“What’s the rush about the house?” Du Hongying shook her head. “Daheng’s family only moved out today, and your family already wants to move in? What do you think your father will think of you?”
“The old man is still waiting for Lin Daheng to be the first to apologize. He’s still hoping their family will move back.”
How could Du Hongying not know what Lin Rende was thinking?
If those few words she had spoken earlier hadn’t worked, the one moving out and severing ties with Lin Rende today would have been her own son, Lin Rongzong.
“Grandma, we can’t leave this house empty forever,” Nini said. “As long as it’s vacant, Grandpa will keep hoping Uncle’s family comes back.”
“I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we bring Aunt Sujuan back from the countryside? Let her move in and occupy the house for now. Uncle has a bad temper. Once he sees this place completely filled with our family, he’ll be even less likely to make up with Grandpa.”
“Aunt is Grandpa’s daughter too. Since the house is empty, it makes perfect sense for her to move back. Grandpa won’t have any reason to refuse.”
Nini knew the area would be demolished for redevelopment a few years later.
She had no intention of letting such a valuable opportunity fall back into Lin Zhaoyang’s family’s hands.
No matter what, they could never be allowed to move back.
Du Hongying looked at Nini thoughtfully.
To her surprise, her granddaughter had finally started using her brain.
“Mom, Nini’s idea is a good one,” Lin Rongzong immediately agreed.
“I’ll call my little sister right now.”
Since they shared the same mother, Lin Sujuan had always been much closer to her second brother, Lin Rongzong.
Lin Daheng, on the other hand, had never liked Du Hongying.
He thought she was two-faced and incredibly calculating.
After all, it was rare enough in those days for a widow with a sixteen-year-old son to remarry.
But not only had she remarried, she’d even changed her sixteen-year-old son’s surname.
Cases like that were probably unique in the entire provincial capital.
When Du Hongying married Lin Rende, Lin Daheng himself was already sixteen.
He had already inherited his late mother’s job and was working at the factory.
As for Lin Sujuan, she was born much later.
The age gap meant they had never spent much time together, and as she grew older, both her personality and appearance increasingly resembled Du Hongying’s.
Naturally, Lin Daheng never felt much sibling affection toward her.
So when they heard Nini’s suggestion to bring Lin Sujuan back from the countryside to occupy the house, both Du Hongying and Lin Rongzong thought it was an excellent idea.
Lin Rongzong was impatient by nature.
Whenever something benefited him, he wanted to act immediately.
Du Hongying didn’t stop him.
After he left, she turned to Nini.
“What are you planning to do about Yang Wen? Your reputation is completely ruined now.”
Fortunately, she didn’t have any other unmarried daughters or granddaughters left to worry about.
“Grandma, although the Zou family has a good background, and everyone thinks Zou Zhengting is such a wonderful man, you’ve all seen what my marriage has been like these past two years.”
“I even had to pay the rent on the place I was living in myself. Being married to him was no different from being unmarried.”
“Zou Zhengting hates me. The Zou family would never let me benefit from them.”
“I’m a woman. My youth doesn’t last forever.”
“I can’t waste my whole life on him.”
“Grandma, among all the men I know, Yang Wen has the best prospects.”
Nini was simply telling the truth.
She wasn’t especially beautiful, nor did she come from an outstanding family.
She was only a temporary worker at the factory and didn’t have many friends.
Naturally, she had no connections through which to meet outstanding men.
“Yang Wen was Lin Zhaoyang’s fiancé. Someone with Lin Zhaoyang’s qualifications would naturally attract only the very best men.”
“So if I wanted a better husband, targeting her fiancé was simply the easiest way.”
She couldn’t explain that she had been reborn.
This was the only explanation she could offer.
“That actually makes sense,” Ma Xiaofang agreed.
For the first time, she thought her daughter had shown a bit of cleverness.
“Yang Wen has a college diploma and is highly valued at the factory. He has a bright future ahead of him. The Yang family is in pretty good shape too.”
After learning that Lin Zhaoyang had become engaged again, Ma Xiaofang had secretly investigated Yang Wen’s family background out of curiosity.
“I heard Teacher Yang has quite a few valuable possessions. Not to mention the house she lives in.”
Back then, discovering how well-off the Yang family was had left Ma Xiaofang feeling miserable.
