Chapter 122: The Dust Settles

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: The Dust Settles

’Is this woman ever going to stop?’

Wen Xiu was so angry she was practically shaking. Without a word, she stormed into the inner room. A moment later, she came out with a simple, hand-bound notebook—the kind made from various scraps of paper stitched together with a needle and thread—and slammed it on the table with a THWACK.

"Fang Juxian, since you’ve forced the issue today, I’m not afraid to air our dirty laundry. This notebook contains a record of our family’s income and expenses over the years, ever since Eldest started earning money. Every bit of money, every grain of food—it’s all recorded here, clear as day. Take a look. See for yourselves who has contributed to this family over the years. And who has only looked out for themselves—so much so that they even took care of their wife’s family, letting them eat and drink well, while completely ignoring the very family that gave birth to and raised them. It’s all recorded clearly. Let our relatives and the clan elders take a look, so they can all get a clear picture."

Wen Xiu wasn’t unaware that her second son, a cook, often went out to help people but never brought any of the benefits home. Although she had never said a word of criticism to him, whenever the villagers enviously told her how lucky she was to have a son who was a cook and could always bring back good things to improve their meals, an indescribable bitterness would well up inside her.

Especially when people told her about this or that time her second son had taken something to his mother-in-law’s house. On the surface, she would pretend to be magnanimous, replying, "A mother-in-law is a mother too. He should be filial to her." But inside, her heart was bleeding... ’A mother-in-law deserves respect, of course, but does that mean his own parents can just be forgotten?’

She was too proud, unable to bring herself to ask her second son and his wife for any of that food. Every time the second son’s family had something good, they would hide and eat it by themselves. Even when the aroma of meat drifted out, she would pretend not to smell it. But over time, her heart had truly grown cold. She felt as if she had raised her son for nothing. That was why her attitude toward her second son today was so harsh; it was the result of deep-seated resentment.

Zhang Damei was the first to reach for the notebook. After flipping through it, he passed it to a clan elder beside him, clicked his tongue, and shook his head at Zhang Dazhuang. "I say, Fourth, anyone who didn’t know better would really think you were biased toward Second and Third. Most of this money you’ve saved up came from Eldest. By rights, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to give half of it to him, but you... Ai... Truly, some people have no sense of basic filial piety or shame."

’Everyone knew that Fourth’s second son was a cook and often went out to help people. And for a cook, it’s an unspoken rule that no matter which family you help, even the most struggling host will give you some good food to take home in addition to your wages. Logically, before the family split, that money and those goods should have been handed over to the head of the household for distribution. But it was clear that his fourth brother’s family had been laissez-faire about it, not forcing anyone to turn things in, relying instead on their conscience. And this fourth sister-in-law of his was quite a character. She recorded everything in the family account book, down to the smallest detail. Even what day they ate meat, and where it came from... Later on, probably because she couldn’t stand it anymore, she meticulously noted how many days a month each of her three sons and daughters-in-law helped with family chores, who slacked off while working, and who was really putting in the effort. Hehehe...’

Zhang Damei laughed inwardly. ’A literate matriarch who wasn’t exactly large-hearted... this move of hers is something else. He really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.’

’But then again, his fourth brother’s second nephew had gone too far. He’d originally thought the nephew would at least bring back half of the food he received. But looking at the book, it turned out he hadn’t brought anything back, not even once. He thought he must have missed it and even flipped back to check carefully, but no, there was nothing. Third was pretty much the same as Second, with the extra money he earned...’

’What did that prove?’

’Hehe, if he was this ruthless before the family was even split, what could they expect from him after? No wonder Fourth Sister-in-law had even threatened to kick those two sons out and sever ties with them today.’

After the clan elders finished reading the account book, their mouths twitched. The looks they gave the Zhang family’s second and third sons were filled with an inscrutable meaning. Even Wen Xiu’s nephew from her maiden family impulsively slammed the table and shouted, "This is too much! Aunt, Uncle, I don’t think this division of money is fair! The first branch is clearly getting the short end of the stick. Why don’t you reconsider the distribution?"

