CHAPTER 208: CHAPTER 127: UNGRATEFUL WOLF, NOT MY PLACE

"Uncle, do you need something?"

"Wanwan, what’s with that tone? Does an uncle need a reason to call his niece? Why didn’t you answer your phone yesterday? Are you avoiding your uncle, or are you ashamed of me?"

"I’ve been out gathering material these days; the signal is poor."

"Gathering material? What job is that? Our whole family is back from the United States, and we’re heading home soon. You’re at home, right?"

Lin Wanwan chuckled, "Uncle, didn’t you sell the house last year because you said you’d never return to the country? There’s no home here now, right?"

Lin Zhantian was momentarily stunned, then snapped angrily, "Wanwan, what do you mean by that? Selling the house to you is not letting outsiders benefit. It wouldn’t have been at that price if it were sold to someone else. Besides, I’m still your uncle, shouldn’t you welcome me home? Don’t forget who raised you. Don’t be an ungrateful wretch."

Lin Wanwan sneered internally and retorted, "Uncle, I may be young and haven’t read as much as you, but my memory isn’t bad. The house was bought at market price; I didn’t shortchange you a penny.

Moreover, it was my grandparents who raised me, which has nothing to do with you, Uncle. I wouldn’t dare bear the accusation of being ungrateful.

As for you, Uncle, you visited the country only once every few years while my grandparents were alive. Have you forgotten? You and Aunt didn’t visit or care for Grandpa in his last days in the hospital once."

"What’s the point of bringing this up now? Wouldn’t we have gone to the hospital if we hadn’t been abroad? You shouldn’t be ignorant of how hard it was to return these years, being a university student. By the time we were out of quarantine, your grandpa had already been moved out of the hospital.

Now you, a younger generation, are here to criticize me? Did your education go to the dogs? Back then, although it was your grandparents who looked after you, weren’t you living in my house?"

Lin Wanwan, not in the mood to argue further, interrupted straightforwardly, "Uncle, what do you want from me? If you’re just back for a visit, it’s unnecessary. If there’s something else, just let me know."

"Oh, you’re not good at handling this; let me take over." From the other end came the voice of Lin Wanwan’s Aunt, Xie Yuanying.

"Wanwan, our whole family is back in the country this time. It’s indeed better here than abroad, don’t even mention the pandemic there.

Your cousins are back to study at university here as well. You haven’t met them yet, so how about we all have dinner at home tonight? I’ll order some food and have it delivered, so you youngsters can get to know each other. What do you think?"

Xie Yuanying’s tone was unexpectedly warm, a stark contrast to her cold and arrogant demeanor from last year when she kicked her out.

What is going on? Could they have found out about the antique in her possession and are up to something? Their sudden overtures must mask ulterior motives.

Lin Wanwan replied, "If we’re having a meal, just reserve a private room at a restaurant; no one entertains at home nowadays, it’s too much hassle. Since you just returned, Aunt, I’ll handle it and get back to you once everything is arranged."

As for when she’ll contact them again, well, that remains uncertain. After all, she already owes Xiao Junning one meal, and Lu Shouyue another, so one more doesn’t matter.

"Well... alright then, let’s leave it at that for now."

After hanging up, Lin Wanwan exhaled deeply.

These relatives, who kicked her out of the house immediately after her grandpa passed away, what kind of trick are they up to now! They certainly have an agenda for coming back; there’s no way it’s just a family visit.

She knew, all too well, that she’s probably seen as nothing but a burden to them. They wouldn’t be visiting anyone’s family but their own, absolutely not hers.

Back home, after putting things away and retrieving packages from the porch cabinet, Lin Wanwan closed the door and checked the real-time WeChat from Lu Shouyue on her phone.

Her calligraphy was third in the auction and was about to be up. The starting bid from Lu Shouyue’s auction house was one million, and according to him, it wouldn’t be a problem for it to fetch millions.

Having a chance at millions made Lin Wanwan quite satisfied, especially since it was a piece that Xiao Chong had casually written when he came over for dinner.

"Ding dong! Ding dong!" As she was chatting with Lu Shouyue on WeChat, the doorbell rang. Looking up at the screen from her computer monitor, it was the housekeeper she had hired.

The visitor was a woman in her fifties, whom Lin Wanwan recognized from the same village before the relocation, and from the same family clan. The Lin family originally lived together, with half the village sharing the surname Lin until they dispersed after the relocation.

"Auntie, what brings you here?" Lin Wanwan greeted her. The woman probably only just qualified for retirement to receive agricultural insurance, but her seniority within the family was high, being in the same generation as Lin Wanwan’s grandfather.

The woman warmly smiled at Lin Wanwan, "Now that there’s no land, even planting vegetables in the flower beds gets removed by the property management, saying we can’t plant anything. I can’t sit idle, so I took a job here to clean.

Keeping busy is good for health. When I stayed home looking after my granddaughter, my daughter-in-law would nitpick, so I let her do it herself, while I just contribute financially each month."

She then pointed to the small flower bed in the yard of the villa, "Your grandparents were wise to sell multiple houses for a villa; they can still plant vegetables in the yard.

Living in a villa is way more comfortable than a high-rise! Our neighbors downstairs complain about every little thing, one moment about the noise of children playing, the next about clothes dripping water after being hung to dry. Such nitpicking types exist too."

Auntie was the village’s renowned chatterbox and didn’t stop talking upon seeing Lin Wanwan.

Still, as she spoke, she efficiently began cleaning, not wasting any time.

Lin Wanwan just listened with a smile, occasionally responding briefly, and Auntie could continue on without anyone prompting her.

"Wanwan, do you know? Lin San’s grandson was accepted as a pilot. They plan to have a family gathering, probably bringing mooncakes in a few days."

Lin Wanwan replied offhandedly, "That’s impressive! Becoming a pilot isn’t easy."

"It sure isn’t," Auntie continued her chatter, and within the two-plus hours of cleaning the house, Lin Wanwan caught up on all the family and neighborhood gossip.

Meanwhile, the calligraphy fetched a final auction price of 2.83 million yuan, bought by a collector from Hai City. This exceeded Lin Wanwan’s expectations, and she was naturally satisfied with no complaints.

After the auction house took their commission and personal tax was paid, another windfall arrived, and Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but smile, sending a smiley face to Lu Shouyue, "Thanks for your efforts, Mr. Lu. Please keep my information confidential, except for the buyer."

Lu Shouyue replied, "OK, I’ll handle it. Don’t worry."