Chapter 19 – Splitting the Family

But there was nothing they could do. Tenant farmers lived at the mercy of the heavens. All year round, they relied on whatever the land could yield. When there were too many mouths to feed in the family, not starving to death was already considered lucky—how could they afford the extravagance of oil and salt?

Back when Li Shi lived with her maiden family, she was used to eating bland, watery meals. Her mother wasn’t much of a cook. She had gotten used to it over the years. But ever since marrying into the Gu family and eating the food cooked by Yan Fengru, she had become spoiled. So even though her mother had specially prepared a “big dish” to welcome her back this time, Li Shi still found the food unpalatable…

It was like eating pig slop.

Still, Yan Fengru didn’t usually cook. Though she was the stepmother, in households where sons were already married, it was rare for the mother-in-law to cook. Typically, once a son brought home a wife, the mother-in-law would begin training the daughter-in-law to handle all the chores—cooking, feeding the chickens and pigs, cleaning…

And if there were several sons? Even better. The daughters-in-law would take care of all the housework, and the mother-in-law could enjoy her days gossiping and snacking on melon seeds under the row of loquat trees at the village entrance, living a carefree life.

Wasn’t that why everyone wanted to have sons? They couldn’t bear to make their own daughters work, but they had no problem bossing around the daughters-in-law they had paid for with bride prices.

If Li Shi had been educated, she might have understood the saying: “It’s hard to go from luxury back to frugality.”

But what Li Shi hadn’t expected was what came next. Yan Fengru gave her a look, placed the bowl down on the stove, took out three more bowls, divided up the noodles from the pot, then scooped a ladle of water from the vat with a dried gourd dipper and poured it into the pot before covering it again. One bowl of noodles was locked away in the cupboard, and the other three were taken outside.

Li Shi: “…”

Back in the day, whenever Yan Fengru cooked, it was Li Shi’s favorite moment. Yan Fengru, after all, had seen more of the world. She could make dishes Li Shi had never even heard of. For example, when her husband caught a fish, Yan Fengru could cook it so there was no trace of fishiness at all. The fish soup she made was as white and creamy as jade—rich and delicious, so good you’d want to swallow your tongue with it.

Although Li Shi never said it, she really liked eating Yan Fengru’s cooking.

In the past, even though their relationship was that of stepmother and stepson’s wife, Yan Fengru had never been stingy with the big house when it came to food. But today, Li Shi keenly noticed—something was different. Yan Fengru had changed.

Realizing this, Li Shi’s previously angry expression shifted. It became somewhat disheartened.

All the household’s grain was under Yan Fengru’s control. Although she and her husband had stashed away a bit in secret, since the family hadn’t formally split, Li Shi didn’t want to dip into her own “private stash.” Was she really going to go hungry today?

Thinking of the noodles Yan Fengru had made only made her feel even hungrier.

After a while, Yan Fengru returned. She cast a glance at Li Shi, then took out a set of keys from her pocket, opened the cupboard, and took out a sack of grain. “When your father comes back, split the food up.”

Li Shi was stunned. What? What did that mean?

…

“I don’t agree to this!” That evening, honest Gu Dapeng finally came home. The moment he heard his wife mention splitting the family, he was shocked. Then, like a rock in a latrine, he muttered, “I don’t agree,” over and over, squatting under the eaves at the doorway with his tall, slightly stooped figure, refusing to budge an inch.

Gu Yuzhu: “…”

Her honest dad was actually kind of funny. Honest people had their own simple and sincere ways of resisting.

He, Gu Dapeng, did not agree to splitting the family—and he would not be persuaded!

But the saying “there’s always something that conquers something else” wasn’t wrong. Yan Fengru waved to her youngest son to take his sister inside, then directly ignored her stepson and daughter-in-law. She grabbed Gu Dapeng by the ear and dragged him into the room.

Gu Yuzhu’s ears perked up, her eyes shining with gossip. Her mother in this life was fierce! So exciting!

She rolled her eyes and waved at her big brother Gu Qingbai. He came over, and the two five-year-old little radish heads huddled together.

“Why don’t Dad and Mom want us to hear what they’re saying?”

“Stupid! It’s obviously because they’re talking about grown-up stuff.”

Gu Yuzhu: “…” Okay, you’re the smart one!

Gu Yuzhu knew that even though she had the soul of an adult, compared to an average five-year-old, Gu Qingbai was already extremely smart and clever.

“But Mom said she wants to split the family. Brother, do you want to split the family?”

“Of course splitting the family is good.”

“Huh?” Gu Yuzhu hadn’t expected her little brother to understand what splitting the family meant.

Gu Qingbai quietly took his sister’s hand and led her into the room. “I heard the people in the village say that once a family splits, you can be your own boss. In our village, any son or daughter who starts a family will split off.”

Now Gu Yuzhu was truly stunned. She’d always known that the difference between some people could be bigger than between people and pigs. But Gu Qingbai—this little gentleman—was already speaking so clearly and logically at his age. Even if he had only overheard it from others, she still found it impressive!

She thought back—what had she been doing at five?

She had been taken in by an old Taoist priest on the mountain, supposedly abandoned as a baby. At five, she’d probably been playing in the dirt at the Taoist temple.

Sigh!

“Oh,” Gu Yuzhu replied sheepishly.

“Once we split the family, Mom can take us to live in town. Then we can go play with Brother Bowen, little Brother Bowu, and Datou and Xiaomao.”

Gu Yuzhu searched her mind and finally recalled who Datou and Xiaomao were—her aunt Yan Fengjiao’s twin sons…

“If we’re not splitting the family, then we’re getting a divorce!” Inside the room, Yan Fengru stared at the uncooperative Gu Dapeng, unleashing her final trump card. Did he really think she couldn’t do anything just because he sat there sulking? He seriously underestimated her!

Truth be told, Yan Fengru had seriously considered divorcing him—taking the two kids and getting as far away from the Gu family as possible. Just cut ties and be done with it, no more disgusting entanglements.

At first, she had thought Gu Dapeng was a good man—he treated her well. But only someone who had been a stepmother would understand how difficult that role was. A man who’d had a wife before, if he wasn’t clear-headed and decisive, made life even harder for the second woman.

Sometimes she really did think: Forget it. What’s the point? She already had two smart, adorable children. Even if she divorced, she wouldn’t be alone. Her maiden family had several brothers to support her—so why not?

At this age, clinging to a man? What a joke. But after more thought, she realized she couldn’t just walk away and let those two older children off so easily.

Putting other things aside, she had given the Gu family eight years of her life. If she hadn’t contributed great achievements, she’d at least worked hard. Just look at the other widowers in the village and their miserable lives—and then look at the Gu family. Having a woman to run the house really made a difference, didn’t it?

Why should those eight years be thrown away like they meant nothing? Why should she slink away with her kids while the Gu family’s things all went to benefit those two?

Her two kids carried Gu blood too. They were Gu Dapeng’s own flesh and blood. They were entitled to their fair share. But to keep living together like this? Even if they could tolerate her, she certainly couldn’t tolerate them!