Chapter 187: Troublesome Relative |
Lin Youxi and Mei Fang had the opportunity to be alone. They walked on the street towards Lin Youxi’s house, keeping a slight distance between each other.
“We haven’t been on this street for about half a year, and now there are already so many shops…” Mei Fang commented.
“After all, it’s closer to the elementary school, so it’s good for business.”
Suddenly, Lin Youxi slowed down and waited for Mei Fang.
“When we were in elementary school, I used to walk on this street to visit your and Yuan Yuan’s house. Yuan Yuan’s family used to be strict, so I would often come to play with you.”
She raised her head and imagined, “We used to go on adventures together, go to the arcade, ice rink, and explore the pond in the outskirts…”
“Yeah, it was really carefree back then.”
In the untold story, Mei Fang enjoyed a carefree childhood as a child. The six years of accompanying each other in elementary school formed a strong foundation of friendship between Mei Fang, Lin Youxi, and Xia Yuan. This long-lasting childhood friendship made their relationship almost unbreakable, and outsiders couldn’t possibly shake their bond.
While Mei Fang was reminiscing about the past, Lin Youxi suddenly reached out and held Mei Fang’s hand.
“What’s wrong? Are you embarrassed?”
“Not really…” Mei Fang squeezed Lin Youxi’s small hand. “Our hometown is cold, but you still don’t know how to wear gloves for warmth. Your hands are freezing.”
“Mm-hmm… Just warm them up for me,” Lin Youxi smiled at Mei Fang. Now that they no longer lived in Baimei County, they didn’t have to worry about other people’s gazes, even if they held hands like this.
And so, Mei Fang escorted Lin Youxi all the way to her home before letting go of her hand. As Lin Youxi was about to use her key to open the door, they heard an argument coming from the courtyard.
Lin Youxi’s gentle expression gradually turned cold.
“My uncle is here.”
“Oh, that person… Is he still bothering your family?”
Lin Youxi nodded. “You should go back first. Our family troubles aren’t something you should see.”
“What are you saying?” Mei Fang patted Lin Youxi’s shoulder. “I’ll stay with you.”
Mei Fang remembered the story about Lin Youxi’s uncle.
He was the only younger brother of Lin Youxi’s biological mother. Her grandparents passed away early, and it was her mother who raised her younger brother.
After Lin Youxi’s mother died in a car accident, Lin Guochuan had been taking care of his late wife’s younger brother. However, he was also the root cause of the Lin family’s inability to improve their living conditions.
Lin Youxi pushed open the door and saw her uncle tugging at Lin Guochuan’s sleeve, speaking with self-righteousness:
“Brother-in-law, there’s no need to give me all these excuses. I’ve been single for so many years, and now I’m finally getting married. Not only are you not happy for me, but you also refuse to contribute to the 100,000 yuan dowry. Are you disregarding your promise to my sister just because you have a new lover now?”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t help with your dowry money. I just said that Youxi is currently studying in Jiangcheng, and we still need to save up for her university tuition. How can we come up with 100,000 yuan so suddenly?”
“Even if you don’t have cash on hand, can’t you mortgage the house? It was my parents’ ancestral home that was renovated. You yourself promised in front of my sister’s grave that you would help me settle down and start a family. I remember the land deed is still in my father’s name. Why don’t you mortgage it for 100,000 yuan and slowly repay it? Don’t make our family lose face.”
Liang Meijuan, who was behind Lin Guochuan, who rarely showed anger, had a furious expression on her face. “You should speak logically, Xiaoyou. When your sister died in a car accident, you took tens of thousands of yuan of the compensation money and left. You can’t blame others for your own business failures. For so many years, it has been Lao Lin who has taken care of you and cleaned up your messes. Don’t you know gratitude? And now, you’re coming back to ask for money? That’s too much!”
“This is a private matter between our families. it’s none of your business, woman. Leave!”
Seeing his brother-in-law speaking disrespectfully to Liang Meijuan, Lin Guochuan also lost his temper, which was rare for him. He pushed away Lin Youxi’s uncle, You Zhibing. “Zhibing, watch your language and show some respect!”
“Fine… If you don’t want to help, then don’t. I’ve known for a long time that you’re a heartless person. It’s a pity that our family took care of you so much in the past…”
“Who is the heartless one here? If you had any humanity at all, Uncle, you wouldn’t say such things.”
