Back to the 1980s: Becoming the Villain's Lucky Wife

Chapter 415: Chapter 445: Just as Stubborn?

The three large, tile-roofed rooms at the front of the house were spacious but an absolute mess. Feng Lan hadn’t tidied up much when she was around, and after she went to prison, the father and son living there had wrecked the place so badly there was nowhere to even set foot.

Qin Bogang had no choice but to stay in the old house out back. Old Mrs. Qin tidied up the small adjacent west room—the one where Qin Jiao’s family of four used to live—and lit a fire to warm up the kang.

Old Mrs. Qin said, "After your second brother’s family moved out, this room was just left empty for storage, so it’s a bit of a mess. But I’ve cleared a spot for you at the head of the kang. You can just sleep there tonight."

Qin Bogang looked around the room in silence.

The kang was very small. Forget about fitting four adults; even four children would have been incredibly cramped. Yet every time his second brother and sister-in-law returned from their jobs, their family of four had to squeeze onto this tiny bed.

The kang-side cabinet was ancient, one of its doors missing entirely. There was no other valuable furniture in the room. The desk the sisters, Qin Jiao and Xiao Shi, had used for reading and writing was probably the most respectable piece of furniture in the whole place.

The floor was still packed earth, a stark contrast to the concrete floors in the large, tile-roofed rooms at the front.

Several windowpanes were broken and had been patched with wooden planks. While this kept the wind out, it also blocked the light, plunging the small room into even deeper gloom.

Qin Bogang had known this room wasn’t large, but he’d never imagined it would be this dilapidated. His throat felt tight as he asked, "Mom... back then, my second brother’s family of four, they were all squeezed into this little room?"

Old Mrs. Qin paused for a moment, then said, "They were. But your second brother and his wife were often away working, weren’t they? And later, Xiao Jiao started boarding at school. Most of the time, it was just Xiao Shi in here by herself. It wasn’t crowded at all."

"But Xiao Shi was just a little girl. Living all alone in a room with broken, drafty windows... wasn’t she afraid?"

Qin Bogang had a daughter of his own, and he loved her dearly.

Although he had also desperately wanted a son, Sun Li had gone through a terrible ordeal giving birth to Xiao Lan. She’d declared then and there that she would never have another child, just the one, and Qin Bogang hadn’t pushed the matter.

He imagined it. ’If Sun Li and I were both away, and our little Xiao Lan had to live here all by herself... My heart would break!’

At the mention of Xiao Shi, Old Mrs. Qin continued, "Sigh, I wonder if that girl has changed. She used to always help me with my chores, you know, lighting the fire and cooking."

Qin Bogang frowned. "Mom, you made Xiao Shi help you cook, but why not Xiao Tao?"

Old Mrs. Qin stared at him, bewildered. "But Xiao Tao is a boy! How could a boy be expected to light fires and cook?"

Qin Bogang looked at his mother’s completely matter-of-fact expression and suddenly had a thought. ’Every time I help out at home, helping my parents, helping my third brother... I wonder if, in the eyes of Sun Li and Xiao Lan, I look just as stubborn as her.’

’Insisting on doing what I think is right, following a single path no matter what, so stubborn that not even ten bulls could pull me back?’

Suddenly, Qin Bogang felt exhausted. He didn’t want to say anything more. He didn’t want to do anything at all.

"Mom, go on with what you were doing. I’m going to sleep."

"Alright, then. You get some rest." Old Mrs. Qin finished laying out the bedding for her eldest son, then turned and left.

The night passed. As a rooster crowed from atop a wall, Old Mrs. Qin got up to make breakfast, same as any other day. But when she went to wake her eldest son, she discovered his room was empty.

She was confused, assuming at first that he had just gotten up early. But then she looked out into the courtyard and saw that his bicycle was gone.

Old Mrs. Qin immediately rushed to the next room to find Mr. Qin. "Old man, our eldest is gone! His bicycle is gone, too!"