Su Yufan suspected she had misheard!
This was her family's house!
Her former stepfather still had to pay her family rent. Why couldn't she enter?
The former stepfather was her maternal grandfather's apprentice. Although five years younger than her mother, he had married into the family.
After the divorce, her mother had given him some compensation.
Some expensive timber left behind by her grandfather had also been given to him. They had already treated him with the utmost benevolence.
Only this house and the old residence had not been given to him. The house was where her mother had grown up.
It still wasn't an outsider's place to block her now!
"Auntie, what do you mean? This house belongs to my family. Who are you to stop my mother from coming home?"
Su Yufan's tone was poor, but afraid of disturbing her mother, her voice wasn't loud.
"What do you mean your house? This house was compensation after your mother divorced my old man.
Now I'm the head of this household. I'm saying the urn is not allowed in!
If your mother's spirit comes in and causes chaos, how are we supposed to live?"
Su Yufan badly wanted to explode, suppressing the volcanic rage with great effort.
"Uncle He, explain to your wife exactly whose house this is.
If it's yours, why did you have Xili go to Kunming to deliver rent to my mother?"
Su Yufan maintained the utmost decency toward her former stepfather. She had come prepared with her mother's assets; the property deed and everything were with her.
Although her grandfather had liked this apprentice and had him marry her mother, when he died, the family assets were handed over to her mother to manage.
According to her grandfather's wishes, this house was left for Su Yufan.
Because this typical example of Jianchuan ancient architecture had been renovated by her grandfather on the foundation of the old residence in the year she was born—that is, the turn of the millennium—and took eight years to complete.
It was the life's work of her grandfather's woodcarving artistry. Su Yufan could not possibly hand it over.
He Wenkang was somewhat conflicted. He had always regarded this ancient building as his own, having lived in it for nearly twenty years.
He had participated in the renovations back then, invested considerable effort into the house, and cherished it for nearly twenty years.
The house was one of the old residences listed in the ancient architecture protection registry. He had always been proud of it, conducting business and taking on apprentices under the house's reputation.
Now he publicly claimed that he had single-handedly transformed the house.
When registering it for ancient architecture protection back then, he had reported his own name. In his heart, this house was his.
Now that Su Yufan had suddenly appeared to contest the house with him, he was unwilling and unconvinced.
"Little Fan, let me speak fairly. When your grandfather died, you weren't by his side. He explicitly stated that this house was given to me.
I was once his son-in-law, and also his disciple for life. He regarded me as a son.
I was also very filial to him. When you and your mother weren't around, I was the one caring for him.
This is my home. As for your mother's ashes, I don't think it's appropriate to keep them in the house.
The old residence in Jianhu Village, though dilapidated from age, was where your mother spent her childhood. You can temporarily store them there, or keep them at a monastery.
Your mother and I parted on very unpleasant terms. She might not be happy in my home.
Don't be angry with your auntie. She isn't educated and is always superstitious about things."
He Wenkang's words were neither soft nor hard—he simply didn't want Su Fengxia's ashes brought inside.
At this moment, Xili spoke unhurriedly. "Master, the dead should be respected. Auntie Su wanted to return to her roots. You can't be so unreasonable.
You were renting this residence from her all along. These past two years, you've always had me go to Kunming to deliver the rent to her. This is fact.
She also told me she signed a rental agreement with you. You have the right to use the house, and she even taught you the Su family's unique woodcarving techniques without reservation."
He Wenkang was infuriated by Xili Bufa's words. He pointed at his nose and cursed on the spot: "You fake Buddha! I've doted on you and taught you these past two years for nothing. How dare you side with outsiders?
"You may have returned to secular life, but you can't talk nonsense!"
Su Yufan sneered coldly. Clutching her mother's urn, she directly knocked aside He Wenkang's wife's blocking arm, strode across the threshold in the center of the doorway, and entered the courtyard.
"Uncle He, I don't want to make this too ugly. I came this time with the rental agreement and the property deed.
It clearly states that you are Party B, with the right to use the house and our Su family's woodcarving signboard. The annual rent is ten thousand yuan.
For the sake of you being my grandfather's apprentice, I don't want to make it impossible for you to remain in Jianchuan.
To put it bluntly, you're just the Su family's gatekeeper.
My grandfather took you in, taught you woodcarving, and even married his daughter to you. How many years did you eat and live for free in the Su family?
How much money have you earned relying on the Su family's woodcarving reputation? Weren't these kindnesses?"
With this shove, He Wenkang's wife Zhao Wulan took the opportunity to collapse to the ground.
She shouted with a sobbing tone: "She's hitting people! Su Yufan is hitting an old person! And you're still a celebrity! Son, quickly film this, expose her online!
Say she's forcibly seizing our house, and wants to put her mother's ashes in our home.
She also called your father a gatekeeper. Let the netizens judge. Make it so she can never dance or be a celebrity again!"
He Wenkang's son picked up his phone and immediately started video recording.
Xili Bufa had previously only thought this couple was stingy. Now he realized how absurd they were.
Su Yufan looked indifferent. Today, she was determined to place her mother's ashes in this home.
"Film all you want. As for who's occupying my Su family's house, I believe netizens aren't fools.
I don't want to waste words with you. Give me the key to my mother's room, or I'll find an axe and hack that door open!"
Wang Fugui acted as mediator, speaking in unfluent Mandarin: "When Little Fan's grandfather died, I was also present.
I didn't hear him say he gave the house to you. I remember it was left for Little Fan.
Now that Little Fan's mother has been brought back, it's only temporary.
If you're so superstitious, then move out and live elsewhere."
He Wenkang had second thoughts. He had forgotten Wang Fugui was present just now, and his words had been too absolute. His complexion turned particularly ugly.
"The house was given to me. It was personally said by my master. I cared for him so long. Where were you?
I'm an honest person. There are more of you. I won't argue with you. Now I'll take a step back. You can temporarily keep Su Fengxia's ashes in the house for a few days, but they must be buried immediately. We can't delay.
I'll arrange for people to dig the grave. Since she chose to return, the funeral can't be shabby.
Wife, take her to place the ashes and tidy up a few rooms for them to stay in. The rest can be discussed tomorrow."
Su Yufan heard him finally say something human, and she didn't want to completely fall out now either.
Her mother's funeral was the priority. She didn't understand the funeral customs here and didn't know many people. The arrangements still had to trouble He Wenkang.
"Thank you for being willing to help. But I want to make one thing clear. The person who cared for my grandfather was a nanny. At most you made him tea. The utilities were still paid by my mother. Not a cent was spent by you.
Forget it. We're not arguing about this now. Let my mother rest in peace first. The rest we can discuss properly."
Zhao Wulan was extremely unwilling. Why should her husband's ex-wife, now dead, have to be brought back to her home?
Wasn't this deliberately revolting?
However, they did have a guilty conscience. The house truly wasn't in their names.
Before, their family had assumed that the mother-daughter pair had houses and cars elsewhere, and were both celebrities.
They looked down on the run-down house in the county town. Who knew she would return?
Thinking that Su Yufan was a dance celebrity and probably wouldn't stay long, leaving after the funeral at most, once she thought this through, she finally felt somewhat relieved.
Su Yufan followed Zhao Wulan upstairs and watched her open the attic beneath the stairs, pointing inside: "Put it here. It's clean here."
"Are you deaf? My mother wants to stay in her original room. She doesn't live in the attic."
"Your mother... she's dead. What room is there to stay in? That room is mine. Why should I give it to a dead person?"