CH 28.3

Complicated, tangled emotions warred across Wang Liying's face. A rural, uneducated country woman like her more often than not was the object of the sentence "Pitiful people bring their troubles upon themselves1". Like her daughter-in-law, she was a victim of patriarchy, but due to how long she had been systematically brainwashed, she was no longer able to distinguish right from wrong. Completely unaware, she had become the perpetrator of the same system.

Although Wang Liying hadn't made up her mind, Guo Jianhong had a good understanding of what was really important. Her eyes were red as she said, "Mom, you don't need to give me the house. You've been working hard for so many years. Once your cancer is stabilized and cured, sell the house and travel. Didn't you once say you wanted to go to the seaside? I'll take you to Hainan to see the sea... "

Wanting to go to the seaside was merely something that Wang Liying had once said casually. Even she hadn't taken the words seriously, but unexpectedly her daughter, whom she had neglected for years, remembered it so clearly. Feelings welled up like a whirlpool in her heart.

As far as Wang Liying was concerned, this daughter was an afterthought. She hadn't been part of the plan. A girl had been born, so she hadn't paid much attention, just added a pair of chopsticks to the table to feed the child. But it had to be said that her daughter had always done better in school than her two brothers. Not only was she smarter, but she was far more level-headed. While her two sons were causing her no end of worry, her daughter had gone out to work as a tutor to help make money for the family...

At first her daughter had been able to go to college, but at that time buying a house for the two boys and finding them wives had been the priority, so she had found a job instead. When the two new daughters-in-law entered the family one after the other, Wang Liying had been afraid that conflict would arise, so she had quickly found a young man from a different town of the appropriate age to marry her daughter...

Now, carefully observing for the first time, she found that her daughter looked much older than her two daughters-in-law when the three women stood side-by-side. However, she was the only one with concern and anxiety in her eyes.

Wang Liying's eyes suddenly felt a little wet. She looked toward her two sons. "Since Xiao Lu doesn't want this house, I won't say that I'm not going to give it you. But I'll only give the house to one person. I won't divide it. As for who, I will ask you both five questions, and whoever can answer them is the one who will receive the house."

She didn't address Guo Jianhong, implying that Guo Jianhong wasn't qualified to be in the running. Overjoyed, her two sons immediately did a complete 180.

"Mom, rest assured! If you hand the house over to us, everything will go smoothly. After all, we're your own sons, we'll definitely take care of you in your old age. What we said was all just in anger!"

"Mom, I was wrong for what I did before. I'll definitely change in the future!"

Guo Jianguo and Guo Jianzhong immediately did a quick about-turn of tone. Meanwhile, Guo Jianhong meekly said nothing, not expressing any dissent.

Seeing that there were no objections, Wang Liying asked her first question. "When is my birthday?"

"Ah... it's... August... August..." Guo Jianguo scratched his head. He never threw his mother a birthday celebration, and didn't have her ID number written down, so he didn't remember her birthday. He only had a vague recollection that it was in August.

Guo Jianzhong couldn't answer the first question either. The two brothers looked at each other, both at a loss.

Wang Liying didn't make a big deal out of it, instead moving on to the next question. "Who are my close friends here in this neighbourhood?"

"..." Guo Jianzhong felt embarrassed. "Mom, you're just trying to put us in an awkward position now. How would my elder brother and I know something like that?"

Again, Wang Liying didn't give an opinion on the matter. She merely pursed her lips and continued with the third, fourth and fifth questions. All five questions were about little details of the old woman's life. So long as one cared a little for her, they weren't difficult to answer. It was no accident that neither of the two sons could answer any.

"You go on and on saying that if you get the house you'll take care of me in my old age, but you can't even answer these questions. Aside from asking me for money, when have you ever cared about how I usually live? How can I feel at ease giving you the house?" With trembling hands, Wang Liying wiped away her tears. "Xiao Lu is right. It's my own family's misfortune, it's me who didn't teach you right. It's me who brought this upon myself!"

Her chest heaving with choking sobs, Wang Liying looked at Guo Jianhong. "Jianhong, you answer."

"Me?" Guo Jianhong asked, stunned.

"Yes, you answer."

"Mom's birthday is August 16th. Before you fell ill, you loved to square dance with the other neighbourhood ladies, and you were close to Auntie Xiao, the leader of the dance group. Your favourite colour is blue, on rainy days your left hip aches a little, and your favourite food is broad beans."

Although she didn't know why she was being asked, Guo Jianhong answered the questions in one smooth breath. If Wang Liying's expression was any judge, all her answers were correct.

Who was right and who was wrong between her two sons and her daughter was clear at a glance.

Taking in a deep breath, Wang Liying looked to Ning Wan and Fu Zheng. "Lawyers, I think that Xiao Lu's suggestion was solid. I will sign that agreement with my daughter and give her the house."

"Auntie Wang, your daughter is one of your legal heirs. She is already legally obligated to support you. You don't need a contract for this," Fu Zheng explained, "A legacy-support agreement cannot be signed between a legal heir and the decedent2."

He explained it again in simpler language.

Once Wang Liying understood, she asked, puzzled, "Then what should I do?"

"You simply need to write a lawyer-witnessed will, leaving the house to your daughter."

Guo Jianguo interrupted immediately, "I disagree with this!"

Waving her hands around frantically, Guo Jianhong tried to explain. "Brother, I really wasn't aiming to get the house, I..."

Although both Guo Jianguo and Guo Jianzhong's families opposed the will with all their might, old Wang Liying insisted. In the end, Ning Wan and Fu Zheng witnessed her will.

