I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 469: Be Ruthless

Chapter 469: Chapter 469: Be Ruthless

"People who travel back to ancient times are likely to become marquis or even prime ministers?"

Qiao Qingyu joked like this, He Xiuyu raised his eyebrows, feeling as if Qiao Qingyu was underestimating him, and countered, "Just a marquis or prime minister?"

"What else do you have in mind?" Qiao Qingyu glared, "Do you even aspire to become the Emperor?"

He Xiuyu laughed, "You jump topics too quickly; let’s discuss the important matters."

Qiao Qingyu always did this, talking with He Xiuyu could leap from millet straight to dragon fruit. But she quickly came back around, fretting, "It is said that the law does not punish the masses; so, what should we do about this?"

"Qi Feng braved personal danger, jumped into the icy river, and rescued Qiao Ye; this act itself deserves praise."

Qiao Qingyu clapped her hands, suddenly realizing, "Right, I should talk to my uncle about this. At the very least, we should award Qi Feng a bravery medal; otherwise, wouldn’t it dishearten people like him?"

"That’s one aspect; another is having your uncle spread the word that the seed-making base is not permanent, its qualifications are verified annually, and if it’s unqualified, the title as well as the funding would be immediately revoked."

Qiao Qingyu glanced at the unruffled He Xiuyu, "I’ve realized that when it comes to cunning, ordinary people really can’t compete with you."

"Then I thank you for your compliment," He Xiuyu responded nonchalantly.

His wife, at times, had a truly novel focus in her conversations.

"Your idea is good, and also at our Tenghai Research Base, the contract we signed is for three years, but there is a clause stating that if Tenghai Research Base deems that the Qiao Family Team no longer has the capability to produce seeds or meet the conditions for cooperation, they can withdraw their investment."

"You see, this issue is actually quite easy to solve, right?"

"I’ll call my uncle right now."

But He Xiuyu held her hand, helplessly saying, "Don’t rush, let your second uncle handle the matter with Wang Mei first."

After a pause, he felt compelled to add, "Otherwise, this woman is truly a menace."

Qiao Qingyu nodded, but in her heart, she thought, if Wang Mei truly caused trouble, unless you beat her to death, there really wasn’t any good solution.

But what Qiao Qingyu hadn’t expected was that this time Qiao Zhihai was truly determined.

And his determination did indeed relate to a conversation he had with a young widow.

He naturally couldn’t always stay in the team; with so many projects, he needed to supervise the work. One evening, a widow named Lin Li cooked him two dishes, warmed a pot of wine, then brought them to his office.

Previously, Lin Li would just set the food on the table and leave, coming back later to clean up after she guessed he had finished eating, sometimes the two of them would chat a bit.

Today, Lin Li had cooked him a dish he loved, explosive stir-fried pig intestines, and another of green peppers and shredded potatoes, plus a big bowl of rice that suited Qiao Zhihai’s taste completely.

The rice was purely made of rice grains, although the main meals were still primarily corn and millet. But living in the Old Qiao Family, he did occasionally get to eat rice.

Unlike before, not to mention having it during festive seasons, you wouldn’t see a single rice grain for three to five years.

However, even with such a meal, Qiao Zhihai had little appetite.

Qiao Qingyu and He Xiuyu’s relationship was something he didn’t want to meddle in; besides, he couldn’t really manage it anyway, because it wasn’t about spreading rumors; it was all true, just a rehashing of old news.

Then there were Qiao Ye and Qi Feng. To tell the truth, he liked Qi Feng; he was a really good guy, and he would have been satisfied to have him as a grandson-in-law. He didn’t stir things up, but he was happy to see things develop.

What really irritated him now was this old woman, Wang Mei. He had found out that she gave the hundred and eighty yuan she stole from Da Niu to her brother back home.

This damn woman didn’t keep a dime for herself; he truly wanted to send Wang Mei back to the Wang Family.

But this woman had a fierce streak; she could turn everything upside down, leaving no one at peace. Otherwise, he would have taken her to the construction crew a long time ago. Not to mention, helping to cook, she could make a few dozen yuan a month—wouldn’t that be sweet?

And the food at the site was better than at home, but how could he dare bring her along? Could the construction crew still function if he did?

Captain Li would hate him to death.

Captain Li had already warned him beforehand; besides, that old woman was always bad-mouthing, and he was really starting to dislike her more and more.

Especially with this dowry, she actually accepted five thousand yuan from someone.

She insisted all the money was spent and that none of it went to her own brothers.

He knew Wang Mei was lying, but there was nothing he could do about it.

His older brother had to step in, contacted the family who gave the dowry, and returned the five thousand yuan.

That finally settled things, but he still owed his brother the money. If the five thousand yuan had stayed in Wang Mei’s hands, it would be one thing, but what if she really secretly gave it to her brothers? That would be a waste.

He sighed heavily here.

Lin Li, standing beside him, felt it wasn’t right to just walk away, so she had no choice but to show concern and ask, "Brother Qiao, what’s the matter? No matter what troubles you have, your health is the most important; you should eat first."

Qiao Zhihai gave Lin Li a glance. His expression improved a bit, but he still looked troubled.

Lin Li continued to console him, "Brother Qiao, no matter what, you’re the pillar of the worksite; you need to eat well and drink well to lead us in our work."

"Don’t worry, our construction crew won’t delay your wages like others might. Everyone works hard, and Captain Li won’t let you down."

With Captain Li away, the construction crew was left in Qiao Zhihai’s hands.

So Qiao Zhihai had only stayed with the Qiao Family Team for a few days before he hurried back to the county town.

Lin Li spoke in a gentle tone, not like Wang Mei with her loud voice and spitting while she talked, so Qiao Zhihai wasn’t so guarded, because he also remembered that his family’s troubles, not spoken of in the county town, were definitely known by Lin Li.

Qiao Zhihai said resentfully, "Your sister-in-law, I’ve never shorted her food or drink; even if I had a pot strapped to my head, I still managed to scrounge up delicacies for her. I’ve truly never let her suffer; but why is she so shortsighted, just seeing what’s right in front of her, and still busying herself meddling with her own people? What skill is that?"

And indeed, Lin Li actually knew about those troubles of the Qiao Family.

But Lin Li couldn’t say that; she had to persuade, "Your sister-in-law has suffered with you for a lifetime, given you three sons, and your branch of the family is thriving. She has made great contributions."

"Exactly because of that, I’ve turned a blind eye to many things, but I didn’t expect it would spoil her to this extent. To not mention other things, just think of Da Niu—she’s my granddaughter. What era are we in that we can still condone arranged marriages? Even if she’s the grandmother, the child’s own parents are still around. She bypassed the parents to accept the dowry from the groom’s side, completely tarnishing the Old Qiao Family’s reputation."

That was really both humiliating and costly...