Chapter 10: Dividing the Family

Village Chief Fang Dashan looked at the serious atmosphere before him, feeling uneasy inside.

To be honest, even though he was the head of the village, he didn’t like getting involved in the Zhao family’s affairs.

After all, how often did he find himself in situations where he couldn’t win no matter what he did?

When Zhao Maizhou came to call him earlier, his first instinct was to refuse.

If it had been anyone else from the Zhao family, he would have refused outright. But since it was Maizhou, he felt he couldn’t turn him down. No matter what, he had to go.

This boy was a good one—hardworking, capable, and willing to help the people in the village. He was nothing like his mother, who had a bad reputation.

If he didn’t show up, a good child like this would end up facing all of Chen Shuilian’s blame.

Sigh, he really didn’t understand what Chen Shuilian was thinking—how could she not appreciate such a good son and instead favor that worthless Zhao Jiagu?

With Zhao Jiagu’s lazy and slippery nature, what could anyone expect from him when he grew older?

In Fang Dashan’s opinion, if something really went wrong, the first one to back out would definitely be Zhao Jiagu.

Sometimes, it was clear that outsiders could see things more clearly than those involved.

Fang Dashan glanced at the tense atmosphere and hesitated for a moment before saying, “What’s going on? Why did you suddenly call me here?”

Chen Shuilian calmly looked at the village chief and said, “I called you to be a witness. I want to divide the family. Today, I’m going to kick this ungrateful child out! From now on, he has nothing to do with our family.”

The village chief followed the direction of Chen Shuilian’s finger and was shocked to see the last person he ever expected.

What?

Had Chen Shuilian lost her mind?

She actually wanted to kick Zhao Jiagu out?!

He couldn’t believe it…

Was this really happening?

Fang Dashan blinked, his eyes wide with disbelief. It was indeed Zhao Jiagu she was referring to.

He couldn’t help but rub his eyes again.

Good grief, it really was Zhao Jiagu!

The village chief’s shocked expression didn’t go unnoticed by Chen Shuilian.

Sigh, it seemed no one could believe she would actually go this far.

Chen Shuilian said with certainty, “Village Chief, stop rubbing your eyes. You’re not mistaken. It’s Zhao Jiagu, this unfilial son. I called you here today to divide the family.”

The village chief twitched his lips, thinking for a moment before finally advising, “Shuilian, are you sure about this? Don’t make decisions in the heat of the moment. Don’t joke about such things.”

Who could believe that one day Chen Shuilian would actually kick Zhao Jiagu out?

It was impossible!

It had to be just angry words. If he really got involved and Chen Shuilian regretted it afterward, he’d be the one caught in the middle.

At his age, he didn’t want to be the one getting scolded by Chen Shuilian later.

Just thinking about how she yelled when she was angry made the village chief shudder.

He’d seen angry people, but none as ferocious as her. She had a kind of energy that made it feel like she’d fight to the death if provoked. He couldn’t afford to mess with that.

But Chen Shuilian was firm in her decision. “I’ve made up my mind. No more hesitation. I’m dividing the family today.”

The village chief was full of doubts and didn’t know how to respond.

Seeing his hesitation, Chen Shuilian understood what he was thinking.

Sigh, it was her fault. She had failed so badly in life that even the village chief was genuinely scared of her.

But this couldn’t be delayed any longer; it had to be resolved quickly.

Chen Shuilian was left with no choice but to bring out her most intimidating tactic. She put her hands on her hips, furrowed her brow, and shot him a glare. Just as she was about to take on her usual scolding posture, the village chief, quite tactfully, stepped forward.

“Fine, since you’ve made up your mind, we’ll do it your way. But let me say this first—don’t come to me later if you regret it. Even if you do regret it, don’t come to my house and complain. I’ve warned you already; you didn’t listen!”

Oh my, he was scared out of his wits. Luckily, he spoke quickly and managed to stop Chen Shuilian before she could escalate things.

Since it seemed like he couldn’t avoid being scolded no matter what, he figured it was better to delay the scolding than face it right away.

But he couldn’t understand what had gotten into Chen Shuilian today. After his words, she responded surprisingly calmly.

“No, no, don’t worry. I’ll be forever grateful. From now on, you’ll be my benefactor, and I won’t hold anything against you because of this.”

The village chief didn’t care about being her benefactor; he just wanted fewer problems. He still hoped to live a few more years.

He stretched out his hand. “Bring me paper and ink, then.”

The village chief took a moment, his eyes shifting around the yard as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation. When his gaze landed on Liu Hong, he squinted, clearly troubled. Before he could process further, Chen Shuilian began recounting the events that had led to this point.

The more he listened, the more incredulous he became.

An affair?

And she was pregnant?

Now, Zhao Jiagu wanted to divorce his legitimate wife and marry the woman he had an affair with?

Each detail was more shocking than the last.

If the village chief had thought that perhaps Chen Shuilian would continue to spoil her son, he was sorely mistaken. She was standing up for the daughter-in-law now, even though Zhao Jiagu had clearly done something unforgivable. This was something the village chief had never expected.

In his mind, he thought Chen Shuilian would certainly support her son in this situation, no matter what. But here, in this critical moment, she had turned her judgment around completely.

After all, this was an embarrassing matter—utterly disgraceful.

Even someone without shame could not go as far as Zhao Jiagu had. He could have taken the mistress in, perhaps even married her, although it wasn’t common practice in the village. But at least people wouldn’t have been too vocal about it.

However, for Zhao Jiagu to do something so shameless and then try to cast aside his legitimate wife—well, that was a different matter entirely. This was the line that had to be drawn.

If it were up to the village chief, he would certainly agree with Chen Shuilian and separate Zhao Jiagu from the family.

After all, it would affect the future of her younger son too. In a few years, when he was of marriageable age, who would want to marry him with such a scandalous older brother leading the way? Certainly, no respectable family would want their daughter anywhere near that.

A troublesome mother-in-law wasn’t the worst thing a woman could face, but a husband who wasn’t aligned with her—that was a whole different kind of nightmare.