Chapter 9 — A Pigsty Cleaner Than the Ancestral Home

Le Le, if your mother was my own younger sister, then we are all the more one family.

What happened before was your eldest uncle's mistake.

He forced out a smile.

The gold you are holding is also dangerous, why not leave it at the ancestral home first.

The matters written in the ledger, let us discuss them quietly behind closed doors.

I looked at him.

You want me to drop the demand for the debt?

His expression stiffened.

Do not say it in such an ugly way.

I am your own biological uncle.

Your biological uncle robbed my grandmother of her retirement money, burned my blankets, forced me to live in a pigsty, and even used my mother's grave to threaten me.

I spoke each word distinctly, and the surrounding neighbors fell completely silent. The eldest uncle's face turned from red to purple.

Adults have their own difficulties when handling matters.

You are of the younger generation, do not hold onto things so tightly.

When grandmother was lying on her sickbed and unable to turn herself over, why did you not remember that you were an adult?

The eldest uncle raised his hand as if to strike me. Shen Nian caught him by the wrist.

If you dare to move so much as another inch, today I will ensure you make a trip to the police station as well.

The eldest uncle shook his hand off, glaring fiercely at me.

Very well.

If you have the capability, go ahead and sue.

I want to see how much you can actually recover from the ledger of a dead person.

That statement became his final stubborn defiance. Three days later, the township judicial office organized a mediation session. Lawyer Chu laid out the bank statements, signatures, audio recordings, and village committee certificates one by one. The eldest uncle had arbitrarily taken retirement funds and embezzled burial money totaling one hundred and sixteen thousand yuan. The third uncle had collected one million six hundred and twenty thousand yuan in fishpond profits on behalf of the family. After deducting the expenses approved and signed by grandmother, he still had to return one million three hundred and ninety thousand yuan. Qin Man Man had kept the gold bracelet and defiled the gravestone, and was required to pay compensation and offer a private apology. The eldest uncle slammed his palm down on the table immediately.

I have no money!

The third uncle was even more blunt.

The fishpond has just been taken over by me, and all the funds have already been invested into it.

Lawyer Chu nodded.

Then we shall proceed with a lawsuit and mandatory enforcement.

The profits from the fishpond, the share of ownership in the ancestral home, and the bank accounts can all be processed according to the law.

The third uncle panicked.

You are not allowed to touch the fishpond!

The eldest uncle was equally anxious.

The ancestral home is still needed for my son to get married!

I looked at them.

I only want to take back the money that rightfully belonged to grandmother.

And furthermore, they must kneel before my mother's grave and apologize.

Qin Man Man's eyes turned red as she screamed:

Qin Li, do not even dream of it!

As soon as those words fell, the police officers outside pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Qin Man Man, regarding the matter of defiling the gravestone, please come and provide an additional written statement.

All the blood drained completely from her face. On the day I reclaimed the gold ingots, the township sent two people to accompany me. The ten gold ingots were placed inside a wooden box, and the official seals remained completely intact. Lawyer Chu handed over all the gift confirmation documents, explanations of the source of funds, and the on-site inventory records to me.

Miss Qin Li, from a legal standpoint, these are now entirely your personal assets.

Shen Nian's hand gripping the box tightened rigidly.

We will deposit these in a bank safety deposit box.

I nodded. When the car returned to the entrance of the village, the ancestral home was already surrounded by a large crowd of onlookers. The eldest uncle's family was in the middle of moving their belongings out. It was not a relocation. They were moving valuable items away to pay off their debts. Half a month had not even passed since the judicial mediation. When Lawyer Chu filed the lawsuit documents, the eldest uncle was the first to yield. He was terrified that the ancestral home would be sealed up, and even more afraid that his son's marriage would fall through, leaving him with no choice but to dig out the hidden retirement money and borrow from others to make up the full amount. The third uncle met an even more miserable fate. On the day his fishpond profit accounts were frozen, he stood by the edge of the pond cursing into the night for hours. In the end, to retain the contracting rights to the fishpond, he had to sell a small house he owned in the county seat, paying off the vast majority of his debts while signing an installment agreement for the rest. Qin Man Man's marriage was also gone. Word had it that when the groom's family learned she had stripped the bracelet from the corpse and used chicken blood to desecrate a grave, they immediately called off the engagement that very night. When she saw me standing at the door of the ancestral home, her eyes were horrifyingly bloodshot.

Qin Li, are you satisfied now?

I paused in my steps.

When you pulled the bracelet off grandmother's wrist, were you satisfied?

She lunged forward as if to scratch my face. The eldest aunt threw her arms tightly around her.

Man Man, stop causing trouble!

Qin Man Man wept with a heartbreaking sound.

It was all her fault!

The eldest uncle stood on the threshold, his back noticeably bent. He did not scold me. Instead, he handed me a red cloth bundle.

These are the remaining things from your grandmother's room.

It was your eldest uncle who was in the wrong before.

Inside the red cloth bundle were grandmother's reading glasses, a wooden comb, and a sewing kit. There was also a cotton padded jacket that had been washed until the color had faded. Tucked inside the inner pocket was a small, carefully sewn-in photograph. In the picture, a youthful grandmother was holding a newborn baby girl. On the back were written the words:

My Wan He, mother is taking you home.

As my fingertips brushed across those handwritten words, my tears fell freely. The eldest uncle turned his face away.

Back then, because of her, mother had a massive falling out with the family.

When I was young, I did not understand, and only felt that grandmother was showing favoritism.

He paused for a moment, then continued speaking:

Later on, I understood, but I was simply unwilling to admit it.

This could hardly be considered enough to earn him forgiveness.