Chapter 4: Uncle Shows Up, Splitting the Family 

After Shen Jintao felt a bit better, the two of them finally left the state-run restaurant. The young girl at the counter sighed to her senior colleague, “If only I could find a soldier as my partner. Everyone says soldiers are rough, but he seems very considerate to me.”

Her coworkers all laughed, saying this young girl wasn’t shy to say whatever she wanted.

Huo Beichuan took Shen Jintao to the county department store, and the two began picking out things needed for the wedding.

Candy and snacks were essential. Although weddings were simple in this era, Huo Beichuan still bought a lot, saying it was to share the happiness with everyone.

Shen Jintao felt more and more that her dream wasn’t real. In the dream, when Shen Chunmiao married Huo Beichuan, all these arrangements were handled by Liu Guifen. She never heard that he personally took Shen Chunmiao shopping.

“I still have a watch coupon here, but with three rotations and one chime, it might be too late now. I’ll buy you a watch first. When you join the army, I’ll make up the rest for you.”

After buying those little scattered items, Huo Beichuan led her to the watch counter.

But Shen Jintao’s focus was elsewhere. “Are you going to take me with you to the army?”

“You’re my wife, of course you’ll go with me,” Huo Beichuan answered without hesitation.

Shen Jintao fell silent. In her dream, Shen Chunmiao didn’t go to the army either. It seemed everything was different. But that dream was so real, she could still vividly remember the heartbreak when she uncovered the truth. She didn’t quite understand it.

She hadn’t liked the army before, thinking that being an educated youth was better. But after just half a day of contact, Shen Jintao unexpectedly found this man quite good.

Even though Shen Jintao insisted many times that there was no need to buy a watch, Huo Beichuan still firmly bought one for her and put it on her wrist right away, not allowing her to take it off.

The two of them carried their big and small bags of things back home. Before they even got there, an enthusiastic auntie called out to Shen Jintao, “Taozi, hurry home and see! Your uncles are here, and they’re about to start fighting with your second uncle’s family!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Jintao immediately rushed home.

Huo Beichuan quickly followed behind her, not even bothering to put the things away first.

“You bunch of black-hearted rotten assholes! Do you really think no one’s left in the old Xu family? Today I want to see who dares to bully my niece!”

When Shen Jintao got home, all three uncles and their wives had arrived. Leading the charge was the eldest aunt Zhang Qin, who was pulling on Xie Lanzhi’s hair, yelling, “Tell that black-hearted dead girl of yours to come out! She pushed my Taozi with that one hand, and today I’m going to take her arm off!”

Xu Xuemei was very proud of her sister-in-law’s fighting spirit. She crossed her arms and watched the scene, adding fuel to the fire with her words, “Exactly! If Taozi hadn’t woken up and said she pushed her, and that there were footprints by the river, that dead girl still wouldn’t admit it!”

Upon hearing her sister-in-law’s words, Zhang Qin pulled harder, almost tearing the scalp off Xie Lanzhi.

“Let go! Let go right now!”

“That girl’s not even home! Don’t take it out on me!”

Xie Lanzhi was about to cry, but her husband was also held tightly by the three rough guys from the old Xu family, unable to help himself.

“Eldest daughter-in-law, what exactly are you trying to do?” Wang Lanxiu looked at Xu Xuemei with a serious face.

“Mom, don’t blame me for this, you’ve seen it yourself. The second brother’s family never really treated us as real brothers. That dead girl Shen Chunmiao could do something like that — we just can’t live together anymore. Who knows when they might try to get rid of us.”

Xu Xuemei spoke bluntly.

“So you want to split the family?” Wang Xiulan’s face turned completely dark. When it came to hard work, no one in the family was tougher than Xu Xuemei and Shen Jianmin, not even 13-year-old Shen Jidong who was quite capable.

If they really split, life wouldn’t be easy for the second brother’s family.

“Yes, we want to split the family!”

Xu Xuemei was very straightforward. Now that things had escalated, no one could blame them for anything.

“Where’s your eldest brother? Are you just going to let your wife make such a fuss?”

Shen Jianmin spoke up when his mother mentioned his name, “We usually live together, and I don’t mind who does more or less work, but Shen Chunmiao is clearly trying to ruin Taozi’s life. This family must be divided.”

Shen Jintao was somewhat moved. Her parents were willing to go this far for her. Thinking of their fate in her dream, even though it was just a dream, it made her heart ache.

“You’re just here to watch the show. There’s still some things going on at home. Why don’t you go back first?” Shen Jintao looked at Huo Beichuan.

Huo Beichuan shook his head, “We’re getting married soon. You don’t have to separate me from you so clearly. What do you think about the Shen Chunmiao matter?”

Shen Jintao understood his meaning. Actually, it was just that Shen Chunmiao was stupid. There were people walking by the river every day. Even if there were footprints, it was impossible to check every single one. The chance of proving guilt was very small.

But Shen Chunmiao showed guilt, and that was enough for Shen Jintao. She only wanted others to believe her— even if the police came and said there wasn’t enough evidence, she wouldn’t be afraid. Shen Chunmiao’s guilty conscience said it all.

“Actually, even if we really called the police, it’s unlikely they could convict her. So many people walk by the river, the footprints would’ve been long gone. I just wanted to scare her a bit—didn’t expect her mental strength to be that weak,” Shen Jintao smiled. She didn’t want Huo Beichuan to waste his energy over her matter. More importantly, he was a soldier—if he used his connections to get someone punished, it might affect his record.

Huo Beichuan thought for a moment and decided to respect Shen Jintao’s decision. “Once I’m back at the unit, I’ll immediately submit a request. As soon as the housing is approved, I’ll come back to pick you up.”

Letting her continue living in the village—even with both sets of parents watching over her—still didn’t sit right with him.

The three uncles and aunts from the Xu family were no joke when it came to fighting. After Shen Jianmin clearly stated his stance, Wang Lanxiu had no other option. She could only turn to her husband, hoping he could say something to stop the family from splitting apart.

Old Master Shen’s words carried weight—even Xu Xuemei respected her father-in-law. But that was also because he had a clear sense of reason.

Old Master Shen sighed. “Let’s split.”

He knew the family couldn’t stay together anymore. If they kept living under the same roof, even real brothers would end up enemies.

A lot had happened in the Shen family lately, and soon news of the family split spread through the village women like wildfire. For a while, the Shen family drama dominated the “entertainment headlines” of Huaxi Brigade.

There wasn’t much worth dividing in the household anyway. A few respected elders from the village were invited to witness the split. Aside from what belonged to the elderly couple, everything else was evenly divided in two.

But Xu Xuemei didn’t even want a share of the house. She only asked for 50 more yuan in cash. Once Shen Jintao and Huo Beichuan finished their wedding, they’d find a plot of land and build their own house.