The system had issued a mission, yet there was no sign of Xie Jin’an anywhere in the area.
Jiang You knew it now.
She really had mistaken the male lead.
Listening to Aunt Ling’s insults, Bai Yaor’s face immediately turned pale, and her eyes reddened slightly.
“Say that again.”
Ling Xun had endured Aunt Ling’s constant humiliation without saying a word. But the moment he heard her insulting Bai Yaor, he could no longer hold back.
His fists clenched tightly, and his eyes became frighteningly cold, as though he might strike at any moment.
Aunt Ling was clearly frightened by him and took two steps back. But after recovering, she seemed to gather up her courage.
“Did I say anything wrong? Haven’t you been eating our food and living in our house all these years?”
“Since you’ve been eating our food and living under our roof, then naturally everything you have belongs to our family too. Naturally, we’re the ones who get to decide what happens to it.”
“If she weren’t some little vixen, would you dare give away something from our family for free today? Let her take it for nothing?”
“I didn’t take it for free. I was trading something for it. Don’t slander me without evidence! Don’t go too far!”
Bai Yaor’s eyes were already red with anger, but she still loudly defended herself.
“Then what did you trade for it? Why didn’t I see anything?”
“Besides, what good does trading with him do? I’m the one who gets to decide! If you want to trade something, you trade with me!”
As soon as Aunt Ling finished speaking, Bai Yaor was immediately silenced.
She froze, glanced at Ling Xun, and opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.
Seeing this, Aunt Ling became even more confident.
“All my work points have already been handed over to you. How can you say I’ve been freeloading?”
At this point, Ling Xun finally spoke with a dark expression.
Aunt Ling’s face stiffened, but she quickly returned to her usual unreasonable attitude.
“What could those work points possibly cover? We raised you from the age of six. Do you have any idea how much money and food we spent on you? You think a few years’ worth of work points can make up for all that?”
Jiang You frowned slightly and thought for a moment before speaking.
“Aunt Ling, that isn’t quite right either, is it? I remember the brigade leader praising Ling Xun and Xie Jin’an just a few days ago. They’ve earned full work points every single time.”
“Several years of full work points should be enough to cover the food he ate for quite a few years, right?”
“And I remember that you had him working from a very young age, didn’t you?”
“If you calculate everything from back then until now, he was actually supporting himself.”
“If you put it that way, he doesn’t owe you anything. So it’s only reasonable for him to decide what to do with his own things, right?”
“So how can you bully an innocent girl like this?”
“Your mouth is so filthy, and you’re putting such a terrible accusation on her. If those words spread, how is she supposed to live with that reputation?”
Hearing Jiang You rattling off one point after another, Jiang You’s mother froze for a moment.
She quickly came back to her senses, grabbed Jiang You, and pulled her behind herself.
Aunt Ling had always been an unreasonable woman who could turn even the smallest matter into a huge scene. She was notorious for throwing tantrums and making trouble.
Provoking her would only bring trouble.
“You girl…”
Jiang You’s mother quietly scolded her, but she still continued along with Jiang You’s argument.
“Ling Xun’s work points have been enough to support him for years. How can you say he’s been eating your food for free? He should naturally have the right to decide what happens to his own things.”
“Besides, shouldn’t that house belong to Ling Xun’s parents? If I remember correctly, his father was still the registered head of the household, right?”
“If that’s the case, then shouldn’t it be you who has been eating and living in his family’s house for free?”
Jiang You’s mother was quite skilled at making sarcastic remarks.
Their family lived right next door to the Ling family, so naturally, they knew about these matters.
The other villagers also began speaking up in Ling Xun’s defense.
“Exactly. If anyone’s taking advantage of someone, it’s you taking advantage of Ling Xun.”
“Besides, didn’t Ling Xun’s parents leave quite a bit of money for him back then?”
“I heard it was quite a lot. With the compensation money they received at the time, it should have been enough to support Ling Xun until he got married and had children.”
“Have you returned that money to Ling Xun? Don’t tell me you secretly kept it for yourselves?”
“You can’t just go around insulting a young girl like that. Hurry up and apologize to her.”
The surrounding villagers all began talking at once, and Aunt Ling’s face became uglier and uglier.
Everyone in the village was basically kindhearted. They knew that reputation was especially important in those days. If such accusations spread, Bai Yaor’s life would become very difficult.
“Apologize!”
Ling Xun also coldly looked at Aunt Ling.
“I was wrong. I apologize to you.”
Under everyone’s pressure, Aunt Ling finally had no choice but to release the fish she was holding and drop it to the ground before reluctantly apologizing to Bai Yaor.
Although Bai Yaor’s expression was still unpleasant, it softened somewhat.
As though remembering something, she turned around and smiled at Jiang You, gratitude visible in her eyes.
She was grateful to Jiang You for speaking up just now and protecting her reputation.
Jiang You also returned her a sweet smile.
After receiving the apology, Ling Xun turned toward the brigade leader and spoke loudly.
“Brigade Leader, I’ll have to trouble you later to help oversee the division of the household between me and my uncle’s family. I’ll calculate all the food, clothing, and other expenses from these years.”
“If I owe them anything, I’ll compensate them.”
“If I don’t, then they should return everything that belongs to me.”
Aunt Ling was startled.
Even Uncle Ling, who had been hiding in the corner watching the excitement, stood up.
“How dare you!”
The husband and wife shouted at the same time.
Ling Xun merely gave them a cold laugh.
Then he turned to the brigade leader and handed him something he had prepared long ago.
“This is a list of the belongings my parents left behind. There are also certificates from the former brigade leader and village chief proving these things were left behind at the time. The rest is a complete record of the work points I’ve earned over the years.”
“Where did you get that?”
Hearing this, Uncle Ling was startled and immediately reached out to snatch the documents.
Back then, Ling Xun had been too young, so all these things had been kept in his uncle’s hands.
In order to keep the belongings for themselves, Uncle Ling and his wife had long since destroyed the lists and certificates.
The only thing they could never get rid of was the ownership documentation for the house. They had never managed to find it, which was why they had been unable to transfer the house into their own names.
Otherwise, they would have done so long ago.
Now, Uncle Ling couldn’t understand it at all.
Those documents had clearly been destroyed.
Where had Ling Xun found them?
“Are you afraid to see this evidence, Uncle?”
Ling Xun easily dodged his uncle’s hand, preventing him from touching the documents at all, and asked mockingly.
Naturally, Ling Xun had gone through quite a lot of trouble to find these things.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have allowed his uncle and aunt to enjoy their comfortable life for so many years.
After his parents died one after another, his mother had been the one to pass away later.
She had been afraid that Ling Xun would be mistreated after she was gone.
That was why she had deliberately left behind a copy of the relevant documents and entrusted them to someone else for safekeeping as a backup plan.
However, because of the changes in policies over the years, the friend his mother had entrusted them to had been forced to move elsewhere.
That was why it had taken Ling Xun so long to finally recover the documents.
“Good. Uncle will definitely help you.”
The brigade leader took the documents, looked through them, and then firmly patted Ling Xun on the shoulder.
“Mm.”
As for what happened afterward, Jiang You and the others were called home by her father, so they didn’t stay to watch.
But the household division was clearly going to happen. There was no doubt about that.