Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 419: Chapter 409 Why Is It That Nothing Good Ever Happens When We Speak of Shen Yunxiu

Shen Yunfang closed her eyes for a moment, realizing that this quarrel was inevitable. Why was it that whenever Shen Yunxiu was mentioned, there was never any good news?

"Aunt, refusing to acknowledge one’s own kin isn’t the same as letting Shen Yunxiu’s family move into my house. If that’s what it means to refuse to acknowledge my kin, then so be it. My house will never be open for Shen Yunxiu to live in." Shen Yunfang didn’t budge an inch. She already bore a grudge against Shen Yunxiu, and she would have to be out of her mind to let an enemy stay in her home and bring disaster upon herself.

Auntie Shen saw that it was truly impossible for her daughter to move in with Shen Yunfang, so she lowered her demands, "Alright, you say you won’t allow your cousin Yunxiu to live in your house, I won’t force that issue. After all, a melon forced off its vine isn’t sweet. But, that courtyard house of yours, just lend it to Yunxiu for a while. You can’t refuse that, right?"

Auntie Shen thought she had taken a step back, and that no matter what, Shen Yunfang couldn’t oppose her on this, especially since Shen Yunfang didn’t live in that courtyard house—it stood empty. Letting her daughter borrow it for a while shouldn’t be a big deal.

"I don’t agree." Shen Yunfang still refused, without dragging her feet.

"What? What did you just say?" Auntie Shen’s face was full of disbelief.

"My house is not to be lent out to anyone, especially not to Shen Yunxiu. Auntie, you haven’t forgotten what Shen Yunxiu did to me, have you? I’ve already severed ties with her. I can’t be concerned with whether she lives or dies." Shen Yunfang spoke her mind with no hint of politeness. She had realized that with Shen Yunxiu in the middle, it was impossible for her to maintain a good relationship with her uncle and auntie. She wasn’t going to accommodate Shen Yunxiu just because of this, so she might as well clear the air once and for all, stopping her elders from harboring such notions in the future.

Last time, the disagreement over lending the house had caused unhappiness with her uncle and auntie, but even after Shen Yunfang had moved away, she still wrote to her uncle every now and then. After all, her uncle had been a big help in the past, and she couldn’t just turn her back on him after leaving; she still wanted to preserve that thread of kinship.

But if her uncle and auntie were always making demands on behalf of Shen Yunxiu, then she would rather sever even that thread of kinship.

"You, you, you..." This time, Auntie Shen was at a loss for words in the face of Shen Yunfang’s rebuttal.

"Yunfang, you need to remember that although you are now living in the city, your roots are still in Gaijiatun, where your family home is," Uncle Shen suddenly chimed in.

Shen Yunfang narrowed her eyes slightly—she had a vague idea of what her uncle meant by that, although she sincerely hoped it wasn’t what she thought.

Upon hearing her husband’s words, Auntie Shen’s eyes suddenly widened, and she slapped her thigh exclaiming, "Right! Yunfang, remember that you still have a house back home. If it weren’t for your uncle’s help, the house would have been reclaimed by the village after your marriage. It was only because your uncle wanted to look after his own kin that he managed to keep it for you. Your uncle did you a huge favor, and now it’s your turn to help him."

Shen Yunfang pursed her lips and remained silent.

Seeing this, Auntie Shen quickly suggested, "How about this? Let’s trade house for house. I’ll have your uncle protect your family home back in the village so no one can claim it. When you return home, the house will most certainly be yours. In exchange, you lend your house here to your cousin for a while. How does that sound?" She expected this proposal to be accepted.

Shen Yunfang didn’t answer Aunt Shen’s question, but instead turned to look at Uncle Shen, "Uncle, do you feel the same way?"

Uncle Shen didn’t speak but just put down his chopsticks, pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, then took out a homemade cigarette roll and started smoking.

Without a word, Shen Yunfang understood his meaning.

It seemed that the kinship between her and Uncle Shen truly couldn’t be maintained any longer.

"Auntie, stop thinking about it. My houses, don’t bother worrying about them for Shen Yunxiu. Neither the old house back home nor the houses here, as long as they belong to me, I won’t lend them to Shen Yunxiu. You can tell her to give up on that idea," Shen Yunfang said calmly. "However, for the sake of Uncle and Auntie’s face, if Shen Yunxiu really has nowhere to stay, then I can help her find an affordable house to rent, but she will have to figure out the rent by herself," Shen Yunfang offered one last effort.

Uncle Shen was somewhat tempted after hearing this, Yunxiu indeed had no place to live, so what did it matter where she lived? If Yunfang could find a suitable house, there was no need to insist on living with Yunfang. If there were other choices, he didn’t want the two children to be together, either. He still remembered what had happened in the past.

However, Aunt Shen didn’t see it that way, maybe because Shen Yunxiu had successfully brainwashed her. She thought that letting Yunxiu live in Yunfang’s house was the best choice, as living in someone else’s house wasn’t as comfortable as living in her own cousin’s home. Plus, in case of any troubles in the future, a cousin wouldn’t really confront her. Actually, she still harbored the idea of taking advantage.

"You have houses, why on earth should your sister Yunxiu have to rent a place outside? Aren’t you afraid that people will shame you for this?" Aunt Shen’s words became unpleasant.

"I’m not afraid, I’ve already said, I won’t lend my houses to anyone. In the future, I’ll only rent them out, and even if it’s for rent, I won’t rent to Shen Yunxiu. No matter how much rent she offers, it’s useless," Shen Yunfang was determined not to be involved with Shen Yunxiu.

Shen Yunfang knew why Aunt Shen was saying these things today, why she was insisting that Yunfang should make her house available for Shen Yunxiu to live in. Without anyone telling her, Shen Yunfang could guess that it must have been Shen Yunxiu stirring things up behind the scenes. Why else would the old couple from the Shen Family freeze at the gate of the courtyard for several days just to wait for her? She didn’t believe that she had done anything to make Uncle and Auntie go to such lengths.

However, these words irritated Aunt Shen, "Well, you can forget about the old house back home, too. When I get back, I’ll have your uncle turn it over to the collective. And the same goes for the land shares; don’t even dream about it. Without your uncle supporting you, you won’t get a single clump of earth. Also, there’s more..." Aunt Shen was so angry that she was gritting her teeth, but in her excitement, she couldn’t remember what else she could threaten her with.

"Enough, let’s not talk about it anymore. Take the stuff and let’s go," Uncle Shen suddenly stood up, grabbed the luggage placed at the door, opened the door, and walked out, pausing for a moment at the doorway to say, "Yunfang, your father and I are blood brothers, I never considered you an outsider..."

"Uncle, if we switched positions, would you make things difficult for Shen Yunxiu because of me?" Shen Yunfang didn’t let him finish, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Of course, he couldn’t possibly make things difficult for his own daughter because of her. Even if Uncle agreed, Aunt wouldn’t, of that Shen Yunfang was certain.

Afterwards, Uncle Shen said nothing more and simply left.