Chapter 265: Treasures
Chapter 265: Treasures
Lu Jiajin had originally intended to stay out of Lu Jiajie's divorce, but when she heard that he planned to give Xiao Feng to Ma Lili, she couldn't contain her anger. "How could you? Are you trying to kill your own daughter?"
Her sudden outburst left her three brothers stunned.
Lu Jiajie explained, "Jiaxin, it's not that I don't want Feng'er, but her mother had a tubal ligation and can't have more children. She won't give me both kids."
"So what if she had a tubal ligation? She can still have another child after surgery," Lu Jiaxin said. Xiao Feng was only five years old, and there was still a chance to break her away from the Ma family. If she was given to Ma Lili, all hope would be lost.
Lu Jiaguang and Lu Jiazong remained silent.
Lu Jiajie shook his head. "She won't agree."
Lu Jiaxin's temper flared, and her tone turned sharp. "What does it matter if she agrees or not? As long as her parents agree, it's fine. Anyway, she always listens to them. And it's not a complicated surgery, just a bit painful."
While she merely felt repulsed by the idea of lending money, the matter of Xiao Feng filled her with intense dislike for Ma Lili. Were children mere tools for venting and revenge?
"Her parents won't agree either," Lu Jiajie said.
Lu Jiaxin scoffed. "You give her the house and a substantial compensation. Her parents value their grandson so much that they'd be willing to die for him. They will definitely persuade her to agree to the divorce and give up custody of both children if the price is right. It's up to you whether you're willing to spend the money."
Lu Jiajie wasn't a materialistic person, but he had his concerns. "If I give her the house, where will I live with the two children? I won't be able to find a suitable place right away."
"Why look for another place? You can take the children to live with Dad. He's been bored out of his mind lately. Let him help with picking up and dropping off the kids," Lu Jiaxin suggested.
It was better to raise Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng himself rather than have them raised by another family. At least they all shared the Lu family name. Who knew what kind of people were out there?
This was a good idea, but Lu Jiajie worried that Lu Hongjun wouldn't agree.
"If he doesn't agree, just tell him that you won't take care of him when he's sick and hospitalized in the future. He's afraid of being alone in his old age. If you threaten him like this, he'll definitely agree," Lu Jiaxin said.
The reason Lu Hongjun agreed to give them the items was that his three nephews had sided with Lu Jiaxin. As for the others, they were even less reliable, and he had no choice but to agree under the pressure of reality.
Lu Jiajie looked pleadingly at Lu Jiaguang, the eldest brother whose opinion carried the most weight in the family.
Shouldering the responsibility of the eldest brother, Lu Jiaguang said, "I'll talk to Uncle San, but you have to get Lili and the Ma family to agree first."
"Okay," Lu Jiajie replied.
Now that everything was out in the open, Lu Jiaguang asked about her year in Hong Kong City.
Lu Jiaxin had no intention of telling him the truth, as it would be equivalent to telling Lu Hongjun as well. "I'm doing well in Hong Kong City."
Lu Jiaguang cut straight to the point. "What's the deal with the He family? Why are they bullying you?"
Lu Jiaxin explained, "They think Hai Fan and I are there to fight for the inheritance, so they treat us badly. But after they bullied me that time, Auntie compensated me with a unit. Oh, a unit is an apartment, a large flat worth nearly two million Hong Kong dollars."
Lu Jiazong felt dizzy hearing about sums of money in the millions. Ah, at this point, the millions felt like paper to him. Sighing, he thought to himself that he couldn't even scrounge up ten dollars, yet his sister was talking about millions as if it were nothing. Who could understand this feeling?
On their way to the Department Store Building compound, Lu Jiaguang said to Lu Jiajie, "Even if you want to divorce Lili, you can't do it now. Wait for an opportunity to bring it up later. Otherwise, she and the Ma family will put the blame on Jiaxin again."
It was unreasonable for Lili and the Ma family to refuse the loan. Blaming Jiaxin for it was completely groundless. Even if they had asked to borrow money, knowing that the money was for Yan Jixiang's house, they still wouldn't have lent it.
Lu Jiajie was still conflicted. "Big brother, I'm afraid that even if I give her money and the house, she still won't want to give me Xiao Feng."
"If she truly loves her children," Lu Jiaguang said, "she wouldn't have allowed Yan Jixiang to bully them and wouldn't have fired Ayi Le to let her father take care of the kids."
"Jiajie, money can be earned again, and a house can be slowly saved up for. But if the children grow up with the wrong values, their lives will be ruined, and you won't have peace in the latter half of your life," Lu Jiaguang added.
Lu Jiajie fell silent for a moment before saying, "I'll make her agree."
Upon arriving at the Department Store Building compound, Lu Jiaguang shared the outcome of their conversation with Lu Hongjun.
"Uncle San, you don't have to worry about medical expenses or Auntie's salary. Just take care of the food expenses yourself. You can save two-thirds of your pension," Lu Jiajie said.
Lu Jiaguang indicated that the three brothers had agreed to this retirement care agreement.
Although Lu Hongjun was dissatisfied, he didn't raise any objections since his three nephews seemed content. "It must be put down in black and white. If anyone goes back on their word later, there will be evidence."
Lu Jiajie felt that signing an agreement would hurt their relationship. "Uncle San, there's no need to sign an agreement. Since Jiaxin has agreed, she won't go back on her word."
"Before, she promised to take care of me in my old age. Now she wants me to give her all the things I've collected. Who knows if she'll find another excuse to not give me money in the future?" Lu Hongjun said.
Lu Jiajie found these words offensive and couldn't help but retort, "She's your daughter. Isn't it only right that you give her your collection since she's taking care of you?"
Lu Hongjun didn't argue with them but insisted on signing an agreement.
Finding the argument pointless, Lu Jiaguang said, "Let's just sign it. This way, everyone will be at ease."
He thought that even if Jiaxin didn't want to take care of him anymore, the agreement wouldn't help. All she had to do was settle abroad and stay out of everyone's reach. However, he kept this thought to himself, lest Lu Hongjun change his mind and create more trouble.
Although Lu Hongjun claimed to distrust his daughter, the truth was that the nephews didn't trust him. They were worried that he would be deceived by those older women he used to be involved with. Now that Jiaxin had taken control of the collection and the house, he could do whatever he wanted.
The next day, Lu Hongjun, accompanied by Lu Jiaguang and Lu Jiaxin, went to the countryside, where they found eight boxes stored in the attic of a house.
Lu Jiaxin was astonished by the number of items he had collected. However, when the boxes were opened, she realized her mistake. Inside each box were smaller boxes, and it was within these smaller boxes that the true treasures were kept.
Lu Hongjun proudly declared that he only collected precious items. He then took out a small box, no bigger than a palm, from one of the boxes at his feet. Opening it, he pointed to a phoenix hairpin inside and said, "This phoenix hairpin has nine tails. In ancient times, only the empress could wear a nine-tailed phoenix hairpin."
Lu Jiaxin immediately fell in love with it, especially since the craftsmanship of the feathered decoration had been lost over time.
Looking at the hairpin, Lu Jiaxin sighed, "I wonder how many of our ancestors' precious heirlooms are still in existence."
Lu Hongjun fell silent, feeling deflated. He had wanted to say that the hairpin would be priceless one day, but Lu Jiaxin had steered the conversation towards art and cultural heritage, making any mention of money seem vulgar.
(End of Chapter)
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