Chapter 29: Silent as a Cicada in the Cold

So, how can one explain the saying, “A wise official finds it hard to judge family matters”?

It could be said that every family in the village has its own set of difficult problems to deal with.

Old Han, the village leader, and the brigade leader didn’t say anything. They just looked at Han Shimin with dissatisfaction in their eyes.

Because what Han’s mother said was all the hard truth.

Over the years, the old Han family had been able to live in a brick house, and they had managed to raise their children well. All of this was thanks to Han Shimin benefiting from his younger brother, Han Shiguo.

Now that the younger brother was getting married and wanted to give a little more in bride price—money that wasn’t coming from their pockets—why was it that his wife was allowed to cause such a ruckus?

Han Shimin looked like he was about to cry. “Mother, please don’t get angry. Don’t let it affect your health. It’s our fault!”

Li Xia also couldn’t find a word to say, and she didn’t want to split the family either. She quickly agreed, “Mother, it’s my fault. I just overthought things. Please don’t take it to heart. Tonight’s incident was my mistake. I won’t do it again.”

But could Han’s mother not understand what they were thinking?

No matter what they wanted, the family was going to be divided now.

She sneered coldly, then walked to the cupboard and took out the family ledger. “Shijun, here are the family accounts. I had Shimin record every single thing. Do you have the abacus? Come and help us calculate everything properly!”

The family accounts were all kept by Han’s mother, and it was Han Shimin, the eldest son, who recorded them.

There was no need to even look at the ledger; Han Shimin already knew how much he had benefited over the years.

The family’s income sources were crystal clear—one came from the brigade’s labor, and the other came from the money Han Shiguo sent back.

Among them, the money Han Shiguo sent back accounted for 90% of the family’s total income.

He knew very well that saying the money Han Shiguo sent back accounted for 90% of the family’s income was not an exaggeration at all.

Han Shijun, the eldest cousin from the old Party secretary’s family, smiled as he took the ledger from his second aunt. He then took out the abacus hanging behind him. “If Aunt trusts me, I’ll help calculate everything properly.”

He didn’t hesitate and immediately sat down to start calculating using the abacus beads, reporting as he went. “The first year Shiguo was in the army, the money he sent back wasn’t much, but even that year he sent about eighty yuan.”

Han Shiguo had long forgotten about these accounts. He had just sent money back whenever he could, but he never kept track of exactly how much.

However, his Father and his Mother were seasoned individuals, having gone through a family division themselves, so they had prepared for this day a long time ago.

That’s why, for every transaction, Han Shiguo’s Mother had made Han Shimin record it clearly and thoroughly.

Over here, after Han Shijun finished calculating the first year, he began with the second year. “In Shiguo’s second year in the army, he sent back fifteen yuan in the first month, fifteen yuan again in the second month, and in the third through seventh months, he sent back twenty yuan each month. From then on, he sent twenty yuan every month.”

As Han Shijun clacked away on the abacus, he spoke, “In total, for the second year, he sent back two hundred thirty yuan.”

“And for the third year, Shiguo sent back three hundred yuan in total…”

The money sent back in the first three years wasn’t small, but starting from the fourth year, the amount became truly substantial.

“In the fourth year, Shiguo sent back forty-five yuan every month. This year, he contributed a total of five hundred fifty yuan.”

“In the fifth year… Shiguo sent back five hundred fifty yuan in total.”

“The sixth year was the same, five hundred fifty yuan.”

“…”

“And this year, Shiguo has been sending back fifty yuan every month. As of last month, he has sent back four hundred fifty yuan in total…”

“Nine years’ time, let me calculate… eighty plus two hundred thirty… Shiguo has sent back a total of three thousand eight hundred ten yuan.”

“……”

As the total was announced by his older cousin, everyone present, except for Han Shiguo, Han Shiguo’s father, and Han Shiguo’s mother, who already knew, was stunned.

Even though Old Secretary Han and the Brigade Leader were aware that the amount wasn’t negligible, they were still shocked. The sum was truly staggering.

Li Xia, too, was taken aback. Life had been quite comfortable for her all these years!

Indeed, the money sent back by the second son was no small amount!

Han Shiguo remained silent. He hadn’t kept track of the earlier years, but in the last few years, he had started to make plans to save money for his wife.

That’s why the money he sent back had become consistent.

He knew exactly how much money had come back.

After calculating the money Han Shiguo had sent, Han Shijun started calculating the money allocated by the brigade.

This part was much easier to calculate.

Compared to what Han Shiguo had earned, the total amount the Han family had received from the brigade over the years was only about three hundred yuan.

When this figure was revealed, Han Shimin lowered his head in shame, and even Li Xia was left speechless.

But she knew this number was correct because, for this year alone, the family had barely received twenty yuan from the brigade!

Over the years, Li Xia had grown accustomed to relying on the money Han Shiguo sent back. As a result, there was absolutely no way she was going to work herself to the bone in the fields.

By the time the year was over, she wouldn’t even get a fair share of the grain; she’d often find herself losing work points instead!

If it weren’t for Han Shiguo’s Father and Han Shiguo’s Mother’s hard work, and Han Shimin not slacking off, it was unlikely the family would have earned even those three hundred yuan.

After all, Han Shimin and Li Xia had four children to raise!

The eldest, Han Jiandong, was already twelve years old!

But through all these years, who had been ensuring the children had enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear?

Relying solely on the two of them?

No, it was still the money Han Shiguo, the younger brother, sent back!

The Old Party Secretary knew their situation best. Smoking his dry pipe, he calmly said, “This is the income over the years, but what about the expenses?”

“I’ll continue calculating.” After finishing the two sources of income, Han Shijun nodded and began to calculate the expenditures.

The expenses in the ledger were clearly written down, all of which had been recorded by Han Shimin over the years.

Han Shiguo’s Mother had specifically made sure he didn’t forget, so the expenditures were all noted by him personally.

The largest expense was when the old house started leaking a few years ago. After Han Shiguo learned of it from his third sister, he immediately called home and had the house renovated into a brick-and-tile structure.

This renovation was the biggest expense, totaling 600 yuan over the course of the work.

These accounts were all personally recorded by Han Shimin, the eldest son.

Although this was the largest expense, there were also other significant expenditures. For example, the year before, at Han Shimin and Li Xia’s request, two additional rooms were built.

Each of their two sons and two daughters got their own room. In that era, that was quite a rarity, as many families had to squeeze into just one room.

But with the money available, they were able to afford the expansion.

Things like the beds, cabinets, and other furniture—was there anything that didn’t cost money?

Not to mention the winter quilts and clothes.

Oh, and let’s not forget the expenses for eating meat twice a month, as well as the school fees. All four children were sent to school.

Each individual expense might not seem significant, but when added up, the total amount was truly staggering.

Of course, there were also various social obligations, some of those invisible expenses.

When everything was added up, Han Shimin was filled with deep shame, and Li Xia was left speechless, as if frozen in place.