Chapter 26: What the Hell

The government has long since prohibited arranged marriages. As an aunt who is already a generation removed and has even had a falling out with the family, what face or right does she have to collect a dowry on her niece’s behalf?

How utterly shameless!

If this were a few decades later, Lin Xiang would certainly write an article to denounce such an outrageous relative!

Lin’s Aunt’s face turned a kaleidoscope of colors after hearing Lin Yun’s blunt words. However, clinging to her status as an elder, she took a few deep breaths to compose herself. Lifting her chin, she adopted a condescending tone and said to Lin Xiang, "I heard from your mother that you’ve secured a spot as a female worker at the textile mill."

"Since you can’t handle the hardships of a job, you might as well give up the spot. I’ll let your cousin Fangfang take it. Don’t worry, I won’t take it for nothing; there will be plenty of benefits for you!"

Lin Xiang had already guessed that this was why her aunt had come to disturb her sleep this morning, and she inwardly scolded her mother.

She loathed people who couldn't keep a secret and had no filter on their mouths!

The critical point was that she had already told her mother she intended to go back to finish her second year of high school and had no plan to keep the textile mill position. Yet, good heavens, not even a night had passed, and her mother had already leaked it!

Catching a glimpse of her mother hiding in the corner of the doorway, Lin Xiang threw on a coat and went out, grabbing her mother by the sleeve to keep her from slipping away.

"Mom, your eldest sister comes into your house to boss you around and even prepares to hit your daughter, and you don't have any reaction at all?"

Her mother said sheepishly, "Well, she didn't actually hit you, did she?"

"That's because my brother stepped in to protect me in time! If she had actually managed to hit me, would that have been alright? I’m not arguing about that now—was it you who leaked the news about the job spot?"

"You were the one who said you couldn't handle working, so I thought the spot shouldn't go to waste. I wanted to sell it. Didn't your aunt say she wouldn't treat you unfairly? Why don't you talk to her again?"

Lin Xiang looked at her mother with a "death smile."

Her mother felt guilty, her eyes darting left and right, not daring to meet Lin Xiang’s gaze.

"I just don't understand. She’s treated us like this, so why do you still hold her in such high regard?"

They should be like her and Lin Yun—cut off all contact with the aunt completely, ideally never seeing each other again for the rest of their lives!

"She’s my big sister. When I was little, she even carried me on her back. Since she asked me that way, what could I do?"

Lin Xiang didn't want to hear anything more from her mother.

She supposed it was just the deeply ingrained concept of family ties that bound their generation. But just because her mother was willing to forgive her aunt didn't mean Lin Xiang was.

Having transmigrated into this book, she had little mother-daughter affection for her mother, let alone for her aunt.

Lin Xiang turned back into the bedroom, looking at her aunt with a smile. "Aunt, do you really want this spot?"

Lin Xiang’s change in attitude was within her aunt’s expectations. She had always had her younger sister wrapped around her finger, let alone this young girl, Lin Xiang.

Lin Yun, who had been standing in a protective stance blocking their aunt, saw Lin Xiang’s expression and silently pulled back, his heart filled with endless disappointment.

"When are we going to handle the paperwork?" her aunt asked coldly, as if she were bestowing a great favor upon Lin Xiang.

Lin Xiang remained smiling, extending her right hand toward her aunt. "No rush. Give me the money first."

"Money? What money?"

"The money to buy the spot, of course!" Lin Xiang feigned surprise. "You didn't think you could just get my spot for free without paying, did you? You’re in your forties—surely you’re not that ignorant of how the world works?"

"Even blood brothers settle accounts clearly, let alone relatives a generation removed. You almost sold me off for a dowry of ten yuan or so before; did you really think I was foolish enough to forget that and come fawning over you?"

Did she look like someone who was a complete pushover?

Lin Xiang didn't even give her aunt a chance to speak, launching into a rapid-fire lecture that left her aunt unable to react for a long while.

Unable to out-argue the quick-witted Lin Xiang, her aunt could only stiffen her neck and emphasize her status as an elder. "Your mother promised it to me!"

"If she promised it to you, then go ask her for it. Regardless, you aren't getting my spot for anything less than five hundred yuan!"

"Five hundred yuan? Why don't you just rob someone!" her aunt shrieked, clearly not expecting Lin Xiang to be so greedy.

Lin Xiang looked at her aunt as if she were an idiot. "This is a spot at the textile mill. A textile mill, the very one that just signed a contract with foreign merchants! The benefits there are excellent; a female worker earns at least thirty yuan a month, which is over three hundred sixty a year. Five hundred yuan is only a year and a half of wages."

"If you aren't even willing to spend that much and still want to get a job for free, where on earth would you find such a deal? You’d be better off going home and sleeping—you can have anything you want in your dreams!"

"You, you, you..."

Unable to win the argument, her aunt continued to point her finger at her.

Lin Xiang smiled and raised her hand, preparing to bend her aunt’s finger back. Recalling the sharp pain from before, her aunt quickly pulled her hand back, glared fiercely at Lin Xiang, and spat, "You just wait! I’ll have your mother come talk to you!"

"Oh, I’m so scared!" Lin Xiang patted her chest, though the fake smile on her face didn't change at all.

Her aunt stormed out and found her mother, who was still standing by the wall.

"Zhao Xiuli, didn't you say you could handle this for me? Now that it’s turned into this, what do you have to say?"

Her mother looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, refusing to meet her sister’s eyes.

"Didn't the girl say it? If you pay five hundred yuan, she’ll give you the spot. You’re the one who doesn't want to pay and just wants to take it for free. What can I do?"

"That’s not what you said this morning!"

"Well, I didn't think you’d really have the audacity to think you could get the spot without paying a cent! Didn't you hear what the girl said? A textile mill worker earns at least thirty yuan a month. You’d earn the money back in a year and a half, and everything after that is pure profit."

"Big sister, if you don't want to spend the money, that’s fine. I’ll ask someone else; maybe I can sell it for even more than five hundred."

Her mother’s voice grew louder with each sentence, a stark contrast to her previously timid demeanor.

"This is absolutely insane!"

Her aunt cursed and turned to leave. It was unclear whether she had gone home to scrape together the money or had given up on the spot entirely.

Once her aunt was gone, her mother let out a sigh of relief and hurried to find Lin Xiang.

Seeing that there was nothing left for him to do, Lin Yun left in a hurry. He still had work to finish, and if he didn't get back to the fields, he wouldn't earn his full work points today. Had it not been for the team leader’s daughter, Tianya, telling him that their aunt had suddenly arrived at the house, he wouldn't have dropped his work to rush back.