CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 26: SEEING A LIVING GHOST

The country has banned arranged marriages now, yet her aunt, who’s already estranged, has the audacity and qualification to collect a bride price on her behalf?

Truly shameless!

If this were decades later, Lin Xiang would definitely write an article to denounce such bizarre relatives!

Aunt Lin’s face turned colorful from Lin Yun’s few words, but she held onto her elder demeanor, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself before continuing in an air of superiority, "I heard from your mom that you’ve got a spot as a female worker in a textile factory."

"Since you can’t handle the hardship of work, why don’t you give up that spot? I’ll let your Sister Fangfang take the job. Don’t worry, I won’t take it for free, there’ll be benefits for you too!"

Lin Xiang had long guessed this was the reason Aunt Lin came to disturb her morning rest. She silently cursed Mrs. Lin in her heart.

She hates it when people can’t keep things to themselves, nor keep their mouths shut!

The key is, she already told Mrs. Lin she had decided to go back to repeat her sophomore year and didn’t plan on taking the textile factory worker’s spot!

Yet here we are, just one night later, and Mrs. Lin spilled the beans!

Lin Xiang’s peripheral vision caught sight of Mrs. Lin hiding in a corner by the door. She threw on a coat, walked over, and grabbed Mrs. Lin’s sleeve, not letting her hide.

"Mom, your elder sister comes to our home, acts like it’s hers, and even considers hitting your daughter, and you have no reaction to that?"

Mrs. Lin awkwardly replied, "Well, she didn’t actually hit you."

"That’s because my brother stepped in to protect me! What if she really did hit me? Anyway, I won’t argue with you about that now. Did you spread the word about the spot?"

"You said you couldn’t handle the work’s hardship yourself. I thought we shouldn’t waste the opportunity and considered selling the spot. Didn’t your aunt say she wouldn’t treat you badly? Why don’t you discuss it with her?"

Lin Xiang smiled a cold, deadpan smile at Mrs. Lin.

Mrs. Lin felt guilty, avoiding Lin Xiang’s eyes, looking everywhere but at her.

"I just don’t get it. She treats us like this, and you still take her seriously?"

They should sever ties with Aunt Lin completely, like her and Lin Yun, best if never speaking again even in death!

"She’s my elder sister. When I was young, she used to carry me. She said those things to me; what am I supposed to do?"

Lin Xiang was no longer interested in hearing what Mrs. Lin had to say.

She considered it a generational knot tying them with familial love, but Mrs. Lin being willing to forgive Aunt Lin didn’t mean Lin Xiang was too.

Having transmigrated into this world, she barely shared any mother-daughter bond with Mrs. Lin, let alone with Aunt Lin.

Lin Xiang returned to her bedroom, still smiling, and looked at Aunt Lin, "Aunt, do you really want this spot?"

Aunt Lin was unsurprised by the change in Lin Xiang’s attitude.

She had her little sister in the palm of her hand; an insignificant girl like Lin Xiang was no big deal.

Lin Yun had been shielding Aunt Lin out of a protective stance but withdrew his hand silently when he saw Lin Xiang like this, filled with endless disappointment.

"When are we going to handle the paperwork?" Aunt Lin said coldly, as if she were doing Lin Xiang a favor.

Lin Xiang kept smiling and extended her right hand towards Aunt Lin, "No rush, give me the money first."

"Money? What money?"

"Of course, the money for buying the spot!" Lin Xiang deliberately feigned a surprised look, "You weren’t thinking of taking the spot for free, did you? Surely, at your age, you understand basic social dealings, right?"

"Even real brothers settle accounts clearly, let alone we’re relatives by marriage. You nearly sold me off for a bride price of ten or so dollars. Don’t think I’ve stupidly forgotten that, wagging my tail to please you!"

Does she look like she has "sucker" written all over her face?

Lin Xiang didn’t even give Aunt Lin a chance to speak and bombarded her with words, leaving Aunt Lin stunned for a good while.

Unable to out-talk the eloquent Lin Xiang, Aunt Lin stubbornly invoked her elder status, "Your mom agreed to it!"

"If she agreed, go get the spot from her then. Anyway, my spot isn’t leaving for anything less than five hundred!"

"Five hundred! Why don’t you just rob me?" Aunt Lin screamed, clearly not expecting Lin Xiang to ask for so much.

Lin Xiang looked at Aunt Lin as if she were an idiot, "This is a spot at a textile factory, a factory that just signed a contract with foreign traders! The benefits of a textile factory are great. A female worker earns at least thirty a month, over three hundred sixty a year. Five hundred is just a year and a half’s salary."

"If you’re not willing to part with that money but still want a freebie, where do you think that opportunity exists? Go home, sleep on it; maybe you’ll get everything in your dreams!"

"You, you, you..."

Aunt Lin, unable to argue with Lin Xiang, resorted to pointing at her.

Lin Xiang cheerfully raised her hand as if to count fingers, reminding Aunt Lin of the pain she’d felt earlier, so she quickly withdrew her hand, glaring angrily at Lin Xiang, "Just you wait, I’ll have your mom talk to you!"

"Oh dear, I’m so scared!" Lin Xiang patted her chest, but the fake smile on her face remained unchanged.

Aunt Lin stormed out, finding Mrs. Lin still standing in the corner.

"Zhao Xiuli, didn’t you say you could handle the spot for me? Look at this mess; how are you going to deal with it?"

Mrs. Lin looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, not meeting Aunt Lin’s gaze.

"Didn’t the girl say as long as you give five hundred, you can have the spot? If you’re unwilling to spend the money and just want it for free, what can I do?"

"That’s not what you said this morning!"

"I didn’t expect you to have the nerve to want the spot without paying anything. Didn’t you hear what the girl just said? The textile factory’s wage is at least thirty a month; in a year and a half, you’ll earn it back. Everything after is profit."

"Sister, if you’re reluctant to spend, that’s fine. I’ll find someone else; maybe I can sell it for more than five hundred."

Mrs. Lin’s voice grew louder with each word, starkly contrasting her meek demeanor earlier.

"Unbelievable!"

Aunt Lin cursed a few times, turned, and left.

Who knows if she went home to gather money or gave up on the spot.

As soon as Aunt Lin left, Mrs. Lin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to find Lin Xiang.

Seeing nothing left for him to do, Lin Yun hurried off.

His farm work wasn’t done yet. If he didn’t head back soon, he wouldn’t earn a full day’s work points.

If it weren’t for Tianya, the brigade leader’s daughter, telling him Aunt Lin suddenly showed up at home, he wouldn’t have dropped everything to rush back.