Chapter 26

Mother Lu was already upset about her husband’s promise to the family to divide the properties. Now, hearing Father Lu’s words, she immediately jumped up: “Divide? What do you mean divide? Our family is fine, why should it be divided? You old fool, it’s because of those debt collectors making a fuss that you agreed to divide the family! The third branch of the family was already separated, and our family has had enough bad luck! Now you want to tear the whole family apart just because of this? Are you trying to drive me crazy, old man?”

Father Lu, seeing his wife’s unreasonable attitude, furrowed his brows: “What are you talking about? What do you mean I want to tear the family apart? Have you not seen how things are these days? The eldest son’s family doesn’t have the same heart as us, the second son’s family has been wanting to divide for ages, and the eldest and second son’s families are always causing a ruckus, making the house a mess! If we don’t divide the family, our Lu family won’t survive! The situation is unsustainable, and you’re still talking about whether I want to upset you!”

Mother Lu, having lived most of her life, wasn’t a fool. She had long known that the family would eventually be divided, but when the time came, she couldn’t get past the emotional hurdle.

Why should the family be divided?

Once the family is divided, the daughters-in-law will shut themselves away to live their own lives, and who will still care about her, the old lady?

Before the division, she was the revered matriarch of the Lu family, but after the split, she would become the person everyone ignored and despised!

Sitting on the kang with her hands folded, she glared sideways at Father Lu: “So, how do you plan to divide the family?”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow!”

Father Lu, already troubled by the day’s events, threw out the words, pulled the covers over himself, and turned his back to lie down.

Good grief, you old man, always finding a way to dodge it!

Mother Lu shot a glare at Father Lu on the bed, her tired, squinting eyes scanning the large chest at the head of the bed. She quickly hopped off the kang, nimbly walking over to open the chest. She pulled out the hidden money, food stamps, and fabric coupons—things she had saved through careful frugality. The money amounted to around two hundred yuan, along with a stack of colorful coupons, and a shiny pair of silver bracelets.

These were all treasures of Mother Lu. The silver bracelets were part of her dowry. Back in the day, Mother Lu’s family had some wealth. These bracelets were meant to be passed down to her future eldest grandson’s wife. Only the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family would have the right to wear her dowry!

As for the two hundred yuan and the stack of coupons, Mother Lu counted out sixty yuan, tossing it back into the chest, while she carefully tucked the remaining money and coupons into her waistband, hiding them securely. This money and those coupons were meant for her and Father Lu’s retirement.

The debt collectors at home could forget about getting any of it!

Mother Lu had made up her mind: she would not share the family’s money with those debt collectors. After a lifetime of experiences, she had finally figured it out: the eldest and second sons, once they married, completely forgot about their mother, ungrateful sons! And as for the third one, he wasn’t much better.

After all her hard work raising him, he only stayed with the family for a few years before wanting to divide the family and break away. A bunch of ungrateful children!

With her waistband tied tightly, Mother Lu huffed, blew out the lamp, and climbed back into bed.

Before long, the dark room was filled with the sounds of the couple snoring.

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The next morning came quickly. Since Lu Lin was leaving after breakfast to catch the train back to his unit, Jiang Chunzao got up early. She had prepared dough to make five or six egg pancakes, sprinkling them with chopped green onions, mushrooms, and meat bits. The delicious smell was enough to make anyone hungry.

Though it was summer, it was already hot even in the morning. Jiang Chunzao had originally planned to cook millet porridge, but seeing how hot it was outside, she decided to make sweet green bean soup instead. She also prepared some homemade shrimp paste and boiled twenty or so eggs to send with Lu Lin for his journey.

The egg pancakes were soft and delicious. With each bite, the flavor of the mushrooms and meat filled the mouth. Lu Lin finished his breakfast quickly. The clock in the living room showed it was already 6:00 AM, and the train would leave in an hour.

Lu Lin, dressed neatly with his military bag over his shoulder, carrying his two crying children with red eyes, stepped outside. Jiang Chunzao followed, and the family of four headed toward the village entrance to send him off.

As they reached the door, they encountered the Longshan couple, who had come to see Lu Lin off. The two families had been getting along like one family lately.

Knowing Lu Lin was leaving today, Longshan’s wife insisted on coming to see him off.

Before leaving, Jiang Chunzao glanced toward the old Lu family’s door. It was tightly closed, and she guessed the family was still asleep. She huffed in annoyance.

Longshan’s wife, smiling, warmly grabbed her arm and said:

“Chunzao, don’t be angry, there’s nothing to be upset about.”

Jiang Chunzao nodded her head like a rabbit, and Lu Lin, amused, patted his little wife’s head and said, “I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, Dad will be back really soon. Mom, don’t cry,” little Moli said, lying on Lu Lin’s broad back in a childish voice.

Xiao Shitou, trying to act grown-up, comforted her too, “Mom, don’t be sad. Dad’s leaving, but I’ll protect you and little sister, and I’ll catch all the bad guys.”

Xiao Shitou’s innocent words made everyone burst into laughter. Longshan’s elder brother chuckled and said, “What a good kid! You’ll definitely turn out just like your dad and be someone successful!”

Hearing this, Xiao Shitou blushed, causing everyone to laugh even harder. The group continued chatting as they escorted Lu Lin to the village entrance. Before long, the tractor bound for the county town came rumbling out of the village.

