How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 153 - 155: Drawing Lots Again_1

At dusk.

Du Xinxin was picking tender corn to put into her flour soup when she ran into Li Qiao and Qin Jin on her way back to the youth spot.

She waved at Li Qiao, "Li Qiao!"

Li Qiao jumped off the back seat of Qin Jin’s bike, "Jin, you go on home first." He then said, "Wang Nannan, Liu Jing, and Zou Qing have all gone back to their hometowns. Aren’t you and Han Ting planning to visit home to share the joy of getting into university with family and friends? Is it because you’re short on travel funds? I’ll lend you whatever you’re missing."

Embarrassed by the sudden show of concern, Du Xinxin’s eyes reddened again, "I’m not short on travel funds." She whispered to Li Qiao about her family situation.

Li Qiao was furious, "That’s too unfair! You absolutely must not give in. Your scores aren’t that high, and your foundation is weak. If it weren’t because everyone was new to English, the test wouldn’t have been so easy. Next year’s candidates will have studied English for two years, and the exam will definitely be harder, with even more taking it. If the cut-off score increases, you might not get into university and your whole life could be delayed."

This group of university students had caught a good era.

In the future, graduating and receiving a diploma meant automatic entry into an official post, something that students decades later would envy to tears.

Du Xinxin confirmed resolutely, "I won’t give in!"

Then, she shyly mentioned what Han Ting had said to her.

Li Qiao’s aunt laughed; she had always felt Han Ting treated Du Xinxin better than others. Wang Nannan, the scatterbrain, actually thought he treated Du Xinxin like a little sister.

She didn’t quite believe it. Was he that lacking in sisters to dote on? He must have some interest in her. "Where’s his family from? How many siblings does he have? Does he have any unmarried brothers?"

"From the provincial capital, he has only one sister, also a ’sent-down youth,’ and she’s already married."

Li Qiao, "That’s good then, his temperament is decent, and he’s both smart and well-mannered, so his family’s background must be good too. Living together for so long, you must have a good understanding of his character. If it were me, I would probably choose to follow him."

Upon hearing this, Du Xinxin felt a bit more confident, but she was still conflicted, "I’m just afraid my parents will complain about how far away his home is and be reluctant. They might even demand my admission notice."

Li Qiao, "You’re an adult. The role of parents nowadays is to offer you sound advice from their life experiences to help you avoid making the same mistakes. They have no right to decide your life. Plus, your parents are outrageous, not content with making you replace your sister in the countryside, they even want your university place. You’re better off getting away from them sooner rather than later, to prevent them from dragging your life down.

And don’t listen to some parents in the village who say, ’I’ve worked hard to raise you, so you have to listen to me.’

To me, that’s bandit logic. Did they ask our permission when they brought us into this world? And after we’re born, they say they’ve worked hard raising us. Which set of parents doesn’t raise their kids? That’s their responsibility and obligation.

Filial piety is deserved by a kind father, but if the father is unkind, why should the child be filial?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

With a sudden realization of the truth in Li Qiao’s words, Du Xinxin felt her frustrations clear away. "I’ll go with Han Ting when the time comes."

Li Qiao, "But remember one thing, unless you’re married, never share a bed with him." He figured Han Ting probably didn’t know that, wasn’t Qin Jin an example?

And then there was Feng Fugui, Xu Maimiao confided that even after half a year of marriage, she didn’t know that couples could actually kiss mouth-to-mouth. She only understood when she saw herself and Qin Jin together at the school gate—it was hilariously ridiculous.

Du Xinxin cleared her throat.

Li Qiao restrained his smile, "I’m not laughing at you guys, okay?"

Du Xinxin, even more embarrassed, "Li Jinhua came looking for me at the youth spot just now." She recounted what had happened.

Li Qiao instinctively felt it was no good news, "She’s typically the type who wouldn’t visit the temple without a cause. Better not entertain her in the future."

