Chapter 208: Chapter 127: Ungrateful Wolf, Not My Place
"Uncle, do you need something?"
"Wanwan, whatâs with that tone? Does an uncle need a reason to call his niece? Why didnât you answer your phone yesterday? Are you avoiding your uncle, or are you ashamed of me?"
"Iâve been out gathering material these days; the signal is poor."
"Gathering material? What job is that? Our whole family is back from the United States, and weâre heading home soon. Youâre at home, right?"
Lin Wanwan chuckled, "Uncle, didnât you sell the house last year because you said youâd never return to the country? Thereâs no home here now, right?"
Lin Zhantian was momentarily stunned, then snapped angrily, "Wanwan, what do you mean by that? Selling the house to you is not letting outsiders benefit. It wouldnât have been at that price if it were sold to someone else. Besides, Iâm still your uncle, shouldnât you welcome me home? Donât forget who raised you. Donât be an ungrateful wretch."
Lin Wanwan sneered internally and retorted, "Uncle, I may be young and havenât read as much as you, but my memory isnât bad. The house was bought at market price; I didnât shortchange you a penny.
Moreover, it was my grandparents who raised me, which has nothing to do with you, Uncle. I wouldnât dare bear the accusation of being ungrateful.
As for you, Uncle, you visited the country only once every few years while my grandparents were alive. Have you forgotten? You and Aunt didnât visit or care for Grandpa in his last days in the hospital once."
"Whatâs the point of bringing this up now? Wouldnât we have gone to the hospital if we hadnât been abroad? You shouldnât be ignorant of how hard it was to return these years, being a university student. By the time we were out of quarantine, your grandpa had already been moved out of the hospital.
Now you, a younger generation, are here to criticize me? Did your education go to the dogs? Back then, although it was your grandparents who looked after you, werenât you living in my house?"
Lin Wanwan, not in the mood to argue further, interrupted straightforwardly, "Uncle, what do you want from me? If youâre just back for a visit, itâs unnecessary. If thereâs something else, just let me know."
"Oh, youâre not good at handling this; let me take over." From the other end came the voice of Lin Wanwanâs Aunt, Xie Yuanying.
"Wanwan, our whole family is back in the country this time. Itâs indeed better here than abroad, donât even mention the pandemic there.
Your cousins are back to study at university here as well. You havenât met them yet, so how about we all have dinner at home tonight? Iâll order some food and have it delivered, so you youngsters can get to know each other. What do you think?"
Xie Yuanyingâs tone was unexpectedly warm, a stark contrast to her cold and arrogant demeanor from last year when she kicked her out.
What is going on? Could they have found out about the antique in her possession and are up to something? Their sudden overtures must mask ulterior motives.
Lin Wanwan replied, "If weâre having a meal, just reserve a private room at a restaurant; no one entertains at home nowadays, itâs too much hassle. Since you just returned, Aunt, Iâll handle it and get back to you once everything is arranged."
As for when sheâll contact them again, well, that remains uncertain. After all, she already owes Xiao Junning one meal, and Lu Shouyue another, so one more doesnât matter.
"Well... alright then, letâs leave it at that for now."
After hanging up, Lin Wanwan exhaled deeply.
These relatives, who kicked her out of the house immediately after her grandpa passed away, what kind of trick are they up to now! They certainly have an agenda for coming back; thereâs no way itâs just a family visit.
She knew, all too well, that sheâs probably seen as nothing but a burden to them. They wouldnât be visiting anyoneâs family but their own, absolutely not hers.
Back home, after putting things away and retrieving packages from the porch cabinet, Lin Wanwan closed the door and checked the real-time WeChat from Lu Shouyue on her phone.
Her calligraphy was third in the auction and was about to be up. The starting bid from Lu Shouyueâs auction house was one million, and according to him, it wouldnât be a problem for it to fetch millions.
Having a chance at millions made Lin Wanwan quite satisfied, especially since it was a piece that Xiao Chong had casually written when he came over for dinner.
"Ding dong! Ding dong!" As she was chatting with Lu Shouyue on WeChat, the doorbell rang. Looking up at the screen from her computer monitor, it was the housekeeper she had hired.
The visitor was a woman in her fifties, whom Lin Wanwan recognized from the same village before the relocation, and from the same family clan. The Lin family originally lived together, with half the village sharing the surname Lin until they dispersed after the relocation.
"Auntie, what brings you here?" Lin Wanwan greeted her. The woman probably only just qualified for retirement to receive agricultural insurance, but her seniority within the family was high, being in the same generation as Lin Wanwanâs grandfather.
The woman warmly smiled at Lin Wanwan, "Now that thereâs no land, even planting vegetables in the flower beds gets removed by the property management, saying we canât plant anything. I canât sit idle, so I took a job here to clean.
Keeping busy is good for health. When I stayed home looking after my granddaughter, my daughter-in-law would nitpick, so I let her do it herself, while I just contribute financially each month."
She then pointed to the small flower bed in the yard of the villa, "Your grandparents were wise to sell multiple houses for a villa; they can still plant vegetables in the yard.
Living in a villa is way more comfortable than a high-rise! Our neighbors downstairs complain about every little thing, one moment about the noise of children playing, the next about clothes dripping water after being hung to dry. Such nitpicking types exist too."
Auntie was the villageâs renowned chatterbox and didnât stop talking upon seeing Lin Wanwan.
Still, as she spoke, she efficiently began cleaning, not wasting any time.
Lin Wanwan just listened with a smile, occasionally responding briefly, and Auntie could continue on without anyone prompting her.
"Wanwan, do you know? Lin Sanâs grandson was accepted as a pilot. They plan to have a family gathering, probably bringing mooncakes in a few days."
Lin Wanwan replied offhandedly, "Thatâs impressive! Becoming a pilot isnât easy."
"It sure isnât," Auntie continued her chatter, and within the two-plus hours of cleaning the house, Lin Wanwan caught up on all the family and neighborhood gossip.
Meanwhile, the calligraphy fetched a final auction price of 2.83 million yuan, bought by a collector from Hai City. This exceeded Lin Wanwanâs expectations, and she was naturally satisfied with no complaints.
After the auction house took their commission and personal tax was paid, another windfall arrived, and Lin Wanwan couldnât help but smile, sending a smiley face to Lu Shouyue, "Thanks for your efforts, Mr. Lu. Please keep my information confidential, except for the buyer."
Lu Shouyue replied, "OK, Iâll handle it. Donât worry."