"I'm making this clear today: no one is allowed to touch a single penny of the money my brother left behind!"
“Little brother, do you think I’m after this money? Although the construction site lost money, it wasn’t much in total. I don’t care if I don’t get a share of the money. From now on, these three kids will have nothing to do with me.”
“Song Xia is already an adult, and the three siblings do not need to be adopted.”
“Song Xia is an adult, but Song Jun and Song Jiao are still young. Don’t they need our care at all? There will be plenty of trouble in the future. Ask your sister-in-law if she’s willing.”
The middle-aged man's deep voice and the middle-aged woman's sharp voice intertwined, giving Song Xia a headache. While the two were arguing, she slowly sorted through the memories in her mind.
In this world, she is the eldest sister in her family who has just lost her father. She has twin siblings. The people arguing are her aunt and uncle, and the matter they are arguing about is the compensation money for her father.
My father was a worker who died in an accident at the construction site. Because he wasn't wearing a safety helmet, the final compensation awarded was less than 400,000 yuan.
Four hundred thousand is a huge sum for an ordinary family, but for them, it's not much at all. After all, she has just come of age, and her twin siblings are only twelve years old. They live in the city and even have to pay for water. They will need money for a long time to come.
But this money caught the eye of the second aunt. She believed that as the aunt, she should take care of the three children in the future, so she should get a share.
However, the younger uncle was very upright. He believed that this was his older brother's hard-earned money and no one could touch it, so the two were arguing about it.
“Song Tianhui, you are upright, but are you going to drag your wife down with you? Do you dare say that these three children won’t come to your house for a meal in the future? And who will cook for you? I’m not after their money, but if we give all these hundreds of thousands to Song Xia, she’ll spend it all in two years without even realizing it, and then the burden will fall on us for nothing.”
Song Tianhui insisted, "Xiaxia is a good girl. I believe she won't misuse this money. No matter what you say, I just don't agree to divide this money."
Song Tianfang sneered angrily: "Fine, I won't take a penny of this money, but if those three ever encounter any difficulties in the future, don't blame me for not opening the door as their aunt."
As she spoke, she then provoked Song Tianhui's wife, Chen Na: "Sister-in-law, don't blame your second sister for not reminding you, other people's children are not easy to raise."
Upon hearing this, Chen Na's expression changed. She was also annoyed by her husband Song Tianhui's resolute decision. She wasn't greedy for her brother's compensation money, but her own family was also struggling, and she didn't want to have three more burdens in the future.
“Xiaxia is a sensible child and won’t misuse it. It’s my older brother who’s gone. If we take the compensation, what will outsiders think? If you really want money, that’s fine too. From now on, Song Jun and Song Jiao will be treated the same as my son. We’ll take care of them when they get married.”
Chen Na was even more unhappy about this. It was only 400,000 yuan, but she had to take responsibility for the lives of two children. If there was any difference in treatment between her and her son, it would cause gossip. Her second sister might even make a fuss. She thought about it again and again and sighed heavily. But if she didn't take the money, could she really just sit idly by and watch the three children come to her door in the future?
So he stood up and snorted, "If they run out of money in the future, you can take care of it if you want. We'll get a divorce then, so don't drag me and our son into this."
"What are you saying?" Song Tianhui sighed, then looked at Song Xia, who had remained silent.
"Xiaxia, this is all your uncle can do. I hope you can understand. From now on, you should take care of your younger brother and sister and live a good life."
"Uncle, I'll give you the money for Dad's funeral."
"No need." Song Tianhui waved his hands repeatedly. "Your dad is my brother after all. This little bit of money is what your uncle should pay. You'll have plenty of money to spend in the future, so be careful with your spending."
He paused again and again: "Don't take your aunt's words to heart. She didn't mean any harm. It's just that your uncle's family isn't having an easy time either. Come to your uncle's house for a reunion dinner during the New Year."
There are still more than two months until the Chinese New Year. He spoke cryptically, but Song Xia understood: he meant that Song Xia should not visit his home casually in the future.
Perhaps to outsiders these words seem heartless, but Song Xia felt that her uncle had done a great job. After all, from the chaos of her father's passing to his funeral and the arrival of his father's compensation, her uncle had handled everything. Moreover, he had even stopped her aunt from coveting the compensation.
She understood her aunt's concerns as well. After all, she had just come of age, and her younger siblings were still young. Who could guarantee that there wouldn't be trouble in the future?
"Uncle, don't worry, I will take good care of Xiaojun and Xiaojiao, and I won't misuse Dad's compensation money."
Song Tianhui hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed deeply, "You've suffered."
Song Xia remained silent. Was it bitter? It was indeed quite bitter. After all, she had just come of age. To make a person who had just come of age take care of two children who were only twelve years old, she was just the older sister, yet she had to take on the two as a lifelong burden. She was kidnapped, oppressed, and forced to the point of being unable to breathe. In the end, she had nothing and was looked down upon by others.
In her past life, she neglected her studies in order to better take care of her younger siblings. Her monthly exam scores kept getting lower and lower. Despite having always been a good student, she didn't even get into a second-tier university in the end.
She failed to get into a second-tier university, the local vocational colleges were not good, and the tuition fees for third-tier universities were frighteningly high, so she simply stopped studying and went straight to work.
Without a degree and with the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings, what kind of good job could she find? In the end, she could only work as a waitress in a nearby restaurant. Fortunately, she was young and pretty, and the restaurant was relatively upscale, so her salary was good at first. However, such restaurants don't hire older people, so she was laid off when she turned thirty.
In middle age, without a skill, one is naturally eliminated by society. Checking her pockets, she finds that all her money has been used to support her younger siblings. So she can only find another job in an ordinary restaurant. However, most restaurants don't last long and like to exploit their employees. So she keeps moving between various restaurants and factories, which is both hard and tiring, and she has no pension.
Looking at her younger siblings, all of whom had achieved academic success, she felt very gratified. However, they felt that she had harbored selfish motives and had been better to another person. They also felt that having her as an older sister was a disgrace, as they did not invite her to their weddings or family gatherings, let alone take care of her in her old age.
These two "cultured" people even took it for granted that she was just the older sister, and that the law did not stipulate that they had an obligation to support her in her old age. Moreover, they believed that they were able to live well because they were capable, and that the money they spent was all the compensation money left by their father. They thought that Song Xia, the older sister, was just incompetent.
Both of them took it for granted, completely forgetting that although 400,000 was a lot, they were only twelve years old at the time, and they liked to compare themselves with each other. It would never be enough to support them through their master's and doctoral degrees for so many years.
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