Chapter 121: A Hard Stance

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: A Hard Stance

"Mom, aren’t we talking about splitting the family now? Why are you dragging the next generation into this?" Fang Juxian’s face flushed red, then went pale. She secretly glanced over at her two sons, complaining about her father-in-law in her head. ’Why did he have the children come out and get involved in adult matters?’

"You have sons too. Your two boys are getting older, old enough to know right from wrong. Aren’t you afraid of karma? You treat us like this today, what if your two sons copy you and scheme against you tomorrow?"

Shedding her usual polite demeanor, even when angry, Wen Xiu pointed a finger in her daughter-in-law’s face and let loose a torrent of curses. After dressing her down, she turned to her son. "Second Son, I don’t know if Third was always like this or if you, his older brother, were a bad influence. I remember he wasn’t so selfish when he was little. Back then, if he had something good to eat, he’d at least think of his parents. But you? You’ve been selfish and only looked out for yourself since you were a child. I used to think your wife corrupted you, but now I see you two really are a match made in heaven."

"Mom—" Zhang Weihong’s face darkened.

"Don’t call me Mom. Your father has already given you a choice. There are two ways to split this family. You either pick one, or you can all get lost. Your father and I will be fine with just our eldest son." Wen Xiu was both heartbroken and furious, her words harsher than they had ever been.

After speaking, she turned to Zhang Wei Qiang and Lin Qin. "Eldest, and you, Eldest’s wife, if you no longer had your two younger brothers, would you alone be willing to bear the full burden of caring for the two of us in our old age?"

"We are," Zhang Wei Qiang and Lin Qin answered without hesitation.

"Good, good." Wen Xiu nodded, gratified, and turned to Zhang Dazhuang. "Old man, don’t blame me for taking matters into my own hands. If these two unfilial sons continue to be so indecisive, let’s just disown them. We’ve raised them this far. We can just divide all the money we have now into four shares, give them their parts, and tell them to take their belongings and leave. We’ll write a letter of disownment, and from then on, we’ll go our separate ways and never see each other again. We’ll just pretend we never had these two sons, how about it?"

"Fine." Zhang Dazhuang steeled his heart and nodded.

’The second son’s wife has gone too far,’ he thought. ’Although some families in the village have split up the old couple, one parent to each household, he would absolutely not allow that to happen to him. They had been through thick and thin together for decades. There was no reason for them to be separated like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in their old age, all because of their sons. Since those two sons and their wives were being so heartless, they shouldn’t blame their parents for being heartless in return.’

"About the money," Zhang Dazhuang added, "regardless of which plan you choose, we’re not splitting it three ways for five hundred each. It will be divided into four shares. We old folks need to have some money for ourselves, too."

"How about we go with the first option?" Seeing his parents’ firm stance and the mocking smiles on the faces of the three witnesses—who hadn’t said a word—Zhang Weihong weighed his options. He looked at the others and spoke in a low voice.

’Getting disowned by their parents was out of the question. Even though they could take over four hundred yuan and their own things, and wouldn’t have to pay for their parents’ major illnesses, their two families would be so shamed by the villagers they’d never be able to hold their heads up again. The Clan might not even accept them anymore; they could even be expelled. To be without the Clan’s support was to be cut off from their roots. In the future, even if their children or grandchildren had the chance to become successful, this past deed could be dug up. A successful descendant could be brought crashing down from their lofty position.’

"We agree." Hearing Wen Xiu threaten to disown them, Zhang Weimin and Guo Xiuying grew scared and nodded quickly. They understood the stakes. Although the current Alliance wasn’t as strict about filial piety as the previous dynasty, the saying "Of all virtues, filial piety is foremost" was still deeply ingrained in everyone’s hearts. They didn’t dare challenge society’s most fundamental values.

"Splitting the money four ways is so unfair. Why don’t we compromise and ask Mom and Dad to divide it by headcount?" Fang Juxian was still not ready to give up. Thinking of her own family, which had the most people, she made the suggestion in a low voice. Her proposal earned an exasperated sigh from Zhang Weihong. "Stop talking. If it weren’t for you..."

Guo Xiuying glared at Fang Juxian with resentment, continuing Zhang Weihong’s unfinished thought in her head. ’That’s right. If it weren’t for my sister-in-law, our family would have gotten five hundred yuan. The four-way split meant we were losing out on more than a hundred. And if they went with her proposal to divide by headcount, our family, being the smallest, would get the least of all!’ She tugged on Zhang Weimin’s sleeve and shot him a look of discontent. Zhang Weimin whispered consolingly in her ear, "Don’t worry, Mom and Dad will never agree to that."

"Hey, I’m talking to you, Second and Third! Have you made up your minds or not? You’ve been muttering for ages. We don’t have all day to watch you dawdle." Zhang Damei piped up again. Watching from the side, Gu Nuan Nuan was so engrossed that she couldn’t help but snicker. ’I’m really starting to like this adorable old man,’ she thought.

She had no strong memory of this great-uncle of her mother’s from her past life, only that such a person existed. It seemed he lived for a very long time, past one hundred, and could still chop his own firewood and cook his own meals, which even attracted television reporters to his home. He usually kept a low profile in the village, living a quiet life behind closed doors. He had no children and wasn’t close to the younger generation in the Clan, but she had heard that her maternal uncle’s two sons—her cousins—would take turns helping him with manual labor. Even if they had to go away on a trip, they would make arrangements for their own children or other close relatives to check in on the old man often.

Gu Nuan Nuan suddenly remembered that after leaving home this morning, her maternal uncle had seemed to take a detour. He had entered the small courtyard of a house in the village, not by knocking, but by climbing straight over the wall. Five or six minutes later, he had emerged from the front gate. ’Could that have been his house? Thinking back to her past life, her two cousins had been especially close to him. It seemed her uncle’s bond with him was quite special. Could her uncle have specifically asked him to come and provide backup today?’

"Third and I both choose the first option," Zhang Weihong said.

"See? I knew it. If you were just going to pick the first option anyway, what was all that dithering for? A complete waste of everyone’s time." Zhang Damei’s complaint was loud enough for everyone to hear, drawing a mix of laughter and awkward expressions.

With the main principle of the family division settled, the rest was much easier. All the household’s shared assets—grain, tools, and so on, excluding personal belongings—were listed out and divided as fairly as possible into four parts. Finally, when Wen Xiu brought out the money for everyone to divide, Fang Juxian muttered sarcastically, "Who knows if this is even the real amount?"

Her single sentence once again drew a variety of complicated expressions from everyone present.