Out of all these relatives, the person she trusted the most was Mei Yinan, so she handed the passbook straight over to her without hesitation.
Mei Yinan was a little surprised by Mei Mengzhen's gesture, but after thinking it through, it actually made sense—if she gave it to one of the others, they might not even end up with the passbook in the end.
It would have been fine if Mei Yinan hadn't mentioned the passbook, but as soon as she opened it, she almost wanted to rip it up right then and there.
"3275.64 yuan, down to the cents—after all these years, with both of them working, they only left this measly little bit of money!" Mei Yinan was so angry she couldn't sit still, wishing she could dig those irresponsible parents right out of their graves, give them a beating, then throw them back in.
This number made everyone frown. No way, it couldn't be that little, could it?
The eldest uncle, Mei Yongan, took the passbook and flipped through it, his brows knitting even tighter.
The passbook was passed around from person to person; after everyone saw it, it was hard to believe that the family only had just over three thousand yuan after all these years—that's not 'savings' by any definition.
"What else? Is this the only passbook?" the younger aunt, Mei Yifan, questioned, her tone sharp as if she suspected Mei Mengzhen was hiding another passbook.
"This is the only one. There's only one Postal Bank near our house."
The nearest branch was just the one Postal Bank; anything farther was inconvenient. It wasn't just their family, all the families in the area were in similar situations. So when she said this, nobody really doubted her.
But this made Mei Yinan even more frustrated. She said angrily, "With just this little money, you still want to live with your brother? You really have no idea, do you?"
Looking at just these two kids and this little bit of money, was the house they'd actually gotten now about to slip away? Both siblings had agreed, signing the agreement would have settled things, but now…
The relatives were getting visibly impatient. Some of them started blaming Mei Yinan in their hearts—why bring up the passbook now? What are they supposed to do now? But if anyone was going to say to give up the house, Mei Yifan would be the first to object, "Big sister, it doesn't matter if she's clueless or aware. We already agreed about the house, remember?"
The younger uncle Mei Yongfu nodded quickly, "Yeah, if they aren't worried they can't survive on the money, what the hell are you afraid of?"
Mei Mengzhen knew how much money her parents had; in her last life, this was all there was, and it ended up split in two—her younger uncle's family got half for raising her brother, her aunt's family got half for raising her. That's how the money was divided.
No one really cared about this little bit of money—they weren't going to force the kids into a corner, but the house was absolutely non-negotiable.
Mei Mengzhen seized the chance to ask, "What about my parents' house? Where did they live before moving here? If we sell that house, there should be more money, right?"
As soon as Mei Mengzhen said this, everyone realized what scheme she was angling for. But she was too late. Mei Yinan explained, "Your parents' old house was sold ages ago. But of course, you weren't close to your mom and dad, so you wouldn't know. Your mom lost a bunch of money at mahjong, your dad—ugh—he spent it all long ago."
Mei Yinan checked the transaction records in the passbook; it was obvious how much those irresponsible parents could burn through money every month. Not only did they spend their salaries, but they blew through the money from their dad's funeral payout not long after it was deposited.
Mei Mengzhen pretended to be dumbfounded, looking to her relatives as if she had no clue what to do.
At this point, all the relatives avoided her gaze.
Mei Yinan asked, "You still want to live with your brother alone? With this money, even if you're frugal, you'll last maybe half a year. What will you do after that? Zhenzhen, just listen to Auntie and come stay at our house, okay?"
"No, no! I told you I don't want the house, I don't want to live with you!" As soon as Mei Mengchen heard he'd have to go to someone else's home, he exploded. He was adamant he didn't want to go, no matter what, and he couldn't understand why nobody was getting it.
But to all the relatives, this sounded completely different—you don't want to come live with them, well, they don't want to take care of you either. They'd worked hard to raise their own kids; why would they volunteer to raise anyone else's? If you refuse to come, that's perfect—they didn't want you anyway.
Then it struck them—wasn't big sister supposed to be the softhearted one? If you're so kind, you take them then, let's see how you handle it.
With that thought, everyone's eyes shifted to Mei Yinan, but regardless of where the kids lived, the demolition compensation was not going to change hands.
Mei Yinan was willing, but her family situation just wouldn't allow it. Two older kids in college already, plus four to support at once—how could she cope? "You guys, you all…"
Mei Mengzhen pulled her little brother into her arms and spoke to the group, "I still want to live with my brother. If we can stretch the money for half a year, we will. If not, I'll get a job during the holidays. Plus, my mom has some jewelry I could sell. We won't starve, don't worry."
Everyone knew how much jewelry Mei's mother had; nobody was interested in fighting her for it. Afraid more talk would cause new complications, the eldest uncle Mei Yongan hurriedly said, "Fine, as long as you know what you're doing."
Mei Mengzhen quickly echoed, "Yeah, I know what I'm doing."
Know what you're doing? You don't know a damn thing, Mei Yinan fumed inside, but she also understood the kids' desire not to depend on others. Still, she couldn't just let them go completely. Mei Yinan took a step back, "Alright then, since you insist on staying here, there's no way we'll charge you rent." After giving everyone else a quick look and seeing no objections, she added, "We'll cover your utilities and living costs, too."
The younger aunt Mei Yifan wasn't happy, wanting to object, but Mei Yinan cut her off, "How much could their utilities and living expenses even cost?"
"If it doesn't cost much, then let the kids pay it themselves," Mei Yifan muttered quietly to herself.
Mei Yinan was already irritated just seeing her siblings; now hearing them talk made her even angrier. "Shut your mouth. That goes for all of you, too!"
Before any of the siblings could say more, Mei Yinan continued, "Utilities aren't expensive, and as for living expenses… forget it, living expenses are free. Zhenzhen's going into her senior year of high school—it's only one year left. As their relatives, it's our duty to look after these two kids. Even if it wasn't Yongfu (Mei Mengzhen's father) who died, if it had been any one of you, we'd do the same for your kids."
"Don't get mad, I'm not cursing anybody here. Let's all be empathetic—it's been decades as siblings, and Zhenzhen will be grown soon. We won't be able to help for much longer, so why make things so difficult? I won't say more, as for the three thousand plus yuan…" At this point, Mei Yinan stiffened before continuing, "Let Zhenzhen keep that money. Every family will contribute 200 yuan per month for the siblings' living expenses."