Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 499 - 499 494 The Account from Eight Years Ago

Chapter 499: Chapter 494: The Account from Eight Years Ago Chapter 499: Chapter 494: The Account from Eight Years Ago “Don’t tell me that when an old man has something, it should go to his son. Who the hell made that rule? Did giving birth to you and raising you leave me in your debt? Should the old man just stop living then? You’re not spawned from a rock, Yang Gangqiang. You have a father and a mother too. Call your parents over and ask them if what you’re saying is right or not. If you bought something for your parents and your sister-in-law or brother’s wife took it away, would you be perfectly content with that?”

The commotion in Yang Gangqiang’s house wasn’t small. By the time Secretary Yang had said these words, a crowd had already gathered at the front door. Some, driven by a strong sense of gossip, simply walked in and stood at the kitchen door, holding their bowls of rice and watching with relish as they ate.

This included Yang Dan’s second elder brother and his wife.

Yang’s second elder brother didn’t want to come at first; it was his wife who dragged him here.

By the time Secretary Yang asked if Yang Gangqiang knew that his mother had broken her leg, they had already arrived. Both of their faces turned somewhat sheepish upon hearing this because they knew about it but hadn’t gone to see her.

The two brothers were peas in a pod; neither had the right to criticize the other.

The only thing that made the second elder sister-in-law slightly better than the eldest was that she wasn’t shameless enough to take advantage of her in-laws. She belonged to the sort that would say, “I don’t want your stuff, but don’t bother me with your troubles.”

Overall, they were more or less the same; none were much better.

When Yang Dan turned around, she caught a glimpse of her second elder brother and his wife through the corner of her eye, but at that moment she couldn’t be bothered with them and acted as if she hadn’t seen them.

And because of what Secretary Yang had said, Yang’s eldest sister-in-law’s face turned from green to red, looking extremely ugly.

She couldn’t help but hold some resentment toward Secretary Yang. What about being the brigade secretary? Was being the brigade secretary such a big deal? No matter how you looked at it, this was a family matter, and even if you wanted to meddle, you should know your limits, right?

Nowadays, aren’t all sons and daughters-in-law like this? You speak so harshly, aren’t you afraid of offending the whole village?

She wasn’t wrong in her thinking, but Secretary Yang wasn’t looking to offend people; he was seizing the opportunity to give a hard knock to those sons and daughters-in-law in the village just like them.

Selfish and profit-seeking, lacking in kindness and filial piety; if this kept up, the entire village’s morale would be twisted.

After another round of scolding, Secretary Yang asked Yang Gangqiang what he planned to do.

“I, I will return the electric scooter to my dad right away, and also the rice cooker and soy milk maker. But this light stick, can I wait until I buy a new one tomorrow before taking it down and returning it?”

So the new one you’re buying can’t be for your parents to use? What a blockhead you are!

Secretary Yang was so angry he didn’t know what to say anymore; it seemed his words had been of no use.

“Hold on a second, Uncle Three,” Yang’s eldest sister-in-law said with a malicious look in her eye toward Yang Dan, her voice shrill, “I won’t quibble with Yang Dan about the dishes she broke at my house today, but she needs to repay the five hundred yuan we lent her years ago when she went to college.”

If they didn’t take this opportunity to get the money today, what would they do if she later denied owing it?

Yang Dan sneered, “I can pay you back the five hundred yuan, I can even add a hundred yuan in interest.”

Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Yang’s face lit up with joy. However, before she could fully recover from her surprise, she heard Yang Dan say, “But before you pay back this money, first return the one thousand and five hundred you owe to our parents.”

Without a second thought, Sister-in-law Yang roared angrily, “What one thousand and five hundred? When have I ever borrowed money from them? Don’t daydream in broad daylight, and look at the state they are in because they put you through school—they’re so poor. Even if I wanted to borrow, they would need to have it. Yang Dan, if you’re planning to default on the debt, just say so, I…”

“When did you borrow it? Eight years ago, when your mother was sick and needed surgery, you came crying for Dad to borrow money. The family only had two thousand yuan in total. Dad left five hundred for my tuition and household expenses and gave the rest, the one thousand five hundred, to you. What now? Your mom’s health improved, and you forgot about the money you borrowed from others? Is it your maternal family’s style to default on debts, or did you repay it but then pocket the money yourself?”

Sister-in-law Yang was taken aback; the money back then was her contribution as a daughter, and of course, her natal family wouldn’t pay it back.

Moreover, even if it were returned to her, she would never repay her in-laws. Once the money was in her hands, how could she possibly return it? There’s no such reasoning!

However, she indeed said she would borrow it at the time, but it’s been eight years since then, and this damn girl still remembers so clearly!

Sister-in-law Yang was filled with tumultuous thoughts; if the village secretary weren’t present today, she would have thrown a tantrum to get out of this, but now that wasn’t an option.

But before Sister-in-law Yang could think of an excuse to default, she heard her sister-in-law, Yang Yan, mockingly say, “I also remember this matter clearly. When Mom and Dad gave the one thousand and five hundred to big sister, she even cried with gratitude. It’s been eight years; I thought this debt was long settled. Turns out she intended to take it for free. Dad, if you just give this money to the eldest’s family like that, I won’t agree. You gave her family one thousand and five hundred eight years ago; you should give my family at least two thousand now!”

Upon his wife’s words, Yang Gangqiang’s face reddened with nowhere to hide his embarrassment, thinking to himself, ‘What mess are you stirring up now?’ He stood behind and silently tugged at her clothes, but Yang Yan paid him no heed and kept pressuring their father, “Dad, if the eldest doesn’t return the one thousand and five hundred, you must remember to give us two thousand. There are two sons; you have to be fair!”

Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Yang was nearly beside herself with rage, while Yang Gangqiang felt that he had completely lost face today. In truth, he hadn’t had much dignity even before, but since it had never escalated to this point and no one had explicitly pointed it out, he had managed to maintain a sense of decency, not feeling too shabby.

But with today’s commotion, he truly felt… the desire to die!

Wiping his face, Yang Gangqiang addressed the village secretary Yang, who was about to speak, “Uncle, I’ll go inside and get the money for Dad now.”

As he turned to leave, his arm was suddenly held tight by his wife, “What money are you getting? Who are you getting money for? Did I allow you to get it?”

“Slap!”

A crisp sound echoed as Yang Gangqiang fiercely slapped his wife with his free hand, glaring at her while internally cursing, ‘Greedy woman! He worked as a bricklayer at a construction team and actually earned quite a bit. All of his wages were handed to her; it wasn’t as if they couldn’t afford basic necessities.’

Yet, she chose to buy nothing, just keeping an eye on his parents’ home, grabbing anything they had and always taking from the elderly as though taking advantage made her more satisfied.

Well, are you satisfied now? I’ll let you be thoroughly satisfied!

The slap was forceful, and Yang Gangqiang, being used to manual labor, had a strong hand. Sister-in-law Yang’s head buzzed for a while, and her ears rang as if she had tinnitus, unable to make out what others were saying.

By the time she came to her senses and was able to hear again, Yang Gangqiang had already handed the money to Father Yang and was loading the rice cooker and soy milk machine onto the electric tricycle.

Before leaving, Yang Dan took six hundred yuan from her pocket, counted it out, and stuffed it directly into her elder brother’s hand. Without a second glance at him, she turned, mounted the electric tricycle, and with Father Yang and Yang Yan, rode off into the distance…