Volume 1, Chapter 19: Inheritance Dispute & Could It Be?

Lin Zhaodi and Lao Bao didn’t finish their negotiations until late at night before returning home. The first thing she did upon arriving was to stiffly knock on Luo Xuan’s door and hand her a bag of fruit.

Luo Xuan noticed it was a bag of imported red grapes, sold at a boutique fruit shop, priced at a hundred yuan.

Without thinking, Luo Xuan blurted out, “Why buy something so expensive?”

Lin Zhaodi awkwardly replied, “Just to let you try them.”

Suddenly, Luo Xuan realized this was an awkward peace offering from her usually domineering mother.

She responded with a reluctant “Mm.”

Lin Zhaodi then called the two sisters to the living room. “Before your father passed, he borrowed one million yuan under Wei Yinyin’s name. Now, we’re here to repay that debt.”

Her expression was visibly strained and resentful.

Luo Qi asked, “What about Wei Yinyin and the illegitimate child?”

Lin Zhaodi waved her hand impatiently. “Lao Bao arranged for them to be sent back to their hometown.”

The sisters both said, “Oh.”

Luo Xuan couldn’t help but confirm, “They really sent them away? Those two, are they that easy to get rid of?”

She felt uneasy deep down.

Lin Zhaodi, holding back her anger, said, “Let them go wherever they want. I don’t care. While we’re repaying the debt, let me tell you how your father’s inheritance will be handled. There’s about two hundred thousand yuan in cash in the family accounts. After funeral expenses, there’s about two hundred thousand left. The properties in the county and village aren’t worth much, so this two hundred thousand will first be repaid to Lao Bao. The remaining eight hundred thousand will be slowly paid off from the factory’s quarterly profits.”

“As for the factory,” Lin Zhaodi continued, “since Luo Jue doesn’t want it, each of you will get a 15% dividend annually. Your uncle and I will each take 35%.”

Luo Xuan said, “I don’t want to take a bigger share from my eldest sister. The three of us—me, eldest sister, and youngest sister—should split it equally; each gets a 10% annual dividend.”

She glanced at her youngest sister and caught the fleeting sneer on her lips.

But the youngest sister did not object.

Luo Xuan went on, “Eldest sister can give up her share, but Luo Qi and I are her younger sisters; sisters should support each other. We’ll set up a separate account where the dividends for eldest sister will be deposited. If she ever needs it for a major event in her life, she can use it then. If she never claims it, after Mom retires, we’ll use that money to take care of her—like taking her on trips. Mom’s expenses will come from eldest sister’s account; we’ll cover our own. That way, we’re also fulfilling our filial duties on behalf of eldest sister.”

She looked at the youngest sister again, who once more let a mocking smile flicker at the corner of her mouth.

Lin Zhaodi nodded and asked Luo Qi, “Do you have any objections?”

Luo Qi looked at Luo Xuan and asked, “Sis, is that all you have to say?”

Luo Xuan thought for a moment and felt she hadn’t missed anything. “I’m done.”

Luo Qi gave her a clear, cold sneer. Then, turning serious toward Lin Zhaodi, she said, “So why are we repaying the entire two hundred thousand to Lao Bao?”

Before Lin Zhaodi could answer, Luo Qi bluntly asked, “Since Lao Bao agreed to let us repay the one million in installments, why must we pay the full two hundred thousand all at once?”

Lin Zhaodi replied, “What do you suggest we do?”

Luo Qi said, “I think we should split the two hundred thousand into four parts—each of us three sisters and Mom gets fifty thousand. Eldest sister’s share goes first to Lao Bao, and the remaining nine hundred fifty thousand will be paid off in installments. When there’s surplus, we can pull out eldest sister’s money. As for the rest, I agree with second sister’s plan.”

Lin Zhaodi’s face darkened.

Just then, the phone rang, and she went into the room to answer it.

Only the two sisters remained in the living room.

Luo Qi looked at Luo Xuan with mockery. “Sis, you’re always talking about shares and dividends. Do you really think Mom will give them to you?”

Luo Xuan shot back, “The factory isn’t just managed by Mom; Uncle is involved too. When I fought for the shares and dividends, you didn’t say a word. Don’t you want them? Or do you want to give them to Uncle and eldest uncle?”