Du Xinxin obediently agreed.

Li Qiao reminded her of a couple more things, then said goodbye and headed home.

...

Old Mrs. Qin had made meat pies with pickled vegetable and pork filling. After washing his hands, Li Qiao started to eat and brought up the situation of Du Xinxin’s family.

Old Mrs. Qin felt indignant for Du Xinxin, "What irresponsible parents. They couldn’t possibly have picked her up, could they?" Whether their own or not, no parent would be willing to do that, would they?

Li Qiao, "Who knows." After all, some biological parents aren’t necessarily that great either.

Especially the biased ones; they like children who can sweet-talk, who will spoil them without any regrets.

Another one, no matter how filial, parents just can’t seem to notice if their words aren’t sweet enough.

Du Xinxin probably belonged to the latter.

In the past, Wang Nannan had said that the work points Du Xinxin earned were converted into cash at the end of the year, and she sent a large portion back home. She was wholeheartedly studying medicine in order to cure her sister’s illness.

She really suspected that Du Xinxin’s sister had no illness, and it was just an excuse concocted out of aversion to hard work and fatigue.

Not to mention others, just speaking about herself, she felt itchy all over her body after doing a bit of farm work, while after playing for a day, she would feel smooth and unobstructed everywhere.

At this time, the production team announced a meeting to draw lots for dividing the team’s chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep.

Old Mrs. Qin: "In a while, Qiaoqiao you draw the lots, and try to get a lead pig for us."

Li Qiao: "Do they distribute cows?"

"No, cows are needed for plowing in spring, and it’s not practical to distribute them for individual raising when we’ll need them later."

Li Qiao’s eyes lit up: "So you mean, if we draw an old sow, the whole pig is ours? It would be a loss if we got chickens or ducks."

"Get an old sow? Wishful thinking! The lots are for piglets, for us to raise until the end of the year. We’ll give half the meat when slaughtering and the rest goes to the team for distribution. The chickens and ducks should belong to individuals."

Qin Jin: "Better to draw chickens or ducks, they don’t require much feeding, and they lay eggs every day." Bringing a pig home also means setting up a pigsty, building a trough, and feeding it on schedule—it’s simply a loss-making business.

Li Qiao also thought chickens and ducks were more practical.

Once school started, she would leave for half a year and not come home. When Qin Jin was out, he would be gone for half a month at a time.

It was inconvenient for the elderly to feed pigs.

Old Mrs. Qin still wanted a pig, to save on buying pork at the end of the year.

The family of three headed towards the production team after dinner.

The team leader first read from the newspaper about policies, then from the manual about plans and objectives, rambling on before finally getting to the point of discussing the division of livestock.

Except for cows, mature pigs and sheep are still to be raised by the team, with each household taking turns but not for work points.

Meat will be divided at the end of the year.

Young animals are drawn by lot by individuals to take home and raise. At the end of the year, half of the meat is turned in, and the rest is kept for oneself.

The chickens and ducks own each other.

It still began with the team leader calling out names, then those called would come forward to draw lots.

Yu Feng drew a piglet and was overjoyed.

With more than half a year until the New Year, a pig can grow to at least 200 pounds; by then, when taken to the slaughterhouse, it might yield 140 to 150 pounds of meat, giving her half of it.

In spring, Li Qiao received half of a pork belly; the Qin family ate it every day, the savory scent drifting far and wide, making her salivate.

In the future, she also wanted to eat meat every day and make the Qin family smell it.

"It’s the Qin family’s turn." the team leader said.

Li Qiao stepped forward and drew two chickens and a duck.

Yu Feng barely held back a laugh. The lucky streak of a university student, all used up, right?

Li Qiao and Qin Jin were very satisfied.

Old Mrs. Qin was cheerful seeing the children happy.

The family of three took their allocated chickens and ducks and went home. The next day, Qin Jin was busy ordering chicken and duck cages.