Chapter 3

Xia Wenhua used her actions to make one thing clear to everyone: Don’t even think about getting a damn cent!

From now on, she would be living her own life. She wasn’t about to set herself up for endless trouble.

Not only did Xia Wenhua show no intention of handing over money, she also decided to deal with the matter properly once and for all.

“You’re saying I don’t do any work?”

Wang Chunhua, the usual ringleader of the three sisters-in-law and the most cunning among them, instantly sensed something was off with Xia Wenhua’s tone. She didn’t answer right away.

Unfortunately for her, she could control herself, but not the others.

Lin Zhaodi, newly married and clueless about how things were divided in the Pei household, only knew that her eldest sister-in-law never worked and held a grudge because of it. She immediately snapped back.

“Yes, we’re talking about you! Have you done any work at all? Everyone in this big family is working just to earn a bite to eat, while you just sit there with your mouth open eating free food. Are we wrong to say you’re lazy? If you still refuse to work, then get out of this house!”

Pei Mother had a soft personality, which meant every daughter-in-law in the house was as domineering as they could be. No one gave Pei Mother a chance to speak. Lin Zhaodi quickly took the lead on this one.

What she said was quite something, and Xia Wenhua immediately caught onto it:
“So you’re trying to split the family? Fine. If Mother has no objections, let’s split right now!”

From the original host’s memories, she already knew there wasn’t a single easy person to deal with in this house besides Pei Mother. To reduce future trouble, splitting up the household was a good solution.

Xia Wenhua still showed respect to Pei Mother. After answering Lin Zhaodi, she turned to her and said:
“Mother, if we’re really going to split the family, you’ll come with us. Songbai sends home so much money every year from the army. Others might not see it, but they bully you daily. If you come live with me, the three of us—mother and children—even if we never work again, we can still live well!”

In reality, not to mention the money Pei Songbai sent back each year—Xia Wenhua herself had contributed a fair amount to the family just to avoid doing labor.

Sure, her family had declined, but even a sinking ship has thousands of nails. When she was sent to the countryside, her family hadn’t completely collapsed yet. They had originally sent her here as a refuge and had packed her off with plenty of good things. Over the years, she had spent quite a bit of it on the Pei family.

If anything, aside from the cheating (which truly couldn’t be excused), Xia Wenhua had done nothing to wrong anyone else in this house. She owed only Pei Songbai and the two children—no one else.

Pei Mother, still holding the children, had just calmed them down when this conversation suddenly escalated. Her face turned pale, and she quickly waved her hand:
“Songbai is away all year. You and the children still need to live… this family can’t be split.”

Pei Mother had long known about Xia Wenhua’s ambiguous relationship with the male educated youth, but her son wasn’t home, and she didn’t feel like she had the right to interfere.

Even with the whole family living under one roof, they couldn’t handle Xia Wenhua. If she really moved out, who knew if she’d still count as her daughter-in-law?

Xia Wenhua didn’t know exactly what was going through everyone else’s minds, but she was never someone who made things hard for herself. Since she already knew the other sisters-in-law were hard to get along with, why invite trouble? She grabbed this opportunity and insisted on splitting up the family.

Even Lin Zhaodi, who had started the whole thing with her outburst, hadn’t expected it to escalate to talks of dividing the household.

Caught off guard, she looked over at Wang Chunhua for help.

Wang Chunhua: ??

She just wanted some money—was that a crime? How did things escalate to splitting the household?!

Pei Songbai sent 20 yuan home every month. Xia Wenhua didn’t need the money and didn’t take it. Pei Mother didn’t spend it herself either, so it all ended up divided among the rest of them.

If the family really split, they’d be stuck working the fields all year round, and at the end of the year, the entire extended family wouldn’t even get a hundred yuan to divide. Who would be at a loss? Everyone knew the answer.

Wang Chunhua was disappointed that things hadn’t gone according to plan, but she truly didn’t want to split the household with the eldest branch. She quickly forced a smile:
“Sister-in-law, that’s not what we meant at all. There’s no need to talk about splitting. We’re one family—we shouldn’t say such things. Since you’re not feeling well today, just rest. I’ll go make the meal now.”

She shot a look at second sister-in-law Liu Lingling and third sister-in-law Lin Zhaodi, hoping to smooth things over and bury the issue.

“Stop right there.”
Xia Wenhua’s voice wasn’t loud, but it made Wang Chunhua shiver.

From just their brief exchange earlier, she could already tell her sister-in-law was no longer the same. She wasn’t someone who could be easily fooled anymore. Now that Xia Wenhua refused to let the matter go, Wang Chunhua started to feel nervous.

Many families in the village had split up, but no matter what, the Pei family must not split. If they did, how could their second branch continue enjoying the good life?

She bit her lip, then turned back and tried to play nice again:
“Sister-in-law, just take it that I was being stupid. I was wrong earlier, alright? Let’s just forget about today’s work. We won’t bring it up again, okay?”

Xia Wenhua had never stooped to their level before. In the past, when they pushed too hard, she would solve everything with money—never making things difficult for them. Even after years of living together, Wang Chunhua still didn’t understand her at all.

She’d been reckless this time. But since she had already apologized, if Xia Wenhua still pressed the issue, then she’d be the one at fault—so she thought.

In just a few minutes, Wang Chunhua’s thoughts flipped several times. Eventually, she calmed her nerves, glanced at Xia Wenhua, and found she didn’t seem angry. Relieved, she waited for her to step down from the situation.

But after this little confrontation, combined with the original host’s memories, Xia Wenhua had already figured these people out.

Pei Mother saw all her daughters-in-law as equally important and only intervened when trouble reached her ears.
Second sister-in-law Wang Chunhua only cared about money and caused drama almost every time for that reason.
Third sister-in-law was the sneaky type who never spoke up but never let any benefits pass her by.
The fourth sister-in-law, who married in later than Xia Wenhua, was brainless and always ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

This small Pei family didn’t even have much property, but everyone had their own selfish motives. To keep living together long-term would be exhausting.

Xia Wenhua had agreed to come here under the system’s terms to live a good life. In modern times, she was long used to living alone and had no patience for navigating messy relationships.

Pei Songbai and the two kids were her key to survival, so she had to manage that relationship. As for the others—if they got along, fine. But if they were just there to stir up drama, she couldn’t be bothered.

She tapped the door frame, her face full of impatience:
“Once it’s out, you think you can just take it back? Didn’t you say if I don’t work, I should get out? Then I’m saying it now—we split the household. Let’s get this sorted today before anyone goes anywhere!”