Chapter 11: Dumbfounded Relatives

Jinping Township was more than 60 kilometers away from the county town, and because the road was in terrible condition, Ling Mo drove for a full two hours before returning to the township.

Today happened to be Jinping Township’s market day, and the narrow township market was packed with people.

“Xiao Mo, just drop me off here at the market. Anyway, the road isn’t far, and I can buy some things at the market,” Ling Hongying said.

“Big sister, I’ll get off with you. I saw my second and third brothers are here for the market; I can return their money first,” Yang Shulan suddenly said, her tone laced with anger.

Hearing Yang Shulan’s words, the atmosphere inside the car immediately became heavy, and the father sighed softly.

The father had always loved and been tolerant of his younger siblings, but the matter of borrowing money that day had truly saddened the parents.

The meaning of the uncles and aunts was almost explicitly saying they feared the father couldn’t be cured, and then Ling Mo and his mother wouldn’t be able to repay this mountain of debt.

“Mom, I’ll park the car and go with you,” Ling Mo said.

His mother wanted to vent her anger, and he would definitely support her. If he hadn’t been afraid of embarrassing his mother that day, he would have erupted long ago. Now, he had to let his mother release this pent-up frustration.

In a township, most people know each other. Currently, besides buses, there are very few people who can afford to buy their own cars. So, when they saw a new car driving into the township, people quickly spotted Ling Mo and the others in the car.

“Hey? Isn’t that Ling Hongshan? I heard he had a serious illness and needed surgery. How come he’s back so soon?”

“Could it be that he was beyond saving, so they simply came back?”

“Nonsense, if he was beyond saving, would they be in the mood to buy a car? Right, didn’t they have to spend a lot of money on medical treatment? Where did they get the money to buy a car? How did Ling Hongshan get rich after falling ill?”

“Hehe, I don’t know where Ling Hongshan got the money to buy a car, but the faces of the Ling family brothers must be quite something right now. Back when Yang Shulan went to borrow money from them, the expressions on those brothers’ faces, tsk tsk.”

“Yeah, Ling Hongshan and Yang Shulan are such good people; how can they have such heartless siblings? It really shows who your true friends are in times of trouble.”

Almost everyone on the entire street was looking over.

“Hey, Ling Hongchuan, you’re here for the market too?” Suddenly, a loud voice drew people’s attention away.

Ling Hongchuan saw the figure on the truck and secretly thought things were not looking good, wanting to sneak away. But he didn’t expect someone to call out his name directly, and in such a loud voice. Looking at the smile on the other person’s face, Ling Hongchuan gnashed his teeth; this guy was definitely doing it on purpose.

Countless teasing gazes were fixed on Ling Hongchuan, and laughter came from the crowd: “This is going to be a good show.”

Ling Hongchuan’s scalp went numb, but he had no choice but to step forward, forcing a smile: “Big brother, sister-in-law, second sister, you’re back? Big brother, is your illness cured?”

“It’s the third brother. Thanks to you, my Hongshan’s illness is completely cured. Oh right, since you’re here, I’ll return the money I borrowed from you last time,” Yang Shulan said, taking out a thousand yuan from her bag.

Ling Hongchuan awkwardly said, “No need, sister-in-law, no need to be in such a hurry.”

Yang Shulan shoved the money into Ling Hongchuan’s hands, saying, “Of course we have to return it now that we have the money. Didn’t you say last time that your family was also in urgent need of money? Take it, count it, my memory isn’t good; see if I’ve returned enough.”

Ling Hongchuan’s face had already turned liver-colored, and the contemptuous gazes around him made him wish he could dig a hole in the ground and disappear.

At that time, he and the other brothers had learned that the eldest brother’s illness was very serious and might not be cured. And involving such a large sum of money, if the eldest brother was gone, relying solely on Yang Shulan and her son, who knew when they would be able to repay it? So, he had ulterior motives.

Unexpectedly, Ling Hongchuan truly had no words to express his suffering at this moment, and could only look pleadingly at Yang Shulan: “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry, at that time I really…”

Yang Shulan interrupted, “Third brother, you don’t need to say sorry to me; you should say it to your eldest brother. You are blood brothers.” Saying this, Yang Shulan’s anger flared up again. Blood brothers, yet these people could stand by and watch without offering help.

“Big brother, I…” Ling Hongchuan looked towards Ling Hongshan, who was getting out of the car.

“It’s the third brother, alas, I believe I haven’t done anything wrong to you all in these decades,” Ling Hongshan sighed.

“Dad, let it go, don’t think too much, or it’ll be bad for your health,” Ling Mo said, supporting Ling Hongshan, not showing his third uncle any good face.

“Yes, yes, big brother, don’t think too much, your health is the most important thing now,” Ling Hongying quickly chimed in, trying to smooth things over, then turned to Ling Hongchuan and said sternly, “Third brother, it’s not me talking, but you should know how our big brother has been to us siblings all these years. We are all blood relatives; how could you be so cold-hearted? This time, if you don’t properly apologize, I won’t spare you.”

“Mo’er, go with Mom to return money to your aunt,” Yang Shulan said, seeing Ling Hongshan’s distressed appearance, she ultimately softened and said no more.

When the group arrived at the aunt’s shop, the aunt, fourth uncle, eldest cousin, and third aunt were all there, but their faces were not very good, and their gazes towards Yang Shulan and Ling Hongshan were filled with guilt.

“Big, big brother, your health is better? That’s really great!” the aunt said, forcing a smile.

“Thank you for your concern, little sister,” Yang Shulan said flatly, “Since everyone is here, I’ll return the money to everyone.”

Yang Shulan opened her bag, and sharp-eyed people saw a large pile of money inside, and buzzing discussions quickly arose around them.

“There’s so much money in Yang Shulan’s bag; it looks like Ling Hongshan’s family has really struck it rich.”

“Hehe, this time Ling Hongmei and the others must be dumbfounded, right? Ling Hongshan often selflessly helped them when he didn’t have money before. If they had any conscience, now that Ling Hongshan has money, wouldn’t he treat them even better? But now I don’t see what face these people have to ask Ling Hongshan for help.”

“I couldn’t stand Ling Hongmei and Ling Hongchuan for a long time. Relying on having a better family background, they often put on an arrogant air. The reason their families are like this now isn’t because Ling Hongshan didn’t take a single cent or tile when they divided the family, giving all the family property to them?”

“They are family, how can there be such a big difference?”

“Hey? Hongying, you’re carrying so many good things. Oh, this bag, is that Bottega Veneta? It’s expensive; my daughter wanted to buy one last time. I heard it costs several thousand!”

“A bag costs several thousand? Is it made of gold?”

“It’s a designer bag, don’t you understand? Rich people pursue this.”

A large crowd quickly surrounded Ling Hongying, and a group of women of similar age looked at the things in her hands with shocked expressions.

“Hongying, the clothes you’re wearing are Koradior, right? A big domestic brand. Last time I went to the provincial capital, my daughter-in-law took me to the mall, and I saw this. The prices were very expensive; each piece was several thousand. Only rich people wear them.”

“Wow, and these shoes, these pants, my god, these things added together must be at least tens of thousands, right? Hongying, you’ve struck it rich!”