Chapter 42

"Lin Jianyang, do you want to acknowledge Lin Meng as your daughter? Lin Meng is already an adult; she has her own decision-making rights—it's not something you can just decide to do."

At that moment, the village head spoke up.

He knew Lin Jianyang wasn't genuinely concerned for Lin Meng's welfare, so he turned to Lin Meng and asked.

"Your uncle wants to have you adopted by him, Lin Meng—what do you think? Are you willing?"

In front of so many people, the village head didn't want to directly interfere in others' family affairs, but he knew Lin Meng had her own opinions, so he immediately asked for her view.

Lin Meng naturally could not agree, but in order to expose Lin Jianyang's true motive, she pretended to be hesitant.

Seeing this, Lin Jianyang quickly smiled and said:

"Lin Meng, I, as your uncle, haven't shown enough care for you before; these days I've been preparing for your grandfather's memorial, and I've reflected seriously—after all, we're family, we shouldn't be opposed; think it over, acknowledging you as my daughter naturally won't wrong you—you'll have what your cousin has, and when you marry, I'll certainly prepare a dowry for you."

Having said all this, many villagers felt Lin Jianyang was responsible and conscientious, a good uncle, and they turned to advise Lin Meng.

"Your uncle treats you well; acknowledging him as your father is indeed appropriate."

"A girl will eventually need to marry; without a natal family it won't do—the natal family is your backing. Your uncle's consideration for you is truly good, Lin Meng—don't be ungrateful."

"Yes, yes, after all we're one family—what overnight grudge is there? Since they're willing to adopt you, don't hesitate; he even said he'd add to your dowry—if it were anyone else, who could be so generous?"

Villagers are best at shifting with the wind and making cool remarks; a moment ago they doubted Lin Jianyang's intentions, now they're speaking well of him.

Lin Meng snorted inwardly, but kept a straight face as she looked at Lin Jianyang.

"Is what the uncle said true? Do the aunt and cousin agree? And what about your two sons—do they agree?"

Lin Jianyang has three children in total; his eldest son is starting a business in another province and rarely returns.

Lin Qianqian and Lin Haoxuan, who live nearby, are no good birds—it's unlikely they'd agree to what Lin Jianyang said.

Of course, Lin Meng never believed Lin Jianyang would keep his promise.

Talk of helping her with a dowry is just sweet talk.

Lin Jianyang, however, said:

"They certainly agree; as the head of the household, who would dare not listen to me? Lin Meng, rest assured—so long as the uncle protects you, our Lin Family will always have a place for you."

Lin Meng nodded in cooperation, while inwardly she snorted.

Suddenly, a villager voiced a question.

"Wait a minute, isn't Lin Meng still drowning in debt? If Lin Jianyang acknowledges her as his daughter, would that debt also be helped to repay?"

"Right, right, Lin Meng still owes debt—I heard it's over three million, which is no small sum; if Lin Jianyang truly could help repay the debt, Lin Meng would be getting a huge bargain."

"After all, they're of the same lineage; presumably he also can't bear to see a young woman like Lin Meng shoulder such a huge debt—it seems Lin Jianyang, as an elder, is taking responsibility."

Everyone thought Lin Jianyang was good—so good it seemed almost unreal.

Hearing the villagers' discussion, Lin Meng turned her gaze to Lin Jianyang.

Lin Jianyang gave a dry laugh, then slapped his thigh and guaranteed:

"What the fellow villagers said is right—I, Lin Jianyang, am after all Lin Meng's uncle; as an elder, I naturally can't bear to see my junior suffer so much, so I'll help if I can; the debt she owes is ultimately what the old man left behind, so I ought to help repay it together."

Lin Jianyang's words moved even himself; his speech was earnest, each sentence like a vow to heaven, letting everyone see his sincerity.

But Lin Meng laughed then, the smile in her eyes not reaching the chill in her demeanor.

Lin Jianyang is truly calculating—it seems he indeed knew the debt had already been cleared, which is why he dared speak so confidently, seizing the chance to show off.

Otherwise, given his personality, how could he risk acknowledging her as his daughter?

At this point, Lin Meng already had a plan in mind.

She wore an expression of wanting to speak but holding back, pulled out her phone from her pocket—actually she had already begun to laugh inwardly, waiting to see Lin Jianyang's next change of expression.

"Um, uncle, the money my grandfather owed—I've already paid it all off; I heard from Fifth Uncle that you've already inquired about it, so you must know I've repaid the money, right?"

As soon as she said that, everyone's expression changed; Lin Jianyang could barely keep his composure.

"Huh? After all that fuss, the debt's been paid? Lin Jianyang even knew? Then his earlier bold talk was just bragging."

"I said why he was so eager to acknowledge her as his daughter—turns out there's no debt, so he's just picking up a free helper for his old age; it's obvious who's getting the better deal."

"Tsk tsk, this person's heart is truly unfathomable..."

Lin Jianyang opened his mouth to retort, but for a moment couldn't find a suitable explanation, so he could only keep bringing up that Lin Meng is an orphan.

"Lin Meng, when you marry you'll surely need your natal family to back you up; although your uncle isn't a big shot, our family's circumstances are decent—if you're adopted by me, you won't be at a disadvantage, right?"

The villagers again felt he was right.

Only then did Lin Meng slowly light her phone, hold it up before Lin Jianyang, and say with a helpless expression:

"Uncle, look—although my grandfather's debt is paid, I recently owed the Ye Family five million; this is the IOU I wrote—so, do you still want me to be your adopted daughter?"

"What? You owe five million! And it's to the Ye Family?!"

Lin Jianyang reacted instantly, like a lit firecracker—he shot up with a snarl, glaring furiously at Lin Meng.

Lin Meng nodded calmly, reiterated the debt matter once more, then shrugged and said:

"Aren't you well-informed, uncle? You could go check—although the Ye Family and ours have a childhood engagement, you really shouldn't think about what era this is; who would believe that?"

"The Ye Family in Jing Shi are truly a prominent aristocratic clan—how could we ordinary commoners possibly be tied to them by marriage? But I'm really unwilling, so I just opened wide like a lion and borrowed five million from a man named Ye Chenjing to tide over."

"Afterward I regretted it a bit, uncle—how about I still acknowledge you as my godfather? You help me think of a solution, and I'll definitely support you in your old age and see you to the end!"

Now Lin Jianyang no longer has any thought of taking Lin Meng as his daughter; he's so angry he'd like to beat her to death on the spot.

This wretched person is the bane of the Lin Family, sent specially to destroy the Lin Family.

But for the sake of that marriage agreement, Lin Jianyang endured, and he said to Lin Meng with anguish:

"You you you, you're really clueless! The childhood engagement was set by our ancestors; they must acknowledge it even if they don't want to—unless our Lin Family rejects this marriage, they have no right to refuse!"

"You go to Jing Shi right now to apologize to the Ye Family—how much of that five million did you spend? Find a way to repay it to me!"

Lin Meng pursed her lips and spread her hands.

"No way, I've spent it all—otherwise you'd think I had money to pay off my grandfather's debt? I'm just robbing the east wall to patch the west."

"As for apologizing, I don't think it's necessary—I now only have a debt relationship with the Ye Family; I'll just repay the money slowly."

"What do you mean?" Lin Jianyang suddenly had a bad premonition.

Lin Meng sighed and spoke softly:

"I broke off the engagement. When they heard, they were happy—clearly they were indeed dissatisfied with this marriage; even if I married into that family, I wouldn't be happy."

Boom! The sky above Lin Jianyang's head collapsed!