Rebirth in 1986: Unforgettable Regrets
Chapter 92: Raking up Old Scores (Third Update)

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Raking up Old Scores (Third Update)

Tang Zhengde and Tang Mingli hurriedly grabbed Tang Zhengyuan, fearing that he would damage his own leg. If that were to happen, he wouldn’t even be able to walk normally, and that would be the end of everything.

"Uncle, without your leg, you won’t be able to walk normally in the future. Do you really want to never be able to stand up again for the rest of your life?" Tang Yue’s voice was cool and clear. In her past life, Uncle Tang hadn’t had this leg injury.

Now that his leg is injured, it is already very fortunate that he can walk normally in the future. Uncle Tang and Wang Aihua’s actions are nothing more than trying to shirk the medical expenses.

Tang Zhengyuan’s eyes were red with emotion as he pointed at Tang Zhengde and exclaimed, "Zhengde, this is the good daughter you have raised. My leg isn’t even ruined yet, and she can’t wait for it to be completely wasted."

Tang Yue’s lips moved, wanting to say something else, but Mingli quickly gave her a look and interjected, "Big brother, Xiao Yue didn’t mean anything else."

"Xiao Yue is still young, she’s also worried that you’ll hurt your own leg." Tang Zhengde hastened to smooth things over and exchanged glances with Mingli, saying, "Big brother, how about this, for the medical expenses this time, consider it a helping hand from Mingli and me."

"This leg is nearly useless now, I won’t be able to repay it in the future," said Tang Zhengyuan irritably.

Wang Aihua immediately started to cry, "As a widow, with Xiao Min and Xiao Xian still in school, I can’t afford to pay it back either."

"Big brother, we’re not asking you to pay it back immediately." Tang Zhengde was helpless. The medical bill added up to US$ 20, split between the two of us at ten yuan each wasn’t a small sum—nobody’s money is blown in by the wind.

"Zhengde, you and Mingli both have your own shops now, for you, this US$ 20 is just a matter of a few days’ work," Wang Aihua chattered on. "Zhengde, before you got married, your older brother always took care of you. And Mingli, when you were a child, one winter, you fell into a well. It was your older brother who discovered it."

Tang Mingli: ...

He did fall into a well when he was a child, in the dead of winter, and his older brother did discover him. But his second older brother was with him as well—his older brother was too scared to do anything, and if it wasn’t for his second older brother bravely saving him, he would have certainly been dead by now.

Wang Aihua actually had the nerve to say it was his older brother who discovered it?

If it had been only his older brother who found him, he would have certainly been dead.

"You mustn’t forget your roots. Back then, your older brother was so good to you all. Now that he’s in trouble, why can’t you help your older brother?" Wang Aihua scolded Tang Mingli and Zhengde as if it were only right and proper.

Wang Aihua’s voice was especially loud, attracting the attention of the surrounding people who began to whisper and point fingers.

Under these circumstances, the brothers, Tang Zhengde and Tang Mingli, could only agree.

Tang Yue held back her anger, returning home sulky and out of sorts.

Zhang Hualian asked, "Xiao Yue, what’s wrong with you?" While cooking, Zhang Hualian looked at Tang Yue, who had come home early by herself. With an angry expression, she looked as if someone had wronged her.

"Who has bullied you? Weren’t you going to register?" Zhang Hualian looked at Tang Yue worriedly, pulling her over and examining her up and down. Her clothes were neat, her ponytail still pretty, but her beautiful face was stern.

"I went to the hospital." Tang Yue still felt indignant on her father’s behalf when she thought about it. She said, "Mom, when Uncle Tang and Aunt Wang got married, they didn’t give you anything at all. During the division of the family property, they also took all the advantages. Later on, Aunt Wang blamed everything on you, borrowed money and never paid it back. Today we even paid their cab fare, and that’s fine, but the medical expenses for Uncle Tang’s treatment, which were supposed to be a loan, Aunt Wang has now simply gone ahead and defaulted on them."

"Ah?" It was the first time Zhang Hualian saw her daughter complain about something so vehemently, which caught her completely off guard. Her daughter spoke so suddenly that Zhang Hualian didn’t really understand. She asked, "What’s wrong? Is your uncle’s medical bill very expensive?"

"Twenty yuan." Tang Yue took a deep breath and said, "To tell the truth, it’s not a lot of money, but you didn’t see how Aunt Wang behaved in the hospital. She made it seem like Dad and Uncle Zhengde were the kind of people who would abandon their own kin."

Tang Yue gave a detailed account of what happened, and Zhang Hualian sighed, "Xiao Yue, don’t get angry. Your Aunt Wang has always been like this. Besides, she never fails to bring up the incident when Uncle Zhengde fell into the water."

"Mom, Uncle Tang is Dad’s own elder brother. Helping him with his leg within our capabilities is only right, but the way Aunt Wang and Uncle Tang act is truly disheartening."

Tang Yue spoke furiously, feeling pity for both her father and mother. Among siblings, when someone is in difficulty, it is perfectly understandable to help each other out. But she could not accept Wang Aihua’s actions.

Among relatives and friends, helping is a favor, not helping is the norm. Wang Aihua and Uncle Tang were essentially forcing Dad and Uncle Zhengde to commit to helping in front of everyone.

"Xiao Yue, school has already started, so drop these worries. It’s fine. We’ll just work a bit harder and earn more, it’s all the same." Zhang Hualian comforted her, then not long after, Wang Aihua and others came in.

Tang Zhengde carried Tang Zhengyuan in on his back.

Wang Aihua, walking at the front, complained as soon as she entered the shop, "Hualian, this shop of yours is too small, there’s not even a signboard."

"We don’t have the money for it, so we didn’t make a signboard," Zhang Hualian explained with a smile, serving tea and water for them, and shooed Tang Yue into the room, fearing that she might lose her temper on the spot and it wouldn’t look good for either family.

"This house costs one hundred yuan a year, I think it’s too expensive, the place is too small, and the house is really old," Wang Aihua started inspecting the place as soon as she came in and said when she entered the kitchen, "This kitchen is too small."

"It was used by our family before; we didn’t plan to open a shop," Zhang Hualian explained.

"The courtyard is quite nice, though." Wang Aihua went into the courtyard and instantly noticed the living room inside, as well as the rooms on both sides. Although they were not big, the couple Zhang Hualian had cleaned and tidied them up neatly.

"Oh, there’s even a wooden sofa? That’s so nice." Wang Aihua commented admiringly upon seeing the wooden sofa. Nowadays, everyone’s homes have wooden chairs, sofas made of wood were still quite rare.

"This is all old stuff left by the landlord," explained Zhang Hualian, as she showed them around from the inside out.

"Hualian, pour some boiled water for elder brother to take his medicine," Tang Zhengde called out.

Zhang Hualian was cooking in the kitchen when Wang Aihua saw some flaky meat and immediately unceremoniously took a piece to eat, then finally poured the water and went out.

Zhang Hualian looked at the plate of flaky meat with a bite out of it, quietly filled in the missing piece with some spare flaky meat. Xiao Yue liked flaky meat. There was little to go around in previous years, but now that times were slightly better, she made a bit more.