Chapter 3: I Want to Split the Family

A villager spoke up, “Your family really doesn’t make sense. Why is it that you always lock your daughter-in-law in the woodshed? Xiaoyue was almost sold, and now Xiaoshan’s daughter-in-law is still supposed to calmly go to the woodshed with them?”

“Yes, yes, I think Xiaoshan’s daughter-in-law was just too scared of losing Xiaoyue. She couldn’t bear to sell Xiaoyue, so she beat Xiaohé.”

“Xiaohé, you’re really something. A grown man, yet you let a woman beat you like this. I don’t even know what to say about you.”

The villagers exchanged comments, and Lu Kaifu began to defend his son, “Stop talking. It’s not any of your business. The one who’s really suffering right now is my son Xiaohé.”

Shen Xuezhu just wanted to get the family division over with and not waste anyone’s time. “Father, I want to split the family. Xiaohé’s injury will be fine in a few days.”

Lu Kaifu coughed, “No, you can’t split the family.”

If Shen Xuezhu and her daughters left, the farm work would be left undone. Tian Zhixiang wouldn’t do it; she would only feed the chickens and ducks, wash the clothes, and often run errands in town.

Tian Zhixiang had two older brothers, the eldest of whom owned a noodle shop in town. She had also given birth to two sons for Lu Xiaohé, and he doted on her, not making her do any work.

If Lu Xiaohé insisted that she work, Tian Zhixiang would go back to her parents and tell them that she was doing too much work in the Lu household, and her two brothers would come to confront him.

Lu Kaifu was very fond of his second son and didn’t want Lu Xiaohé to be lectured by Tian Zhixiang’s brothers, so he allowed Tian Zhixiang to stay home without doing much work.

If Shen Xuezhu and her daughters left, all the household chores would fall on Song Guimiao.

And Song Guimiao would also have to do the farm work. Lu Kaifu feared that it would wear her out, which is why he couldn’t agree to the family division.

At this moment, Lu Xiaolin came back and overheard Lu Kaifu’s words.

He asked, “Who wants to split the family? Why would we split the family?”

Lu Kaifu glanced at him and said, “Your sister-in-law wants to split the family.”

Lu Xiaolin asked again, “Why would we split the family?”

Shen Xuezhu told him, “Mother wants to sell Xiaoyue so you can marry.”

Lu Xiaolin had been sent by Song Guimiao to town to buy pork, but as he reached the village entrance, he ran into Xu Ximei, who was heading to her aunt’s house. Lu Xiaolin asked the villagers to help him bring the pork back while he went with her to her aunt’s house.

Xu Ximei was the girl that Song Guimiao had mentioned, the one Lu Xiaolin had liked for a long time.

Now that Xu Ximei had gone home, Lu Xiaolin returned to his own house.

He walked over to Song Guimiao and questioned her, “I told you, I don’t agree with selling Xiaoyue. Why are you still trying to sell her?”

Song Guimiao was stunned for a moment. She had worked so hard for Lu Xiaolin to get a wife, but now he was angrily confronting her.

She immediately sat down on the ground, throwing a tantrum.

“Is this how you treat your good mother? You’re yelling at me! Selling Xiaoyue was forced upon me!”

“The family’s money all went to your father’s leg treatment. If I don’t sell Xiaoyue, where will I get the eighteen liang of silver for your marriage?”

A villager stepped forward and tried to pull Song Guimiao up, “Song, don’t make a scene. Xiaolin is a kind-hearted person. He doesn’t want his niece to be sold. And besides, is selling Xiaoyue the only way to get that eighteen liang of silver?”

Song Guimiao stood up, “Then where else can I get the eighteen liang?”

Lu Xiaolin came up with an idea, “Mother, you can sell some of the land. That will give you the eighteen liang. Once I earn some money, I’ll pay you back.”

Song Guimiao looked at him in disbelief, “You good-for-nothing, don’t you know how much you’re worth? Have you ever earned a single coin for the family?”

Lu Xiaolin looked at Lu Kaifu again and said, “Father, I promise that once I make money, I will repay you the eighteen liang of silver. Everyone is here, you can trust me.”

Lu Kaifu was half-convinced. He thought back to how often Lu Xiaolin had mentioned that he favored his brother Lu Xiaohé.

At this moment, Lu Kaifu chose to agree to Lu Xiaolin’s promise. He didn’t want Lu Xiaolin to think he was being partial to Lu Xiaohé anymore.

Also, with Lu Xiaohé married, even if Shen Xuezhu and her daughters left, the household chores and farm work could be handled by his daughter-in-law. Lu Xiaohé would also, out of obligation, work harder in the fields since he now had a wife.

But on the surface, Lu Kaifu still appeared troubled, “Now, Shen Xuezhu and her daughters want to split the family, and you want to sell the land to marry off the third son—these two matters are really difficult for this old man!”

“And with one less person to help with the fieldwork, what are we going to do?”

Lu Xiaolin thought it was an easy fix, “Father, I promise I’ll work hard in the future and won’t slack off.”

“This is something you’re saying in front of everyone, with the village head here. You need to follow through!”

“Father, I will,” Lu Xiaolin reassured him.

The village head thought for a moment. Since Shen Xuezhu had severely injured Lu Xiaohé, and no one had brought it up again, he figured it was a family matter and decided not to interfere. He felt sympathy for Shen Xuezhu and her daughters, knowing that they lived a miserable life in the Lu household.

He said, “Old brother, so you’re agreeing to let Shen Xuezhu and her daughters split off?”

Lu Kaifu exchanged a glance with Song Guimiao. She gave him a slight nod, and only then did he say, “I agree to let them split the family!”

Song Guimiao agreed to the division because she felt that since Shen Xuezhu hit her head, she had changed. She was no longer as easy to control as before and wouldn’t be as obedient in the future. After the division, if Shen Xuezhu had no money or food and came back asking for something to eat, Song Guimiao would be able to teach her a lesson.

She said to the village head, “Village head, since the family is splitting, please write up the family division document for us.”

The village head, who had been the head of Qingtang Village for over twenty years and was in his fifties, looked like someone who had weathered many storms. He responded in a low voice, “Alright.”

Song Guimiao then shouted, “We also need to sell part of the land to help our third son marry. The land can’t be divided to Shen Xuezhu.”

“Your father broke his leg, and we’ve spent all the remaining money on his treatment. There’s no money left to give her.”

Shen Xuezhu wasn’t pushy. Since Lu Xiaolin had opposed selling Lu Xiaoyue, she decided not to ask for the land.

Otherwise, she was worried that if the land was given to her, the old couple might not want to sell land to marry off Lu Xiaohé.

She said, “I don’t want the land or the money, just the mountain land, a place to live, food, and the pots and pans.”

Lu Kaifu gave her a meaningful look. “Fine, there are six plots of mountain land in the family. Since you don’t want the farmland, I’ll give you the three plots of mountain land behind the old house.”

He continued, “As for a place to live, we’ll give you the old house.”

Since Lu Kaifu said this in front of everyone, Song Guimiao couldn’t object.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “The family has seven hens and one rooster. I’ll give two hens to Shen Xuezhu.”