Chapter 19 Chapter Eighteen

Ina Delberg was waiting for them in the small house of her daughter Lily and her son-in-law Fritz van Wely - Lily, a cheerful, smiling, young blonde mother still in confinement; Ci, is a junior military officer.Lily has two children, one-year-old Stephen Nass and just two-week-old Anton Varnette.They have a confinement woman who is fat and arrogant, and a maid who is busy taking care of the baby.Leftovers from lunch hadn't been cleared away, but the house was full of little life noises: one hilarious, another screaming; the confinement wife hissed and tried to silence them - the whole room was full of her fat figure .While the maid was waiting for the milk to boil, she opened the window, and suddenly a strong cold air rushed in.Ina yelled:

"Yance, you let the cold air in! Shut the windows quickly, hurry up! Oh, Uncle Anton and Aunt Stephanie are here!" Knowing that Uncle Anton and Aunt Stephanie are the child's godfather and godmother, the maid Yang Si hastily dropped the boiling milk and ran to open the door, but forgot to close the window.As a result, the newly arrived guests entered the door against the swirling cold wind.Aunt Stephanie's throat, which had just been irritated by Uncle Anton's thick smoke, coughed even worse. She said vaguely: "This is not right, there is such a cold wind! Such a cold wind!"

Once again the fire that Jans had lit in the living room went out, and Lily and Fritz, who had tried their best to please the two old men, had to take them back to the dining room.Yang Si was cleaning the table enthusiastically, but he broke a plate, so she let out an exclamation.Lily complained a few words, while Ina glanced at her son-in-law Fritz in disappointment.Lily was a bit of a free-spirited girl, but she didn't get that from her mother, Ina - because Ina was like the Ithelmonds, and they were always cautious - Lily was more of a Dex family.Now, Fritz realized more and more that he had to be polite to Uncle Anton, although he actually hated Anton very much, because Anton would kiss Lily hard every time he saw her.In fact, Lily also hated Anton so much that she felt sick to her stomach when she saw him—but she had to listen to her mother and please Anton.She and Fritz were married naked, but the young couple soon discovered that money is also something that should not be underestimated, and the only two people who could give them a little money were Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Anton.

Anton, who was reluctantly dragged over by his sister, immediately regained his good mood after giving Lily a long kiss.His fists lay like clods on his knees.When the maid showed him the crying naughty boy, he smiled to himself and nodded approvingly.Although he is jealous of young and energetic young people, but in this jealousy, there is another feeling: he likes to look at these young and energetic children.Fritz, a fledgling and rigorous junior officer, is actually full of masculinity, and he might be a good husband.He nodded to Lily, then to Fritz, to show that he understood them, and they smiled back at him blankly—they didn't understand what was going on in his mind, but that was all right.He guessed that the couple still loved each other deeply, even though they now had two naughty children to take care of; he also guessed that they were eyeing his little money.How should I put it, from their point of view, there is nothing wrong, he just dislikes Ina a little bit, because since Del Fort helped him solve the trouble with that laundry girl, she always treats him She is a little arrogant, and always feels that it is thanks to her influential niece that she saved the reckless uncle from trouble.He grinned, seeing through these artificial flattery, and still laughing secretly in his heart, all these efforts are in vain!He had no intention of leaving them what little money he had.He wasn't going to tell Stephanie or anyone in the family this, though, instead he listened with interest to the kind words, and he enjoyed watching Fritz carefully set the bitter juniper berries in front of him. Wine—but a little work keeps the kid from getting cold, doesn't it?He's still wearing a great coat!He thought the whole farce was really funny, and he smiled happily, like a kind and kind uncle who loves the children very much, but in fact, he said to himself in his heart:

"The Malays say it well: Annoy, disturb, trouble—you won't get a dime anyway." He giggled happily, thinking maybe he would be happy to give that fat confinement woman a few guilders!They—Aunt Stephanie, Ina, and the young couple—would be taken in by their uncle's decency and generosity: they thought he was hooked; and he let them have their dreams!He had seen through all this wisely.Thinking of this, a faint anger rose in his heart: Does he need to care about these young people?Don't they have much?They have youth and vigorous bodies, do they still have to covet his thousands of guilders?And why should he care about the little rascal Anton Varnette who bears his name?He has a fear of newborn babies, although sometimes he thinks it's cute to wait until they're a few years older.Things began to blur before his eyes, but he controlled his vague anger and false thoughts, so he still acted like a good uncle and a good godfather, leaving all his property to the children.

