Chapter 46 Future Master "Old Lin, you know..."
“Old Lin, I know you can’t let go of your children at home and worry about them, but listen to my advice: children and grandchildren have their own blessings. We’re old, so let’s not worry so much.”
"Yes, Lao Lin, look at us, we've already separated our families a long time ago, but the children's relationship hasn't been affected at all."
“The children are growing up, and there are many people in the family. It’s easy to cause conflicts if you can’t treat everyone equally. It’s better to just separate the households. You won’t have to take care of this one or that one, and they won’t cause any trouble.”
“Look at my family, we separated the household for the children. Although they don’t live together anymore, they still come back for holidays and bring me things. Life is pretty good.”
Several elderly neighbors living near the Lin family surrounded Old Man Lin, trying to persuade him.
Grandpa Lin was furious as he listened to these people talking all at once.
Don't think he can't tell that these people's sarcastic remarks are actually implying that he's biased and that he's still clinging to the power of managing the household at his advanced age.
Especially Old Huang, who said that the children's relationship would not be affected by the division of the family property. Isn't he implying that he didn't divide the family property for his children, which resulted in the brothers fighting each other?
That old man Huang, he's always been one step ahead of me, whether it's work or having kids. Now he's finally got his chance to get revenge, huh?
Grandpa Lin's face was ashen. He had been obsessed with saving face his whole life, but he never expected that at the very end, he would be ridiculed by outsiders, even his old rival who had been at odds with him all his life, because of the division of the family property. He was furious and wished he could pick up his cane and give Lin's father a good beating.
But the neighborhood committee director continued to persuade him: "Uncle Lin, I know you don't want to separate the family, you're afraid that your children's relationship will weaken afterward. But look at Uncle Huang and Uncle Guo, they said that their children's relationship remains the same after separating. So if you ask me, you should..."
Whether the Lin family splits up or not is none of his business.
But Lin's father brought him here, and as long as the Lin family doesn't separate, they'll cause trouble, and the neighborhood committee will have to mediate every day.
So he must be hoping the Lin family will split up as soon as possible.
The neighborhood director and a neighbor from the alley tried to persuade him for a long time, but Grandpa Lin finally couldn't hold back anymore. He looked at his father and asked, "Second son, do you really want to separate the family?"
This time, Lin's father didn't hesitate at all: "Dad, let's divide the family property!"
Grandpa Lin: "Alright, let's divide it then."
"Since you don't want to live with this old man, then let's break up."
The neighborhood committee director immediately burst out laughing: "Uncle Lin, it's good that you agreed to divide the family property! I've brought my family agreement with me. Please take a look at how the family's belongings should be divided, and I'll write it down for you."
Grandpa Lin: "Ahem, no need to trouble you with that. I have a lot of things at home, and it's not something I can sort out in one day. Wait for me to take stock in the next couple of days, and then I'll go to the neighborhood office to find you."
Mingxi immediately knew that he was using delaying tactics.
Grandpa Lin really thought that way. People in the alley and from the neighborhood committee were all urging him to divide the family property, and if he didn't agree, he'd lose face. But if he really agreed, then after the division, his second son wouldn't hand over his salary, and he couldn't use his second son's salary to subsidize his eldest and third sons. Would his eldest and third sons still listen to him like they do now?
He planned to agree to the division of the family property on the surface, and then find excuses and reasons to keep delaying until the second son softened and stopped mentioning the division of the family property.
But before Grandpa Lin could finish speaking, Meng Dongchun interrupted him: "Besides the wages Lin Hai's father has handed over over the years and this house in the courtyard, what else is there to divide? Are you suggesting that the few bowls and chopsticks in the house should also be divided up by headcount?"
In the past, when conditions were poor, when families separated, even the number of bowls and chopsticks had to be clearly divided.
But everyone's living conditions are better than before, especially for people like Uncle Lin and his younger brother. One is a grain station worker, and the other is a railway cadre. Their combined wealth is considered above average in the entire northern part of the city. Even Lin's father, a veteran employee who has worked at the auto repair shop for over twenty years, earns more than eighty yuan a month. He doesn't really care about those odds and ends around the house. Even if the family didn't give him anything, as long as he had money and ration coupons, he could buy whatever he wanted.
