Chapter 109: Let’s Split the Family

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Let’s Split the Family

"Mom, that’s all in the past. Why bring it up again?" Zhang Wei Qiang said lightly, glancing at his sister-in-law, who was struck speechless by his mother’s words, and his younger brother, who had lowered his head in guilt.

"Oh, right. You probably think that since we haven’t split the household yet, it was your big brother’s duty to pay those medical bills, don’t you?" Wen Xiu ignored her eldest son, her sarcastic gaze fixed on Fang Juxian, whose face was still etched with defiance.

"I..." Fang Juxian opened her mouth to say more, but Zhang Weihong clamped a hand over it. "Just say less, will you? Mom and Dad are our elders. What’s wrong with listening to them lecture us a bit?"

Wen Xiu stared coldly at her second son. ’So now he knows to stop his wife? Where was he earlier?’ A wave of sorrow washed over her. ’Why did I even have so many children? If I had known, I would have just had the oldest and the youngest. It would have saved me so much trouble and heartache.’

"Let’s split the household."

Zhang Dazhuang suddenly spoke from the side. If one listened closely, they could hear the exhaustion and a hint of tentativeness in his voice.

"Dad?"

"Dad—"

...

A few gasps rang out—some of surprise, some of opposition, and some of hidden delight... all laid bare in their involuntary cries.

"Split the household."

This time, Zhang Dazhuang’s voice was much firmer, allowing no room for doubt or retreat. "You’ve all started your own families, and your children aren’t little anymore. It’s not right for all the brothers to be crammed together in one big household. It’s better to split up and live your own lives."

Wen Xiu looked at Zhang Dazhuang, her eyes turning red. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Although she had often grumbled that it would be better to split the household, now that her husband had actually made the decision, she felt an indescribable emotion. Zhang Dazhuang looked back at her and sighed. "Let’s split. It’s for the best. If we don’t, I’m afraid this family will stop being a family at all."

"...Split it is. I’ll listen to you..." Wen Xiu quickly lowered her head and wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

"Dad, Mom..." Zhang Wei Qiang’s heart ached seeing his parents suddenly look so defeated.

"Say no more. The matter is decided," Zhang Dazhuang said with a wave of his hand. "It’s too late today. We’ll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll invite two clan elders over for dinner to act as witnesses. Minzhen, when you come back tomorrow, bring two packs of pastries and some cigarettes and liquor. Your mother will give you the money for it in a bit."

"Dad, you don’t have to give me money. I’ll pay for it," Zhang Minzhen said, her eyes also red. She was consumed with guilt, feeling that her family was splitting up because of her.

"No need. You keep the money you have. How much could it be, anyway? Next month you’ll be out of a job, but your expenses won’t decrease one bit. Repairing the house, capital for your business, Nuannuan’s schooling..."

Zhang Dazhuang glanced at his daughter, then swept his eyes over everyone else, lingering on his second and third sons before his gaze returned to her. "I’m laying it all out today. From now on, I forbid you from lending out a single cent of your money to anyone who asks. Not openly, and definitely not in secret. Remember, if you lend out that money, you’re disrespecting me as your father. You’d be grinding my face into the dirt. Got it?"

"Mhm." Zhang Minzhen covered her mouth and nodded, struggling to keep from crying out loud. Of course, she knew her father was protecting her in front of the whole family, saying the ugly things upfront so no one could come after her money later.

Seeing his daughter’s silent, emotional tears, Zhang Dazhuang sighed. ’If I could, I wouldn’t want to do this either. But it’s all because the second and third sons’ families are so disappointing. If I don’t put my foot down now, their wives will go behind my back and force my daughter to "lend" them money. And her personality is just too soft...’

He sighed again internally. ’Raising sons and daughters is just an endless worry. It’s better this way, splitting the household. I should try to let it go and worry less about them.’ He cleared his throat. "They’re your own brothers. If they have any consideration for sibling bonds, they won’t force you into a corner. You’re already in this situation. How could they have the nerve to come after your little bit of money when they should be the ones helping you up? You don’t need to be afraid of offending anyone. In the worst-case scenario, you still have me, don’t you? I’m still alive and well. Isn’t it only natural for me, your father, to help you out if you have problems? Besides, you don’t just have one or two brothers. I refuse to believe that out of the three of them, not a single one is decent."

These pointed remarks made the second and third sons flush with shame. The second son saw Fang Juxian getting restless again and quickly shot her a glare, pulling her hand under the table to signal her to behave, which only earned him an angry stare in return.

The meal ended on a sour note. After hastily taking care of things outside, Wen Xiu returned to their room and frowned. "Are we really splitting the household?"

"What else can we do?"

Zhang Dazhuang irritably took out a cigarette and took a drag. "Don’t you go blaming Minzhen for this. It’s not her fault. For years, everyone’s had their own selfish plans. We just pretended not to see them."

"I know you dote on our daughter, but do you think I don’t? Do you think I can’t tell right from wrong and would blame her for something that isn’t her fault?" Wen Xiu slammed herself down onto a stool and said fiercely. "The worst one is the second son’s wife. She’s the one instigating the third son’s family to cause trouble with her. And that third daughter-in-law is so clueless, she just blindly follows along every time. It’s better that we’re splitting up. It’ll be a relief for us. We’ll give them back their own plots of land to farm themselves. That way, we won’t have to work our fingers to the bone all year just to feed and house them, only for them to act like we’re the ones taking advantage of them."

"You should also see how much money and what things we have in the house. Since we’re splitting, let’s make it a clean and complete break. Bring out your account book and let them see it, so they don’t think we’ve hidden anything or secretly subsidized someone after it’s all divided," Zhang Dazhuang said after a long pause, smoking his cigarette without immediately agreeing with Wen Xiu.

"Fine, fine, we’ll do it your way. It’s a good thing I have the habit of keeping accounts. For years, every bit of income, how it came in, every expense, where it went, and who took it—it’s all crystal clear. Tomorrow, in front of the clan elders, I’ll bring it out for the second and third sons’ families to see. The eldest has given so much over the years, even helping them when they got married, and what’s the result...? Those two are just ungrateful wretches. It’s useless to be good to them; they can’t be tamed. After we split, let’s just see how wonderful their lives will be on their own."

Wen Xiu thought for a moment and nodded. Although the consequence was that she wouldn’t be able to hide a little money for herself, the benefits were undeniable. In the future, no matter who they complained to, the families of the second and third sons would have no ground to stand on. She was truly tired of them. "From now on, the two of us will just live with the eldest’s family. To be honest, I have no expectations for the second and third sons anymore. They’re all brothers, raised the same way. In fact, their lives after they were born were much better than the eldest’s was when he was a child. How did they end up so different?"

"Even a dragon’s nine sons are all different, let alone children of mortals like us," Zhang Dazhuang said with a bitter smile.

"That’s true. We can say we’ve done our absolute best for them and have nothing to be ashamed of. Ugh, forget it. They’re grown now. Let them do as they please. At least we still have our eldest son. We can rely on him from now on. And it’s a good thing we’re still able-bodied. It won’t be hard to support ourselves, so we won’t be a burden to him either."