All of a sudden, the living room fell silent. Those who had their heads down, looked speechless, or were dumbfounded, except for Mrs. Lin who wore a stern face, no one dared to speak.
Zhou Jiao kept smiling at Mrs. Lin, and now she saw that the smile finally disappeared from the other’s face and was replaced with a stern look.
She laughed and said, "Grandma, you’re not mad, are you? Please don’t be. If you got sick and ended up in the hospital, my mom would definitely scold me when I go back. Don’t get worked up, money is just a worldly possession. You can’t take it with you when you’re born or when you die. Don’t worry, I won’t take your personal savings."
As Zhou Jiao spoke more, Mrs. Lin’s face sank further, and she angrily said, "No. Even among brothers, accounts should be settled clearly! It’s better for you to figure it out clearly. Whatever belongs to the Zhou Family, I won’t repay a single cent less."
"There you go, see, it’s true when they say elderly people are quick-tempered. See how you misunderstood? Nothing about the Zhou Family or otherwise. My mom’s surname is still Lin," Zhou Jiao replied with an unwavering smile. Internally, she scorned the other, thinking she’d see later if her mouth was still tough.
Mr. Lin quietly sighed and said, "Dear, don’t say things out of anger. Look at how patient Jiao Jiao is. If it were someone else, they would have left by now."
"I’m not speaking out of anger. Jiao Jiao, tell Grandma how much I owe your family. I’ll repay it early to save your father from looking down on us every day."
When Zhou Jiao heard her dare to blame her father, her smile immediately faded. She said solemnly, "My dad has done nothing against you, don’t drag him into this. Since you repeatedly insist on me figuring it out, so be it. I’ll give you the numbers, it’s up to you whether to pay or not."
With that, she picked up letter paper from the coffee table. As she wrote, she said, "My family’s savings were less than 9100 US Dollars at the time. Calculating with 9080 US Dollars, including 17 years of interest and principal, I don’t know the previous interest rates, but I’ve heard the highest annual rate was 12%. I’m not calculating with high interest rates, just using the lowest annual rate over the years—this year’s fixed-term bank rate of 7.92%."
Using compound interest with 9080 US Dollars, 17 years of interest is 12,225.31 US Dollars, adding up with the principal totals 21,305.31 US Dollars. After rounding off, it’s 21,300 US Dollars, you’ve repaid 10,000, still owe me 11,300 US Dollars.
The last is my mom’s savings. Her eighteen years of wages plus subsidies. I heard from my mom that last year alone, it exceeded 50,000, you’ve repaid 20,000. You still owe her 30,000.
This is the list, see if there’s a mistake in it?"
Mr. Lin squeezed the list, looked around, and suddenly burst out laughing. He glanced at his iron-faced wife, and upon seeing her understanding, he said, "Since it’s been calculated, Grandpa will reimburse you. I heard from your mom that this is all your personal savings. We wouldn’t dare owe you, it might triple in a few years."
Zhou Jiao glanced at Mrs. Lin, didn’t refuse, just smiled without saying a word. Whoever has the money has the say. It’s not up to Mr. Lin to decide in the Lin Family.
After a while, Lin Aiguo and his brother finally stood up to go outside, followed by many members of the Lin Family.
Zhou Jiao saw that only Mr. Lin and his wife, Lin Liyin and her husband, and herself were left in the living room. Seeing that Mrs. Lin still made no move, she stood up and smiled, "If nothing else, I’ll be leaving now."
Staring at her, Mrs. Lin, seeing that she was really leaving, spoke up, "Come with me to the room, let’s talk."
Zhou Jiao scrutinized her, then pursed her lips and nodded, following her into the bedroom. Leaving behind Mr. Lin, who was lowering his head without speaking, and the embarrassed Lin Liyin and her husband.

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