"Don't object, this kid is going to live in your house, and spending two hundred yuan a month on her is definitely not enough. To be blunt, the house is under Chenchen's name. If he doesn't want to give it to us, we won't get a single penny, and then the siblings could just take the money and run straight out—you wouldn't even know where to find them. Right now, you're lucky they're willing to give you anything. You know the value of this house, and how much you can actually get out of it.
You give two hundred a month, at most you'll give it for one year. How much is that, really? Zhenzhen is going to take the college entrance exam in a year. If she gets in, she'll work part-time, and if she doesn't, she'll go out and work for a living, and won't need our money anymore. Do the math yourselves."
Of course, they're going to do the math, but two hundred a month—they aren't just supporting their own families, either. "Big Sis, you're saying we won't have to take care of Zhenzhen after, but what about Chenchen? He's only three years old. When Zhenzhen goes to school or starts working, she can't take Chenchen everywhere, can she? What's supposed to happen to Chenchen?"
Chenchen's so little—it'll take years to raise him. Even if they want to hand things off, it won't be until Mei Mengzhen graduates from college. That'll take a lot of money over the years. Besides, after college, Mei Mengzhen will start working. She can't just bring her brother to work with her, right?
They did account for Mei Mengzhen graduating college, but Mei Mengzhen herself isn't willing to keep her brother at their house for that long either. It's just, that's not a conversation for now, otherwise things would get even messier.
"He'll stay at my house. I've thought about it already. From now on, I'll take care of picking up and dropping off the kid at kindergarten—it's on my way anyway. When Zhenzhen starts college, Chenchen will come live with me, I'll take care of him."
In a year, her two kids will also graduate from college. Then she'll only be looking after one child, so it won't be as big of a burden.
Mei Mengzhen is genuinely grateful to Mei Yinan—really, if there were any other option, Mei Mengzhen wouldn't want to make things so tough for Mei Yinan.
She feels guilty, but since Mei Yinan brought it up herself, this problem is naturally solved.
Mei Yinan's words were pretty convincing, so things with the two kids were settled. But two hundred yuan a month still felt like a lot to everyone. Xincheng is called a city, but really it's just a rural county by the big city. Everyone lives and works here, and the benefits are pretty good, but salaries are really low—just a thousand and change a month per person. Both spouses work, but the home expenses are big, too. This two hundred yuan is money you're basically giving away with no return—why not spend it on your own kids, right?
But seeing they're not agreeing, it looks like they won't get the house compensation money if they're not careful. Auntie Mei Yifan gritted her teeth and said painfully, "One hundred. One hundred max a month. No more than that."
Mei Yinan was a bit pissed—such a small amount and they're still haggling. Mei Yinan was about to start cursing, but Mei Yifan jumped in first: "Big Sis, let me do the math for you. There are five siblings. Two hundred each is a thousand a month. If we're covering utilities too, how could the two kids need a thousand yuan for living expenses? Five hundred a month is more than enough in our little city."
The siblings all agreed with Mei Yifan's calculation. Two hundred wasn't impossible, but less would be even better. A hundred—well, you could survive, worst case you'd just have to pinch pennies.
Mei Mengzhen watched everyone haggle and chimed in at just the right moment, with a hint of reminder in her tone: "How about this—if you all give me two hundred a month in one lump sum, I'll treat it as a loan. I'll write an IOU for each family. When the demolition money comes in, I'll pay you all back at once. What do you think?"
"You're paying back the demolition money?" Uncle Mei Yongfu asked, confused.
Everyone froze. What did she mean?
Mei Mengzhen thought these people were a bit ridiculous. Her parents are dead, but it's not like there are no children. But as soon as they brought up splitting the demolition money, somehow her family was left out. If she didn't mention it, nobody would even think of them.
"Yeah, since the demolition money is split among the siblings, and my dad didn't leave the family line, my family should get a share too, right?"
Mei Yinan, who'd just been pissed, calmed down. Yeah, the fourth brother's family should get a share too. With that money, Zhenzhen wouldn't need to take out loans for college; there'd be enough to raise her little brother, even if times would still be tough. At least they wouldn't be totally penniless.
Mei Yinan was glad Mei Mengzhen was smart. But looking at her siblings, she snorted, "You're not planning to pocket the fourth brother's share for yourselves, are you?"
Their eyes were a bit shifty because that's exactly what they'd been thinking. They figured if no one brought it up, nobody would remember—once the papers were signed, it's too late to argue. Who would've thought this kid would be so sharp?
Uncle Mei Yongfu pretended to be angry: "Big Sis, we're not that heartless. Fourth Brother's gone, but his share should go to the kids." Now that there was money, they wouldn't have to pay for living expenses. "Since that's the case, if the kids want to borrow money, we'll make it a loan and write an IOU."
Mei Yongfu felt uneasy. If they didn't sign this agreement soon, things would only get more complicated.
But Mei Yifan still wasn't quite willing, hoping things might turn around. "Big Brother."
Mei Yongan straightened his face. "Enough. That's how it's going to be. Spell everything out in the house agreement—there are six siblings, and the demolition money will be split six ways. Your share, you decide what to do with it yourselves. For living expenses, if you want to borrow, the IOU has to be clear."
"Alright, I'll get pen and paper."
No matter what everyone really thinks, once the agreement is signed, that's it—the deal can't be changed.
Mei Mengzhen brought pen and paper and spelled out the terms of the agreement, stating clearly that there was no rent, utilities were to be paid by themselves, and as for borrowing living expenses, she cleverly left that part out. She really didn't trust these people to actually loan her the money.
The front terms were spelled out clearly, and next came the split for the demolition money.
The demolition money was split six ways. All six names and ID numbers were written out clearly, and each person signed and stamped their fingerprint.
After all that, the agreement was kept by Mei Mengzhen. Nobody was happy with that, but she wasn't happy for anyone else to keep it either.
Finally, as a compromise, the agreement was left with Auntie Mei Yinan. After all, she's the eldest sister and has always had authority in this family.
The house matter was settled, and the weight in everyone's hearts was finally lifted.
But with the house settled, who needs to borrow money anymore? Anyway, they hadn't even said when they'd actually lend any money.
Auntie Mei Yifan gave a meaningful smile and said, "Big Sis, now that the agreement's signed, we're leaving."
"Leaving? Where are you going—the money?"
Mei Yifan said, "Big Sis, we're so poor, where would we have money to lend her? If we weren't broke, who'd be after this house? Borrow money? There's really none."
Uncle Mei Yongfu echoed Mei Yifan, "Yeah, big sis, I've got two kids at home. Times are hard, where would I have money?"
Mei Yinan looked at Big Brother and Second Sister. "What about you two? The younger siblings are tight, are you tight too? Maybe we shouldn't split the house. I'll just tear up the agreement and give all the money straight to these two kids."