“Eldest Aunt, I wish Elder Cousin well on his marriage, but I can’t lend him this house.”
Lin Yujiao knew perfectly well what the woman meant by “borrow.”
She had no intention of ever returning it.
Once her elder cousin and his wife moved in and lived here long enough, the house would somehow become theirs.
By then, Lin Yujiao would be an orphaned young woman living under someone else’s roof. Wouldn’t she be nothing more than a fish laid out on the chopping board, waiting for others to decide her fate?
Lin Yujiao would never allow herself to fall into such a position.
So she refused outright, without bothering to soften her words.
Her eldest aunt-in-law’s expression immediately darkened.
This wretched girl really didn’t know what was good for her.
Since kindness wasn’t enough to make her cooperate, then she couldn’t blame them for using force.
“Whether you’re willing to lend it or not isn’t up to you. This house belongs to the Lin family. You’re going to marry out sooner or later. There’s no reason for the house to remain yours.”
Lin Yujiao folded her arms.
“No reason? Chairman Mao said women hold up half the sky. Men and women are equal. Even though I’m a daughter, I still have the right to inherit my father’s house.”
She looked directly at her eldest aunt-in-law.
“Eldest Aunt, if you don’t believe me, we can go to the local authorities and ask them. Let’s see who they say this house belongs to.”
A trace of panic flashed through the woman’s eyes.
Could there really be a regulation allowing daughters to inherit houses?
This wretched girl should never have been allowed to study for so many years.
Now she could argue every point clearly and logically. She was no longer easy to deceive.
Still unwilling to give up, her eldest aunt-in-law said, “Don’t try to frighten me. We don’t follow such rules in the countryside. You’ll have to marry someday.”
“I can have a husband marry into my family instead.”
“What decent man would agree to marry into his wife’s household?”
Lin Yujiao sneered.
“Still better than marrying a hooligan.”
Seeing that neither persuasion nor threats could move her, the youngest aunt-in-law lost her patience.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, why waste so many words on her?”
Her eyes turned vicious.
“Lin Yujiao, things aren’t the same anymore. You don’t have a father or mother now. You have no choice but to listen to us.”
“You’ll move out today. This house belongs to the Lin family. We’ll find someone for you to marry as soon as possible. When the time comes, we’ll even let you keep half the bride price.”
Her expression hardened.
“Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a punishment cup. Keep talking back, and you won’t get a single fen!”
Her eldest aunt-in-law immediately chimed in.
“That’s right, Yujiao. You’re still young and don’t understand these things. Leave such matters to the adults.”
Lin Yujiao nearly laughed.
At that moment, she finally understood the original owner’s despair.
In the young woman’s memories, both her eldest and youngest aunts-in-law had certainly been calculating at times, but they had always greeted her with smiles.
Everything changed the moment her parents died.
The relatives she remembered had torn away their masks, revealing the ugly faces underneath.
Her own eldest uncle, youngest uncle, and grandfather had not appeared today.
It wasn’t because they knew nothing about what was happening.
They were simply hiding behind these women, watching from the shadows while she suffered.
The original Lin Yujiao had only recently finished secondary school.
She was still little more than a child who had never truly experienced how cold and cruel people could become when interests were involved.
Her despair had simply been too overwhelming.
That was why she had eventually abandoned her own life.
But the current Lin Yujiao was different.
She expected nothing from these people.
All she felt toward them was anger.
After thinking about it, she realized they were right about one thing.
There really was no point wasting words.
These people couldn’t understand the reason anyway.
In that case…
She might as well go completely mad.
Lin Yujiao suddenly spun around and rushed into the kitchen.
She grabbed the kitchen cleaver.
Then she charged straight at her youngest aunt-in-law and swung it down.
The blade was almost at the woman’s nose before she reacted.
“AH!”
“Murder!”
Her eldest aunt-in-law and Old Madam Lin froze in terror.
Then Lin Yujiao turned toward them.
Her eldest aunt-in-law immediately grabbed Old Madam Lin, shoved the old woman toward Lin Yujiao, and turned around to flee.
Lin Yujiao quickly moved aside.
Old Madam Lin crashed to the ground.
Lin Yujiao did not even spare her a glance.
What a biased old woman!
For Lin Dajun’s sake, she would not raise a blade against an elderly woman.
That morning, the villagers of Linjia Village heard two piercing screams.
Following the sound, they saw two daughters-in-law of the Lin family running down the road one after another as though their lives depended on it.
Looking more closely, they realized that the person chasing them was none other than Lin Dajun’s daughter, Yujiao.
Lin Dajun had only recently died.
What in the world had happened?
As they drew closer, someone noticed the gleaming kitchen cleaver in Lin Yujiao’s hand.
A cry of alarm immediately rang out.
