“You see, our situations are different,” Yin Changgui defended himself.
He first raised one finger. “First, there’s me. I’m just an ordinary worker with a meager monthly salary, nowhere near as profitable as Lao San’s shop. Now that my eldest grandson has grown up, I even need to save money to buy him a house and spend more to fund his wedding. Can’t you see I’m facing some difficulties?”
He then raised a second finger. “Then there’s Lao Er. His job has always been the worst among us. He married a widow just a couple of years ago. Can a widow ever be easy to deal with? She won’t let him give me any money.”
“But Lao San is different,” he continued, raising a third finger. “He earns a lot, and his child has just started high school, so he doesn’t need much money.”
“So, I should contribute the least, Lao Er a bit more, and Lao San the most. What do you think?” He looked at Lao Er, hoping for support.
Lao Er was slightly moved but hadn’t spoken yet.
His wife hadn’t forbidden him from giving money outright, but he felt it would be impossible to get it back once given. After weighing his options, he took out 20,000 yuan from his 60,000 yuan savings.
Unlike Yin Changgui, he didn’t have the audacity to justify his actions.
Receiving no response from Lao Er, Yin Changgui turned to Xia Yu.
In Xia Yu’s mind, Yin Shulan muttered, “It does sound reasonable.”
“You’re so short on money that you’re just trying to get away with five thousand?” Xia Yu mainly said this to Yin Shulan, knowing she was easily swayed.
But this kindness would bring pain to loved ones while pleasing enemies. If they followed Yin Changgui’s suggestion, Yin Changgui would get more, while the other two sons would receive less, essentially feeding outsiders with their own family’s flesh and blood.
Yin Shulan remained silent.
Yin Changgui continued persuading, “Am I not genuinely in difficulty? There’s only ten thousand yuan left in my savings. Surely I can’t leave myself with nothing?”
At this moment, Yin Shan peeked out from the bedroom: “Last time Yi Ge told me, you have a deposit of 100,000 yuan and even paid a down payment for a house in the city, but you wouldn’t buy me a laptop!”
Yin Changgui immediately became anxious: “He knows nothing! All lies!”
“What a bastard!” Yin Shulan cursed in Xia Yu’s mind.
The gazes from her second and third sons toward Yin Changgui also turned hostile.
“Alright, that’s settled,” Xia Yu didn’t want to waste more words, finalizing the matter.
Knowing there was no hope, Yin Changgui left angrily to go home and take it out on his son.
Meanwhile, Xia Yu was invited to stay for dinner by the two sons.
The third daughter-in-law brought the dishes to the table, placing all the meat around Xia Yu.
She had already calculated: 60% of a million yuan was 600,000, equivalent to twenty years of her family’s savings, not even counting the villa near the town.
After two minutes of eating, the second daughter-in-law also arrived.
After Xia Yu announced the proportions, Lao Er had notified her. She immediately came from home.
“Mom, eat slowly. I’ll make you some beef. This is high-quality meat bought from the city!” The second daughter-in-law went into the kitchen.
She was also very satisfied in her heart. Thirty percent of a million yuan was 300,000, which would take her family twenty years to save.
Although her share was half of what the third son’s family received, she had no complaints about this distribution.
She felt that if it were her, giving three parts to the third son and one part to the eldest son would be impossible.
It would all go to the third son, with just a small portion to the second son, and cutting off the eldest son entirely would be considered a kindness!
At the same time, she also admired Yin Shulan’s strategy. Using her daughter’s illness as an opportunity to test the character of the three sons and divide the property was truly an impressive maneuver.
The effect was also excellent, clearly showing who was good, bad, or average.
Even more astonishing was that Yin Shulan had managed to keep the family’s wealth a secret, not letting a single word slip.
After the meal, everyone at the table was happy.
Back in his own villa, Xia Yu heard Yin Shulan sigh.
“They didn’t mention Wan’er,” Yin Shulan said.
Besides the three sons, Yin Shulan also had a daughter. However, none of the three sons mentioned Yin Wan during the property division meeting.
“It’s your inheritance. You can leave something for your daughter while you’re still alive,” Xia Yu replied.
“I’ll give her a dowry of 50,000 yuan,” Yin Shulan said.
Xia Yu had expected Yin Shulan to give Yin Wan more, but it turned out to be less than half of what Yin Changgui received.
In this context, it couldn’t be blamed on Yin Dingshan and the others. In the countryside, there was still the view that daughters were a financial burden, destined to marry into other families, so naturally, they had no share in the family property.
“There were so many suitors for Wan’er that they could line up from the village to the town. Why did I choose such an unreliable guy!” Yin Shulan was referring to Yin Wan’s runaway husband.
“At least that guy is dead now,” Yin Shulan continued.
“Dead?” Xia Yu was surprised. Wasn’t he supposed to have run away?
“He ran off during the night, fell into the river, and his body wasn’t discovered until two days later,” Yin Shulan explained.
“That’s different from what you told me before!”
Xia Yu felt a bit of stomach pain. This old lady was not easy to deal with. Who knew how many other things she had hidden from him.
He needed to be cautious with this old woman.
“Who do you think would be a good match for Wan’er?” Yin Shulan asked Xia Yu this question again.
Xia Yu recalled Yin Wan’s appearance. Although she was a bit frail, with that face, she could marry anyone, plus she came with Yin Ling.
Moreover, with the medicine he had, he could completely improve her health.
Thinking of Yin Wan and Yin Ling, Xia Yu remained silent for a moment before saying, “I hope you can go to a big city for a while. Not too long, no more than six months, and I’ll provide generous funds.”
His intention in saying this was to buy some time.
“I’ll arrange her marriage soon,” Yin Shulan said.
Xia Yu’s plan failed and instead had a backlash.
“Let’s see what she herself thinks,” Xia Yu could only say this.
“I’ll ask her myself,” Yin Shulan said.
At the eight-hour mark, Xia Yu returned to his own body.
If Yin Wan and Yin Ling were just ordinary beauties, it would be fine, but both resembled An Siyao, although not very much.
People naturally looked similar to others, so a resemblance of 50% and 30% wasn’t particularly high, especially for Yin Wan. You wouldn’t even notice unless you looked closely.
Still, Xia Yu felt somewhat uneasy.
He decided to go to Yin Shulan’s place again tomorrow and take her directly to a big city, so she wouldn’t have time to meddle in these matters.
Standing by the window, he looked at the view outside. The community’s greenery was excellent, with lush trees and flower beds along the roadside.
The flower beds weren’t as neat or as vibrant as those in An Siyao’s villa.
Thinking of the flower beds in An Siyao’s villa, he thought of An Siyao again.
September was the time for university enrollment, and then he would see An Siyao.
He wondered what expression the girl would have when she learned the truth.
There was also Xu Youxiang, whom he would be able to see every day then.
For now, he still needed to work hard to fix Xu Youxiang’s leg first.
The top priority was to complete the college entrance exam.
In tomorrow’s monthly exam, he would test his progress first.
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