Jiang Xiaomian's grandmother had five children in total. The eldest, who was also Jiang Xiaomian's father, was the most useless, indulging in both alcoholism and gambling.
Grandma Jiang pretended she had never given birth to this son, but before she passed away, she was afraid that one day he would lose everything and even his home, so she made a will in advance, leaving the old house in her family to Jiang Xiaomian.
The old lady passed away, and no one wanted the two dilapidated houses she left behind. But when they heard that the government was going to build a road, the two houses that Grandma Jiang left behind happened to be within the demolition area. Once the policy was finalized, those two houses could be compensated at least three million yuan.
As soon as the news broke, the rest of the Jiang family pounced on Jiang Xiaomian like hyenas smelling blood.
Jiang Xiaomian wanted to sell the house to pay for her mother's medical treatment, but her uncles took turns on duty. Whenever anyone tried to get even a little closer to the old house, they would lie down in front of the door, which made it difficult to sell the house.
Qiao Xia sneered, "You really will do anything for money."
Jiang Tianci waved his hand dismissively, saying, "In this world, who doesn't live for money? When the old lady died, did your family contribute money or labor?"
"Your father didn't even show up at the old lady's funeral, and now that the land has been demolished, your family pocketed the money and ran away without a trace. Is that fair? Besides, we're not completely disregarding family ties. We'll pay the 100,000 yuan in cash!"
Jiang Xiaomian angrily said, "This money isn't even enough for my mother's surgery. You're clearly taking advantage of my misfortune."
Jiang Tianci raised his hand and said, "Don't say that. What do you, a little kid, know about the ins and outs of government demolition? By the time the compensation arrives, your mother might have already died. The 100,000 yuan that the relatives have pooled together for you will at least make your mother's departure look a little better."
Jiang Tianci adopted a savior-like posture, speaking with righteous indignation.
Jiang Xiaomian could no longer bear it and raised her fist to charge forward, but Qiao Xia grabbed her and held her down.
She carefully read through the contract twice. "To put it bluntly, you just want to spend 100,000 yuan to buy Jiang Xiaomian's old house."
“Yes.” Jiang Tianci stiffened his neck and looked down at her. “This is only because of our kinship. I’m telling you this: if he doesn’t hand over this house, none of us will have a good time.”
Qiao Xia smiled and handed the contract to Jiang Xiaomian. "Sign it."
“Miss Qiao…” Jiang Xiaomian looked at her in disbelief.
The Jiang family members all wore smug smiles. "Miss Qiao is indeed very knowledgeable..."
Qiao Xia raised her hand, "I haven't finished speaking yet. Since you want to buy it, shouldn't you have the money ready?"
Jiang Tianci clapped his hands and pulled out 100,000 yuan in cash from his worn-out briefcase. "We're not the kind of people who renege on debts. The money was prepared a long time ago."
In fact, in order to legally and legitimately reclaim the house left by Grandma Jiang, the Jiang family even spent two hundred yuan to consult a lawyer for advice.
To avoid further complications, the four families reluctantly pooled together 100,000 yuan, which led to several fights.
Qiao Xia looked at Jiang Xiaomian, and the two faced off for a few seconds. Under Qiao Xia's firm gaze, Jiang Xiaomian tightened her chin and signed the contract.
The moment the tears fell, I felt all my strength drain away.
Jiang Tianci excitedly reached for the contract in his hand, but Qiao Xia snatched it away first.
"What do you mean?" Jiang Tianci roared, frowning.
Qiao Xia gripped the contract with both hands, pretending to tear it up. "The house issue has been clarified, but nothing else has."
"No, let's talk about what you want..."
Qiao Xia is holding three million in his hands. He's worked so hard to get this hard-won prize, and he absolutely can't let it slip away.
"Any request is negotiable?" Qiao Xia pinched Jiang Xiaomian's chin, gently stroking the redness and swelling on his face with one hand.
Jiang Tianci froze on the spot. "What do you want?"
"How did you step on him just now? Why did Jiang Xiaomian step on him back exactly like that?"
Jiang Tianci pointed at Jiang Xiaomian, his hand trembling uncontrollably, "I am his elder, how can you expect him to trample on my dignity?"
"You don't want to?" Qiao Xia raised an eyebrow slightly and gently tore a hole in the contract. "Then let's keep dragging this out."
The Jiang family members who were originally standing next to Jiang Tianci suddenly stood against him. "Tianci, that's three million. We've spent so much time on this, we can't just let it all go to waste, can we?"
“Tianci, it was wrong of you to hit someone. As your uncle, just lower your head and apologize, and the matter will be over. We can still be relatives.”
The loophole in the contract has widened further. Qiao Xia said coldly, "I said, let Jiang Xiaomian retaliate in the same way he trampled on her."
"No, no, no, no..." The Jiang family members were afraid that she would really tear up the contract, so they all turned around and pressured Jiang Tianci.
"Everyone here is family. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who will know?"
Seeing that their attempts to persuade him had failed, one of them knelt down on the ground and pleaded, "Tianci, this house was the result of our collective effort. What does face matter now that we have money? Please, I'm begging you!"
Jiang Tianci looked at Qiao Xia with a sinister gaze, and the remaining members of the Jiang family quickly waved away the nurses who were watching.
Jiang Xiaomian looked at Qiao Xia with a complicated expression, remaining motionless for a long time.
Qiao Xia shrugged. "It's your decision."
"Coward!" Jiang Tianci laughed smugly. "If you don't dare to step on it, your uncle will get up."
Jiang Xiaomian's eyes were bloodshot, and she kicked him hard twice in the face. "It's true that my family didn't have any money for Grandma's funeral, but when she was in the hospital, did any of you people go even once? Wasn't it my mother and me who took care of her?"
"As soon as Grandma died, you couldn't wait to take her body, crying like grandchildren. In the end, it's all just about getting a share of the money people gave you as gifts. My dad was a scoundrel, and what about you?"
“A house full of ingrates, what right do they have to criticize me and my mother? Grandma didn’t give the house to you because she knew in her heart who was good to her. She said my sons were all raised in vain, those were her last words before she died.”
Jiang Xiaomian loosened her foot, slumped into the chair, and burst into tears to vent her frustration.
Qiao Xia patted him on the shoulder, then threw the contract at Jiang Tianci's face.
The Jiang family members who were watching turned pale and then red-faced. They silently helped Jiang Tianci up, made sure the signature on the contract was correct, and then hurriedly walked out.
The group started walking, but found Jiang Tianci still standing there. They quickly called out, "We got the contract, let's go, Tianci!"
Jiang Tianci looked at Qiao Xia with a sinister gaze, "You've finished settling your score, now it's our turn."
Jiang Tianci pointed to the red mark on his head that Qiao Xia had initially made with her high heels, "If you let me slap you once, we can call it even."
“Okay,” Qiao Xia readily agreed.
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