Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"You've come? Have you eaten?" The Qin Family greeted them warmly.
For a long time, the elderly couple had lived in the new residence with the First Branch and Second House, while the other two rooms remained in the dark and damp environment of the cave, which they found quite uncomfortable.
However, she couldn't make decisions on this matter. Even though she now held the financial power of the household, the presence of the Wang family complicated things.
Wang firmly asserted that this house was built with her daughter's money, and she could decide who lived here.
"We've eaten, Father, Mother. We came today to discuss something with you."
Yan habitually tapped his pipe, a signature gesture he had maintained for years. "What is it? Speak up."
Liu Laosi gathered his courage. Even with determination, he felt a bit timid facing his father.
After all, parents should not be separated from their children; proposing a division of the family now would undoubtedly be seen as unfilial.
"Father, my fifth brother and I want to divide the family!"
With a bang, it was as if thunder exploded above the Two Elders' heads, shocking them to their core.
"What? What did you say?" Yan suddenly stood up from his chair, nearly ready to strike Liu Laosi on the head with his pipe. "What's going on? Why is everyone talking about dividing the family? What do you want?"
Yan's chest heaved with anger, and the simple faces of his two sons appeared so irritating to him.
"I'm not dead yet! Who put these ideas in your heads? Huh?" With a thud, Yan sat back down on his stool, so furious that he nearly lost his breath.
The Qin Family panicked and rushed over with trembling hands. "Old man, old man, what's wrong? You can't have anything happen to you."
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she saw Yan sitting there gasping for air, which frightened her greatly.
"What are you two doing? Why bring up dividing the family when there's nothing wrong? Do you want us both dead?" The Qin Family then grabbed Liu Laosi by his collar. "You unfilial ones."
Liu Laosi was also startled. He had mentioned it once before, and Yan did not agree, but he had never reacted so strongly. This sudden scene was indeed shocking.
The two big men quickly lifted Yan onto the bed and gently brushed his chest to help him catch his breath.
At this moment, Yan was thinking about how his two sons were going to split the family, and that this family was falling apart.
When did it start that the brothers grew further apart, to the point where they now lived on opposite sides and communicated very little?
Just a few days ago, while sitting at the door soaking up the sun, he had been contemplating this matter: "This family cannot fall apart."
Falling apart meant splitting the family, each living their own lives. As an elder, he hoped for a house full of children and grandchildren, living harmoniously together. But what happened? First, there was the incident last year that caused the whole family to wander for such a long time before they found a place to settle down at Ten Li Pu.
He thought it would be good to settle down peacefully, but instead, one issue after another arose, leaving him with a headache.
Just when things with Wang seemed to have calmed down, now his two sons were causing trouble again.
He couldn't help but wonder if what he said a few days ago had come true.
After a long while, Yan regained his composure. His breathing gradually steadied, and his gaze shifted from being unfocused to concentrating on his two sons: "As long as I am here with your mother, we cannot split the family. This is unacceptable."
His voice was very weak, barely audible unless one leaned in closely.
His eyes held a plea, and his aged face appeared even more wrinkled after the earlier shock.
Liu Laosi suddenly felt a pang of compassion. However, looking at his younger brother beside him—truly, at not even thirty years old, he looked like an old man worn down by life, lacking any spark.
If they fulfilled their father's wishes, what would happen to themselves? Would they continue like this, working hard just to have everything taken away by Wang?
If this continued, Yan might be fine, but all they would see of each other would be corpses.
Even if they were to separate, it didn't mean they would neglect their parents. They would still visit and provide for them; the only difference was that the properties of the First Branch and the Second House would not be shared.
“Dad, we don't mean anything else. Even if we separate, we will still be filial to you. Every month, we will send you food money, and every quarter, we will give you and Mom a set of clothes. We won't skimp on what should be provided.”
“Living like this now, not living together, isn't it almost the same as separating? But look at Qing Shu, look at Qingmu, and then look at our children—each one is as thin as a stick, and who knows when they might starve.”
“If only we had a way! Now that we've separated, if we worked harder and went up the mountain to find things, we could feed the children. But what about now? Sister-in-law and Sister Two come over from time to time to take things; what does that mean?”
“They're not leaving us any way to survive!”
Liu Laosi, a big man, grew increasingly sorrowful, bringing tears to those who heard him.
Yan remained silent; perhaps he had grown accustomed to silence over the years, always thinking that if he just endured a little longer, things would pass. He held this expectation for himself and for his two other sons as well.
Finally, such contradictions erupted.
In fact, the conflicts between the families were not significant; it was just that a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in the air. Liu Laosi and Liu Laowu wanted to grasp this sliver of hope and mustered the courage to bring this request to Yan.
After a long while, Yan pleaded again: “Could you consider this as giving Dad some face? In the future, I will manage your older brother and second brother well.”
He only asked that they not separate; otherwise, he would have no face to go out and would be unable to face others' gossip and strange looks.
He couldn't bear it if people pointed at him as soon as he stepped outside; he felt he was failing in his role as head of the family.
They could not ignore their father's pleas; they saw their mother's worried expression clearly.
But they were still making their final struggle.
The request they had mustered the courage to put forward would feel pointless if they gave it up so easily.
The two parties stared at each other, waiting to see who would be the first to give in.
At this moment, Wang was completely unaware of the actions of the Fourth House and Fifth Branch; she was busy indulging in a feast at Wan Mansion.
The table was filled with an array of dishes—chicken, duck, fish, and meat—everything one could imagine. Wang held a chicken leg in her left hand and a duck leg in her right, opening her mouth wide as she took a big bite, devouring half of the chicken leg.
"Delicious, delicious!" It was as if a starving ghost had been reincarnated, making the maidservants of Wan Mansion unable to bear the sight.
Liu Qingzhi felt embarrassed and said, "You all can leave!" Her mother's actions were simply too crude.
Although she used to eat like this as well, life at Wan Mansion had refined her somewhat.
At the very least, her behavior now carried a hint of grace that farmers lacked; she chewed slowly and walked lightly.
"Mother, take your time, there's plenty!"
"Woo woo, mm mm!" Wang's mouth was too full to speak.
"It's so good!"
Struggling to swallow her food, Wang quickly took a sip of soup. "You have no idea what life is like at home. Your grandparents are managing the household finances now, serving plain meals. I’m starving here."
Liu Qingzhi couldn't bear to look.
Comment 0 Comment Count