Lu Ye handed the little ledger to Grandpa Lin. He wasn’t worried that Grandpa Lin might tear it up; he had a copy.
Grandpa Lin took it with a dark expression and flipped through a couple of pages. The dates, places, and items given were all recorded with meticulous clarity.
There was no way to deny the debt, especially since many of the entries also listed witnesses who had been present at the time.
“Slap!” Grandpa Lin slammed the little ledger down on the table and asked coldly,
“So what are you getting at? You want to use these things to cover the bride price?”
Lu Ye remained calm, in stark contrast to Grandpa Lin.
He glanced tenderly at Lin Xiaoxiao, then denied Grandpa Lin’s accusation:
“That’s not what I mean. I’ve already made it quite clear: those things were originally for my fiancée. Since she’s no longer my fiancée, they should be returned to me.”
“As for Xiaoxiao’s bride price, that’s the good faith I’m offering to marry her. It has nothing to do with offsetting the debt.”
Everyone in the Lin family except the second branch wore dark expressions. Grandpa Lin gritted his teeth.
“Get out! My granddaughter isn’t marrying you!”
Lu Ye’s gaze darkened, and his voice turned cold.
“Whether Xiaoxiao marries me is for her to decide!”
“I can leave now, but I’ll take this list of goods to the commune’s Public Security Bureau and report you for marriage fraud and swindling!”
Grandpa Lin suddenly hurled the little ledger at Lu Ye.
“Fine, fine, fine! Who would’ve thought a man as loyal and righteous as your father would have a little beast like you for a son! Old woman, give him the money and make him get out!”
Grandma Lin looked troubled. Grandpa Lin roared furiously, “Give him the money! Do my words mean nothing?”
Grandma Lin flinched at his shout and said awkwardly, “Old man, we don’t have that much money.”
Lin Xiaoxiao let out a snort of laughter before she could stop herself. When everyone turned to look at her, she tried to stifle her amusement and waved a hand.
“Go on! Don’t mind me.”
Lu Ye’s expression softened. He gave her an affectionate, amused look. How could she be so adorable?
Grandpa Lin felt as if his dignity had been thrown on the ground and trampled. He roared, “Then borrow it! Can’t you borrow a few dozen yuan?”
Grandma Lin shrank her neck. “We’re not short by just a few dozen yuan. Even if you add Pandi’s bride price, we only have 250 yuan. Don’t you remember, old man? We spent a lot of money last year buying Yaozu a job.”
Lin Xiaoxiao covered her mouth, barely stopping herself from laughing again.
Lu Ye resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, forcing himself to look away. He turned to Grandpa Lin, who looked ready to faint from anger, and said coolly,
“I have another proposal that would mean you wouldn’t have to pay me back.”
Grandpa Lin paused in the middle of pretending to faint and asked weakly, “What else do you want?”
Lu Ye glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao and her family, who had been watching the scene as if they were uninvolved spectators and felt no sympathy for Grandpa Lin at all. Thinking of how she wanted to split from the family, he said,
“I can give up the money and those things, but you have to split the second branch of the Lin family off from the rest.”
“They can’t leave empty-handed!”
This time, before Grandpa Lin could speak, Eldest Uncle Lin and Third Uncle Lin said in unison,
“No!”
Until now, nothing had threatened their interests, so they had played dead. But the moment it looked as if their second younger brother might leave, the two men—who benefited from the second branch couple and their two sons earning full work points every day and taking on most of the housework—could no longer sit still.
Eldest Uncle Lin snapped, “Lu Ye, what right does an outsider have to interfere in our Lin family’s affairs?”
Third Uncle Lin echoed his eldest brother. “Exactly! You’re not even our Lin family’s son-in-law yet. And even if you were, you’d have no right to weigh in on whether the Lin family splits up!”
Grandpa Lin was naturally unhappy about losing his most capable second son, but he had no money to repay the debt. He could only glare at Lu Ye with a dark expression.
Lin Xiaoxiao, her parents, and her brothers all looked at Lu Ye in surprise. They weren’t unhappy that he’d asked for their branch to split off; they were simply astonished and confused.
Nearly 500 yuan was a huge sum for any family in Qingshan Production Brigade. In fact, fewer than five families in the entire brigade could come up with that much.
And Lu Ye had so casually said he’d give it all up just to help their branch split from the family?
Lin Xiaoxiao was now absolutely certain Lu Ye had overheard her and her mother talking on the way back.
Was he helping her?
As Lin Xiaoxiao looked at the tall figure of the man, she couldn’t understand why he was willing to help her so much, but warmth spread through her heart.
Perhaps choosing a bride swap hadn’t been merely a stopgap measure. Perhaps he really would make a good husband?
Lu Ye gave the other two Lin family branches a glance as if they were trash, then turned to Father Lin, who had remained quiet and said little. His manner softened, and he spoke with respectful courtesy.
“Father-in-law, I’m sorry I didn’t discuss this with you beforehand. Circumstances were unusual. Do you want to split from the family? If you do, leave it to me.”
Father Lin looked at his wife and children, their eyes full of hope, then at his parents, whose gazes were threatening.
Though he disliked Lu Ye already calling himself his son-in-law, he nodded firmly.
“I’ve wanted to split from the family for a long time. Lu Ye, if you can make this happen, I’ll owe you one.”
“Give me some time to repay you. Five years—no, I’ll pay you back within three!”
“Second son!” Grandpa Lin shouted, trying to intimidate Father Lin.
Father Lin looked at his parents and thought of all the ways his wife and sons had been treated differently over the years because of him. If he and his wife and sons hadn’t threatened to stop working, his youngest daughter would have been mistreated from a young age too—not to mention denied an education!
Father Lin closed his eyes. When he opened them again, only resolve remained in his gaze.
“Dad, Mom, I started working in the fields when I was six. I’ve now worked for the old Lin family for a full forty years.”
“Back then, I married Xiuying with bride-price money I earned myself after going up the mountain with Lu Ye’s father to hunt a wild boar and sell it. I never took a cent from the family.”
“Xiuying and I have done more than enough for the Lin family over the years to repay you both for raising me.”
“Now your son wants to live once for himself, his wife, and his children. Dad, I’m splitting from the family. You can call me an unfilial son if you want, but I’m still doing it!”
This time, Grandpa Lin truly panicked. He sprang to his feet, rushed over with his cane, and raised his hand to strike Father Lin.
Lin Xiaoxiao hurriedly tugged Father Lin back, instinctively trying to shield him with her own body.
Lu Ye seized Grandpa Lin’s hand and shoved him away, stepping in front of the second branch to protect them. His voice was icy.
“Grandpa Lin, I’ve shown you respect and given you a chance to choose because you’re my elder. If you don’t want to choose, we can go to the Public Security Bureau right now!”
Grandpa Lin staggered from the shove and struck the corner of the table, his lower back taking the blow.
But he couldn’t spare a thought for the pain. Rage made his vision go dark, and he nearly fainted. Pointing a trembling finger at the second branch and Lu Ye, he cried,
“This is outrageous! Outrageous! You unfilial son, are you really going to join forces with this brat and turn against your own father?”
Father Lin looked at his daughter, who was protecting him, his heart both warm and aching.
He pushed her into his wife’s arms, stepped beside Lu Ye, and stared coldly at Grandpa Lin.
“Yes! Today, either you split the family, or you pay Xiaoye back!”
Grandpa Lin only trembled, his lips quivering, and still wouldn’t answer. Father Lin steeled himself and called to Lu Ye,
“Xiaoye, bring your ledger. I’ll go with you to the commune’s Public Security Bureau. I can testify for you, too!”