Lu Lin, with his military bag, put down little Moli, patted the heads of his two children, gave them some final instructions, and said his goodbyes to everyone. Finally, he turned to his wife, who had rabbit-like eyes, and softly said two words:

“Wait for me.”

After speaking, he jumped onto the tractor, which rumbled off, slowly growing smaller as it headed toward the distance. The family stood at the village entrance, watching until Lu Lin became a tiny black dot, then reluctantly turned and headed home.

On the way back, Longshan’s wife noticed that Jiang Chunzao, holding little Moli and leading little Shitou, seemed downcast. She leaned in and said:

“Chunzao, I heard that your mother-in-law’s family is dividing up today?”

Jiang Chunzao, still deep in the emotions of the farewell, suddenly remembered that today was the day the Lu family would divide the estate. According to the village rules, when a family divides, the people leaving must go to listen in and act as witnesses.

By now, it was already getting late, and Jiang Chunzao recalled that last night, Father Lu had said that early the next morning, he would send Lu Dashan and Lu Ershan to invite the village chief and the uncles to come for the division. It was likely that they were already on their way.

Jiang Chunzao hurriedly said her goodbyes to the Longshan couple, then, with her two children, took long strides as she headed home. Along the way, the three of them switched from fast to slow steps, and by the time they arrived back at the house, they just caught sight of Lu Dashan and Lu Ershan returning with the village chief and other relatives.

Jiang Chunzao breathed a sigh of relief, guiding her two children with small steps as they followed Lu Dashan and the others into the house.

In the living room of the Lu family, Mother Lu was still sitting on the kang with a stern look on her face, ignoring everyone. Seeing her like this, Father Lu just sighed and stood up to greet the village chief and the uncles.

“Rongfa, Big Uncle, Second Uncle, you’re here. Eldest son’s family, second son’s family, go pour some water for the uncles.”

Lu Dazhao and Liu Hongyan, aware that today was the important day for the Lu family’s division of property, were more sensible than Mother Lu. Upon hearing this, they immediately went to pour the water.

The village chief of Lujia Village was named Lu Rongfa. Although both he and Father Lu shared the same surname, they were not related. Father Lu called him “Brother” because they had grown up together. Lu Rongfa was a few years older than Father Lu, and ever since they were kids, Father Lu had called him “Brother,” a habit that had stuck over the years.

Lu Rongfa was a man of great reputation. When he was young, he was known for his strength and agility. In his teens, he had joined the village’s guerrilla forces to fight against the Japanese invaders. After the liberation, he became the captain of the village’s stretcher team. When the old village chief passed away, the villagers chose Lu Rongfa to be the new village chief.

Having served as the village chief for many years, Lu Rongfa’s word was law. Seeing his childhood friend, Father Lu, looking so troubled, he couldn’t help but speak up:

“Old brother, it’s not that I want to criticize you, but you’re over fifty now. Why does it seem like your life is getting worse instead of better?”

Father Lu took a drag from his cigarette and muttered:

“Well, the sky’s about to rain, and my mother’s about to remarry. The kids have grown up, and I can’t control them anymore.”

The village chief’s words irritated Father Lu, who shot him a glare and turned his head, refusing to look at him. Father Lu’s eldest uncle, now in his seventies, saw his nephew acting like this and spoke up:

“Alright, stop with the extra talk. We’re here today to be witnesses. What’s the use of saying all these things?”

Lu Rongfa understood this and waved his hand, saying:

“Right, right. I won’t say more. You Lu family’s matters are for you to decide. Let’s just get the family together now and talk about how you’re dividing up the property.”

Father Lu nodded and began explaining:

“There’s not much to split. The third son’s family already took their share earlier. This time, the remaining things are divided into three parts—pots, bowls, and other utensils. There’s also sixty yuan, about two hundred pounds of grain, and some grain and cloth coupons. All that will be split equally. As for the house, it’s the same as before: each family gets the rooms they were assigned to, and if anyone feels the house is falling apart, they can pay for the repairs themselves. As for me and my wife, we’ll just get by with the little we have left.

For our retirement, we’ll continue as before. The third son’s family will give us ten yuan a month, while the eldest and second sons’ families won’t be as well-off. So, they’ll give us five yuan each month, along with twenty jin (about 10 kg) of grain. If either of us gets sick or anything, the three families will split the medical expenses.”

After saying this, Father Lu fell silent. Lu Dashan and his wife didn’t have any objections to the division. Jiang Chunzao thought the arrangement was fine, but Lu Ershan and Liu Hongyan seemed dissatisfied. They subtly implied that, given how much money Old Man and Mother Lu had saved over the years, it must have been at least several hundred yuan. How could it only be sixty yuan? They also complained that five yuan a month was too much, and suggested it should only be two yuan a month.

When Mother Lu overheard this, she jumped up, furious, and began scolding Lu Ershan and Liu Hongyan.

Mother Lu was no stranger to sharp words; she ranted and cried, completely embarrassing the couple in front of everyone.

Finally, unable to watch any longer, the village chief stepped in and scolded Lu Ershan and his wife: “Do you two really want to drain your parents’ savings? They gave you a house and married you off, and you think that’s not enough? If you want to live a better life, go work for it yourself. Don’t just sit there like bloodsuckers, always eyeing your parents’ meager savings!”

Lu Ershan and his wife were thoroughly scolded by the village chief and hung their heads, not daring to argue. In the end, with the village chief and the uncles as witnesses, the Lu family officially divided their estate.