Chapter 527: Chapter 527: A Mother Who Throws Her Daughter Under the Bus
Yi Chichi responded with a hum, explaining, "I still have to go to the train station to pick someone up later."
Qin Chaoyang looked at the time; it was almost four o’clock. "What time is the train?"
"Five fifteen, if it’s on time."
If it’s late, it’s hard to say when it will arrive.
"I’ll arrange a car to take you guys there!"
Such a nice offer!
Yi Chichi was about to accept, but then reconsidered, thinking it might not be appropriate since Qin Chaoyang was here for official business, and arranging transportation wasn’t his jurisdiction.
So, after thanking Qin Chaoyang for his kindness, she asked him, "Mr. Qin, will you be free tomorrow?"
"No, I’m not."
Qin Chaoyang explained with a smile, "We came here for an exchange, so I’ll be quite busy in the coming days."
"Does Mr. Yi have something in mind?"
"I wanted to thank Mr. Qin for safely delivering Xiao Jiu."
Qin Chaoyang instantly understood that this was an invitation for a meal to show gratitude.
He laughed heartily, "Sister-in-law, you don’t need to be so formal. Mr. Wen and I have worked together in the Southwest, and besides, Qin Jiu here calls me uncle."
"That’s right."
Qin Jiu nodded in agreement, and Yi Chichi suddenly realized why the old man trusted him with the task.
So there was this connection after all.
Since she still needed to pick someone up from the train station, Yi Chichi chatted with him briefly before politely taking her leave.
Qin Jiu wasn’t reluctant to leave either. Carrying his luggage, he happily waved at Qin Chaoyang while following Yi Chichi, "Uncle, I’m going with Auntie first. Take care of your work, and we’ll meet in Beijing when the time comes."
"Alright, see you in Beijing. Listen to your aunt, and call home when you reach the island to let us know you’re safe."
Qin Chaoyang advised loudly, and Qin Jiu agreed, while Yi Chichi smiled at him, "Mr. Qin, you can head back now. We’ll go ahead."
"Be safe on the road."
"Okay."
The military district and the train station were in opposite directions and quite far apart, but fortunately, there was an electric tram.
Yang Qing’s cousin’s train was delayed by an hour, arriving at six twenty instead of the scheduled five fifteen. This girl was vastly different in both appearance and personality compared to Yang Qing.
If Yang Qing was synonymous with being straightforward and generous, then her cousin Yu Ting was a timid and shy little girl.
Her whole aura was tense.
From the train station to the hostel next to the Friendship Store, she only greeted when Yang Qing introduced her to everyone, and said nothing else the whole way.
Faced with such a girl, Yi Chichi was quite frustrated, not knowing how to approach her.
Even louder voices scared her like startled birds, making Yi Chichi equally uneasy.
Eating was even more of a challenge; she didn’t dare to take food, she didn’t dare to eat. When Yang Qing put a piece of roast goose in her bowl, she shrank back and timidly said she wasn’t worthy of eating meat.
Yi Chichi and Qin Jiu were left puzzled, looking at Yang Qing.
Yang Qing’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, too lazy to argue, bluntly instructing, "Eat!"
Yu Ting was so frightened she shivered, grabbed the roast goose, and stuffed it into her mouth, eating in such a rush that she choked, coughing violently.
Yang Qing anxiously patted her back, murmuring, "What are you scared of? You’re with me now, your dad can’t hit you, Yi Chichi and the others are good people, they don’t hit others, just relax, be a bit braver..."
The amount of information in her words was overwhelming. Yi Chichi shared a knowing look with Qin Jiu, and after Yang Qing calmed her down, they both softened their voices, conversing with her while eating.
Out of ten sentences, nine didn’t get a response, and the rare responses were just "mm," "ah," or "okay."
Fortunately, after the meal, her tense emotions visibly eased.
Her smile also grew notably brighter.
After leaving the restaurant, Yi Chichi led everyone to the Public Security Guesthouse. Because she was a military family member and had been there before, with all the necessary documents ready, the check-in process went smoothly.
"You take a shower first."
After the rooms were allocated, Yang Qing handed Yu Ting some water for a shower, "Wash your hair too; it smells."
Afraid Yu Ting would overthink, she added, "I’m not looking down on you; don’t take it the wrong way."
"I-I didn’t take it the wrong way."
Yu Ting replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito, taking the water to shower.
Seeing this, Yang Qing sighed and went to Yi Chichi’s room across the way. The door was open, and she’d seen their sisters’ interaction clearly.
Understanding that Yang Qing came to speak her mind, or rather, vent.
Sure enough, Yang Qing entered the room sighing, "Gee, what will I do with my sister’s personality in the future."
"Take it slow; she’s left her original environment and come to a new one; you have to give her some time to adjust."
On the way here, Yang Qing had mentioned her cousin’s situation.
This girl had a tough life, with extreme gender preference at home—five elder sisters and twin younger brothers.
Being the sixth, she was mostly a toy and punchbag for the twins, as their age difference was too small.
Her sisters bullied her too, and her parents didn’t like her, making her a genuine target of collective bullying.
At eighteen, she was as slight as a girl of thirteen or fourteen.
Yang Qing said that this girl never had the courage to defy, except once when she discovered her parents planned to marry her off to an old bachelor in the neighboring village as old as her father. She escaped to Yang Qing’s house overnight.
Pleading with Yang Qing’s mother.
Yang Qing’s mother acted decisively, packed two sets of clothes, and swiftly took her to the city train station, bought a ticket to Yangcheng for her, and gave her some money to seek refuge with Yang Qing.
This led to Yu Ting’s journey.
"My mom sure knows how to get me into trouble."
Yi Chichi, "...Is there more to it?"
"My mom wants me to find her a husband."
Yang Qing looked at her with a troubled face, and Yi Chichi was speechless. Yang Qing’s mom was indeed making trouble for her.
Not only did she send a girl over, but also expected her to handle the girl’s lifelong affair. What kind of mother does this to her own daughter?
Matchmaking isn’t for everyone. If it goes well, everyone’s happy, but if not...
Well, it’s too early to say anyway.
"What are your thoughts?"
"First, I’ll work on changing her personality."
In other words: take it one step at a time.
Yi Chichi nodded. There wasn’t much else to say other than to give a gentle reminder, "Teach her to fish rather than giving her the fish; make sure you get the balance right."
Just don’t end up with resentment from too much kindness.
Yang Qing agreed, "I understand."
Despite her words trailing off, her face clouded with worry again, "When Old Huang gets home, I won’t know how to explain it to him."
An extra adult in the house to feed, clothe, and shelter is quite a burden for Old Huang.
Yi Chichi really couldn’t offer more help, so she remained silent.
Luckily, Yang Qing was merely venting, quickly shifting the topic, "When we get to the island, what do you think about me getting her a temporary job at the canteen?"
"You should drop the idea."
Yi Chichi poured cold water over it, "Look around; see how many wives in the family quarters don’t have jobs. Is it because they don’t want to work? No, it’s because there aren’t any positions for them."
If a cousin of a military family member gets a temporary canteen job while military family wives haven’t even got a spot, that wouldn’t be fair to those waiting for job assignments.
Doing that could possibly lead Yang Qing to infringe on the rights of those wives.
Things could escalate quickly, with some hot-tempered ones possibly confronting her.
