Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 501 - 501 496 Pluck Your Feathers

Chapter 501: Chapter 496 Pluck Your Feathers Chapter 501: Chapter 496 Pluck Your Feathers Ding Yamin had stayed for dinner at his grandfather’s house and spent some time chatting with him before getting up to walk home.

On his way back, he was thinking about asking his mother again for more information when he received a call from Guan Jiao.

“Ding Yamin, did your parents say anything to you after you got home?”

“I was actually going to ask you. My mom said that your family doesn’t agree with us getting married right after graduation. Do you know what this is about?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end, which caused Ding Yamin’s heart to jump, and he asked anxiously, “What happened? Is there a problem? If there is, tell me, and I will definitely help if I can.”

It wasn’t that Guan Jiao needed Ding Yamin’s help, but what her mother had said made her feel very upset.

She had always believed that her mother cherished her, because ever since she was little, her mother had never favored her brother over her and had never shortchanged her in material terms. The only thing her mother had said when she got into college was “Jiao Jiao, you are much older than your brother. When you graduate and start making money, mom and dad won’t take your earnings, but just remember to help your brother out.”

That didn’t seem like a big deal. Being the older sister and working first, giving her brother some pocket money, buying him clothes, and other things seemed perfectly normal, didn’t it?

She readily agreed, not making much of it.

Who knew that upon her return today she would hear that her second uncle’s daughter—a cousin of hers—had recently become engaged, and the cash part of the bride price alone amounted to sixty-six thousand, not to mention the customary ‘three golds’: a gold ring, gold earrings, and a gold necklace.

It just so happened that her cousin’s in-laws and Ding Yamin’s maternal grandmother lived in the same village, and they belonged to the same extended family. Among the people who had come to set the engagement that day was Ding Yamin’s maternal uncle.

Guan Jiao’s mother, thinking about her cousin getting sixty-six thousand under those circumstances, believed that for her daughter, a university graduate, it should be at least eighty-eight thousand.

Moreover, she couldn’t agree to her getting married right after graduation. After all the years spent on her education, she hadn’t yet started to make any money for the family, so wouldn’t it be a big loss if she were to marry into someone else’s family?

She should at least work for five or six years until her brother got into college and settled down, then she could consider getting married.

With these thoughts, Guan Jiao’s mother ended up sharing her views while chatting with others during the meal on the day of the engagement.

That afternoon, upon returning home, Ding Yamin’s uncle called and informed Ding Yamin’s mother…

Let’s not talk about what Ding Yamin thought for a moment; Guan Jiao herself was extremely uncomfortable. It turned out that the so-called fairness and equal treatment only applied when interests were not involved; once a situation like this arose, the scales would tip in favor of the son without a second thought.

Guan Jiao couldn’t understand—wasn’t raising a son their responsibility?

If they felt at a loss for not recouping the money spent on her, what did that make her?

Did they consider her as a kind of investment that was not worthwhile without a return?

Guan Jiao’s whole heart sank to the bottom, cold and heavy.

After hanging up with Guan Jiao, Ding Yamin felt equally unsettled.

Upon arriving home, before his mother could speak, he said, “Guan Jiao just called me. She told me to tell you both that her mother is her mother, and she is herself. She won’t listen to her mother, and won’t ask for the eighty-eight thousand bride price. As for her brother, that’s her parents’ responsibility, not hers.”

Ding Yamin’s father and mother were both stunned. The couple exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that it was over, that they couldn’t convince her to break up.

Sigh…

They both let out a sigh simultaneously. Ding Yamin, puzzled, asked, “Isn’t what Guan Jiao said good for us? Why are you sighing?”

Ding’s father looked at his son with a complex expression and said nothing.

Ding’s mother said sternly, “I’m worried about Guan Jiao, that child. With such an irresponsible mother, she’ll have enough trouble in the future.”

“Exactly, her parents, I mean, how could they do this? Raising a daughter just to support a son? What kind of people are they?”

Both husband and wife looked at their naive and simple-minded son, full of righteous indignation, and chose not to respond to his remark.

While Ding Yamin went to wash up, Ding’s father finally asked Ding’s mother, “What did you mean by what you just said? Why are you speaking up for Guan Jiao? Even if we don’t persuade him to break up with her right now, you can’t take Guan Jiao’s side.”

Ding’s mother looked at him coldly, “You expect me to say everything. You’ve planned this out well, haven’t you? If your son is determined not to break up and insists on marrying Guan Jiao, wouldn’t my opposition now sow a thorn in his heart? Or, what if this foolish boy can’t keep his mouth shut and tells Guan Jiao what I think? If they do get married in the future, then I, as the mother-in-law, can forget about having a good relationship with my daughter-in-law.”

After finishing, she glared at Ding’s father, “From now on, if you want your son to do something, tell him yourself. Don’t drag me into it.”

Ding’s father muttered softly, “How could that work? I have such a good relationship with my son. If I oppose him, won’t we argue? And if we argue, won’t that affect our peaceful coexistence… Ouch, what are you doing?”

In the short time it took Ding Yamin to go out to wash up, he returned to find his parents fighting in the living room—no, to put it simply, it was actually his mother single-handedly pounding away at his father’s head while holding his hair.

He stood by and watched for a moment before he couldn’t help but remind his mother, “Mom, be careful with your hands, there’s only so much left on my dad’s head. At least leave him a few hairs…”

“Son, quickly pull your mother away.”

Ding Yamin turned and walked away, “It’s not appropriate for me to get involved in you husband and wife’s matters. I’m going to bed.”

…

The next day was the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Yang Yan had to return to her own home to prepare for the New Year. Before leaving, she reminded Yang Dan, “If our second brother and sister-in-law come over today, you can’t start arguing with them again. Whatever happens between these two families doesn’t affect us, but it would upset mom and dad, especially since it’s the New Year…”

“I know,”

Yang Dan interrupted her sister, packed up the clothes, snacks, and cartoon books she brought for her nephew, and loaded them onto the car. After watching her sister bike out of the yard, she went back inside, put on her apron, and began a major cleaning operation.

Since her dad and sister had already bought most things, and she didn’t plan to stay at home long after the New Year, she decided not to prepare any special New Year goods.

As she was busy wiping and cleaning both inside and out, her second brother and sister-in-law arrived with their little nephew.

“Little auntie,”

Her sister-in-law had miscarriages twice in the first few years of their marriage due to pregnancy complications, and it was only after nearly a year of recuperation that she became pregnant with this nephew, who was now eight years old, cherished as if he were the apple of their eye.

Influenced by his mother, the child didn’t visit his grandmother’s house often, and naturally, he wasn’t particularly close to Yang Dan, his little aunt. In fact, Yang Dan was more familiar with her sister’s son than with this little nephew.

But after all, he was her nephew, and she did prepare three portions of everything when she went shopping.

“There is some chocolate and comic books for you inside the house. Go see if you like them?”

The little nephew agreed and also called out to his grandparents before happily running into the house.

Yang’s second brother was carrying a large piece of pork, and Yang’s sister-in-law was holding a bag that seemed to contain soy milk powder and the like, obviously brought for Yang’s mother.