Rebirth: I became rich by farming-Chapter 9 - : Empathy

Among this throng of relatives, the one she trusted the most was Mei Yinan, and she handed over her passbook to Mei Yinan without hesitation.

Mei Yinan, although somewhat surprised by Mei Mengzhen's action, upon reflection didn't find it surprising—after all, had it been given to others, they might not have ended up with the passbook at all.

It would have been better had Mei Yinan not mentioned the passbook, for when she opened it, she almost wished she could tear it up right there and then.

"3275.64 yuan, including both fractional and whole amounts, this is all that's left after so many years of both spouses working?" Mei Yinan, agitated, could barely sit still; she felt like digging up the irresponsible couple just to give them a beating before throwing them back in.

However, this figure made everyone furrow their brows—it just wasn't possible, how could there only be so little money?

Uncle Mei Yongan took the passbook, flipped through it a few times, and his frown grew even deeper.

The passbook was passed from one person to another, and after everyone had a look, no one could believe that after so many years, the household only had a little over three thousand yuan, an amount hardly worth calling savings.

"Is that all there is? Just this one passbook?" asked Mei Yifan, the youngest aunt, in a cold, sharp tone, as if she suspected Mei Mengzhen of hiding others.

"Yes, just this one. Our neighborhood only has one Postal Bank," Zhenzhen replied.

The nearest facility to this area was indeed that one Postal Bank, and anything further was inconvenient. Not only for her family but for many households in the area, this was the common situation, so her statement didn't raise any doubts among the relatives.

But this made Mei Yinan even more unhappy, and speaking with frustrated concern, she said, "With so little money, you still want to live with your brother? You really have no sense, do you?"

Looking at the tiny sum of money for the two children, the house that was almost in their grasp seemed ready to slip away. Hadn't it been so much better if they'd just agreed and signed the deal earlier?

The relatives now became obviously impatient and blamed Mei Yinan internally. Why bring up the passbook? What were they to do now? But if it meant losing the house, Mei Yifan was the first to disagree, "Sister, whether you are clueless or not, we already agreed on the house, remember?"

Uncle Mei Yongfu also chimed in quickly, "Exactly, if they're not worried about scraping by on that money, why the hell are you?"

Mei Mengzhen knew exactly how much money her parents had—after all, in her past life, the same amount had been split in half, with her younger uncle's family and elder aunt's family each taking a share, and that was how the money was divided.

A small sum like that wasn't worth much attention to anyone. They could never be cold-hearted enough to push the children this far, but the house was a different matter; they would not budge on that.

Seizing the opportunity, Mei Mengzhen quickly asked, "What about my parents' house? Where did they live before they moved here? If we sell that house, wouldn't we have money then?"

At these words, people sensed what Mei Mengzhen was hinting at, but it was too late to entertain such notions. Mei Yinan explained, "Your parents' house was sold a long time ago. But since you weren't close with them, it's normal that you didn't know. Your mother lost quite a sum playing mahjong, and your father, well, he had squandered it all away long ago."

A quick glance at the passbook transactions was enough for Mei Yinan to estimate how recklessly her parents spent their money every month. Not only their salaries went to waste; the money that came in when their father passed away was also squandered before long.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

Mei Mengzhen pretended to be at a loss, cluelessly looking at her relatives for what to do next.

At that moment, naturally, the relatives all avoided her gaze.

Mei Yinan asked, "Do you still want to live independently with your brother? With this little money, even if you cut corners, you'd probably only manage half a year. What will you do for the other half? Zhenzhen, just listen to your elder aunt and come to our place, alright?"

"No, no, I don't want the house, and I don't want to go to your house," Mei Mengchen burst out the moment he heard about having to stay with someone else. He had said he didn't want to go, and he meant it—how come these people just couldn't understand?

To everyone else, however, the boy's resistance didn't mean the same thing. If he didn't want to come, they weren't keen on taking care of him either. They had trouble enough raising their own kids—why should they take on someone else's child? They would rather not have the added responsibility.

Then someone thought, isn't the eldest sister known for her kindness? If she was so kindhearted, then she should take them in. Let's see how she deals with it.

With that thought in mind, everyone's gaze shifted to Mei Yinan, but regardless of who ended up taking care of the children, the compensation for the house certainly could not be altered.

Mei Yinan was willing, but her family's financial situation genuinely didn't allow for it. With two university students to support already, how were they to afford four children? "You guys, you guys..." she tried to speak but was overcome with emotion.

Mei Mengzhen, holding her brother who had squeezed into her embrace, addressed the relatives, "I still want to live with my brother. If we can make it for half a year, then that's what we'll do. Worst comes to worst, I'll work during the holidays. Oh, and my mom has some jewelry I can sell too. Anyway, we won't starve."

The relatives knew well how much jewelry Mei's mother could have had; they wouldn't dream of grabbing it, fearing that the situation could once again take a turn for the worse if they continued the conversation. Uncle Mei Yongan hurriedly said, "Good, as long as you're aware of your situation."

Mei Mengzhen eagerly agreed, "Yes, I'm aware."

'Aware,' you're aware of nothing, Mei Yinan thought bitterly, though she understood the children's desire not to rely on others. But she also couldn't just neglect the children completely. She took a step back, "Alright then, if you insist on staying here, we definitely can't charge you rent." After a glance around to confirm no one objected, she added, "We'll cover your utility and living expenses too."

Mei Yifan seemed reluctant and was about to protest when Mei Yinan cut her off, "How much could the utility and living expenses possibly cost?"

"If it's not so much, then let the kids pay it themselves," Mei Yifan muttered under her breath.

Not only was Mei Yinan annoyed at the sight of these siblings, but hearing them speak made her even angrier, "Shut your mouth. That goes for all of you as well."

Before the siblings could respond, Mei Yinan continued, "Utilities might not cost much, but as for living expenses, those won't cost anything. Zhenzhen is about to enter her last year of high school, it's only a year. We, as relatives, are obligated to look after these two kids. Even if it weren't Yongfu (Mei Mengzhen's father) who had issues, if it were any one of you, we would do the same for your children. Don't be angry, I'm not cursing any of you. We've been brothers and sisters for decades; Zhenzhen is almost an adult, and we wouldn't need to help for many years. Why push things to such extremes? I won't say more. That little over three thousand yuan..." pausing for a moment, Mei Yinan continued, "Keep it, Zhenzhen. Let's say each of our families contributes 200 yuan per month as living expenses for the two of you."