After Meng Dongchun's reminder, Lin's father realized what was going on and said, "Dad, there's no need to count. I don't want any of the things in the house. Let's just divide the money and the house."
Grandpa Lin's face darkened; of course, he couldn't say that he hadn't even considered dividing anything in the family property.
He angrily pointed at Lin's father and cursed, "You ungrateful wretch! I knew you were after the family's money and house!"
Lin's father pouted, feeling wronged, and remained silent.
He was just talking normally about what to divide in the family division; he wasn't after Grandpa Lin's money.
Not only Mr. Lin, but even the onlookers felt that Grandpa Lin's sudden change of expression was completely unreasonable.
The neighborhood committee director said, "Old man, putting aside your house and money, you should at least get a share of the wages your children hand over, right?"
Grandpa Lin had a sour face and didn't want to talk.
Finally, under the barrage of glares from the neighborhood committee director, Grandpa Lin gave in. With a sullen face and a downturned mouth, he said, "You want to split up the family, huh? Fine, then. All of you, come in here."
Even if it's a family division, it can't be done in front of so many neighbors in the alley.
He didn't want outsiders to know about his family's wealth.
Grandpa Lin called the Lin family members and the people from the neighborhood committee into his main room. Mingxi and Meng Dongchun, being outsiders, wisely chose not to follow.
The Lin family members and the neighborhood committee officials stayed inside for about ten minutes before coming out. When Lin's father came out, he was holding a piece of paper in his hand; it was a family division agreement.
Lin's mother, Lin Hai, and his sister followed behind him, followed by Lin's third uncle and his family. He was also holding a family division agreement in his hand, but his expression was terribly gloomy.
Uncle Lin behind Uncle Lin had the same gloomy expression.
After Lin Daiyu came out of the house, she skipped over to Mingxi and Meng Dongchun with a big smile on her face.
"Comrade Ming, Sister Meng, the family has separated! Our family has really separated!"
Besides joy, there was also a hint of disbelief in her eyes.
I never expected that the family could separate so easily.
Mingxi, however, was curious and inquired about how the Lin family was divided.
Lin Daiyu didn't think much of it and told the truth.
All I can say is that Grandpa Lin is as biased as ever.
Just now, inside the house, Grandpa Lin took out the box where he keeps his money and said that over the years he had saved a total of eight thousand yuan, which he divided equally into four parts. One part goes to Uncle Lin's family, one part to Father Lin, one part to Uncle Lin's younger brother, and the remaining part goes to Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin as their retirement money.
The remaining houses will be divided according to the current locations of the families. Uncle Lin will receive two main rooms, and after Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin pass away, the main room they currently live in will also be given to Uncle Lin. Father Lin will receive the east wing room where he currently lives. The remaining two west wing rooms, along with a rear building, will belong to Third Uncle Lin.
Mingxi said that Grandpa Lin was biased primarily because of the money in the family coffers. According to Lin's younger sister, the Lin family's rule of handing over wages started the year Lin's father started working. Even if Lin's father's salary wasn't very high before, just 30 yuan a month, over the years, the wages he handed over alone would be more than that.
Grandpa Lin's implication was that with so many people in the family to feed, plus the fact that his children had been getting married or buying jobs in recent years, the expenses were high, and he couldn't save any money.
Mingxi found this amusing. The Lin family was large, but they were all urban residents with rations, so they didn't need to buy expensive grain on the black market. How much could they possibly spend on a regular meal? It was obvious that Grandpa Lin still had money he hadn't taken out.
As for the children's wedding and buying jobs, the wedding was for Uncle Lin's child, and the job was for Uncle Lin's son. Lin Hai didn't have a job after returning from the countryside, and the Lin family didn't use public funds to buy him one.
Secondly, the house itself is better than the east wing in terms of both location and size. The west wing of Uncle Lin's house was built next to the south-facing rear house, and the three rooms together are about half the size of the east wing.
Not to mention, Grandpa Lin also set a rule that Lin's father would give him two hundred yuan a year for retirement. Although his original words were that all three sons would contribute to his retirement, he only asked Lin's father to write this matter in the agreement.
Mingxi looked at Lin's father with sympathy; Grandpa Lin's favoritism was indeed plain to see.
