Chapter 3

Jiang He listened and felt that all of this still seemed rather insignificant compared to the stack of money and ration coupons Qin Yishen had. Besides, the textile factory was about to go bankrupt. But when she thought about how she would soon become the wife of the richest man, she reluctantly agreed. The next day, Qin Yishen took Jiang Man into the city to have some new clothes made. He also bought a bicycle, and it wasn't until evening that he took Jiang Man back home. “Qin Yishen, although we don't have any feelings for each other, as long as you treat me well, I'll definitely treat you and the children well too. Feelings can be cultivated slowly. Of course, if you meet someone you truly like in the future, I won't stop you.” Qin Yishen looked at Jiang Man. The corners of her long, slender eyes curved slightly upward. He liked everything she had said before, but he didn't like that last sentence at all. “When I went back yesterday, I submitted a new marriage application. It should be approved in about a month. Once it's approved, I'll submit the marriage report. As soon as that gets approved, we'll go register our marriage.” Jiang Man looked into Qin Yishen's serious eyes and felt her cheeks grow hot. She nodded in agreement before turning around and returning to her room. The next morning, large red wedding characters were pasted on the weathered walls, standing out brightly. Firecrackers had already been set off outside the Qin family's home, and they continued for a full half hour. The wedding procession consisted of bicycles lined up one after another, each handlebar decorated with bright red silk ribbons fluttering in the breeze. Qin Yishen wore a brand-new Zhongshan suit, his hair neatly combed. He rode a brand-new Phoenix-style 28-inch bicycle, with Jiang Man sitting on the back seat in a red wedding dress. Jiang He watched jealously as Qin Yishen took Jiang Man away. She had originally planned to get married on the same day as Jiang Man, but who could have known that Lin Yanqing's parents would object after hearing about it? They insisted on waiting a few more days for an auspicious date before allowing the wedding. There weren't many relatives in the Qin family, and Qin Yishen's parents had both passed away. After Qin Yishen joined the army, his elder brother and sister-in-law had been taking care of his two children. However, in her previous life, she had never bothered to ask about the Qin family, so she had no idea whether his elder brother and sister-in-law were easy to get along with. Jiang Man sat inside the room, feeling bored as she listened to the sounds of the wedding banquet outside. Suddenly, she heard a child's crying. At first, she thought she had misheard it, but not long afterward, she heard it again. Jiang Man immediately stood up. From the sound of it, it seemed to be a child crying. Could something have happened to Qin Yishen's two children? Since this was the main house, there were two rooms inside. Jiang Man pushed open the door to the other room and saw a chubby boy stuffing a huge chicken leg into his mouth. When he saw her, he glared at her fiercely. Jiang Man: “...?” “Who are you?” “My name is Qin Hua. My dad is Qin Yishen's elder brother.” So he was the son of Qin Yishen's elder brother and sister-in-law. Jiang Man frowned. Just then, she heard another cry. But this time, the crying sounded muffled, as if the child had been... locked away somewhere! Jiang Man immediately scanned the entire room. The only place large enough to hide a child was a wooden clothes chest against the wall. She quickly walked over and lifted the lid. The sight inside made her suck in a sharp breath. A boy and a girl were curled up inside. Their hands had been tied, their mouths covered, and their eyes were swollen and red from crying. “Tell Auntie, are you okay? Does anything hurt?” The two children shook their heads fearfully. Just then, Qin Hua's parents rushed over after hearing the crying. When Sun Meifen saw her son sitting on the floor, she immediately hurried over and picked him up. “What happened, son? Who bullied you? Did your aunt hit you?” Jiang Man was so angry that she almost laughed. One listen to Sun Meifen's words was enough to tell her why Qin Hua had become so vicious at such a young age. “Who bullied your son? Can't you be reasonable? Didn't you see what happened to Yishen's two children?” Jiang Man stepped to the side, revealing the two children hiding behind her. There were still marks from the tape around their mouths, and traces remained on their wrists where they had been tied with cloth strips. Seeing this, Sun Meifen and her husband both looked somewhat guilty. Normally, they turned a blind eye whenever Qin Hua bullied the two children. After all, they weren't Qin Yishen's biological children. As long as Qin Yishen didn't find out, they didn't care. But who could have expected that this woman would catch them red-handed today? Qin Yishen and the others arrived shortly afterward and witnessed the entire scene. A chilling aura immediately radiated from Qin Yishen as he strode forward and crouched in front of the two children, carefully examining them. “You say she bullied him, so she did?” Sun Meifen protested. “This is obviously just children playing around and getting carried away. You can't hit a child that hard!” She turned to everyone around them and complained loudly, “Come on, everyone, tell us who's right here! Which family's children don't play and roughhouse? If they don't know their own strength, can't you just educate them a little? But this new aunt has only just married into the family and she's already being vicious and cruel. Look at our Xiaohua! When have you ever seen our Xiaohua cry like this?” “Shut that foul mouth of yours!” Jiang Man wasn't about to tolerate her. “I bullied your son? Which one of your eyes saw me do that? And you call this playing? Your son is only seven years old, but he's as tall and fat as a ten-year-old! Now look at the two children in our family. They're seven years old, yet they're only as big as five-year-olds!” “Yishen is in the army, and every month his salary is sent directly to you. Is this how you take care of his children? You don't even dare let these two children eat properly, and they don't even dare look people in the eye. They're pale and skinny!” “Anyone who didn't know better would think you were some heartless, miserly relatives pretending to help care for the children while secretly pocketing the money meant to support them!” Sun Meifen and her husband had clearly been hit where it hurt, and they immediately became flustered. Sun Meifen was especially frantic, shouting like a rat caught with its tail stepped on. “What nonsense are you spouting?! You're a newlywed who just married into this family. What do you know?!” “Whether I know anything isn't important. What's important is whether you did it or not. If you didn't, why are you so anxious? Why are you shouting?” Jiang Man remained completely calm. She extended her hand and rolled up her sleeve, revealing her fair forearm. A bloody bite mark was clearly visible on her skin! “Your son just bit me. He realized I'd caught him doing something wrong and charged at me and bit me. I only threw him off because it hurt. Tell me, what did I do wrong?” “Besides, your son is so fat. How much could it possibly hurt from a little fall? Meanwhile, our children are skinny and small, and they were locked inside that chest for who knows how long. We don't even know whether they're injured. Shouldn't you take them to the hospital for an examination?” The moment money was mentioned, Qin Yishen's elder brother, Qin Ziqiang, immediately objected. “Qin Yishen, can't you control your newlywed wife?! She's barely married into the family and she's already causing a scene! Now she's even slandering her own elder brother and sister-in-law. We've worked so hard to take care of your children all these years, and this is how you repay us? This is truly heartbreaking!” “If you don't properly discipline her today, then our parents won't even be able to rest peacefully in heaven!”