"Uncle Dan and Aunt Flor arrived yesterday." Ina Delberg couldn't help but sighed and said.She always felt that having a few East Indian relatives was something that couldn't be brought to the table. "We were going to call on them today, weren't we, Aunt Stephanie?" "Then she'll save a fortune on the fare," thought Anton Dirks. "Yes," said Lily, "we might as well start now, don't you think, Uncle?" "Of course, dear." "Fritz, you'll come over as soon as you finish your work in the barracks, won't you? I'll pack up my things and go first. Uncle Anton, it's very kind of you to come and see the child, I thought You won't come, because you told me long ago about seeing the baby..."

"You see, uncle always keeps his word, my dear boy." He said the above words very kindly, and when Lily passed by him, he reached out and pulled her towards him, and gave her another deep, lingering kiss, as if because this visit had softened his heart .She trembled and ran away quickly.In the corridor, she met her husband who was wearing a sword. "Don't let that wretched old rascal kiss you like that again!" Fritz said angrily. "What should I do? That beast makes me sick..." He went out, slamming the door, thinking that his youthful and innocent happiness had been tainted by financial straits, which themselves had become vulgar.In the dining room, Ina, Uncle, and Aunt are waiting for Lily to pack up and leave.

"Uncle Dan must be very rich," Yi Na said, her eyes sparkling, "Papa must know, but he never talks about money, so he never said how rich Uncle Da En is..." "And how rich do you think he really is?" asked Aunt Stephanie. "Oh, Auntie," Ina said, raising her lazy eyes politely, "I never talk about money, and I don't think about it, and I really don't know how much money Uncle Dan has. ...But, I think he must have at least seven hundred thousand guilders! Why did they suddenly come to Holland this winter? Dad said it was because of business—he should know, but you know, Dad doesn’t like to talk, Especially don't like to talk about business and money. But I always wonder to myself, could Uncle Dan lose all his money? Mark my words: If that is the case, Dad will definitely take his own money help him."

Uncle Dan and Aunt Flor, though of low profile East Indian kinship, had children of their own, so from then on there was little hope of getting money from them.Also, Yi-na has a deep resentment towards them, she's jealous of their wealth, and she goes out of her way to speak ill of them. "You really think so?" said Aunt Stephanie. "They always do business together," Yi Na said, "so if Uncle Dan runs out of money, Dad will definitely help him." "But what if he really has 710,000 guilders?" Anton Dex asked. "Yeah, that would be great." Ina said greedily, "but maybe he doesn't have that much money at all, anyway, I don't know, I never talk about money. What other people have is not mine."

Lily came down, looking really like a sweet little lady with blond hair in a pretty scarf.The four of them got into the carriage, and Yangs opened the door too far, and another gust of fresh cold wind rushed in. Ina insisted that Uncle Anton sit facing forward, next to Aunt Stephanie, while she and Lily sat with their backs to the way they were going; In the end, he was glad that she didn't take his hypocritical attentions in the end.The family is only bound together by blood, and everyone thinks there is nothing good about it.Stephanie, the old bird-like woman, dragged him out of the warm house, from the enjoyment of his book, his pipe, his Suetonius, and his fancy, Just to see a child he wasn't going to give a dime to; and then he had to see a younger brother who decided to come to Holland from the East Indies in a cold December: all insignificant things!And how many such meaningless things do people have to do in their whole life!Sometimes you really can't be your own master... As compensation, he squeezed his knees towards Lily's knees, feeling her youthful warmth.His vision blurred.