Lin's father was in a state of mixed emotions. Of course, he knew that his grandfather was biased. His grandfather's behavior was so obvious that even if he wanted to deceive himself, he couldn't fool himself.
However, as long as he could separate the family, he couldn't be bothered to care about these things.
He was in a daze, not expecting that Grandpa Lin would divide the family property so easily.
He thought he was in for a fierce battle, but it turned out to be so easy...
Mr. Lin looked up at his wife and children, who were overjoyed at the division of the family property. His feelings were complicated. If he had known, he should have proposed the division of the family property earlier, instead of letting his wife and children suffer with him for so many years.
Lin Daiyu didn't notice the complicated expression on her father's face. She excitedly pointed to the door of the east wing and said, "Now that we've separated the family, shouldn't we build our own kitchen? I suggest we build a shack right here by the door, along the wall, with cabinets and a cutting board inside, and a stove outside for cooking."
What made her happiest about the separation was being able to eat separately from the other branches of the Lin family.
In the past, when they ate and cooked together, her aunt and third aunt always bullied her family, making them do more work and always pushing the cooking and washing of dishes onto her mother. When it was time to eat, her aunt and third aunt would take all the good food as soon as they sat down at the table, never leaving any for her family.
Lin Hai nodded: "Okay, I'll find someone to build the kitchen tomorrow."
Meng Dongchun: "Why bother with tomorrow? I'm free today, so let's just do it today."
She said, "I have an apprentice whose family are bricklayers. They have all the materials. I'll call him over, and he can finish building it for you tonight."
Lin Hai hesitated for a moment: "This...this isn't a good idea, isn't it a bit too much trouble for your apprentice?"
Meng Dongchun: "What's so troublesome about having him do some work for our future master?"
"Master, Grandmaster?" Lin Hai almost bit his tongue. He blushed and said in a muffled voice, "What future Grandmaster? What are you talking about?"
Meng Dongchun crossed her arms, her neck long and slender. She raised her chin, her expression natural, and said without the slightest embarrassment, "To put it bluntly, I've taken a liking to you. I think you're a good person and I want to date you. If you're willing to date me, then of course you'll be the future master of my disciples."
Upon hearing this, Mingxi kept exclaiming in her heart, "Wow!"
As expected of Meng Dongchun!
They don't hide anything at all; they say what they mean directly.
Meng Dongchun's bluntness not only surprised Mingxi, making her eyes widen, but also left Lin Hai at a loss.
His eyes were wide open, his lips slightly parted, and his bronze skin had a dark reddish tinge.
"You, me, you..."
Lin Hai stammered, unable to utter a single complete word. He felt his face burning hot, and his brain was also on fire. He was completely unable to think, and his speech organs had also stopped working.
Meng Dongchun: "What, you're not interested in me?"
Despite saying that, Meng Dongchun's expression was confident, as if she was certain that Lin Hai would not have failed to take a liking to her.
"No, no!" Lin Hai quickly shook his head in denial.
Meng Dongchun teased him deliberately, "Nothing? Is it that you don't like me? Or that you're not interested in me?"
Lin Hai lowered his head shyly, deliberately avoiding Meng Dongchun's gaze, staring intently at the shoe, and whispered, "The next one."
Meng Dongchun put her hand to her ear: "Huh? What? The previous one? You really..."
Lin Hai suddenly looked up: "No! I'm interested in you and want to get to know you better!"
He whispered, "I'm willing to date someone."
Lin Hai's honest reaction pleased Meng Dongchun, who raised her eyebrows and laughed.
The neighbors who came to watch the excitement never expected that after witnessing the commotion of the Lin family's division of property, they would also get to see a young couple's love story.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect the eldest son of the Lin family to be so shy, despite his tall and strong appearance."
"Hey, who's that woman across from Lin Hai? I've never seen her before."
"I don't know either. It seems like she came here today to meet Lin Hai. Her surname is Meng..."
The neighbors chattered amongst themselves, their eyes mostly filled with good-natured teasing.
In stark contrast are the Lin family.
Strictly speaking, they are members of the Lin family outside of the second branch.
After the family division, the second branch of the Lin family has become a complete fan of Meng Dongchun. Mingxi believes that even if Meng Dongchun said that the earth is flat, the second branch of the Lin family would nod in agreement.
