1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

Qiao Wanqing quickly helped her aunt and uncle into the house. The two were exhausted and only gave a brief greeting to the Lu family, too tired to even exchange pleasantries.

Qiao Wanqing led them upstairs, arranged rooms for them, and after they washed up, the two lay down and slept soundly.

Qiao Wanqing found it strange. It shouldn't take too long to get here from Kyoto, so why would she be this tired?

She went downstairs and saw her eldest cousin chatting with Lu's father. She asked him about it, and her eldest cousin, Qiao Yuanzhong, looked up and calmly replied, "We actually came yesterday. We originally bought tickets for a few days, but my aunt came back and said she wanted to see you sooner, so we set off a day early, thinking we'd come secretly to surprise you. But on the way, I encountered a lot of criminals and was busy arresting them. We also had to cooperate with the local police, which delayed us until today. They haven't had a break. We got up very early yesterday morning to come here."

Qiao Wanqing: "..."

It's only a few hours by train from the capital, and they set off yesterday morning.

Seeing Qiao Wanqing's speechless expression, Qiao Yuanzhong paused for a few seconds, probably unsure what to say, then pointed to the two boxes beside him, "Those are your dowry. Do you want me to help you carry them upstairs?"

Qiao Wanqing looked at the two large leather suitcases and exclaimed in surprise, "These are all mine?"

Qiao Yuanzhong nodded, "Yes! Those two packages are yours too, only that one is my luggage."

There were five bags in total: two very nice leather suitcases, two parcels, and the smallest parcel that Qiao Yuanzhong referred to as his own luggage.

Qiao Wanqing was surprised that they brought her so many things. "Why would I need so much for myself? There are so many people over there..."

"Your aunt bought these things. Some of them were brought back from abroad and she said they were only for you. The rest were mailed because she couldn't bring them herself. They should still be on their way. There's food and other necessities. Let me carry them upstairs for you. You can unpack them yourself."

Qiao Wanqing: "..."

The younger aunt and the eldest aunt had already taken their luggage upstairs. There were still five left here; it was kind of the three of them to bring so much stuff. Qiao Wanqing asked her eldest brother to move the things to her room. It was almost time, so she didn't check and came downstairs to prepare dinner.

In the kitchen, Miao Cuiying was already busy with Chen Yulian and her youngest daughter. There were still some fish left in the sink, and her aunt was cleaning them by the sink. When she saw Qiao Wanqing come in, Miao Cuiying asked, "Is your aunt asleep?"

Qiao Wanqing nodded, "Yeah, I didn't get much rest after two days of traveling on the train, so I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow."

Chen Yulian, who was tending the fire under the stove, blinked upon hearing this and asked in confusion, "They don't have to work on the train, so how come they're so tired? I was thinking that since you're all city people, your diet must be different from ours in the countryside. I was hoping that when they come, they can eat the city food you cook!"

Miao Cuiying glared angrily, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."

Qiao Wanqing glanced at her indifferently and said, "Third sister-in-law, are you disgusted by the food we cooked? Tonight's meal isn't city food; it's made by Mom after all. If you're so disgusted, then don't eat it tonight."

"you……"

"What's wrong? What did I say wrong? If you want to eat city food so badly, there are plenty of state-run restaurants outside. Go ahead and go, no one's stopping you."

Chen Yulian found Qiao Wanqing's attitude unacceptable. After all, Qiao Wanqing was so different from the new brides she remembered. In the countryside, which new bride wasn't polite and courteous when she first married in? She was, after all, the third sister-in-law, and she had married in first.

"I'm your third sister-in-law, how dare you talk to me like that? You call yourself a city girl? Don't you understand even this basic manners?"

"I know that guests should follow the host's lead. I've never seen anyone visit someone's home and then constantly cause trouble. If you don't like it here so much, why did you come? Or, if you're unhappy, you can leave now. I'll have someone take you to the train station right away, and I'll buy you a ticket. How about that?"

"You..." Chen Yulian's face turned purple with anger. Being publicly humiliated like this was truly shameful, so she could only complain to Miao Cuiying, "Mom..."

As it turned out, Miao Cuiying had already guessed her intention. When she saw her eyes looking over, she immediately dropped the spatula and ran out, saying, "Oh dear, my eyes are stinging. Wanwan, please watch the pot for me."

Chen Yulian: "..."

She was furious, and in the end, she could only try to put her down with words, "Qiao Wanqing, you've been so arrogant since you came in. I'm your third sister-in-law. If you disrespect me, it means you don't respect the Lu family. Mingzhou will definitely be angry when he finds out."

Qiao Wanqing said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, in his heart, you, his third sister-in-law whom he doesn't see very often, are definitely not as important as me, his wife."

Chen Yulian: "..."

She was still angry and wanted to curse a few more times, but at this moment Lu Mingyue quickly came over, "Third sister-in-law, I'm fine, let me do the fire, you go and rest."

As he spoke, he went to the stove and pushed Chen Yulian out. Chen Yulian had no choice but to leave the kitchen in anger, as she didn't want to work there anymore!

Chen Yulian left, and Qiao Wanqing acted as if she hadn't seen her. She didn't care about offending Chen Yulian, nor did she care if Chen Yulian went to complain to Lu Laosan. In general, Qiao Wanqing's thoughts were very simple. She knew that Lu Mingzhou was not so easy to talk to. A successful person usually has a temper. Don't think that capable people are easy to talk to. Often, personality and temper are the key to a person's success or failure.

People with high IQ and EQ are certainly not lacking in young and promising individuals. Lu Mingzhou has managed to achieve this level at such a young age, so it's unlikely that he's a muddle-headed person who can't even handle such a simple family matter.

Therefore, the only people who will put effort into maintaining this marriage are Lu's father and mother. For Lu Mingzhou's sake, she will be very respectful to her elders. Otherwise, she wouldn't have specially taken out the yarn last night to show Lu Mingzhou that she was going to knit a sweater for her mother-in-law.

Within the Lu family, she only needs to show respect to her elders; as for others, if they dare to offend her, she will absolutely not be polite.

Chen Yulian and her husband weren't particularly capable, so they weren't a threat. If she were afraid of Chen Yulian, then all the years of education the Xu and Qiao families had given her would have been for nothing.

When Lu Mingzhou returned in the evening, he brought good news: his mother, Xu Hui, had been reinstated to her job.

Qiao Wanqing was delighted. "Really? When did this happen? Where are you working now? Is it still your old company?"

"What happened yesterday, but it's not the old workplace. Now it's a textile factory, and they even gave us an apartment. Your parents should have moved there yesterday. I'll take you to see it after the wedding tomorrow."

Qiao Wanqing smiled happily, her eyes crinkling. This was truly wonderful news! To receive such good news before the wedding was simply fantastic!

"And what about my dad?"

Lu Mingzhou shook his head. "There's no news from my father-in-law yet."