FCW – Chapter 002

Translated by Sakura Time

Zhang Ping knows the situation of his family very well.

He is the only member of the family who earns a monthly salary, while the rest of the family works in the fields to acquire food rations. Not to mention that the money he sent back every month was collected by his mother, Li Manfen. After all, they haven’t parted from the main family yet.

It’s just that his mother is partial to his eldest brother and youngest brother. He is not at home most of the time, so his wife probably suffers from the disadvantage of him not being around and his wife not being his mother’s favorite. Even if he covertly saves money for Su Hui when he comes back, it’s not much use because his mother always finds a way to gouge the money out of his wife’s hands. With him around, there’ll be no problem since he can protect them from his mother. But if by chance he could not return home, he knows that his mother would no longer be concerned about them.

His father is not that biased, but he is quite ruthless and believes that men are in charge outside and women are in charge inside the house. He usually doesn’t care about these trivial things, so Zhang Ping knows that his wife and children will not be able to live well. Moreover, so many people in the family are crowded together in one room. He knows that in the future, his children will not be happy about it. What happens then when they grow up?

Su Hui continued to read:”… the family already has quite a large population, and we can’t continue to live there. I have many sons myself, and have always wanted to move out to start my own branch. If I can’t return home this time, I would like to ask for permission from my parents and for a favor from the captain and Sun Qiang. I have already told the captain about the area I have previously acquired; it is on the wasteland behind his house. I have also discussed with them the matters related to the construction of the house. They will surely come to help… “

The team’s captain, Zhang Chengye, also retired from the team before. Thanks to his recommendation, Zhang Ping was able to become a soldier. He held great prestige in the village after he retired due to injury and later served as the leader of their village.

Li Manfen’s chest is about to explode. What does that mean? Son, what do you mean?

If her son had not died, she would have grabbed him by the shirt and asked him what he wrote in his letter meant. Did he want to move out because he knew that she was not treating her daughter-in-law and grandchildren properly? Is that why he suddenly wants them to move out of their house?

If she followed what was written in her son’s letter, will she still have face in the future?

Subsidy for wartime deaths…When she thought of her son’s usual income, she knew what a large sum of money that would be. So why?! Why should she give half of the money to them? When her son’s money is usually collected by her?!

As soon as Li Manfen got emotional, her body moved, wanting to tear up the letter. But Su Hui was fast enough to dodge. She then glanced at Sun Qiang, who was frowning in the middle.

The tears on Li Manfen’s face have disappeared. Her eyes were cold while looking at her daughter-in-law.

Her son’s sudden behavior must have been her daughter-in-law’s fault! It’s all her fault!

Sun Qiang exhaled a sigh. He had heard Brother Ping mention it before, and vaguely knew that his mother was eccentric, but he did not expect her to try to tear up the letter in front of him.

“The wartime death subsidy is a total of one thousand yuan. This is your family’s share, which is worth five hundred yuan. Tearing the letter won’t change anything since I already read the letter before I even came here. I also discussed the matters with Zhang Chengye earlier. He’ll be here any minute from now.”

Speaking of the devil, Zhang Chengye entered the room with the original Su Hui’s second son, Zhang Weiguo, who smartly went over to open the courtyard door for him. Li Manfen wanted to receive the money, but her husband, Zhang Gen, took it from her.

Su Hui saw Zhang Chengye and immediately handed him the letter. Li Manfen again covered her face and whimpered: “Second daughter-in-law, why do you have to move out? You have so many children. How can you take care of them alone? If you’re here with us at home, all of us can be of help to you. What’s more, if you move out, you have to do all the work at home and in the field. How can you afford to do all of it by yourself?”

Su Hui felt that this letter had scratched her itch and solved the biggest problem for her, thinking back to her memories of a room packed with five people and how she always did the dirtiest and most tiring work at home; how she was always accused by her mother-in-law of secretly hiding money and asked to buy this and that to subsidize the family; how she was jealously worn by her sisters-in-law… She has no intention of living such a life, and there is no need to pull herself into the mud to pay back the karma.

So Su Hui hugged the shoulder of her eldest son, Zhang Baoguo, and said, “The children are old enough to do all the work at home.”

Zhang Baoguo is not young; he is already ten years old. He already understood what was happening, that his father was no longer here with them, and that he wanted them to move out. Moving out is good! As for work, what work has he never done in this family? His work in the field has not stopped. After all, a young man like him is already half the labor force and can earn work points in the field.

Zhang Baoguo stood up and supported his small chest in the glare of his grandmother: “Grandma, don’t worry, I can do the work at home, and I can also take care of my brothers!”

Zhang Weiguo also spoke out, “I can do it too.”

Li Manfen pointed at them, “What nonsense! You can’t do so much!”

Su Hui looked at the original’s youngest twin sons and added, “They are also five years old now, so they do not need to be watched all day. Besides, their older brothers are old enough to help, so it’s now easy to take care of them. ” The children in the family have always been free-ranging. The older children have always looked after the younger ones. Don’t you think it’s too late to say something to help take care of them?