After all the fuss, Wang Liying was exhausted. Guo Jianhong and Lu Feng worked together to help her back home.

Seeing that the matter had come to an end, Fu Zheng was about to politely ask Guo Jianzhong and Guo Jianguo to leave, but Ning Wan stopped him. "Hold on a minute. I still have something to say to them."

"Everything has been settled," Fu Zheng said in surprise. "What else is there to say?"

Guo Jianguo and Guo Jianzhong obviously thought so, too, because they immediately answered bitterly, "We've got nothing to say to you."

"There's nothing good about you lawyers. You helped my mother give Jianhong the house, alright, fine. She got it, so let Jianhong take care of Mother in her retirement and sweep her grave, then!"

Unlike them, Ning Wan didn't seem to be in any hurry. "You two shouldn't rush to cut your ties. The law stipulates that you are obligated to support your mother. Even if Aunt Wang hadn't bought you a house upon your marriage and didn't leave you any money, you wouldn't be able to run away from your duties toward her. Otherwise if rumours that you refused to support even your own old mother reached work, wouldn't it be quite troublesome? That would be quite embarrassing for you, wouldn't it? What would you do then?"

"The fuck are you saying?" Guo Jianguo burst out. "If the law forces us to provide for the elderly, then why is the house going to Jianhong?!”

Ning Wan interrupted him placidly. "A lawyer-witnessed will is still a will. As long as it's a will, amendments can be made. You know what your sister is like. She's obviously not in a hurry to take the house for herself, so in the end, how the property is finally divided will depend on your mother's intentions."

Peering at the two brothers, she said, "I'm sure you both understand what I mean. As long as Auntie Wang changes her mind, she can at any time change her will to include you in the property division. Later wills take precedent over earlier ones, so instead of fighting her bull-headedly, it might benefit you more to think carefully over whether you really haven't cared enough for her."

"Treat Auntie Wang well and take good care of her. After all, her heart is partial to you, her sons. It isn't impossible for her to modify the property distribution in her will if she realizes that you've truly changed. Feelings and decisions are changeable, but it's up to you to change them."

As they listened to her words, the expressions of the people in the room changed. Their eyes lit up, and their faces became more animated.

"You are all older than I, and you must have heard the saying 'a child wishes to provide for their parents, but their parents cannot wait that long'. Auntie Wang has already been seriously ill once, so you don't have much time left. Treat her well in her last few years."

"And if she changes her mind, you'll change the will for her?"

Ning Wan nodded. Having received a positive answer, the two families were no longer noisy. Instead, they all whispered amongst themselves for a moment, then took their leave in good spirits.

Fu Zheng frowned as he watched them leave. "Why bother talking to these greedy people?"

Ning Wan looked up at him. "Do you think it was unneeded?"

"These people obviously have ulterior motives. Even if the old lady would be happy to receive their filial piety, it's all false respect for the sake of getting the house. Why would you encourage them?"

"If I hadn't said anything," Ning Wan smiled, "Then the Guo Jianzhong and Guo Jianguo families would have left hating Wang Liying and Guo Jianhong. There would have been no possibility of harmony in the future for their family. Even though this particular issue is over and done with, the two brothers have completely fallen out with their mother and sister. Any form of contact in the future would be as enemies."

"Can you imagine how much suffering Auntie Wang will go through having her beloved sons hate her like that? Futhermore, Guo Jianhong is a mild-mannered woman who dislikes offending people. She must also be uneasy having offended her brothers and sisters-in-law. And the Guo Jianguo and Guo Jianzhong families will simply stew in their anger every day."

"Although the problem is perfectly solved from the legal point of view, it's a triple-loss situation in regards to the aftermath." She paused. "If this was an ordinary civil dispute, reaching this step would already put us beyond reproach, but we're a little more special than civil dispute lawyers. In community law, matters that often seem trivial decide the fate of a family. That's why I usually think of it as there being no trivial matters in the community. No matter how small and petty a detail may be, we must treat it carefully, because it will likely affect someone's life."

"The law may be set up to handle most things, but we can't misunderstand the law to be omnipotent. We must also be worldly wise, so that aside from using the law, we can also ease disputes and family conflicts by other means."

She looked at Fu Zheng. "I know that Guo Jianzhong and Guo Jianguo aren't really filial, but Auntie Wang only has a few years left. If in her last few years they can behave well and ease the relationships in the family, it won't do much harm even if they have ulterior motives. Besides, who's to say that while faking it, they won't indeed change for the better? After all, problems don't get solved in a state of conflict, but when people feel at ease with each other, new solutions can sometimes be found."

"As for whether the old lady will really change her will, I believe in her judgment. She will know who is truly sincere toward her and who isn't."

She finished speaking and patted Fu Zheng on the shoulder. "Well then, Teacher Ning's lectures are over. Go buy me some milk tea."

Fu Zheng was taken aback and didn't react for a little bit.

"I'm thirsty after talking so much. You can pay me back for my work experience and wisdom with milk tea!"

Grinning broadly, Ning Wan inclined her head toward Fu Zheng, "You know, ordinary teaching lawyers never explain things in detail like I do. Senior practicing lawyers like us usually charge by the hour, so if we charged my regular rate you would be paying at least 200 yuan for just now! But I know your family is having financial difficulties, so I won't ask you for fees, just a cup of milk tea. Don't you think you have a terribly considerate boss? Aren't you so happy?"

“……”

Of course he was happy. How could he be unhappy? Him buying a cup of milk tea was worth the 'high value' of 200 yuan. At that moment, Fu Zheng, whose usual rate was 1,200USD an hour, was almost overjoyed.