The carriage stopped in front of a large house where Uncle Dan had lived since his return from the East Indies.They were taken in at once to Aunt Flor, who had seen them coming from the window.A servant was standing at the door of the house. "Come in! Come in!" cried Aunt Flor in her low voice. "How's it going, Stephanie? How about you, Anton? Where's Ina? And you, little Lily—ahhh Ah, there are two small, small children, already! The small ones are so cute!" Aunt Flor never got up to meet them, she was lying on the sofa while another maid was massaging her elephant legs, sliding her hands back and forth under her pajamas. A few of them said something like welcome to the Netherlands, and greeted the suffering of the exhausted travel."I've got a cold!" Aunt Flor said angrily, as if someone else was to blame. "I caught a cold on the train from Paris. You gotta believe me, I was as stiff as a board, board. I don't know what the hell happened to Dahn, but To come to Holland at this time! I really don't understand..." "Then why don't you stay in the East Indies, Auntie?" said Ina, raising her lazy eyes very politely. "That's impossible! I can't let Dahn come alone! Impossible, dear, we are husband and wife. Wherever Dahn goes, I will go. People as old as we are very dependent on each other …Dan is with Harold now, in the other room—your daddy just arrived, Ina—of course, they're talking business! I asked Dan: 'Where are you going? Why go to Holland?' 'Business!' said Dahn. Business, business, always business! I just can't understand, business is such an unfathomable thing! Year after year, we only have business Yes, but in the end? We're as poor as mice . . . Come on, Saripa, Suda, that's enough, though I'm still as cold as a board." The two servants left the room, and the anthracite stove glowed red behind a small micastone door like an oven.Aunt Flor sighed deeply and sat up.Her Chinese eyes were slightly slanted, her face was fat and yellow, like a full moon looming through her still dark hair; .Even the way she sat was quite Chinese: the hem of her flannel dressing gown was tucked between her legs, her fat little hands rested on her round knees, like Anton Dirks sitting. pose like that.Her sagging breasts rolled over the folds of her stomach like waves.These curves gave her a kind of lofty dignity, especially when she sat upright as she was now, with a stiff and angry Chinese face.Under her two long earlobes, there are two huge gem stud earrings, which are shining brightly. It doesn't look very good with the loose flannel clothes she wears, but it looks like a statue of a god. A piece of precious jade.She was not yet sixty, the same age as Ottilie Stein de Welt. "Is the old mother okay? It's really good of you to visit us," she said.You know, before this sentence, she didn't say a good word to her relatives. Now, her jelly-like body vibrates even more cheerfully on the sofa.Next to her sat the wrinkled, witch-like Stephanie; while Anton was thinking about Flore forty years ago: at that time, she was still a young tall girl, and her Chinese ancestry had a kind of exotic The style fascinates the men; and Ina Delbourg, the rigorous and well-mannered Dutchman, is blinking in a very educated way; beside them is a young lady with blond hair, Lily. "Why isn't Dahn here?" cried Aunt Flor. "Lily, what are you doing to see your grandfather and your uncle?" "I'll go, aunt," said Ina Delberg. "You stay here, dear. She can't go too far, auntie." Ina was about to look at Dan and Flor's room, she got up, walked through her aunt's bedroom, and by the way A quick glance at the big suitcases.A servant was busy putting skirts into a wardrobe. "Where are the gentlemen, Auntie?" "In the study, ma'am." The servant showed Yi Na the way, and pointed to the conservatory.Indeed, the rooms here are beautiful and, no doubt, expensive.Ina knew that this apartment was not cheap!It was almost impossible for Dan and Flor to be as poor as Mouse.Look, uncle has his own bedroom, and there is a separate study next to it.Now, Dad was obviously talking with Uncle in the study, for they had cooperated in several businesses and had a lot of common interests.At home, Dad never talked about business matters, and never heard of them, which often frustrated Ina... She heard their voices.She wondered if she'd tiptoe past the conservatory and eavesdrop on their conversation, maybe she'd hear something about the state of Uncle Dan's fortune, who knew?Out of pure curiosity, she leaned forward, but stopped suddenly.Because, he heard Uncle Dahn—although they haven't seen each other for five years, his voice is still the same—saying: "Harold, did you know this all along?" "Hush!" she heard her father's voice. Then Uncle Dahn repeated in a low voice: "Did you know this all along?" "Don't be so loud," said Harold Deckers in a low voice. "I heard someone..." "It's okay, it's the maid cleaning the room...she doesn't understand Dutch..." "Keep it down anyway, Dan," said Harold