Seventh Uncle was planning to gather the whole village to discuss the matter and didn’t continue chatting with Lu Jiaxin, as he stood up to leave.
"A girl married off has nothing to do with her maiden family’s mountains and foundations—it has been the tradition since ancient times. It’s difficult to break this rule now, but no matter how hard, we have to try. What he wanted was to tear down and rebuild the ancestral hall before he closed his eyes for good, rather than leave it in its current dilapidated state. After he passed away, he could be carried from the new ancestral hall to the mountain."
Lu Jiaxin said, "Uncle, I’m going back the day after tomorrow, so I hope you can act quickly."
After seeing off Seventh Uncle, Big Aunt said, "You child, why are you so headstrong? Even if you have ideas, you should discuss them with us first."
Lu Jiaxin, who had reached this point in her life, was no longer willing to listen to their lectures, "If you want my money, you’ll have to follow my demands. If not, don’t ask for it."
Big Aunt was startled at first but then realized her mistake. She always thought of Jiaxin as a child at twenty, but in reality, her niece had already made her own big business outside, and there was nothing she needed to be taught by them.
Understanding this, Big Aunt immediately changed the subject, "What would you like to eat? I’ll cook it for you."
"I want lamb dumplings."
If it were her own grandchildren, Big Aunt would certainly say she’ll buy and make them tomorrow, but since it was Lu Jiaxin, it was different, "Alright, I’ll have your Third Aunt go buy the lamb right now. But slaughtering the lamb and making the dumplings will take some time, so let me cook you a bowl of noodles to tide you over first."
Third Aunt Lu said, "Mother, where can we buy lamb meat at this hour?"
Big Aunt thought she was being slow-witted, "Go to Old Man Gen and buy a lamb, and ask him to send it over once he’s slaughtered it. Remind Old Man Gen to hurry up."
Upon hearing this, Third Aunt Lu quickly stepped out. A whole lamb had so much meat and bones; after making dumplings, there’d be enough for braising and making broth. Hmm, there would be a treat tonight.
The trip from the provincial city had left Lu Jiaxin with an aching waist and back, and she wanted to lie down, "Big Aunt, I’m tired and want to sleep."
"Wait, I’ll go make the bed for you."
Only Lu Jiayao and his wife were at home now; the younger generation had all gone out. Before, they had both gone to the Forty-nine City to look for work, but the language barrier was challenging and it was harder than staying at home. It happened that Big Uncle Lu and Big Aunt wanted to return from the big city because they couldn’t get used to it, so they left the couple behind to take care of the elders.
Lu Jiaxin followed into the room and saw that it was clean and tidy, "Big Aunt, tell me where the stuff is and I’ll make the bed myself."
Big Aunt knew her personality and handed her the rolled-up straw mat, then fetched a thin blanket from the cabinet, "Jiaxin, go rest in my room for now. This room hasn’t been inhabited for two months, I’m afraid there might be mosquitoes and bugs, I need to use mugwort to fumigate it first."
The main reason was that Lu Jiaxin hadn’t informed them beforehand; otherwise, everything would have been ready. Fortunately, she liked cleanliness and would clean every room once a week.
Lu Jiaxin didn’t want to sleep on Big Uncle Lu’s bed, "Just hang a mosquito net and that will be fine."
While hanging the mosquito net, Lu Jiaxin said, "Big Aunt, don’t call Second Uncle Lu and Second Aunt Lu for dinner. I don’t want to see them."
Big Aunt had intended to invite people from the second branch of the family over, but upon hearing this, she advised, "Jiaxin, so much time has passed, there’s no need to hold grudges against them anymore."
Lu Jiaxin replied, "If they had only said a few unpleasant words, I wouldn’t mind, but they were trying to forcibly take over my house. They wanted my house back then, and now that they know I have money, they’re surely thinking about pocketing it themselves."
"Furthermore, if we let them come here, they’ll definitely expect me to take care of their sons and sons-in-law. The fourth cousin is fine; he’s hardworking and looks after his family. But what about those two brothers-in-law? They made a bit of money—one gambles and the other seeks out women. I have no desire to take care of such scoundrels."
"Big Aunt, I just wanted to come back to have a chat with you, offer incense to our ancestors, and be happy. I don’t want to go back with a belly full of anger. If that happens, I won’t return in the future."
If Big Aunt didn’t take her words seriously, then there was no point in staying. She had worked hard to get where she was today and nobody could trouble her.
Big Aunt found it difficult to persuade her any further.
Lu Jiaxin was genuinely tired; after hanging up the mosquito net, she lay down and quickly fell asleep. Miao Na, knowing she feared the heat, moved the pedestal fan from Big Uncle Lu’s room over and turned it on.
Second Uncle Lu and Second Aunt heard of Lu Jiaxin’s return and immediately rushed over: "Big Sister-in-Law, Jiaxin is back? Where is she?"
Seeing their excited faces, Big Aunt sighed and said, "Jiaxin is sleeping. Go back with Second Brother, both of you!"
Second Aunt Lu’s face changed, "Big Sister-in-Law, our family didn’t say anything when yours got all the benefits, and now you won’t even let me see Jiaxin. How can you be ?"
They still had to rely on Big Uncle Lu and Big Aunt, or else they would have outright started cursing.
Big Aunt didn’t hide anything and repeated Jiaxin’s words to them verbatim. Having married into the family so many years ago, she knew the couple’s true nature too well. If she didn’t tell them exactly what Jiaxin said, they surely would have stayed.
After hearing it all, Second Aunt’s heart sank, although she still felt aggrieved. "Big Sister-in-Law, at the time I just thought staying at a hostel was too expensive, and that’s why I wanted to stay at her place for a few days. To say I had designs on her house, that’s a huge misunderstanding!"
Seeing that they still weren’t leaving, Big Aunt said sternly, "Sister-in-Law, you can’t even deceive me and your Big Brother, do you think Jiaxin would believe you? Go back now, and later I’ll have Jiayao send over a leg of lamb. Prepare it at home. But if you ignore my advice and make Jiaxin angry, there won’t be any lamb leg for you, and we won’t help you with your matters in the future anymore."
Second Uncle Lu, knowing what was at stake, pushed Second Aunt and said, "Big Sister-in-Law, we’re going back then."
After the two left, Second Aunt complained, "That was so many years ago; this girl holds too much of a grudge."
If they had known this damn girl would be so successful, they would have buttered her up then. But because of the house issue, she was disgusted with them, and now they couldn’t reap any benefits from her.
Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but curse Ma Lili again. If it weren’t for that whore spilling the beans to Jiaxin, how would the girl have known about their attempt to break in and occupy the place?
Second Uncle complained, "Stop muttering. Don’t you love stir-fried lamb with scallions? Hurry, go pull some scallions from the field, I’ll go home and scrub the pot."
Previously, Lu Jiajie gave them thirty yuan every month (originally twenty, later increased by ten as the prices went up), but since he disappeared last year, that money stopped, and even after he returned, it didn’t resume. This made it so they couldn’t even afford meat anymore. To get a decent meal, they had to rely on the main branch. Now that they were getting a leg of lamb today, they could finally eat their fill, a pleasing thought indeed.