Luo Qi bluntly said, “I don’t expect any dividends. The only thing that will realistically end up in our hands is probably just fifty thousand yuan in cash! Don’t you find it strange? A full two hundred thousand yuan in cash—knowing Mom, she’d usually drag out repayment as long as possible. Why this time is she insisting on paying it all at once?”

Luo Xuan said, “Mom’s afraid of Lao Bao.”

Luo Qi, always outspoken, said, “Did she really pay that money to the so-called Lao Bao? We don’t even know if she’s repaid it yet. Maybe she and Uncle are putting on a show, tricking us out of twenty thousand!”

Luo Xuan coldly stretched out her hand to show her youngest sister. “You can say that because Lao Bao hasn’t taken revenge on you.”

Seeing the familiar scar, Luo Qi was stunned speechless for the first time when she learned its origin. “Sis, could it be…”

Luo Xuan briefly said, “Lao Bao was after Dad for the debt.”

Luo Qi blurted, “Why did he go after you?”

Luo Xuan withdrew her hand and countered, “Your whole family lives together every day, but only I lived away at boarding school. If no one bullied me, who else was left?”

Luo Qi was speechless.

Luo Xuan said, “Lao Bao is ruthless. After his retaliation, I had nightmares for many years. I’m afraid of Lao Bao. Mom’s definitely afraid of him too. You don’t know how vicious Lao Bao can be. To be hounded by someone like that over this money…”

After a long pause, Luo Qi said coldly, “Your fear is your own problem. To me, this can’t be left unclear. Even if the money’s been used to pay the debt, my fifty thousand is my contribution to the family. I deserve to know the truth. The money can’t just disappear into the factory’s muddled accounts! What’s mine is mine—I won’t let go of a single cent.”

“What do you mean by ‘your fear is your own problem’?” Luo Xuan was stung by her youngest sister’s casual dismissal. “Of course you’re not afraid of Lao Bao. He didn’t take his revenge on you or hurt you—it was me who took the hit for all of you. How dare you say you’re not afraid in front of me?”

Luo Qi rolled up her pants and pointed to the large, gruesome bruises on her leg, raising her voice, “Right, you’re the greatest! Only you got hurt, none of us did! It’s not that I’m not afraid of pain, I just endure it well! The good girl role is all yours, and I’m the villain who fights for benefits. You just reap the rewards. You’re such a master of playing dumb!”

Luo Xuan, furious, threw the budget book onto the floor. “Is that what you think of me?”

Luo Qi kicked the book into the corner. “After all these years, what have you thought of me?! I’m tired. I don’t want to worry about anyone else anymore!” Saying that, she swept everything off the table, sending papers and items crashing down, then reached out to shove Luo Xuan.

Luo Xuan, long itching to hit her, grabbed a handful of her hair. “Am I still your sister? Can I still control you?”

“Who asked you to play the sister and boss me around?” Luo Qi fought back fiercely, grabbing a pack of napkins and flinging them at Luo Xuan’s face. They tumbled into a struggle.

Familiar with each other’s moves, after over twenty years, neither could gain the upper hand. They wrestled evenly, falling to the floor, twisting and turning until they reached the table, which crashed down with a loud bang.

Lin Zhaodi burst in, shouting, “Enough! What are you fighting for? You’re grown adults!”

The two sisters abruptly fell silent, exchanging cold glances and then remaining quiet.

Lin Zhaodi looked at the chaotic mess in the living room, bent down to pick up the ledger on the floor, and slammed it hard onto the fallen table. “If anyone’s to blame, blame your father. The family really has no money—only this two hundred thousand! I earned the money, and I decide how it’s handled! I’m still alive, and yet you two younger ones are already fighting over the inheritance!”

Luo Qi, full of resentment, opened her mouth but hesitated. Lin Zhaodi’s gaze swept over her like lightning. “Do you still have complaints?”

Luo Qi, angry and bitter, suddenly changed expression and rushed into the bathroom to vomit.

Listening to the retching sounds from the bathroom, Luo Xuan and Lin Zhaodi stood in the living room, exchanging worried looks.

Gradually, an unexpected yet reasonable suspicion formed in Luo Xuan’s mind.

She slowly told her mother, “Youngest sister told me today she’s in a hurry to get married.”

Lin Zhaodi instinctively asked, “With Zhang Dongyao?”

Luo Xuan struggled to say, “Youngest sister broke up with Zhang Dongyao and has a new boyfriend.”

Lin Zhaodi was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

After staring blankly for a long while, she stepped back two paces and murmured, “Could it be...?”