Deckers. "Yeah, that's right, I've known it all along!" "All this time?" "Yes, sixty years." "I never... never knew." "Quiet down, quiet down! Is she dead now?" "Yes, she is dead." "what is her name?" "Ma Potten." "Yes, it was Ma Potten. I was 13 years old and she was my mother's maid and looked after me." "Her kids came to pester me first. She told that to her son, who works in a local rental office." "So that's how it is." "That kid is a fucking villain! I gave him some money." "You're right...but look, Dan, it's been so long." "Yes, a long, long time ago." "Don't tell Flor about it." "Of course, of course, I never spoke to her about it. That's why I asked her to come with me: if she stayed at home in The Hague, there was a chance that that damned villain would be... yes, yes It's a long time ago." "And this matter is becoming a thing of the past... is fading away... it won't be long before..." "Yes, it won't be long before it's all gone...but think of you, Harold, knowing all this time!" "Don't be so loud, don't be so loud! I heard voices in the conservatory..." That was the sound from Ina's skirt.She eavesdropped on this conversation, her heart was pounding, and her whole body was tormented by strong curiosity.Although she couldn't understand what they were talking about, she remembered the name of the dead maid: Ma Potten. Now she began to make her silk dress squeak deliberately, as if she had just come from the conservatory.She opened the door at once and stood on the threshold, "Uncle Dahn! Uncle Dahn!" She saw two old men, her father and his brother sitting there.One of them is 73 years old and the other is 70 years old.They haven't recovered from the expressions just now, and the tense frustration on their old faces has not had time to recede, their eyes seem to be still staring blankly at the distant past.Ina felt that the expressions on both of them were terribly terrifying.What were they talking about, what were they trying to hide?Dad has known something for sixty years, and Uncle Dahn has only just found out?She felt a shiver run through her body, like something cold and clammy crawling through her body. "I'm here to see you, Uncle Dahn!" she screamed, exaggerating her enthusiasm, "Welcome to Holland, Uncle, welcome! Although the weather is not very good these days...it's always cold . . . You must be very cold on the train! Poor Aunt Flor must have froze in the train. Uncle Anton and Aunt Stephanie are here, and my Lily! I didn't bother you... Shall we talk about business?" Uncle Dan kissed her and returned her greeting politely.He was short and thin, arched, dark-skinned, and dressed in an East Indian air.A patch of gray hair on top of his head and his profile made him look like a parrot; a bird-like face, very much like his sister Stephanie.Like hers, he had eyes that were alert and alert, though they were still quivering uncomfortably from a conversation he had had with his brother Harold.He grabbed some papers and stuffed them into a portfolio so that it looked like they were talking business and said they'd be right there.They went back to the living room with Yi Na, and Uncle Dan exchanged pleasantries with the visiting relatives one by one. "Aunt Flor doesn't know anything yet!" thought Ina, recalling that she had just talked about their trip to Holland. Why are they here?What is it?What was it that Dad had known for sixty years that Uncle had only recently learned about?Was that the reason they came to Holland?Was it about money: an inheritance they shared?Well, it should be, a legacy, maybe they can become richer than they are now.Does Aunt Stephanie know?Does Uncle Anton know?Where's Aunt Ottilie?Where is grandma?And what about old Mr. Tacoma?And, if it is an inheritance, how much is it... She was almost ignited by her own curiosity, but she still behaved cautiously and decently, even more cautiously than usual-and her There was a stark contrast between Uncle Dahn, with his East Indian looseness and fondness for slippers, and Aunt Flor, with her billowing breasts and belly that drooped to a roundness like a Chinese god.Her curiosity burned her, her eyes scanned wearily, and she was still very cultivated, trying hard to hide her eagerness to find out.People's conversations did not arouse her interest at all.Uncle Dan and Aunt Flor talked about their children: Marinas, the manager of a large sugar company, who now lived in Tegal with his extended family; Jeanne Shane, who Aunt Flor said she was The wife of the Dutch representative in Cirebon; Dolph, who is not yet married, is already a magistrate.And she, Ina Delbourg, didn't give a damn about those cousins, male or female, she didn't even want to see them: a bunch of East Indians... She just had to make herself happy!Sometimes, though—and there aren’t many—she condescends and pretends to be interested in the stories: for example, the recent marriage of Marinas’ daughter Clara; Always cause trouble. "Yes," said Aunt Flor, "and now we're in Holland, in this