After Nini stole Lin Zhaoyang’s first fiancé, she had secretly hoped every future man Lin Zhaoyang met would be a disappointment.
That would have made her much happier.
Unfortunately, although the Yang family couldn’t compare with the Zou family, they were still a respectable scholarly family in the provincial capital.
Later, when the Yang family generously offered a two-hundred-yuan bride price, gave gold jewelry, and even bought a house, Ma Xiaofang had nearly died of jealousy.
She had thought Lin Zhaoyang was incredibly lucky.
Now she felt even happier.
Nini had stolen Yang Wen too.
So what if every man Lin Zhaoyang chose was outstanding?
Didn’t they all end up becoming her own son-in-law in the end?
If anyone was truly blessed, it was her daughter.
She didn’t even have to find good husbands herself.
“Zou Zhengting wants five hundred yuan before he’ll agree to the divorce,” Du Hongying said directly.
“Go ask Yang Wen for it.”
“Exactly.” Ma Xiaofang nodded repeatedly.
“You’re carrying his child. You gave him your innocence. He should be the one paying that money.”
She quickly added,
“But don’t expect the family to help you. Your brothers still need money to get married. We don’t have five hundred yuan to spare.”
Nini lowered her eyes, sneering inwardly.
She had long known what kind of people her family were.
She had never expected to get money from them anyway.
“I’ll go see Yang Wen tonight,” she said.
“I need to divorce Zou Zhengting as quickly as possible and register my marriage with Yang Wen immediately.”
Teacher Yang didn’t like her.
And after spending two months with Yang Wen, she’d figured out his personality fairly well.
Their marriage couldn’t be delayed.
If too much time passed and she still wasn’t pregnant, Teacher Yang would certainly stop Yang Wen from marrying her.
Things were different now from when she and her family had schemed against Zou Zhengting years ago.
Back then, the crime of hooliganism could even get someone executed.
Besides, she was still legally married.
Her relationship with Yang Wen didn’t even qualify as hooliganism on Yang Wen’s part.
She had no leverage over the Yang family.
Seeing there was nothing left for her to do, Du Hongying simply left.
As for Nini’s ruined reputation, the damage had already been done.
She couldn’t even be bothered scolding her anymore.
Instead, she went next door to comfort Lin Rende.
Back on Qinghe Street, Lin Zhaoyang asked Lin Xinhua to help tear down every red wedding decoration in the house before burning them all.
The new furniture wouldn’t arrive for another couple of days, so the house still looked rather empty.
Fortunately, the kitchen already had everything needed for cooking.
“Sis, what are we having for dinner?”
Lin Xinhua searched through the kitchen cupboards.
By the time they’d finished tidying up, the sun was already beginning to set.
“There are rice, oil, salt, and everything else, but no vegetables.”
The rice, cooking oil, and flour had all been part of the school’s employee benefits for teachers.
The oil was rapeseed oil.
Lin Zhaoyang glanced outside.
“It’s too late to buy vegetables at the market now.”
“Let’s eat at the state-owned restaurant tonight.”
Lin Xinhua’s excitement was written all over his face.
“We’re eating out?”
After everything that had happened today, the fact that his sister still felt like going to a restaurant meant she wasn’t too heartbroken over Yang Wen.
It was nothing like when Zou Zhengting had been stolen away.
Back then, she’d worn a gloomy expression for a long time.
The siblings changed into clean clothes and prepared to leave.
Just as Lin Zhaoyang was locking the front door, Zou Zhengting arrived carrying bags of vegetables and meat.
“Going somewhere?”
He lifted the groceries in his hands.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Perfect. Come eat at my place. I slaughtered a chicken today.”
Not just a chicken.
He also had fish.
And shrimp.
Even the Lin family didn’t eat this well during the New Year holidays.
Lin Xinhua was overwhelmingly tempted but didn’t dare agree on his own.
He turned to look at his sister, waiting for her decision.
Seeing that she hadn’t immediately refused, Zou Zhengting quickly added,
“I still haven’t bought a refrigerator. If you don’t come help eat all this, it’ll spoil by tomorrow.”
That excuse proved surprisingly persuasive.
Already tempted—and secretly craving both the food and his cooking—Lin Zhaoyang hesitated for a few seconds before nodding.
Zou Zhengting was an excellent cook.
Truthfully, over the years, Lin Zhaoyang hadn’t only missed the man.
She had often found herself missing his cooking too.