconscious period. Now it was almost evening, and she hadn’t had a single hot meal.
Her stomach was painfully empty.
“Hmm, the brigade leader has already left. Perfect. The porridge is ready—I cooked a big pot. Let’s eat it together, consider it dinner.”
Mother Qiao brought a large basin of porridge into the main hall.
Qiao Meili looked down. The rice was white, some parts were blackened from burning, and the yellow parts… seemed to be overcooked vegetable leaves that had turned color. Mixed together, it was sticky and gooey—a whole pot like pig feed.