Despite her dissatisfaction with what she had heard, Li Manfen argued, “If you move out, you will have to build a house. And that will be very costly! Besides, don’t you think it’s better to use that amount of money to extend our house and build another room instead? ” The youngest son is also getting married, and she is worried that the rooms at home are lacking.

The second son is not wrong; the house is indeed not enough for them to live in.

She was sad to see her second son go, but people have to look ahead after all.

“What do you think?” Zhang Gen asked Su Hui in a muffled voice.

Su Hui lowered her eyes and stroked the hair of her eldest son next to her: “I’ll listen to their father. I will keep our children and will take care of them by myself. We’ll live in our own house too. In this way, it’ll be easier and more convenient for them to marry in the future.”

Zhang Gen nodded in agreement, “If that’s your decision, then so be it.”

He had three sons. Now all of them live together in four rooms. He has one with his wife, one for the eldest son, and the other for the second son. The youngest son hasn’t got a family yet, so he lives alone in a single room, but that room also serves as a utility room. There is really no more room to live in.

Now, the eldest son of the second family is ten years old. He will talk about marriage in a few years. Where will he live then?

It was supposed to be done by the second son himself, but now that he has died for their country, they can only do it themselves.

Li Manfen wanted to grab Su Hui and yell at her, but she wanted face. Usually, when she was with their family, it was fine. But not right now since there were others, one of whom was the captain of a military team. She had no choice but to keep her rage under control, which she did. She simply covered her face with both hands and began to cry.

Zhang Quan has been unable to speak. He is the eldest brother. His brother’s parents, wife, and son are all there. But it is difficult to speak, especially when it comes to money. Now that his father has spoken, he can finally talk. Turning his face to Su Hui, he said, “Sister-in-law, tell me when the construction starts, and we will help.”

His arm was then squeezed by his wife, who was next to him. But Su Hui quickly gave her thanks: “Thank you, eldest brother.”

After that, he turned to Sun Qiang and said, “He said in the letter that you could help, but building a house requires bricks. Do you have a way to do it? “

Then he turned to the captain and asked, “Captain, can I start the construction on that land now?”

Li Manfen was dissatisfied and glanced at Zhang Gen: “Do you still want to build a brick house? Brick houses cost a lot of money! “

Su Hui looked around the house they are currently living in: “Hmmm… the money he sent back before was used to build this house.”

Li Manfen choked, and Zhang Quan felt his face burning when he heard this.

This house, according to the village rules, when their parents leave later, will be left to the eldest son, that is, to him. But the money used to start their brick house was all sent back by his second brother.

Zhang Gen knocked on the table and said, “Just start the brick house. Even if we don’t have enough money. “

Zhang Chengye, who didn’t speak until now, said: “The application came down a long time ago, but the materials haven’t been moved yet. When do you plan to start?”

“I’d like it to start as soon as possible.”

Zhang Chengye looked at Su Hui, whose face was pale and haggard but was able to keep a calm demeanor. He then clapped his hand to get their attention, “Tomorrow it is then. We’re lucky that it happens to be the slack farming season now.”

Su Hui took the bag from Sun Qiang’s hand and said, “Okay, I’ll put these away and pick a day to set up the grave.”

Zhang Quan also meant the same thing: “Now that it is the slack season, everyone is more free.”

“Tomorrow ahh.., call someone now and ask in advance who is free to help.” Zhang Gen also had no opinion about the matter. It is his son’s decision. Their plans for moving out are reasonable. In the future, he, too, would have to divide his family after his youngest son got married. It just so happened that they moved out a little earlier. As for Li Manfen, it doesn’t matter as he has the final say in this.

Usually, when they want to build a house here, they choose the slack season. They are not too busy, and they can have their relatives and friends help around. They will surely come to your aid if they have nothing to do. With more manpower, the house will be done soon.

Zhang Chengye thought about who to call for help and soon had a plan.

“Now shall we go and take a look at the land?” Zhang Gen said as he stood up.

A group of people rushed in. Su Qianming and Su Zhong heard the news and just came over. They looked at their daughter / sister looking pale and comforted her, but they didn’t know how to say: “Xiao Hui…”

Su Hui met their caring eyes and smiled lightly, “Dad, brother, I’m fine. Where’s mom? ” They are Su Hui’s father and brother. Since she has occupied her body, she will do what needs to be done out of respect.

“… Xiao Hui, I don’t want you to be sad… but still, don’t hold back. Bottling up what you’re feeling is not good for your health. Your mother is not healthy, so your sister-in-law is taking care of her. That’s why both of them can’t come here. ” Su Qianming thought of his wife, who fainted from crying, and sighed. “The days are still long. Let’s look forward to the future. “

Su Hui can only divert their attention from her appearance: “We’re going to have a look at the land where we’re going to build a house. Dad and brother, you should also come along. “

For a moment, Su Qianming was taken aback: “Build a house!?” What’s going on?