Chapter 10: Delaying Tactics

Qiao Youfu and Qiao Youcai had never experienced such intense paternal love, and their hearts softened, “Dad, we don’t blame you.”

Qiao Jiuwang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, “Even if you blame me, it’s understandable. Jianhua, Jianguo, and you are brothers. 

In my lifetime, I want to see you brothers united. Second son’s wife hasn’t given birth yet, and I’m thinking about you two.

If… you’ll still rely on Jianhua and Jianguo. I know you blame me for favoring Jianhua and Jianguo, but I’m doing this for you…”

“Dad is speaking from the heart. Can you understand Dad’s intentions?  Have you decided to split up?” Qiao Jiuwang finished, looking sadly at his two sons.

“Dad,” Qiao Youfu and Qiao Youcai lowered their heads without speaking.  Yesterday, Jiangxin had told them everything, and they weren’t fools.

Qiao Jiuwang’s eyes dimmed, “Alas, I’m getting old, I can’t manage so much anymore.  Every family has its own blessings.  Big trees have many branches. Since you’ve decided, then so be it.

But you know the situation. Jianhua is learning a trade with his in-laws, and Jianguo is irresponsible. The harvest hasn’t been brought in yet. Let’s wait until the end of the year to split up.  By then, the grain will be stored, and there will be no more work in the fields…”

Qiao Jiangxin’s heart sank.  He was indeed an old fox.  Seeing that the calculated risk hadn’t worked, he immediately resorted to delaying tactics.

She quickly stopped her uncle and father from agreeing, “Grandpa, there’s no need for so much trouble. Besides, with Grandma like that, we can’t let Mom live under the same roof with her.  Just divide the house and our land. 

Write the agreement, we’ll still work in the fields, and when the harvest is in, you can divide the grain.”

Qiao Jiuwang saw Qiao Jiangxin butting in again, his temples throbbing, “We’re talking, what are you, a girl, interrupting?”

His voice was filled with suppressed anger.

“Are you confused because your grandmother is confused? Do you even have a grandfather in your eyes?  In your hearts, am I so unreasonable?  No more discussion, this is settled.”

Qiao Jiangxin said frankly, “Grandpa, you beat Grandma, then you poured out your heart, and now you’re using delaying tactics.  Ultimately, you just want to control us and make us work like oxen and horses!”

Qiao Youfu and Qiao Youcai finally came to their senses, “Dad, we, we don’t need to wait until the end of the year…”

Qiao Jiuwang looked at Qiao Youfu and Qiao Youcai impassively, “Even if parents are wrong, they raised you this big.  That’s not an excuse for your unfilial behavior. Or, if you really have the ability, as your mother said, leave with nothing and get out of this house!”

After speaking, Qiao Jiuwang threw down his sweat towel and left, without even eating breakfast, grabbing his hoe and leaving.

Qiao Jiangxin was furious, “Why should we leave with nothing?  Everything in this house was earned by Uncle and Dad. You have the nerve to say you’re not biased, and you still have the face to pretend to be affectionate here. I tell you, if you don’t split up now, you’ll regret it!”

Liu Afang quickly pulled her daughter, worriedly shaking her head.

Leaving with nothing? They didn’t have the courage.  The baby was about to be born, and they didn’t even have a place to live. How would they survive?

“Jiangxin, forget it. Since he said he’ll split it at the end of the year, it’s only three more months.  Let’s just endure it. Your uncle and your husband are his own flesh and blood. He won’t just ignore them…”

Qiao Jiangxin snorted coldly, “You think too highly of him. Even if he had a shred of paternal love for Uncle and Dad, Uncle wouldn’t still be single. 

You and Dad haven’t been able to have children for so many years, and Grandma constantly uses this to pressure you. Did Grandpa ever tell you to go to the clinic for a check-up?”

Qiao Youcai was dejected, “Brother… where did we fail him? Why does he have to hold us back like this?”

Qiao Youfu also lowered his head, but his clenched fist showed that he wasn’t at peace.

People in the village laughed at him, even the young children. He was a man, too, and he longed for a family, for a wife, children, and a warm home.

Last year, a widow had approached him privately. She said that as long as her son was settled, she would live a good life with him.

He had been overjoyed, but Lei Honghua said they didn’t have the money.

He had tried again later. The widow said she could give one hundred yuan first, and the rest later.  Lei Honghua still said no, and Qiao Jiuwang didn’t say a word.  For so many years, they had worked tirelessly. How could the family not have even one hundred yuan?

Sure enough, Lei Honghua soon spent three hundred yuan to get Jianguo a temporary job.

He understood better than his brother that if they stayed in this family, their lives would be hopeless. He had strength, and he wasn’t willing to give up.

Even if he could leave something behind, he would only leave it to Jiangxin and the child in his sister-in-law’s belly.

Taking a deep breath, Qiao Youfu looked up at his niece, “Jiangxin, let’s just leave with nothing. Your father and I are strong. I don’t believe we can’t support you and Afang.”

Qiao Youcai looked at his wife’s belly with a complex expression, “There are two abandoned rooms in the educated youth’s settlement by the village. I heard from Aizi that as long as we pay some money, the brigade will rent them to us.

Grain… we can borrow some.  But our land… if Dad doesn’t let us take it…”

Hearing her brother-in-law and husband’s words, Liu Afang subconsciously looked at Qiao Jiangxin.

Qiao Jiangxin stiffened her neck, “Why? If it weren’t for Uncle and Dad, would Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle have been able to study? Would the family have accumulated so much wealth? Third Uncle’s marriage, Little Aunt’s marriage, Fourth Uncle’s job, wasn’t all that money earned by us?

You were earning adult work points when you were teenagers. My mother worked like a man.  I was forced to quit school and work in the fields at the age of three.  Uncle and Dad have worked hard for over twenty years, raising their younger siblings, without enough to eat or wear. Why should we leave with nothing?”

“Let’s stay calm for a few days. I have a way to make them beg us to split up. Since they won’t give us a way to live, don’t blame us for fighting back!”

Qiao Jiangxin whispered a few words to her uncle and parents, then went into the chicken coop and wrung the rooster’s neck.  Might as well eat it, they wouldn’t give it to them anyway. As long as they didn’t split up, they were still family.  Eat first, then think.

Lei Honghua heard the rooster’s screams and rushed out of the room. She saw Qiao Jiangxin coming out of the chicken coop with the rooster. 

She was so angry that she almost fainted.

Authors note: hello dear babies i’m really sorry for waiting so long, I will upload more chapters tomorrow night. thank you for supporting me. Enjoy reading we love you all.