Reborn in the 80s, Get Rich by Eating Melons

Chapter 440: Chapter 440: Swelling your face in front of me is useless

Just before the holidays, they were living comfortably, shopping for clothes and getting their hair done. But in less than half a month, they were suddenly evicted. Lin Fengying and Si Xiaohui couldn’t accept such a reversal of fortune and cried for several days.

Seeing the date to pay the rent approaching and the landlord knocking on their door, they didn’t dare to answer.

Realizing they couldn’t continue in this way, Lin Fengying decided to approach Si Chen for a loan. However, not only did she find out that Si Chen wasn’t around, she also learned that he was about to go abroad. The news left her feeling like her world was collapsing, and she collapsed in a hospital corridor.

Si Xiaohui felt deeply humiliated. Managing to pull her mother outside the hospital, they thought for a long time before deciding to ask Lin Man for help.

Upon finding out that Si Weimin was going to be jailed, Si Chen divorced Tong Yao and that he was also planning to go abroad, Lin Man felt victorious and her mood was excellent.

Given Si Chen was moving abroad, Lin Fengying, and Si Xiaohui were no longer of any use to her. Lin Man wasn’t interested in dealing with them and promptly finding a way to refuse their request for a loan.

"Auntie Lin, Xiaohui, I really want to help you, but I genuinely don’t have the money. I haven’t been working for a long time. My mom still expects me to contribute to the household expenses every month. I truly have no money available."

This mother-daughter duo were audacious, asking for a hundred yuan when they barely knew her. Why should she lend them so much money when there’s no familial obligation?

"..." Rejected from her first plea for a loan, Lin Fengying was so embarrassed she didn’t dare to say anything more.

Yet Si Xiaohui boldly retorted: "Even if you don’t have a hundred, you must have thirty or fifty yuan, right?" She forgot to modify the brash tone she got accustomed to using during better times. Her tone towards Lin Man sounded as if she was owed money.

A look of contempt flashed in Lin Man’s eyes, and her reply was far from polite.

"Even if I had thirty or fifty yuan, I can’t lend it all to you, right? They say one helps in emergencies, not poverty. If you’re truly penniless, you should ask Si Chen or your younger son for money. Asking me, a stranger, is inappropriate."

Lin Fengying hung her head in shame, wishing to drop dead. Now she understood that the only reason Lin Man had been courteous to her was because of her sons and their connection to Si Weimin.

Now that her elder son was moving abroad, and Si Weimin was in jail, she couldn’t even afford rent. Lin Man’s true character was revealed.

Recalling all that had happened, the regret hit Lin Fengying hard.

Si Xiaohui, unable to take this humiliation, pointed a finger at Lin Man and yelled, "Lin Man, what’s your true face? All we asked you for was a small loan, if you can’t give, then fine! Even if you were to lend us now, we wouldn’t want it!"

Lin Man scoffed, "You’re really something. If you’re so proud, you should go and earn your own money! Hopefully, you won’t end up asking your younger brother for money once again."

"That’s none of your concern," Si Xiaohui glared at Lin Man, her face twisted with hostility.

Hearing these words, Lin Man suspected that they were probably planning to call her younger son for money. This reminded her of Tong Xiangqiao and Lin Sicheng: people who refuse to work and relied on exploiting those who do.

She turned to Lin Fengying, "Creating unnecessary problems and ruining your elder son’s marriage, now regretting because you can’t make a living for yourself and trying to leech off your younger son. They’re really unfortunate to have a mother like you."

"..."

Lin Fengying also felt regretful, but not because she had realized her wrongs. It was simply because she couldn’t stand her current hardship.

Everything had already happened, so what’s use of regretting now?

Si Xiaohui hadn’t connected her brother’s divorce from Tong Yao to Lin Man. But hearing Lin Man’s words, it dawned on her. Wasn’t Lin Man responsible, at least in part, for their divorce?

With this realization, Si Xiaohui immediately retorted, "If it weren’t for you stirring up trouble between them, my mom would not have been so keen on breaking up their marriage. Wasn’t it you who suggested that we bring my brother’s child here?"

Lin Man, scoffing, admitted, "Yes, it was my suggestion, but Tong Yao and Si Chen weren’t divorced then, right? If you hadn’t upset my uncle to the point of hospitalization, would Tong Yao have divorced Si Chen?"

Si Xiaohui was at a loss of words. It was indeed her fault to a certain extent that her brother was divorced, but it wasn’t entirely on her. Her mother had also played a part.

If her mother hadn’t constantly alluded to her own death and insisted on delivering dumplings, none of this would’ve happened.

Seeing Si Xiaohui’s discomfort brought Lin Man more satisfaction. She didn’t hold back as she continued to belittle her.

"Coming from an impoverished village to Kyoto and you think you’re some kind of a splendid peacock. But have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror? A family from a poor village marries a city girl and yet aren’t content, even being picky and choosy. You think your family is better than everyone and it’s really nauseating."

Lin Man despised Tong Yao, but what she loathed more were people like Lin Fengying and Si Xiaohui. They’re nothing, but they still hold themselves in high regard, thinking their family is somehow superior, constantly causing trouble at home and completely ignoring where they come from. Such people were the most repugnant.

Lin Man had never held this mother-daughter duo in high regard.

They were attracting glances from passersby, making Si Xiaohui feel as if she was stripped naked and humiliated, "Lin Man, don’t go too far."

"Too far?" Lin Man raised her eyebrows, her voice amplified, "Are you saying these aren’t the facts? Look at you, country bumpkins trying to imitate city folks and end up like chickens dressed up as peacocks. Every time I go out with you two, I feel embarrassed."

"Enough!" Lin Fengying couldn’t take it anymore, raising her hand to slap herself, "I deserve to die. I shouldn’t have come to ask for a loan, it was my disruptive behavior that harmed my sons. I deserve to die, I don’t deserve to be their mother."

Si Xiaohui quickly held her, "Mom, what are you doing?!"

"Save this act for your children! Slapping yourself in front of me will get you nowhere," Lin Man sneered.

"Mom, let’s go."

Si Xiaohui shot Lin Man a fierce glare, then helping Lin Fengying, they left.

Now that her uncle had been arrested and her older brother didn’t care about them, she and her mom could only rely on each other. If something happened to her mom, how would she survive?

All the way home, Lin Fengying cried, and she was still crying when they reached their rented apartment. Unfortunately, they ran into the landlord. With much pleading, they managed to buy themselves another two days.

Watching the landlord walk away, Si Xiaohui was almost in tears, "Mom, what are we going to do now? In two days, we’ll be sleeping on the streets."

"Maybe... we should give your younger brother a call," Lin Fengying struggled to suggest. She was genuinely out of options.