The expressions on Fang Juxian, Zhang Weihong, Guo Xiuying, and Zhang Weimin’s faces all changed. They were also curious about what exactly was written in that notebook. When the book finally made its way into Zhang Weihong’s hands, he scrutinized it. The more he read, the more ashen his face became. He stood up and slapped Fang Juxian hard across the face. Then, he turned to Wen Xiu and Zhang Dazhuang with a woeful expression. "Dad, Mom, it’s true I sent some of the things I brought back to my mother-in-law’s, but I gave a lot of it to Juxian and told her to give it to you! Who knew she’d hide it from me and not give you a single thing?" ’And I never imagined you’d keep such clear records, and now it’s all been exposed like this—’

Zhang Weihong was ashamed, angry, and utterly humiliated. He was also filled with intense worry and fear. ’This happened in front of outsiders, so the news is bound to spread. I’ll be drowned in gossip.’ His eyes were red as he slapped Fang Juxian again, who was holding her face and staring at him in disbelief. He roared, "What are you looking at? Yeah, I hit you! What about it? You muddle-headed woman! Didn’t I give you things every time and tell you to take some to Mom? How could you... how could you secretly send them to your parents’ house again?

..."

"No, it’s not like that! You never bring much back. I saw it was just a little bit, not even enough for our own kids to get a good meal, so I secretly cooked it for them." Seeing Zhang Weihong’s face red with rage and hearing his words, Fang Juxian realized her mother-in-law’s account book must have recorded even this. Fear seized her, and at the same time, she was filled with hatred for her mother-in-law. ’Why would she record such a trivial little thing?’

In reality, most of that meat had gone into her own mouth. The children hadn’t even gotten much, and some of it she had indeed secretly taken to her parents’ house, just as Zhang Weihong suspected. But she didn’t dare tell the truth now.

Fang Juxian didn’t notice that her three children, who were taking the blame for her, had all lowered their heads in shame. Though silent, they were each secretly clenching their fists.

"You can’t do that, even for the children!" Zhang Weihong roared.

Beside him, Zhang Weimin, who was looking through the notebook, was also flushed with shame. The book recorded that their branch of the family had almost only taken from the main family, with no contribution in return. In contrast, the difference between them and Eldest Brother’s family was like heaven and earth.

"Alright, it’s just a small matter. Second Brother, don’t keep fighting with Second Sister-in-law over this. Second Brother, Third Brother, don’t blame Mom in your hearts. She didn’t intend to bring this notebook out in the first place, did she? If it weren’t for Second Sister-in-law’s suspicions, why would Mom have impulsively tried to prove to you that she wasn’t hiding any money or goods?" Zhang Wei Qiang had also briefly flipped through the account book earlier. He was both surprised that his mother had the patience to record all this and found it secretly amusing.

He turned to his parents, as well as his Eldest Uncle, the clan elders, and his eldest cousin who were seated, and said with a smile, "Let’s still divide the money into four shares. As the eldest, it’s no big deal if I take a small loss. There’s no need to haggle with my younger brothers." ’The family division has already come this far, and the dust is about to settle. There’s no need to stir up more trouble over a little bit of money.’

Everyone nodded and sighed in admiration at Zhang Wei Qiang’s words. Zhang Weihong and Zhang Weimin lowered their heads in shame. They opened their mouths, but in the end, said nothing more. Fang Juxian, however, lowered her head with eyes full of grievance and resentment. ’What does my eldest brother-in-law mean by that? He’s clearly covering for his mother and making it so my husband and younger brother-in-law will blame everything on me!’

Finally, the family division agreement was written up. Everyone signed their names and pressed their thumbprints on it. Just as everything was settled and it was time for everyone to disperse, Zhang Damei suddenly stood up and said, "Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you."