Chapter 394: The Choice 2.0

"Alright, drinking too much tea makes one bloated; I should get this done while I haven't changed my mind."

"Very well, I will see you out."

Zhang Ping'an saw Guan Daye back to the residence, and before they even entered the door, they heard the sound of arguing inside;

"Ping'an, you should head back first."

"Alright." Since Guan Daye had made up his mind, Zhang Ping'an's presence or absence would not make much of a difference.

Guan Daye frowned, sighed softly, and feeling even more resolute in his heart, he walked quickly into the house; pushing open the door, he saw the uncle and nephew confronting each other.

"Enough, A Tai, take Chun Yan to the room to rest first; you two, come with me to the study."

"Hmph."

As soon as Guan Daye entered the study, he laid out all his assets on the desk: a box of gold bars and a deed to the Siheyuan.

"Cunxiao, this is all the money your father has. Half of it is for you, and then you can go back and be your Overseas Chinese."

Guan Cunxiao and his wife exchanged a glance; although their eyes were filled with desire, they hadn't come back for this, but rather for the antiques Guan Daye had collected.

Domestically, there was still a lack of awareness regarding antiques; only a few individuals were collecting them, and most people sold them off as junk.

But they were different; having seen the value of these things overseas, a piece of porcelain from an imperial kiln of a previous dynasty could sell for tens or hundreds of thousands, which was far more valuable than gold bars.

"Father, I don't want this."

Guan Daye was full of astonishment. Could he have misjudged them? His son hadn't returned for these gold bars?

"Just give me half of the antiques you've collected."

Upon hearing this, Guan Daye's blood pressure soared instantly, his anger rose, and his fists hardened—Guan Daye's fists hardened. He felt that the beating at noon had been too light; he shouldn't have sent them to the Hospital.

"Get out!" Guan Daye's lips trembled.

"Father, those things are useless for you to keep. They are dead objects in your hands; it would be more cost-effective to sell them for money."

"Besides, I know several foreign businessmen who are willing to pay high prices. I don't believe that car at the door belongs to that... that he bought it himself."

"I know that car sells for over a hundred thousand abroad. He is young and without your financial support, where would he get the money to buy a car?"

"I know you feel guilty toward your eldest brother and want to use money to compensate his son, but you should think of me too. It hasn't been easy for me in a foreign land; I still don't have a car to drive."

"As long as we sell the antiques, I promise not to bother you and will disappear from your sight immediately."

Guan Daye was trembling all over with rage. He finally gave up hope, closed his eyes in exhaustion, and couldn't even be bothered to scold them.

"Chun Yan, you rest in the room. I'm going to go check; I can't let them bully Grandfather."

"Alright, but don't be impulsive, and don't hit anyone."

"Alright, I won't hit them."

Guan Tai agreed, but after listening for a few minutes outside the study, he finally couldn't hold back; he kicked the door open, ready to take action.

"A Tai." Guan Daye shook his head, signaling him not to be impulsive.

"Cunxiao, the antiques are all here and in the main hall. You should know that the three years after you left, life in the country was hard and food was scarce; most of my antiques were traded for grain and Milk Powder."

Guan Daye pointed to the shelves in the study, then continued:

"In the ten years that followed, my antiques were confiscated and turned over. These gold bars are what remained from back then."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could you have turned over those antiques you treated like your own life? You hid them, didn't you?"

Guan Cunxiao had actually guessed correctly. In truth, the items displayed in the open were just things Guan Daye used to fool people; the real antiques had long since been hidden away.

"Believe it or not, you unfilial son. The house is only so big; if you don't believe me, go find them yourself."

Guan Daye divided the gold bars into two, and he kept the deed for himself.

"Each of you gets half; no one has more, no one has less."

Guan Tai put the gold bars into the box without hesitation, packed them with the deed, and handed them to Guan Daye. He had still underestimated the bottom line of those two.

"Hmph."

Guan's mother snorted coldly and directly packed up the remaining gold bars, while Guan Cunxiao began to examine the objects in the study;

He didn't know much about these things, but having been exposed to them since childhood, he could tell there was a difference.

"Father, why does everything here seem to be from the late Qing or early Republic era? These aren't worth anything at all." He then ran to the main hall to look, found it was much the same, and became even angrier.

"Father..."

Guan Tai finally couldn't hold back; he grabbed a thick notebook from the desk, rolled it up, and lashed out at the two of them, scolding as he struck:

"Have you said a single word of concern for Grandfather since you returned? Have you asked how he managed to pull through all these years while raising Xiaoguan? Do you know how much he has suffered all these years?"

"All you know is money, money, money! Now that it's divided for you, you're complaining it's too little. How can you be so shameless? I'm going to beat you to death today!"

Guan Tai struck with every word he said, not stopping until he had driven them out of the courtyard gate. Guan Daye didn't stop him this time; Guan Tai's words just now weren't just scolding Guan Cunxiao, they had also woken him up.

It was true; if not for the care of the He, Cai, and Zhang families all these years, how would he have survived? This son and daughter-in-law had returned only for money, without saying a single word of genuine concern—they hadn't even bothered to pretend.

"A Tai, go with me to the Street Office and the Police Station tomorrow."

"Alright." Guan Tai didn't ask any further questions.

The next day, the two went to the Street Office first. Guan Daye re-registered the household records for Guan Tai, Han Chunyan, and himself, then went to the Police Station to cancel the household registration for Guan Cunxiao and his wife.

In fact, both the Street Office and the Police Station had asked about this over the years, but Guan Daye had always insisted, and the household register had never been touched. Since Guan Cunxiao and the others had become Overseas Chinese anyway, he simply granted their wish.

"A Tai, I was muddled before, thinking your second uncle still had some conscience, but now..."

"Grandfather, I'm also going to have a child, so I'm even more furious at what Second Uncle and the others did back then. I truly can't understand how they could be so heartless as to abandon you and Xiaoguan."

"Plus, the way they treated you when they came back—I really couldn't help but beat them."

"Grandfather doesn't blame you; it was Grandfather who was blinded by the situation. From now on, we will live our lives well; I will just pretend your second uncle died twenty years ago." This cancellation of the registration signaled Guan Daye's determination.

"Mm, alright."

As soon as the two returned home, Public Security arrived. It turned out that Guan Cunxiao had reported to Public Security that someone had beaten an Overseas Chinese.

"Comrade Public Security, this is a family matter. I was the one who beat that unfilial son; if you want to arrest someone, arrest me."

"Don't be agitated, old comrade. We are just here to inquire about the circumstances of the matter."

Although beating an Overseas Chinese is no small matter, if it is a matter between father and son, then at most they can only act as peacemakers.

"Comrade Public Security, it was that little brat who hit us, not the old—not my father-in-law who hit us."

"Comrade Public Security, it is true that I hit them, but back then, in order to go abroad, they abandoned their children and left their parents to fend for themselves, yet now they want to come back to divide the family property."

"My grandfather already gave them some, but they were still relentless, which is why I took action to drive them out of the house."

The two Public Security officers also had a headache; this kind of family property distribution is the most troublesome, and from the whispers of the people around them, they also roughly understood the ins and outs of the matter, and although they looked down on Guan Cunxiao and the other person, Guan Tai had indeed taken action.

"How about this, you all come with me to the station to make a statement."

"Alright, but my grandfather is old, so I will go with you instead."

"That is acceptable."