Thirty years ago, my aunt came to my parents in tears, begging them to let her build a house next to ours. Thirty years later, she stood with her hands on her hips, gloating to the villagers.
“This land is mine. Back then, I took pity on my younger brother’s family and let them live here. Who knew they’d be so ungrateful? They actually thought this place belonged to them!”
My parents didn’t take her seriously. They thought she’d gone senile. But when the village collected the land fees, they used the rate from my aunt’s village, which was a full 300 yuan more per mu than our village’s rate. My mother was furious and had a huge fight with my aunt. My cousin smashed our windows, and my aunt ruined all the crops in the fields overnight. My great-aunt took my father’s hand and said, “Xiaoxian, your sister’s had a hard time all these years too. Peace in the family means everything. For your late mother’s sake and mine, just put up with it.”
I gently touched the scar on my face where the glass had cut me. Fuming, I laughed.
“Is that so? Let’s see if you can put up with what happens next.”
I halted the contract I was about to sign with the village, then watched with a smile as the village director came to plead with me.
“Peace in the family means everything. I’m in a bad mood, so nobody gets to prosper.”
