Chapter 169: Chapter 169: The Hidden Truth from Three Years Ago
Yue Jiandong set out before dawn that day.
Yue Qingqing originally wanted to go into the city together.
But she got up early, only to find she’d missed the chance, not catching a glimpse of her father’s shadow.
Fortunately, it wasn’t dusk yet when Yue Jiandong returned.
Yue Jiannan hurriedly poured a glass of water for his brother, who tilted his head back and gulped it down.
Yue Jiannan felt somewhat guilty, realizing his elder brother must have been exhausted from traveling on his behalf, without even taking time for a drink.
Seeing his expression, Yue Jiandong patted Yue Jiannan on the shoulder, as if to say there was no need for many words between brothers.
Lin Chunju urged, “Stop being so ceremonious, brotherly love can wait. Just tell us what you’ve found out!”
Yue Qingqing also dragged a small stool over to sit by, waiting to hear what had actually happened.
Yue Jiannan announced his investigative conclusions, which he had pieced together from what Zheng Tianbo and the tavern owner’s wife had said.
It was not far from the truth.
Three years ago, Yu Yaxian’s uncle got into trouble for fighting and nearly blinding someone, which could have landed him in prison for years if reported to the police.
Yu Yaxian’s uncle wanted to settle the matter privately, but the other party demanded an exorbitant sum of 3,000 yuan.
Even now, there wasn’t a family in the village worth ten thousand, and although the city was wealthier, 3,000 yuan was not an amount a typical family could afford.
Though Yu Yaxian’s uncle had moved to the city because of a worker’s quota and became the envy of the village, he could not come up with such a large sum of money.
He had to beg the Yu Family, which was well off, and Yu Yaxian’s mother, who enjoyed helping her brother, led the family to discuss and decide to sell many valuables in the city, but it still wasn’t enough.
Yu’s mother then thought of selling some of the farmland, which immediately caused uproar amongst the family men, big and small.
Yu Deyou was not willing to bankrupt the family for his brother-in-law, and Yu Siyuan was even more adamant that future farmland would be his inheritance. He felt that, even though the uncle was family, his own interests were paramount.
The image of father and son Yu standing adamantly in front of Yu Yaxian’s uncle’s house, demanding accountability, was still fresh in the tavern owner’s wife’s memory.
In the eyes of the Yu men, selling the mother’s dowry lands was one thing, but selling their own farmland was absolutely out of the question!
But Yu’s mother, in modern terms, was a complete “brother-obsessed demon.”
She wept silently at home every day, recounting the care her brother had shown her when they were younger, which distressed the entire family, ruining their meals.
The Yus only had Yu Yaxian in support of their mother, but Yue Jiandong suspected it wasn’t out of familial affection, but because her uncle had an urban residence permit.
Without that permit, which allowed Yu Yaxian to study in the city, her education would likely be interrupted if her uncle went to jail.
After much family tug-of-war, the Yus secretly sold more inherited valuables and finally raised the needed amount.
The Yu Family had become like “donkey droppings” – all shine on the outside.
Apart from the farmland, there was hardly anything of value left in the house.
The farm would not yield until autumn, but they couldn’t even afford seeds and pesticides in the meantime.
Yu Yaxian also needed to continue her education, which was another significant expense.
The Yus were proud and had sold their possessions secretly in the city, maintaining their appearance as the village’s prominent household to outsiders.
Nobody knows whose idea it was, but they decided to exploit Yu Yaxian’s marriage prospects.
They arranged an early marriage for their daughter, taking a substantial amount of money to cover the family’s expenses, while also finding a fool to pay for her tuition and living costs.
The Yu Family’s calculations were clear, and they somehow thought of the Yue Family.
According to Yue Jiandong’s guess, the Yus saw the Yue Family’s sudden wealth and believed they could come up with the hefty sum.
They probably felt that marrying Yu Yaxian off to them was beneath her and expected the Yue Family to agree readily and comply with their demands.
After all is said and done, the most important reason was that the Yue Family was made up of honest people.
Honest people are easy to bully.
By stalling with various demands, the Yus aimed to wait until their daughter finished her exams and became a city dweller, then marry her off to another city resident.
It followed naturally that they would break things off with Yue Jiannan.
And how would they handle it if things got awkward with the Yue Family? Isn’t the answer clear from what the Yus are currently doing?