When they saw Lin Hai admit to having feelings for Meng Dongchun, they saw no opposition, only admiration.
If it weren't for so many people watching, Lin's parents and sister would probably have rushed up to answer for Lin Hai while he was stammering.
But the other members of the Lin family were not like that.
Grandpa Lin's face was gloomy. In his opinion, Lin's father's sudden demand to divide the family property was entirely due to Meng Dongchun's instigation.
Not to mention that he tried to gloss over the family division issue several times, and it was only thanks to Meng Dongchun's reminder and help that the neighborhood committee was able to successfully handle the matter.
Grandpa Lin hated Meng Dongchun to the core; the mere sight of her ignited a raging fire within him. But what was he hearing now?!
Lin Hai is going to date Meng Dongchun?!
No, he wouldn't agree. He wouldn't allow Lin Hai to bring this sharp-tongued brat into the Lin family!
Uncle Lin's family and Uncle Lin's third family thought the same way.
Lin Hai absolutely cannot date Meng Dongchun!
The Lin family is honest and easy to bully. Even though they've separated, they still live together, right? They still have a chance to coax the Lin family into continuing to be their workhorses. But if Meng Dongchun wants to date Lin Hai, the situation will be completely different.
Meng Dongchun is not someone to be trifled with; they can't control her at all, and Lin Hai's whole family is willing to listen to her.
As long as Meng Dongchun is around, they will never be able to get Lin Hai's family back to what they used to be.
Thinking this, Uncle Lin nudged Aunt Lin, hoping she would step forward to object. Aunt Lin did take a step as Uncle Lin expected, but she immediately stepped back.
Aunt Lin shrank her neck and shook her head. No, Meng Dongchun was really hard to deal with. If she went out, she would only be scolded. She couldn't win an argument with her at all.
Uncle Lin was so angry that he cursed under his breath.
You're always making a scene, aren't you? You can cause a fuss at home every day over something as trivial as an egg. Why are you backing down at this crucial moment?
Sure enough, women tend to mess things up at crucial moments!
Thinking this, Uncle Lin stepped forward, and as soon as he looked up, he met Meng Dongchun's smiling eyes.
Although the other person was smiling, there was no warmth in their eyes, they were icy cold, especially their dark eyes, which seemed to be saying, 'Speak up, I'm waiting to find fault with you.' In that instant, a chill ran down his spine.
Uncle Lin, like Aunt Lin, instinctively stepped back.
He silently tried to save face for himself.
He wasn't afraid of Meng Dongchun, nor was he backing down; he simply felt after careful consideration that rushing forward like this was inappropriate.
Lin Hai and Meng Dongchun have just started dating, and it's a fresh start. Even if he stood up and said a lot, it probably wouldn't change Lin Hai's mind. On the contrary, it's really inappropriate for an uncle to interfere in his nephew's love affair in public. Who knows what the neighbors would say if they saw it.
Forget it, forget it.
Uncle Lin convinced himself to hide behind his wife like a coward.
Grandpa Lin had been keeping a close eye on the commotion, and Uncle Lin also shrank back, inwardly cursing him as a good-for-nothing.
But he was unwilling to step forward.
It's too shameful and conspicuous for a grown man like him to interfere in his grandson's dating affairs!
Thus, although the other members of the Lin family were dissatisfied, not one of them stood up.
Meng Dongchun curled her lips into a contemptuous smile. She turned and waved to Lin Hai, saying, "Let's go, little darling. Come with me to find the apprentice and have him build the kitchen for your future master."
Lin Hai blushed and obediently followed.
Mingxi: ...
Wait, have they forgotten about her?
Mingxi gave a bitter smile. Have you ever seen a matchmaker who introduced a couple be forgotten by both parties involved?
That's her.
Fortunately, Lin Hai's family did not forget Mingxi. Lin's mother said apologetically, "Comrade Ming, I'm sorry to have made you watch the show today. Um, are you thirsty? Why don't you come inside and have some water?"
Mingxi waved her hand: "It's nothing, it's nothing."
She came today to introduce Lin Hai and Meng Dongchun to potential partners. Now that they are each other's partners, her mission is accomplished, and she can go home now.
