The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Old Man Lin took two more puffs on his pipe and said slowly:

"I heard the Jiang family sent a betrothal gift of five hundred yuan. Third brother, what are your plans?"

The question made Mr. and Mrs. Lin and Bao Ya frown. The Jiang family had just left, and no one had appeared at the old house that morning. Now they had heard about it.

Bao Ya looked at Old Man Lin with a half-smile, her eyes full of sarcasm. This old bastard is truly inhuman; he hides his gold bars and refuses to hand them over, while finding ways to leech off them.

"Let Baoya take them all back to her husband's family. I'm useless. I've been dragged down by my older brother all these years. I can't even afford a decent dowry. How can I have the face to covet my daughter's dowry?"

Lin Laosan said in an unfriendly tone that the three hundred yuan or so his family received when the family divided the property had already chilled his heart, and now they were trying to take Bao Ya's betrothal gifts. He really had no intention of being filial to his father.

Hearing him say that, the Lin couple were not calm. What did he mean by implicating them? They hadn't separated their households; they were all from the same family.

Just as Lin Laoda and Li Jinxiang were about to speak, Lin Laohan glared at them, and they swallowed their words.

"Third son, let me make a deal with you. Do you think we could lend some of Bao Ya's betrothal gifts to Xiao Hong? He's getting on in years and it's time for him to get married. You don't want to see him remain a bachelor, do you?"

Hearing what Old Man Lin said, Lin Dahai was so angry that he laughed.

"Dad, whether Lin Xiaohong stays single or not is none of my business. His father is still alive, it's none of my concern as his third uncle. My daughter has never been raised by the Lin family, so why should I covet her dowry? Forget about it."

With that, Lin Laosan turned his head away, refusing to look at Lin Laohan again. He had never uttered a word in the countless arguments he and his mother had had over what to give Baoya.

"Third son, how dare you speak to your father like that? What kind of son are you? Hurry up and apologize to your father."

"That's right, third son. Your parents raised you all these years, you can't be ungrateful. Your father is begging you for something so small and you won't even agree to it."

Boss Lin and Li Jinxiang are disgusting people again.

Bao Ya watched coldly from the side, pondering how to deal with them. These people were like mad dogs, ready to jump out and bite you at any moment. She had to subdue them once and for all, make them afraid, and never dare to mess with her again.

Lin Laosan and Su Ruyi were so angry that their faces turned red, and they couldn't utter a single word. In this era, being labeled as unfilial could suppress eighty percent of family conflicts.

"You don't need to ask my parents anymore. I'm taking all the betrothal gifts with me. Li Jinxiang, don't think I don't know your underhanded tricks. You gave me 500 yuan as betrothal gifts, and I won't give you a single penny. You should thank me for getting so much money out of you."

When I go to the city in the future, I will try to maintain my relationship with Lin Daya and Lin Xiaoquan, and apply what I learned from you to them as well.

Bao Ya looked at the three people in the room and said, word by word, that she was not joking and that she was determined to get back the two hundred yuan IOU in her hand.

"Tch~, you think you can beat me?"

Li Jinxiang didn't take Bao Ya's words to heart. In her eyes, even if Bao Ya married into the city, she wouldn't be a worker; she'd just stay home doing laundry and cooking. What skills could she possibly have? Her son, on the other hand, was a genuine worker.

Old Man Lin felt uneasy after hearing this. His eldest grandson was alone in the city, and if Bao Ya whispered in her husband's ear and actually did something to his grandson, it would be a huge loss. The old man began to hesitate.

"Baoya, look at you, how can you talk to your elders like that? Your grandfather came to ask you for a favor, you can't not even give him face, you are still a daughter of the Lin family. Dad, don't you think so?"

"A girl from the Lin family? You have to bring your own food to eat at the Lin family's house. My relationship with the Lin family is just that we share the same surname."

If you have any objections, I'll go to the commune and change it later, won't that solve the problem?

Bao Ya didn't care about what they were saying; whether someone was filial or not was none of her business. She remembered that the original owner of this body used to argue with Granny Lin since she was a child. Every time Granny Lin saw her, she would call her a good-for-nothing, a cheapskate, and even gave her the nickname "cheap girl."

Later, Uncle Qi led the village elders to the Lin family and said that if Granny Lin dared to mistreat Su's granddaughter again, they would make the whole family get out of the village. Only then did Granny Lin dare not shout anymore.

"Bao Ya, how can you say that? No matter what, you have the blood of the Lin family flowing in your veins. We're still connected even if our bones are broken."

"Uncle, you really know how to talk. Why don't you pay back all the money I've spent on the Su family over the past eighteen years, and then I'll acknowledge you as family."

Bao Ya didn't care at all. Not to mention her, even the original owner of this body didn't care about the Lin family. She was too lazy to waste any more words with them and was about to walk out after saying that.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Mr. and Mrs. Lin became uneasy and quickly tried to signal to Old Man Lin with their eyes.

Thinking of the five hundred yuan, Old Man Lin gritted his teeth and forced himself to say to Bao Ya:

"Bao Ya, Grandpa has no choice but to come and beg you. I can't just watch Xiao Hong remain a bachelor. I'm so old now and I don't have any other thoughts. I just want to find a wife for my grandson."

As he spoke, Old Man Lin stood up, extended one of his hands (like Er Kang's hand), his eyes slightly red, as if he wouldn't live for more than a few days.

Bao Ya glanced at him. This old man was really good at acting. If it weren't for the fact that he had dug up the things he had buried in front of his great-grandmother's grave, she would have really thought that he was desperate.

"Yes, my uncle also committed a sin, why did he have so many money-losing children? He had no ability to raise them, and instead he became a burden to you, old man."

"Bao Ya, please have pity on your grandpa and help them out. I'll kneel down for you."

As he spoke, Old Man Lin made a gesture to kneel down. Seeing Old Man Lin's posture, Lin Dahai's eyes turned red with anger.

"Father, what are you doing? Aren't you shortening the child's lifespan?"

As he spoke, he tried to pull his old man up. Seeing him come over and pull, Old Man Lin became even more enthusiastic.

"It's my fault for being useless and causing you all trouble. I'm sorry, Dad. Third brother, that's your own nephew. Can you really watch him toil in the dirt his whole life?"

As she spoke, she wiped away non-existent tears with her sleeve.

Looking at the people putting on an act in front of her, Bao Ya became increasingly impatient and pulled her father over.

"Tell him to kneel! Anyone who doesn't kneel today is a coward! If you don't die right before my eyes, I won't pay a single penny!"

Lin Dahai was startled, and Old Man Lin was also so startled that he stumbled and fell to his knees on one knee.

There was a moment of silence. Then Lin Dahe spoke first:

"Bao Ya, you're being incredibly unreasonable! Your grandfather is so old, and you actually made him kneel before you? Aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan at such a young age!"

"Isn't this what you forced him to do? He's really going all out for your son. You, as his father, are much better than others."

As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Dahai, making Lin Dahai feel guilty.

"Bao Ya, you can't be so heartless as to make your grandfather kneel before you. If you ruin your reputation, and word gets back to the Jiang family, they might not want you anymore!"

Li Jinxiang looked gloating, wishing she could ruin the marriage immediately. Ever since she found out how much the Jiang family was giving them as a dowry, she had been so anxious that she couldn't sleep.

"If you don't tell, how will anyone know? If word gets out, it will be you who said it."

I'll ask you one last time, are you leaving or not?

Bao Ya glanced at Li Jinxiang, and spoke with a half-smile, but her tone was cold.