With Mei Fang by her side, Lin Youxi stepped forward to berate her uncle fiercely, “You’re already over 30 years old now, don’t treat yourself like a child. Legally and morally, my dad has no obligation to support you. If you want to get married, work hard for it yourself. If you think the dowry is too much, find a way to solve it yourself. Don’t keep leeching off my family. My dad has no such duty.”
“Oh really, Lin Youxi, you’ve become so arrogant, huh? Is that how you talk to your uncle? Such poor manners. In our Baimei County, the principle that “above the heaven, the Thunder God is great, but below the earth, the uncle is the greatest” seems no one taught you, huh?”
“It’s true that no one taught me, because there’s no point in being polite to rude people anyway.”
Lin Youxi retorted to her uncle without changing her expression, and You Zhibing became enraged and wanted to step forward. However, Mei Fang stood in front of Lin Youxi at this moment, cutting off his attempt to approach her. He could only give up.
“Fine, since your entire family is so heartless, I’ll figure something out myself… I just regret that my sister passed away too early, she should have seen the true faces of you people now.”
“Zhibing, don’t say such hurtful things. I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you. What I meant was——”
Lin Guochuan insisted on continuing the discussion about the dowry with You Zhibing, and Lin Youxi couldn’t hold him back. She could only watch as they walked away.
Mei Fang rarely saw Lin Youxi so angry. She took a deep breath and then complained to Mei Fang, “My dad is good in every aspect, except that he’s too kind. I really don’t understand why he always defends that bloodsucker.”
Liang Meijuan said, “You shouldn’t blame your father… The land deed for our house is indeed in your grandfather’s name, and it hasn’t been transferred since his passing.”
“The land deed is useless in this case, Aunt Liang,” Mei Fang reminded from the side. “Property ownership takes precedence over land use rights. As long as the house is in Uncle Lin’s name, there shouldn’t be any issues.”
The integration of property and land deeds didn’t start until 2015. Before that, the process of handling various documents in small county towns was extremely complicated, and many times the procedures were not followed correctly, leading to many lingering problems.
However, most of the problems involved close relatives, and they generally wouldn’t escalate to an ugly situation. Everyone would try to resolve them through internal negotiations.
“The main issue is not about the deeds, but it lies with my father.”
Lin Youxi explained, “You heard what he said earlier. He made a promise in front of my mother’s grave. He’s stubborn and hard to change, so in the end, he will help that person with the dowry.”
Mei Fang quietly asked Lin Youxi, “If there’s a need for financial assistance, I can——”
Lin Youxi shook her head, “This has nothing to do with you, Ah Fang. You absolutely shouldn’t get involved. It’s not just about the money. If we don’t make things clear and cut off contact with that person, he will bother us for the rest of our lives—cough, cough…”
As Lin Youxi spoke, she suddenly started coughing due to her heightened emotion. Mei Fang quickly patted her back to comfort her.
“Alright, calm down… There’s no need to get angry over someone like him. You too, Aunt Liang.”
Liang Meijuan waved her hand and said, “I’m fine. I’m just concerned about how hard it is for Youxi’s father. Sigh…”
Mei Fang felt a headache listening to these family disputes. The living conditions of the Xia and Mei families have been steadily improving, while the Lin family has remained stagnant, which is closely related to Lin Guochuan’s honesty and timidity.
You could say he’s a good person, but the fact remains that he hasn’t provided a very comfortable life for Lin Youxi.
Of course, these problems ultimately boil down to money. If they could resolve the issue this time and fulfill Lin Guochuan’s promise, that would be ideal.
But Lin Youxi’s concerns were valid. With a troublesome relative like this, it’s unknown if he would continue to cause trouble indefinitely, especially if Lin Youxi became successful in the future—he would surely come knocking on their door.
However, Mei Fang had encountered many people like Lin Guochuan before, so he wasn’t worried that he would endlessly be leeched off by others.
Honest people have limits too. They couldn’t tolerate others endlessly, especially when they had a sense of responsibility towards their own family. The reason he refused to let go was his promise to his deceased wife. As long as there’s an opportunity for him to reach his limit, there will be a day when he lets go of his obsession.
Mei Fang accompanied Lin Youxi and said many comforting words before bidding his farewell.
“After I finish eating, I’ll come with Yuan Yuan to find you this afternoon. We’ll go to the bank and withdraw some money.”
“Withdraw money? What for?” Lin Youxi tilted her head in confusion.
“The year is coming to an end, so we’ll have a small year-end gathering for everyone from Ximilu Studio and distribute year-end bonuses.”
“You mean inviting everyone to get together?”
“Yeah… more or less.” Mei Fang nodded with a smile.