She politely declined, saying, "Auntie, I won't drink the water. I have things to do at home, so I'll head back now."
Lin's mother nodded, took out a red envelope from her pocket and handed it to Mingxi: "Comrade Ming, thank you for making the trip today."
According to custom, a referral fee should be paid to the matchmaker for introducing the couple.
Mingxi accepted the gift with a smile, said goodbye to the Lin family, and then left.
Mingxi walked briskly, but it was already past 2 p.m. when she got home. Before leaving, Mingxi said she wanted to eat something nice today, and specifically told Zhao Sulan not to cook lunch, but to wait for her to come back so they could go out for barbecue together.
Seeing Mingxi return, Zhao Sulan exclaimed, "Oh, you're finally back! May I ask where you've been?"
Mingxi touched her nose and said guiltily, "Mom, please don't call me that, I'm embarrassed."
Zhao Sulan: "So you do know how to be embarrassed? Didn't we say we'd go out for barbecue together at noon when you got back? I've been waiting for you all noon and haven't even seen a shadow of you. What happened? Did something happen when Meng Dongchun and Lin Hai were looking at each other?"
Speaking of this, Mingxi got really excited and plopped down: "Well, something did happen! Mom, you wouldn't believe it, the two of them were looking at each other when the rest of the Lin family... then Grandpa Lin came over too... and then..."
Mingxi rattled off a whole story to Zhao Sulan about what had happened at the Lin family.
Zhao Sulan was also dumbfounded after hearing this.
In all her years as a matchmaker, she had never seen a man propose separating his family during the matchmaking process, let alone a separation that was facilitated by the woman's family.
Zhao Sulan remained silent for a moment and then sighed, "Old Master Lin's favoritism is too much."
It's normal to not treat all children equally in a family with many kids. Even five fingers are not all the same length, let alone children.
But forcing one child to show favoritism to the other two is really not a good idea.
She shook her head and said, "Just watch, Old Master Lin will regret this sooner or later."
If Uncle Lin and Third Uncle Lin were truly capable, it wouldn't be a problem. The key issue is that Zhao Sulan, just from what Mingxi said, knew that Uncle Lin and Third Uncle Lin weren't much to look at. They're both in their forties or fifties, yet they still rely on Old Master Lin, a man in his seventies, to take care of everything. It's utterly inappropriate.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about the Lin family. Mom, let's go eat barbecue now." Mingxi took Zhao Sulan's arm and swayed it back and forth: "If we go now, there won't be many people."
Zhao Sulan: "Alright, let's go."
She stood up, and the two of them had just stepped out of the house and were about to lock the door when they heard a voice behind them ask.
"Comrade, may I ask if this is Comrade Ming Ximing's home?"
Mingxi turned around and saw a man wearing a white shirt, light-colored trousers, and a pair of shiny leather shoes standing at her door.
She paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, this is Mingxi's house. I am Mingxi. You're looking for me?"
The visitor was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Mingxi to be so young.
However, he quickly composed himself and said with a smile, "Comrade Ming, my surname is Wei and my name is Wei Yong'an. I heard that my mother had a disagreement with you some time ago, so I came here specifically to apologize."
He spoke in a refined manner and adopted an extremely humble attitude. Mingxi quickly waved her hand and said, "Comrade Wei, you are too kind. I have long forgotten about what happened before."
Wei Yong'an: "Then we still need to apologize."
He handed over a net bag: "This small gift is to express my apology. I hope Comrade Ming will accept it."
With apologies and gifts on his plate, it would be impolite for Mingxi not to open the door and let him in for a drink of water. Left with no other option, she could only silently say goodbye to the barbecue for now and welcome Wei Yong'an inside.
Zhao Sulan helped brew some tea, and Mingxi poured a cup and pushed it to Wei Yong'an. Wei Yong'an didn't drink it, but instead said, "Actually, besides apologizing, I have another request to make today."
Mingxi: "Comrade Wei, please speak frankly."
She knew it; Wei Yong'an didn't seem to be offering a simple apology.
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Author's Note: My collection has surpassed 3,000! I'm so grateful for everyone's support! To celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway! [Milk Tea][Milk Tea] I'll be giving away red envelopes to 30 lucky readers who leave comments on this chapter. The system will draw the winners!
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