Chapter 24: Here to Borrow Money

It was clear to everyone that the Song family’s daughter-in-law had come over at this hour like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—not with good intentions.

Both the Lin couple and Wen Lan knew this.

So when the Song woman forced her way through the front gate, no one spoke to her. They simply stared at her coldly. Nine-year-old Mutou even hugged the two bundles of meat Wen Lan had brought home tightly in his arms.

“Oh my, what’s this now? Why the long faces?” The Song woman circled the room and finally stopped in front of Wen Lan, speaking in a deliberately sarcastic tone, “What? Did that hunter return you?”

Ha! Wen Lan had known this woman didn’t have anything good up her sleeve.

She countered, “Auntie Song, you sound like you were really hoping the hunter would send me back.”

“Oh, how could you say that?” Auntie Song covered her mouth in a fake laugh and reached out her plump hand to pat Wen Lan’s shoulder.

Wen Lan deftly avoided it.

“I was just worried you might get returned,” Auntie Song kept up her false cheer. “After what happened with you before, it’s not easy to find someone who doesn’t mind your past. I’m just genuinely happy for you.”

“Auntie Song is right,” Wen Lan copied her smile, just as fake, “I really do have you to thank for everything I have today.”

“Exactly! I’ve been so worried about you!” Auntie Song believed her without a trace of suspicion and played along. Her beady little eyes darted around, clearly plotting something.

Seeing her daughter still being polite and even thanking Auntie Song, Lin Furong’s mother grew irritated. She pulled Wen Lan back and scolded, “You silly girl, what nonsense are you saying? You’re marrying that hunter because you met a benefactor. What does it have to do with her?”

“Hey now, how can it have nothing to do with me?” Auntie Song had come today to ask the Lin family for money. She hadn’t yet figured out how to start, but this line from the Lin girl had handed her the perfect excuse. There was no way she’d let it go.

“Your daughter Furong being able to marry such a good family—of course that’s thanks to me!” Auntie Song dramatically grabbed Lin Furong’s mother’s hand.

Wen Lan chuckled coldly and mocked, “Yes, if it weren’t for Auntie Song going around the village spreading rumors about how I was having an affair with Meng Qiancheng and encouraging him to elope with me, I wouldn’t have tried to kill myself. And if I hadn’t tried to kill myself, I wouldn’t have met my benefactor. If I hadn’t met my benefactor, I wouldn’t have married the hunter. So truly, I owe it all to you, Auntie Song!”

“Oh—this, this…” Auntie Song was clearly caught off guard by the counterattack. Her lips trembled, and she couldn’t say a word for a while.

Wen Lan seized the moment and continued, “I hadn’t even warmed the seat when I got home today, and Auntie Song was already here, immediately guessing whether I’d been sent back. I think you came all this way just to see me make a fool of myself, didn’t you? Sorry to disappoint—you didn’t get your show.”

“No, no!” Auntie Song quickly waved her hands. “I didn’t come to gloat!”

“Then what did you come for?” Lin Furong’s mother asked sharply.

She had never liked the Song woman, and after what happened with Lin Furong, she liked her even less. That woman had constantly shelled sunflower seeds in front of her, occasionally throwing her a sinister grin. She was sick of the sight of her.

If it weren’t for the fact that Auntie Song had the village security captain backing her, she would’ve already had it out with her.

“Sister-in-law,” Auntie Song immediately changed tactics. She put on a fawning smile and bumped her big bottom into Lin Furong’s mother. “It’s like this—our little Bao is about to reach school age. His father’s away all year round, and I’m just a weak woman with no real abilities. So I came hoping to borrow a bit of money from your family.”

Borrow money?

Lin Furong’s mother’s eyes widened instantly. To a miser like her, she could live without her life—but she wouldn’t give up a single coin.

“We have no money!” she flatly refused.