shabby, shabby apartment...for business...for nothing but business...yeah, no Wrong, to tell you the truth, we are still as poor as rats! What am I going to do for five months? I can't stand it if the weather keeps going like this! Luckily, we still have Ting Dieselmann And Dole Perelkamp, ​​these two old ladies from East India, they are coming to see me soon! They also write, write to me, asking me to bring some Chinese playing cards, I brought 20 packs What! I think this should help me get through these five months..." And Aunt Flor was speaking angrily to her husband, drawing out: "Da-en." "Oh dear! Poor little one!" No, Ina thought, Aunt Flor didn't know about the inheritance--probably not about the inheritance--but then what was it? She and Lily went home in the carriage that had come to fetch Harold, while Anton returned in Stephanie's.Ina wasted no time in looking for her husband at once.She had to find someone to talk to, and that person had to be him.So Yi Na came to his office. "Leopold, can I talk to you?" she asked. "I'm going to have a consultation soon," he replied without hesitation. She knew Leopold was lying, that he was all right.So she sat still, without taking off her hat or shawl. "Leopold..." Now he was a little frightened. "What happened?" he asked. "We have to find out why Uncle Dan and Aunt Flor are coming to Holland." "Oh, my goodness!" he exclaimed, "there's nothing wrong with what happened to Papa?" "I don't know, probably not. However, Uncle Dan must have a reason for coming." "There is a reason? What is the reason?" "I don't know, but there must be! It should be something that my father discovered when he was 13 years old, and it has been a secret for sixty years. Uncle Dahn just found out about it not long ago, and he came to the Netherlands Just to ask Dad to confirm this matter." "How did you know?" "I just know. You just have to listen to me, I know a lot more!" "Then what is the secret?" "It's something Aunt Flor doesn't know about, and Uncle Dahn doesn't want to tell her. The old lady's old nurse was Ma Potten, and the nurse died. Her son, was an employee of Zhige, and , Uncle Dan gave him money. That's all I know." They glanced at each other, both pale. "But the story is too broken!" said barrister Leopold Delborough, then shrugged. Ina, as usual, raised her eyes lazily and said: "This secret is very important. Although I don't know what it is, it is indeed very important. I really want to know. Is it possible that it has something to do with inheritance?" "Inheritance?" Delberg repeated, not understanding what Ina meant. "Like something that should belong to us? That Zhige employee might know what it is, if Uncle Dan really gave him money." "Maybe." Delborg said, "I guess it has something to do with money, and this money should be the joint property of Dad and Uncle Dan..." This time, Yi Na's face turned pale. "Impossible!" she cried, "it should be..." "You don't know, you can't guess, and the best solution is not to talk about it. Besides, Dad won't let the wind out at any time." Yi Na's curiosity occupied her mind at the moment, but she still wore the hat with the white bird of paradise on it, and nodded in a very educated way: "I must know what's going on," she said. "What are you going to do?" "You've got to talk to Dad and ask him what's bothering him..." "Why bother about things? I've never seen a time when he wasn't upset. It's been 23 years since we got married! Dad never talked to me. He even got another lawyer to deal with his affairs. That's a big deal. you know too." "Then I'll ask Dad." "That's not a good idea either." "I have to know." Ina said with a raised voice. "Actually, after hearing what you've said, I still don't see any property dispute going on here. Oh dear, my dear, who knows what it is? It might be something about money..." "It's definitely about the money." "Papa and Uncle Dahn might be together..." "Maybe we have to repay it together, if..." "You think so?" "They often do business together, and there are likely to be various disputes. Moreover, for people who do business together, it should be very likely..." "Yes, I understand." "Perhaps, you'd better not get yourself involved. It's better to be cautious. Who knows if what you're reaching for is a hornet's nest!" "This should have happened sixty years ago. Sixty years ago, how long ago!" Ina said.The thought almost made her trance. "Indeed, it was a long, long time ago. This incident itself is a past that has passed." Del Fort pretended not to care, although he was actually shocked. "No," Ina said, shaking the white bird of paradise on her hat, "it's not quite over yet, not yet. But Daddy wants it sooner..." "what?" "Let it be a thing of the past." They all looked pale. "Yina, Yina, you must be careful!" Del Fort said, "You don't know what's going on here that you're interfering in now." "I won't give up easily!" she said, lost in thought. She had to know, had to know.She decided to talk to his father that night.