“This is bad! Someone’s going to die!”
“Quick, get the village head!”
Lin Yujiao continued chasing the two women.
She was nearly exhausted.
These countryside women could really run!
Her current body was also far weaker than the one she had possessed in her previous life.
The original owner had barely eaten because of her grief and had become somewhat malnourished. On top of that, she had been pampered since childhood and rarely exercised.
It wasn’t long before Lin Yujiao was panting heavily.
Fortunately, there was one thing she did not lack.
Determination.
If she was going to act like a madwoman, then she had to see it through properly.
She couldn’t give up halfway.
Her gaze remained fierce.
When she saw the two women ahead beginning to slow down, Lin Yujiao gritted her teeth and rushed forward.
Without the slightest hesitation, she raised the cleaver and swung.
The youngest aunt-in-law threw herself to the ground and rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the blade.
Even so, the edge grazed her arm.
Blood immediately welled from the wound.
She looked up.
When she saw the murderous intent in Lin Yujiao’s eyes, she finally understood.
This girl truly intended to kill someone!
“Help! Murder! She’s trying to kill me!”
The eldest aunt-in-law’s legs nearly gave way from fright.
“Yujiao, don’t do this! We can talk about it!”
Then she turned desperately toward the surrounding villagers.
“What are all of you standing there for? Hurry and stop her! Someone’s going to die!”
The villagers looked at Lin Yujiao, whose eyes were blazing with fury, and several people prepared to step forward.
Lin Yujiao immediately turned the point of the cleaver toward them and swept it through the air.
Everyone hurriedly backed away.
“Stay back! This has nothing to do with any of you!”
One warmhearted auntie slapped her thigh anxiously.
“Yujiao, what happened? Why are you acting like this?”
Lin Yujiao recognized her.
It was Auntie Cuihua, a woman who had always treated the original owner kindly.
Perfect.
Unlike the people of this era, Lin Yujiao had no intention of hiding family scandals merely to preserve appearances.
“You want to know what happened? Ask them!”
She pointed the cleaver toward the two women.
“My wonderful eldest aunt and my wonderful youngest aunt!”
“My parents haven’t even passed their seventh-day mourning period, and they’re already trying to force me to surrender my family’s house. They even want to make me marry Li Demin, that notorious hooligan!”
“If I refuse, they plan to destroy my reputation and force me into it!”
Lin Yujiao’s voice grew louder.
“My youngest aunt even said that if I don’t obey, they’ll simply find some man and marry me off to him, and they won’t give me a single fen of the bride price!”
The surrounding villagers stared at the two women in astonishment.
Whispers immediately erupted.
“Surely not? The Lin family’s daughters-in-law are really that ruthless?”
“Why wouldn’t they be? Who in this village doesn’t envy Lin Dajun’s brick house?”
“Who told Eldest Lin and Third Lin to be less capable than Lin Dajun?”
“What are you talking about? Now that Lin Dajun is dead, wouldn’t the house eventually fall into their hands anyway?”
“That’s true. Lin Yujiao is still a daughter, after all. It’s not like she’s a son…”
The corner of Lin Yujiao’s mouth twitched.
Unfortunately, this way of thinking was common in this era.
There was little she could do about that.
People spoke of equality between men and women, but in the countryside, especially in these times, true equality was still far from reality.
Auntie Cuihua, however, exploded in fury.
“You people of the Lin family have rotten hearts! Aren’t you afraid of being struck down by heavenly thunder?”
“When Dajun and his wife were alive, how well did they treat your two families? Whenever they bought something good, didn’t they always remember to share some with you?”
“Now they’re barely in the ground, and you’re already bullying Yujiao like this!”
The surrounding villagers began agreeing with her.
“That’s right. She’s your own niece. How could you treat her this way?”
“Exactly! Absolutely shameless!”
“Yujiao finished senior secondary school. She could marry into any respectable family she wanted. Yet they want her to marry Li Demin?”
“Bah!”
Listening to the villagers condemn them, the eldest and youngest aunts-in-law felt utterly humiliated.
They looked at Lin Yujiao with a mixture of hatred and fear.
Neither had ever imagined that this wretched girl would dare make such an enormous scene.
Lin Yujiao gave them a mocking smile.
They wanted to seize her house while pretending to be kindhearted relatives in front of everyone else?
Dream on.
Even if she ultimately failed to keep this house, she would make certain everyone knew exactly what kind of people they were.
In a countryside village, reputation mattered enormously.
Lin Yujiao discreetly pinched her own thigh.
Pain shot through her.
Her eyes immediately reddened.
Then she raised her face toward the heavens and cried out at the top of her lungs.
“Father! Mother!”
“Open your eyes and look!”
“Look at how your own family is bullying your daughter!”
“Come back and take them all away with you!”