Chapter 626 - 219: Your Eldest Brother Is a Man of Action

In front of him, Qin Xiang would only ever brag endlessly about Qin Mei, never mentioning a single word about her three older brothers.

"You’re not close, yet you talked for so long?" Qin Mei herself had barely spoken a few sentences with her brother. It was almost always Qin Zhao asking the questions and her giving the answers. Talking with Qin Zhao put an invisible pressure on her.

She hadn’t even met Qin Zhao in person, but she already felt as if she had nowhere to hide, a guilt that left her feeling completely exposed before him.

Forget Qin Zhao—even when she first met Qin Xiang, she felt guilty and was under enormous pressure.

Jie Jingchen felt wronged but had no one to complain to. ’Did *I* want to talk to him?’ She was the one who had shoved the phone into his hands before scurrying away to buy ice cream. She treated Granny Li to a cone, choosing to chat with the old woman rather than her own eldest brother.

He’d had no choice in the matter. Once she ran off, he was forced to pick up the slack, pushed into an awkward situation against his will.

The man on the other end was his eldest brother-in-law. What else could he do but make awkward small talk?

As long as his brother-in-law didn’t hang up, could he really be the one to end the call?

"Your eldest brother said that in the future, you should call him directly if you need anything. Don’t go through your younger brother to pass on messages. He said it’s a hassle," Jie Jingchen relayed.

Qin Mei didn’t bat an eye. "You were the one who contacted my younger brother, not me."

Jie Jingchen was left speechless. It was true. If she had shown the slightest willingness to handle it herself, he never would have gotten involved.

"Qin Haoyuan’s letter of introduction has been mailed," Jie Jingchen said.

"That fast?" Qin Mei was surprised. The "Qin Haoyuan" identity was something they had cobbled together at the last minute. She’d assumed it would take a while, but she never expected her family to be so efficient. "Jie Jingsi, what do you think? If we get caught forging documents, will we be sentenced to reform through labor?"

"What forged documents? The letter of introduction is real." Jie Jingchen watched the faint smile play on Qin Mei’s lips. His initial plan had also been to get a fake letter, but he never imagined his brother-in-law would manage to procure a genuine one.

"A fictional person getting a real letter of introduction? Jie Jingsi, are you trying to pull a fast one on me? Think I’m some uneducated fool?" Qin Mei sat up again, poking Jie Jingchen’s arm with her index finger.

"Your eldest brother is a man who gets things done for real." Jie Jingchen admired Qin Zhao’s iron-fisted style—if he was going to do something, he was going to do it right.

"Explain," Qin Mei said, frowning slightly.

"Qin Haoyuan’s household registration is now under your grandfather’s name," Jie Jingchen said quietly.

"What?" Qin Mei was stunned. ’All I wanted was a letter of introduction for Zhang Haoyuan! That way, when Ah Bing takes him back to the village, the party secretary won’t get suspicious and report him as an enemy agent. The last thing I want is to get him in trouble. How did this turn into getting him an official household registration?’

’Having an official registration solidifies his identity, which is much safer, relatively speaking. But how can a fictional person be registered in the first place? Won’t the villagers and the party secretary have questions?’

Qin Mei wasn’t the only one who was shocked. Jie Jingchen had been just as surprised when Qin Zhao told him.

"An illegitimate son?" Qin Mei asked. ’This is going to ruin Grandpa’s reputation in his old age. Did they really have to go this far? Would Grandpa even agree to it?’

The corner of Jie Jingchen’s mouth twitched. He reached out to rub Qin Mei’s hand and shook his head. "A long-lost youngest son."

Qin Mei understood. Her grandfather’s generation had lived through wartime; it wasn’t unheard of for a child to get lost. It was just... for a long-lost son to be found, and instead of him coming home to reunite with his family, they immediately fixed his household registration... that whole operation felt a bit rushed.

"So with this ’Qin Haoyuan’ identity, he’s not supposed to be a cousin anymore, is he?" In their original plan, Zhang Haoyuan was going to be a cousin, but now that his registration was under her grandfather’s name, his generational standing had just shot up.

"Youngest uncle," Jie Jingchen said.

Qin Mei thought for a moment, then patted Jie Jingchen’s thigh, not dwelling on it any further. "All right, then. Youngest uncle it is."

With Zhang Haoyuan’s identity finally settled, Qin Mei felt a sense of relief. Once the sun set, she would head over to the Zhang family’s home to share the good news with the two elders and put their minds at ease.

"What do you want to eat?" Jie Jingchen asked.

"Whatever," Qin Mei said, lying back down.

"All right. I’ll whip something up. You get some rest; I’ll call you when it’s ready." Jie Jingchen’s eyes were filled with affection. But before he could get up, Second Aunt-in-law’s voice rang out.

"Fourth Wife of Jing! I bought your favorite pork ribs! I’ll make you braised pork ribs with potatoes in a little while!" Second Aunt-in-law shouted loudly.

Jie Jingchen felt a headache coming on. ’Every time Second Aunt-in-law brings groceries, she’s after something. That huge batch of medicinal plaster is already sold out? At this rate, she and Meimei are going to get themselves locked up sooner or later.’

"Meimei, just to be safe, maybe you should persuade Second Aunt-in-law to take a break for a few days," Jie Jingchen suggested.

"Making money makes people happy. How do you expect me to talk her out of that?" What Qin Mei left unsaid was the old proverb: cutting off someone’s income is an offense as grievous as murdering their parents.