Chapter 35 - 35 35 Feint to the East, Strike in the West

Words : 1388 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

35: Chapter 35: Feint to the East, Strike in the West 35: Chapter 35: Feint to the East, Strike in the West This chapter has been heavily revised. If you’ve read it before, please read it again. —- After lunch, Lin Baohe went to the Luo family, while Chuxia and Zhao Yulan visited Zhao’s house in Xiaolin Village. Old Lady Zhao was sitting in the courtyard, twisting a hemp rope. Seeing Chuxia and Yulan come in, her eyes squinted with delight, “What brings you here today?” “Mom and I missed Grandma,” Chuxia said as she offered the snacks in her hand, “Grandma, this is a token of our respect for you and Grandpa.” “Yulan, you all are barely getting by, why bother with these formalities?” Old Lady Zhao not only refused the snacks, but her expression also darkened, “Don’t you know what your father and I despise the most?” “Mom, you know what kind of person your daughter is. If I didn’t have anything, would I bother with formalities?” Zhao Yulan responded cheerfully as she detailed to Old Lady Zhao how Chuxia had obtained the food coupon. “Regimental Commander Zhao is a good man....” Old Lady Zhao looked at Chuxia with a pained expression, “Chuxia really needs to strengthen her body, but we can’t let Qihui know about this, she’s still heartbroken. If she finds out that Regimental Commander Zhao refused her and chose Chuxia instead, who knows what she might do.” “Is she around?” Yulan lowered her voice and gestured towards the inner room. “She went to her maternal grandma’s house with your sister-in-law. Her maternal uncle is in the army, right? She said he might think of a way...” Old Lady Zhao sighed deeply, “That child, still hasn’t given up on joining the army. Ah, Qihui is a sentimental child, deeply in love with Yuanbao. It’s hard to say when she’ll recover.” “Yuanbao is truly a good kid...” In the time that followed, Zhao Yulan and Old Lady Zhao discussed Yuanbao’s matters, while Chuxia, having nothing better to do, wandered around the village. On her way back, she ran into her second aunt, “When did Chuxia arrive?” Without waiting for Chuxia to greet her, her second aunt had already started the conversation. Out of politeness, Chuxia put on a light smile, “I’ve only just arrived not long ago, where are you headed, second aunt?” “Nowhere special, just to your Grandma’s house.” Second Aunt Lin Xiaohua said, tweaking Chuxia’s shoulder, “Chuxia, you’ve visibly gained some weight since last time, good food really nourishes.” Chuxia pretended not to catch the implication in her words, “Second aunt, you always know what to say. If mom heard this, she’d be thrilled. She loves hearing that I’ve gained weight.” Lin Xiaohua’s mouth twitched visibly, then she quickly started fishing for information, “Chuxia, you and your mom visiting at this time, is there something going on?” Chuxia straightforwardly said, “We went to the market today, where we met Director Xue. He wants me to marry his son, and my mom and dad couldn’t decide, so we came to discuss it with Grandma and Grandpa.” Lin Xiaohua forced a laugh twice, openly praising Zhao Yulan for her good fortune, one good match after another... “Yulan, I heard from Chuxia,” Lin Xiaohua jubilantly congratulated Zhao Yulan as soon as they entered Grandma’s yard, “Sister-in-law is truly happy for you. You and Baohe have really made it through.” “Mom, I told Auntie about the Xue family’s situation,” Chuxia explained, seeming a bit embarrassed. “I just thought it was good news, and I wanted Auntie to be happy too.” “Yulan, are you treating your sister-in-law as an outsider?” Lin Xiaohua plopped down next to Zhao Yulan, her large hand kneading Zhao’s shoulder. “Your sister-in-law treats you like her own sister, but every time you come over, you just chat with your elder sister-in-law and leave. It really breaks her heart.” Zhao Yulan hadn’t quite understood why her daughter did this, so she just smiled and went along with it: “Well, I didn’t think, without even a hint of certainty, it’s not good to spread words carelessly. Chuxia is quick with words and is close to your sister-in-law. Haha... if it doesn’t work out eventually, let your sister-in-law not take it as a joke, just take it as kid’s banter.” “Exactly, the director of the commune is from what kind of family, let’s just hear it for now,” Old Lady Zhao chimed in as well. She really disliked her daughter-in-law; if it weren’t for her son’s sake, she would have never bothered with her. “Mom, you can’t say that. My younger sister almost became the wife of the commune director. The Xue family doing this must mean they still remember her fondly. I think this matter with Chuxia will surely succeed. If she really marries into the Xue family, with Director Xue protecting her, her life will definitely be good.” Xue Ligang had visited Zhao’s house several times before. By that time, Lin Xiaohua had already entered Zhao’s house and was quite clear about Zhao Yulan and Xue Ligang’s past. However, she, unlike other Zhao family members, always thought Zhao Yulan’s decision to give up on Xue Ligang and marry Lin Baohe was foolish. The kids are all grown up now, and Lin Xiaohua still said such things, Zhao Yulan’s expression clearly darkened: “Sister-in-law, it’s not so nice to mention these things in front of the kids, is it?” “Look at my big mouth!” Lin Xiaohua pretended to smack her lips lightly. “But little sister, since the topic came up, even if it upsets you, I want to babble a bit more. If you had married Xue Ligang that year, why would you have had to live your life like this? Poor living poors the whole family. Qiyan, the little short one, trying to find a good husband’s family is hard! Not like your Chuxia, who has one good marriage prospect after another!” With the old stories being repeatedly brought up in front of her daughter, Zhao Yulan was truly angry and sharply retorted, “Sister-in-law, that’s not quite right, is it? Given your stature, could Qiyan grow any taller?” At a height of 1.47 meters, Lin Xiaohua was very sensitive about it. Being mentioned by Zhao Yulan like that, her face immediately darkened like the bottom of a pot, and her anger was directed towards Old Lady Zhao: “Mom, you always side with little sister. I would like to see, when you and dad get old, who you will rely on! Just don’t regret this when the time comes!” she said, then stormed out without looking back. This was clearly a threat to Old Lady Zhao. If she continued to protect her daughter, she shouldn’t expect the second son’s family to take care of her in old age. Zhao Yulan looked remorsefully at Old Lady Zhao, “Mom, it’s my fault. But don’t worry, when you and dad get old, Baohe and I will take care of both of you. If there’s not enough room at our place, we’ll come over here to look after you.” Old Lady Zhao smilingly looked calm: “Don’t worry about her. She’s just like that, and there’s your second brother too. She doesn’t get the final say. Besides, your elder brother and sister-in-law have already said, even if your father and I can’t move anymore, they will stay here and take care of us. But about Chuxia, this matter needs to be carefully considered. If she really marries into the Xue family...” the old lady shook her head, “it definitely won’t be an easy life.” The elders were highly unappreciative of Xue Ligang, despite initially being unsatisfied with Lin Baohe. But, they disliked Xue Ligang even more. If at that time Zhao Yulan hadn’t married Lin Baohe, they wouldn’t have let her marry Xue Ligang either. That man, too hypocritical. “Dragons birth dragons, phoenixes birth phoenixes, a mouse’s son will dig holes,” even without seeing Xue Ligang’s son, the old lady believed that this marriage prospect would definitely not be a good one.

Chapter 35 - 35 35 Feint to the East, Strike in the West

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