Chapter 181: Qin Huairu's Fate Turns

Jingcheng.

Recently, the rumors about Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi have been quite rampant.

Although they are pseudonyms, everyone knows who is being referred to.

Yi Zhonghai was furious about this, coming over again and again, nonstop—who could stand that?

He spent a lot of money to investigate the source of the rumors, and finally turned up a few clues.

Suspected to be Xu Damao.

Xu Damao also learned from Sha Zhu, no longer seeking quick gains, and mastered the essentials of 'shooting without sneaking into the village'.

It allowed the rumors to start slowly lurking, developing in the dark, and by the time the parties involved noticed, they had already grown into something unstoppable.

The spread of the rumors also changed a major matter.

Yi Zhonghai repeatedly wanted to take Qin Huairu as his disciple, but she refused each time.

The reason for her refusal? The existing rumors.

"Yi Daye, let's wait until the rumors die down before talking about it."

"After all, although that rumor isn't true, everyone is still fixated on it."

Which rumor is Qin Huairu talking about?

It's exactly the rumor that the teacher took a liking to his disciple's wife and caused the disciple's death.

This wasn't fabricated by Xu Damao; it arose from Qin Huairu moving into Yi Daye's place, causing everyone's thoughts to spread and form on their own.

Yi Zhonghai's face looked as dark as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"It's all Xu Damao, that bastard's doing—I'll make him regret it."

He cursed bitterly for a few sentences, then, helpless, he temporarily gave up and left.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai leave, Guo Dakuazi sidled over again— the attractive widow was just too hard to resist.

He put on a show of concern, asking after her well‑being.

"Qin Huairu, Yi Zhonghai isn't harassing you, is he?"

"If he comes again, tell me—I despise people like him the most."

"Pfft! What nonsense."

Qin Huairu hurried to explain.

"Nothing of the sort—Yi Daye is Dong Xu's master; how could he do such a thing?"

"He just wants to teach me fitting, but the recent rumors, Brother Guo, you've heard them too—I can't ignore my reputation, so I turned down Yi Daye's goodwill."

Guo Dakuazi had been standing nearby all along, so he heard everything Yi Zhonghai said clearly.

He was just looking for an excuse to come over and flirt; the truth didn't matter to him.

Whether Qin Huairu is easy to get along with is the key.

"Ah, like that, Qin Huairu, let me tell you—I'm a level‑5 worker and also the workshop director."

"Otherwise, why not follow me? I'll teach you."

Qin Huairu saw his lecherous look and quickly refused.

"No thanks, I've already arranged with Master Tan to study under her."

Master Tan is a woman in her forties, a level‑4 fitter; her rank isn't high, but she's more than capable of teaching Qin Huairu.

In this era there are truly many female workers—women really can hold up half the sky, and there are lots of women in every position.

Upon hearing Master Tan's name, Guo Dakuazi immediately lost his bravado—this Master Tan could become a level‑4 worker, which shows she's truly formidable; such people are self‑reliant, independent, and principled.

When she talks back, she's also quite skilled at it.

Although Guo Dakuazi is the workshop director, he doesn't dare act recklessly in front of her.

Looking down on you and cursing your whole family is nothing special in this era when workers run the show—there's nothing to fear.

"Ah, ah, Master Tan—then I never said anything."

Master Tan also noticed what was going on with Qin Huairu at this time.

"Qin Huairu, hurry up and grind that material."

Qin Huairu hastily bade farewell to Guo Dakuazi and walked off carrying the frame.

As soon as Qin Huairu left, Master Tan launched into a rebuke.

"From now on, stop hanging around the cripple—he's no good."

"You're still a widow; gossip already clings to you, and if you don't care, those labels will stick forever."

"Some people in the factory don't actually like that reputation; they're just stuck with it because everyone talks about it—whether it's shit or not, it's shit now, and there's nothing to do but go with the flow."

"If you want to study with me, you can't have these rumors; if anyone dares to openly fabricate them against you, go give them a hard slap."

"I'll back you up; if I can't handle it, there's the factory's mediation, and if that fails, we still have the Women's Federation."

"Don't be afraid of anything—stand firm and they'll back down."

"If you strike them, they'll only respect you."

"A bunch of lowlifes—don't give them any pleasant looks."

"Did you hear that?"

"If you don't care about the stigma on yourself, then get lost."

"I still care about my reputation."

Qin Huairu received a stern lecture from Master Tan, and it got through to her some sense.

"Understood, Master—if anyone bullies me, I'll strike them."

Master Tan gave her a thumbs‑up.

"That's right."

The reason Qin Huairu is so different from the TV drama is that her choices have changed.

If she had gone to follow Yi Zhonghai, it might have been a different scenario.

Yi Zhonghai wouldn't bother explaining all that to her; he'd rather Qin Huairu be unproductive, so she could depend on him and slowly accept his brainwashing.

In the evening, when Qin Huairu came over to tell Yang Qing and his wife about this...

Only then did Yang Qing realize that the ideas he had instilled in Qin Huairu had now taken root and sprouted completely.

She began to cultivate self-reliance; once such a character is formed, it is greatly beneficial to a person's life.

(A person's character and habits are very important; many failures are fundamentally due to character and habit.)

She began to habitually think about problems and solve them.

As for why Qin Huairu would come to Yang Qing and his wife, when did their relationship become so good?

This still has to start from Yang Qing helping Qin Huairu settle her work.

Since then, the two families' interactions have obviously increased.

Of course, except for Jia Zhangshi.

After Qin Huairu left, Chen Hong became jealous again.

She twisted Yang Qing's ear, gnashing her teeth as she said.

"What were you just looking at? How big? How white?"

Yang Qing covered his ears.

"I was wrong, wife, I was wrong!"

"Hmph, if there's a next time, I'll break your leg."

"The third leg."

Yang Qing, frightened, clenched his legs tightly.

"That's too harsh, I'm your man."

"Hmph, you useless man who doesn't even sprout—having you is worse than not having you."

"I heard Liu Shumin is pregnant."

"Clearly I was first."

Yang Qing also doesn't understand why Chen Hong can't get pregnant.

He has even prepared the money for having a child and marrying a wife.

Yang Qing scratched his head.

"Otherwise, let's go to the hospital for a check-up."

Chen Hong nodded, a little anxiously, and said.

"If it's because of me, would you not want me?"

Yang Qing shook his head directly; as someone who has received modern education, he knows this kind of fatal issue absolutely cannot be spoken about carelessly.

"How could that be? You're my wife, I'm your husband; this is for life."

After passing the test, Chen Hong finally smiled.

But the worry hidden in her eyes could not be concealed no matter what.

Although Yang Qing noticed, he didn't say much more about it.

At this point, the best approach is to let the topic drop.

Chen Hong rested her head on Yang Qing's crown and said again.

"Husband, Aunt Wang says you should go over tomorrow."

Yang Qing wondered.

"What's up? I still have to go to the steel mill workshop tomorrow as a porter."

Chen Hong whispered.

"It seems to be about the real estate matter you mentioned last time."

Yang Qing froze, puzzled.

"Wasn't it said we weren't allowed to participate?"

Chen Hong rolled her eyes.

"How would I know?"

"Tomorrow you go ask Aunt Wang."