There usually isn’t a single “true” version of a negative. A print is one interpretation of the negative, while a scan can often capture more tonal detail than the print shows.

A good approach is to make the scan preserve as much detail as possible across the full tonal range, then adjust the image in post to get the look you want. Instead of only lowering overall exposure, use tonal controls that let you adjust shadows and highlights separately. A curves tool is commonly used for this, and most editing software has something similar.

So: don’t worry too much about matching the old print exactly unless that’s your goal. If the scan contains usable highlight and shadow detail, you can shape it later into a version that either resembles the print or takes advantage of the extra information in the negative.