Chapter 4: Let’s Split the Family

“Mom, it’s okay.  I’m just annoyed by her constant nagging. She keeps preventing us from splitting the family, treating us like oxen and horses to support their whole family, and never saying a kind word.”

Saying this, Qiao Jiangxin turned and went into the chicken coop.

Liu Afang followed her, “Jiangxin, the chickens have already been fed…”

Before she finished speaking, she saw Qiao Jiangxin grab a fat hen, twist its neck with a swift 360-degree rotation. The chicken didn’t even have time to squawk before its neck was broken, its legs still twitching in Qiao Jiangxin’s hand.

Liu Afang gasped and quickly snatched the hen from Qiao Jiangxin’s hand, trying to put its neck back, but no matter how she fiddled with it, the neck remained limp.  She was so scared her face turned pale.

“Oh my, Jiangxin, what are you doing? This is terrible! Your grandma… this… if your grandma asks later, you, you just say it was Mom who did it, okay?”

Qiao Jiangxin snatched the chicken from Liu Afang’s hand and headed towards the kitchen, “We raised these chickens. Third Uncle can take them to his mother-in-law’s house, Fourth Uncle can kill one, so why can’t we?”

“Mom, hurry and boil some water. You’re still pregnant with your brother. Even if you don’t eat it, your brother needs to eat. Look at you, you’re six months pregnant, and your belly is so small. Aren’t you worried about your brother’s health later?

Don’t forget what happened to Aunt Niu’s third child. Besides, Uncle, Dad, and Grandpa are so tired every day. If they don’t eat something good, their bodies won’t hold up.”

Although Liu Afang was very frightened, thinking of the third child, she touched her abdomen, stopped speaking, gritted her teeth, and turned to boil water.

The third child, Sansan, died at eight months old because Aunt Niu suffered from malnutrition during pregnancy, giving birth to a baby weighing less than three kilograms.  The baby was too weak.

The hen was quickly plucked, gutted, and opened. Seeing the string of egg yolks inside, Liu Afang looked regretful.

Qiao Jiangxin chopped the chicken while saying, “What are you feeling sorry for? Are these our chickens? We raise many every year, but we rarely get to eat the eggs. Now that Third Aunt is pregnant, it’s even less likely we’ll get any.”

The pure native chicken was directly thrown into a pot of boiling water. In less than forty minutes, it was on the table. Qiao Jiangxin served a bowl of chicken to Qiao Jiuwang, not forgetting to sow discord.

“Grandpa, eat quickly. We raised eight chickens. One was killed for guests when Little Aunt got married, two were given to Third Uncle’s in-laws, Fourth Uncle secretly took one to eat with his friends, and four remain.

One is for brooding, two are for the New Year, and Grandma said she would send one to Third Aunt.

Look at how tired you, Dad, and Uncle are. Grandma is unwilling to kill one for you to eat. She almost beat me just because I said I wanted to kill a chicken for you to replenish your health. Why are all the chickens given to Third Aunt’s parents?

Grandma raised Third Uncle, married him off, and didn’t expect him to be filial. He didn’t even give you a sip of soup. Why did he give Grandpa’s chicken to his father-in-law?

Grandma always says my parents don’t have a son. I think a son like Third Uncle is not as good as a daughter like Third Aunt.  The son-in-law gives a chicken today and a chicken tomorrow, and they are filial.  Being a father-in-law is much more enjoyable than being a father.”

Qiao Jiuwang’s face grew darker and darker. Qiao Jiangxin pretended not to notice his expression and quickly served a large bowl of chicken soup and meat with more meat than soup to Liu Afang, her uncle, and her father.

“Grandpa, Grandma will beat me later, you have to stop her. Look at my mother’s belly, it’s only this big at six months. Grandma says she’s doing it for my parents’ sake, but she hasn’t given my mother an egg to replenish her health. And my uncle and dad, if their health deteriorates, will Fourth Uncle and Third Uncle come back to help Grandpa with the work?”

“My mother’s belly holds your eldest grandson. My third uncle, your own son, is being filial to his father-in-law.  Later, the younger siblings born to my third aunt, I don’t know whether they’ll be closer to Grandpa or their maternal grandfather, but the younger brother born to my mother will definitely be closer to Grandpa…”

Lei Honghua was sulking in the house, waiting, as usual, for someone to invite her out. But she forgot that Qiao Fangfang had married, the third son had gone to his in-laws’ house, and the fourth son had disappeared somewhere early that morning.

Catching the scent of the food, she could no longer sit still and came out.

She saw Qiao Jiuwang, his sons, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter gathered around the table, each holding a ceramic bowl, eating heartily.  Catching the scent of the food and seeing the chewed-up bones on the table, Lei Honghua seemed to think of something, and with a cry, she ran towards the chicken coop.

Soon, her screams echoed outside.

“Liu Afang, you greedy bitch, you dare kill my chicken!!!”

Liu Afang’s body trembled involuntarily. Qiao Youcai turned his head towards the door, shielding his wife who was sitting on the same bench with him, in a protective stance.

Qiao Jiangxin pulled her nervous father, “Dad, what are you nervous about? It’s our own chicken.  Even Grandpa’s father-in-law has eaten several, and Grandpa works so hard, can’t he eat one?”

Qiao Youcai, Qiao Youfu, and Liu Afang subconsciously looked at Qiao Jiuwang.  Hearing Lei Honghua’s screams, Qiao Jiuwang’s face turned red.

“Shameless bitch, a family of thieves and scoundrels, hungry ghosts reincarnated, stealing…”

“Slap!”

“Ah!”

Lei Honghua rushed into the house while cursing.  As soon as she entered, Qiao Jiuwang, unable to bear it any longer, slapped her to the ground.

In the countryside, beating one’s wife was common, but Qiao Jiuwang wasn’t a controlling man. He usually didn’t talk much, and hitting Lei Honghua was rare.

Lei Honghua, humiliated, got up from the ground and bumped into Qiao Jiuwang’s chest, “Qiao Jiuwang, you old bastard, you dare hit me, woo woo woo, I’ll fight you!!”

“Stop it, stop it, Mom and Dad, talk things over,” Qiao Youfu’s brothers stepped forward to pull them apart.

Qiao Jiangxin pulled Liu Afang aside and shouted, “Grandma, Grandpa can’t even eat one chicken from his own home? He’s sixty years old, working under the scorching sun to support Third Uncle, who only knows how to be filial to his in-laws, and Fourth Uncle, who is almost twenty. 

Can’t he eat one chicken from his own home?  Does it have to be sent to Third Aunt’s house to show respect to her father-in-law?

Third Uncle gave chickens to his father-in-law, Fourth Uncle only eats and doesn’t work. Grandpa, Uncle, and Dad are working like old oxen to support them. Why are we treated this way?”

If Qiao Jiangxin had only spoken up for Qiao Youcai’s brothers, Qiao Jiuwang might have thought they were all family and didn’t need to be so clear-cut, but she included herself.

Wasn’t it true?  He was sixty years old, working like an old ox, and still had to support Qiao Jianhua and Qiao Jianguo, two grown men? It was simply unjust.

“Grandma, let’s split the family. Grandpa is old and should enjoy his retirement.

Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle don’t care about Grandpa, but Dad and Uncle do, and we do.

We’ll take care of Grandpa. At his age, he’s still being treated like an ox.

You can bear to watch this happen…….”