Chapter 278 - 276: Disbelief

Chapter 278: Chapter 276: Disbelief

"Mom—" Lin Qiao’s mother glanced at Lin Qiao, finding it unbearable for her daughter to see her in such a state. Yet, she didn’t dare interrupt her own mother, waiting until she was finished before letting out a pleading cry. Even that, however, earned her a glare from Lin Qiao’s grandmother.

Her eyes wide, she yelled, "And don’t you think I’m forcing you. You think about it. Because of the money you borrowed, how many times has your sister-in-law thrown a fit? You know your father and I will have to rely on them when we’re old. If you drag this out forever and make your sister-in-law furious, what happens if she refuses to take care of us then?"

"Mom, stop using my sister-in-law as an excuse," Lin Qiao’s fifth aunt couldn’t help but interject, defending her eldest sister. "A daughter-in-law is family, but isn’t your own daughter? She came from your own womb, so how is she less important to you than your daughter-in-law? Why don’t you have any sympathy for Eldest Sister? She sacrificed so much for this family, for our fourth brother. If her marriage prospects hadn’t been delayed because she insisted on waiting until he was married, she could have married a university student years ago and been living comfortably..."

Lin Qiao’s third aunt said nothing, merely keeping her head down as she silently washed the dishes.

Lin Qiao’s grandmother snorted. "What’s wrong with me treating my daughter-in-law like my own flesh and blood? You have a problem with that? Or have I not been good enough to you all? Yes, you came from my womb, and you contributed a bit to the family when you were girls, but I worked my fingers to the bone raising you. What’s wrong with being a little more considerate of my son? At least I never pestered you to haul things back to your maiden home after you got married, unlike some mothers. You don’t call that being considerate?"

"Mom, it’s all my fault. I didn’t think it through and acted on a whim," Lin Qiao’s mother said, lowering her head. She gently pulled back her fifth sister, who was about to speak up for her again, and shook her head. In a submissive tone, she continued to her mother, "But if you make me give up the bamboo forest now or let someone else take over, we probably won’t even get back a fraction of what we invested. I know you’re good to us. Otherwise, you and Dad wouldn’t have lent me the money in the first place. You know you can trust me. I’d never run out on a debt."

"...I suppose you still have some sense." Seeing Lin Qiao’s mother yield, the grandmother finally felt a bit mollified and decided to drop the subject for now.

Lin Qiao had been standing quietly to the side, listening in silence, a strange expression on her face. From her mother’s reaction when her grandmother mentioned selling the bamboo forest, she knew her father must not have had a chance to tell her mom that Gu Nuan Nuan was willing to lend them money to raise chickens there.

’Good thing, too. If Grandma found out about this, she’d probably force Mom to give a cut of the profits to my uncle. I’ll have to remind Dad to tell Mom not to mention the bamboo forest chickens to Grandma and the others yet.’

’And what was that about Mom almost marrying a university student?’

Lin Qiao eyed her mother with suspicion. ’How come I’ve never heard her mention this before?’

"Qiaoqiao, we have enough people here. Why don’t you go keep your classmate company?" After being put on the spot by her own mother like that, Lin Qiao’s mom felt deeply uncomfortable and tried to send her daughter away.

"Mom, I actually came looking for you because I just heard something from my classmate." Lin Qiao watched as her grandmother, mother, and two aunts paused their dishwashing for a split second. After that argument, she suddenly had a realization: her grandmother wasn’t nearly as kind to her mother and their family as her mother always claimed, or as she herself had imagined. A seed of doubt was planted in her mind. ’If I expose Second Aunt and tell the truth, will Grandma even believe me? Or will she just throw another fit and maybe even take her anger out on Nuannuan?’ This doubt made her hesitate.

But before she could fully think it through, she heard her mother ask curiously, "Oh? What did you hear?"

"It’s about Second Aunt’s car accident. My classmate knows about it, and she said what really happened wasn’t anything like the story Second Aunt and Liu Li told." Lin Qiao then recounted in detail everything she had heard from Gu Nuan Nuan, though she subconsciously omitted the fact that Gu Nuan Nuan’s uncle was the one who had performed the rescue. She wanted to gauge her grandmother’s reaction first.

"Why is your classmate spouting such nonsense at her age? What are you doing inviting a liar like that into our home? Are you telling me you’d rather believe an outsider than your very own aunt?" Lin Qiao’s grandmother abruptly threw down the bowl she was holding, shot to her feet, and pointed a finger at Lin Qiao. "How can you call someone like that a friend? If you ask me, you should cut ties with her immediately."

Seeing her grandmother’s explosive reaction, Lin Qiao’s heart sank. She stood up as well, looking at her grandmother with utter disappointment. "My classmate doesn’t lie," she said through gritted teeth. "A lot of people know what happened. Grandma, if you just bothered to ask around, you’d find out the truth. You can’t accuse an innocent person just because you’re biased toward Second Aunt..."

"You... You’re siding with an outsider against your own family! How can you be so clueless?" Lin Qiao’s grandmother trembled with rage.

"I’m not! The truth is the truth! You can’t just throw reason out the window for the sake of family!" Lin Qiao shot back, angry herself.

"Is this how your parents taught you to talk back to your elders?" Lin Qiao’s grandmother was incandescent with rage.

By this point, Lin Qiao’s mother, third aunt, and fifth aunt were all on their feet as well. They each reacted differently. The third aunt, who was close to her second sister, wore a look of doubt. The fifth aunt, however, knew her second sister better; after a moment’s thought, a look of dawning comprehension spread across her face. As for Lin Qiao’s mother, who clearly understood her own mother best of all, she looked at Lin Qiao worriedly and tugged at her sleeve, trying to get her to stop.

But once Lin Qiao’s temper flared, she was unstoppable. She ignored her mother’s frantic tugging and insisted, "My parents taught me to know right from wrong and not to repay kindness with malice. Even if an elder is in the wrong, they’re still in the wrong! They can’t just stubbornly refuse to face the truth!"

"Look at this wonderful daughter you’ve raised!" Lin Qiao’s grandmother was so incensed that she pointed at Lin Qiao’s mother and began swatting at her. "I’m going to die of anger!"

Lin Qiao’s mother remained silent. Lin Qiao glared furiously at her grandmother, about to retort, but her fifth aunt pulled her back. "That’s enough out of you." Then, Lin Qiao heard her fifth aunt turn to the grandmother and say, "Mom, Qiaoqiao actually has a point. Second Sister is just a sweet-talker, which is why you think she’s so wonderful. But look at the things she does! Hmph. I’ve long suspected her stories didn’t add up. I’d bet anything that what Qiaoqiao’s classmate said is the real truth."