Qiao Wengang looked utterly pitiful. Shen Yunchu also turned to look at Nan Linyi. Although she felt that Qiao Wengang could be given some leeway, she still listened to her mother—her mother would never harm her.
Nan Linyi cast a calm glance at Qiao Wengang, and the look made his heart race.
Yet he did not seek help from Shen Yunchu. Instead, he looked steadily at Nan Linyi.
At last, Nan Linyi nodded.
Qiao Wengang’s face lit up with joy. He immediately said, “Then let Yunchu and Lihua stay with you. But now that she’s married to me, she’s my wife, and Lihua is my daughter. I can’t shamelessly let you support them for me. From now on, I’ll give you my monthly salary!”
Nan Linyi had not expected it—her son-in-law actually had a bit of sense.
Shen Yunchu was also startled and asked uneasily, “Then how will you explain things to Mother-in-law?”
Qiao Wengang spread his hands in a completely matter-of-fact manner. “Explain what? In the past, I gave her my salary because she said she would take good care of you. But now she’s treated you so badly that you don’t even dare go home! Leave this to me. Wife, didn’t I tell you to keep your own salary?”
Shen Yunchu lowered her head. “Mother-in-law said that household expenses weren’t enough, and if I didn’t hand over my salary, she wouldn’t let Lihua eat.”
Qiao Wengang was so angry that he slammed his fist against the wall and said decisively, “From now on, my salary will go to my mother-in-law. You keep your salary to buy food for you and Lihua. As for my mom, don’t worry about her. I’ll handle everything. Before, I wanted you to live a good life, so I thought about earning more money outside. From now on, even if I earn a little less, I’ll stay by your side. I’ll deal with my mom!”
Nan Linyi felt very pleased hearing this.
A son-in-law who knows how to protect his wife is a good son-in-law in her eyes.
As for money, what was there to worry about?
Looking for a house couldn’t rely solely on Dean Li’s family anyway. This was also a good chance to see what this son-in-law was capable of.
So she said, “Coincidentally, Yunchu has been hospitalized these days, and we haven’t found a suitable place yet. You can help keep an eye out…”
Hearing this, Qiao Wengang patted his chest. “You can rest assured. I grew up in Jincheng and have quite a few friends. I’ll definitely find one that’s good and affordable!”
Shen Yunchu nodded in agreement—her mother’s money had to be saved.
Nan Linyi understood his meaning perfectly and said directly, “I’ve also asked the Li family to help with this—Li Jiaojiao’s grandparents.”
Qiao Wengang cared deeply about his daughter, so he naturally knew her friends as well. He exclaimed, “Their family runs a hospital, and they’re even the dean!”
Although the Qiao family was considered a worker’s family, a relatively well-paid one in Jincheng, compared to people in the medical field, especially hospital administrators, they were highly educated professionals.
He looked at his mother-in-law in surprise. Just what kind of background did his mother-in-law have, for even a hospital dean to be willing to help find a house?
Shen Yunchu glared at Qiao Wengang. “My mom is amazing! This time when I was hospitalized, Uncle Li and Auntie Li helped us a lot. A couple of days ago, they even ate with us here!”
Nan Linyi continued, “So, I won’t consider anything under 200 square meters. I won’t consider anything without a garden, and I won’t consider anything poorly renovated. The main thing is that we need to move in urgently. Otherwise, we could even buy a plot of land, tear it down, and build a new house.”
Qiao Wengang was dumbfounded. How much money would that budget require?
Their whole family were workers. In Jincheng, that already counted as a high-income household, yet they were still living crowded together in a compound courtyard, with no spare money to buy a house or even renovate one.
“Do you understand?” Nan Linyi asked.
Qiao Wengang nodded in a daze.
After a while, the Jincheng Hotel delivered the food. Seeing the table full of exquisite dishes, he was already numb enough to remain calm.
Especially when his mother-in-law picked up food for him, he said solemnly, “Mother-in-law, I’m sorry to Yunchu and Lihua. I let them suffer with me all these years…”
Shen Yunchu shook her head. “No. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived long ago.”
Her stepmother’s torment had been relentless; she had even planned to marry Shen Yunchu off to an old man who had been divorced three times and was old enough to be her father. Luckily, Qiao Wengang had appeared. Otherwise, Shen Yunchu wasn’t sure she wouldn’t have sought death.
Qiao Wengang stayed with Shen Yunchu until evening before slowly heading home.
At that moment, the old Qiao woman was cursing away in the kitchen. With Shen Yunchu gone these past few days, all the housework had fallen on her.
After cooking several dishes, she carried them out. Old Man Qiao was already sitting at the table, leisurely drinking wine.
As soon as she stepped out, her expression changed, turning into one of worry. “Wengang has been out for so long. Who knows where he’s gone… Perfectly good days, and yet everyone has to make a fuss…”
As she spoke, she kept observing Old Man Qiao’s expression.
Old Man Qiao frowned. “Get Wengang to find his wife and bring her back. Our Qiao family can’t afford to lose face!”
The old Qiao woman responded just as Qiao Wengang hadn’t yet arrived when his voice was heard first. “You didn’t even wait for me before eating?”
As their only son, Qiao Wengang was naturally doted on. The couple both smiled. “You little rascal, where did you run off to? I made your favorite chicken today. Hurry up and eat!”
Qiao Wengang’s gaze fell on the dining table. With a hint of irony, he said, “Four dishes and one soup, meat and vegetables nicely balanced. Looks pretty good!”
The old Qiao woman said happily, “Of course! They’re all things you and your father like to eat.”
Qiao Wengang nodded with a faint, ambiguous smile and said nothing more, sitting down. When they started eating, he suddenly dropped a bombshell and said, “Mom, from now on, I won’t be giving you my salary anymore.”
The old Qiao woman froze for a moment. Then she assumed her son needed money outside and said worriedly, “Do you need money out there? If what you have isn’t enough, Mom still has some here…”
Old Man Qiao also nodded.
Qiao Wengang looked at the old Qiao woman with complicated eyes. He couldn’t deny that she was genuinely good to him, her only son. But why, then, was she so excessive toward Yunchu and Lihua?
He responded vaguely.
The old Qiao woman put another piece of chicken on his plate and asked, “Did you find your wife? Sigh, no matter what happened, she shouldn’t have such a temper. Today I only said those things because one thing led to another. I was really just worried about her safety. You know, a woman with a child, not coming home for days—do you know how awful the things people in the courtyard say are? Your father and I are old. We can’t bear it…”
If Qiao Wengang hadn’t just talked things through with Shen Yunchu, he really might have believed that his mother cared deeply about her daughter-in-law, and might even have developed resentment toward Shen Yunchu because of these words.
But now…
His heart was filled with anger instead. Without even lifting his head, he said, “I found them. Yunchu and Lihua aren’t feeling well and need to be hospitalized. I won’t be going out during this period. I’ll go to the hospital to take care of them.”
(End of Chapter)