“Alright, then we’ll leave the issue of supporting the elderly to the third son in the future.” Lin’s father said.

“Old man?” Lin’s mother widened her eyes.

How could one son bear the responsibility of supporting the elderly alone? What did the old man mean by this?

Lin’s father shook his head to indicate that she didn’t need to say anything.

Although Lin’s mother was usually the one in charge, and Lin’s father didn’t speak much, when it came to important matters, Lin’s mother still listened to Lin’s father.

Since Lin’s father had said so, Lin’s mother didn’t say anything.

“Dad, this absolutely won’t do. I’m also your son and it’s my duty to take care of you. How can we let the third son take care of you alone?” Lin Guofeng hurriedly said.

“Yeah, Dad, are you trying to make us a laughingstock?” Lin Guoliang also spoke up.

Lin’s father said, “Let’s talk about this later. Third son, continue.”

Lin Guodong nodded. “Next, let’s talk about the expenses for the three children eating the food from the old house. When I came home in January last year, the three children hadn’t been born yet, so I gave Mom 200 yuan, which was considered the expenses for Yibao and Erbao before they were born. If this 200 yuan isn’t enough, big brother and second brother, just name the amount, and I’ll make up for it. Until October last year, when Sanbao were born, and until now, in between, because I just returned last month, I haven’t made up for the children’s expenses at the old house. Big brother and second brother, just name the amount, and we’ll give it together.”

Originally, he planned to give Mom the money for the New Year, but since it was brought up now, they might as well settle it together.

Lin’s mother said, “These two little ones don’t need 200 yuan. Even if it’s the food from the old house, it’s the food your father and I earned from working, not the food from the eldest and second houses. The food from the eldest and second houses is not enough to feed their four children. Moreover, this 200 yuan, even if it’s calculated up to this year, is enough.”

Eldest and Second houses knew that Lin Guodong had given money to Lin’s mother, but they didn’t expect it to be 200 yuan.

They originally thought that several tens of yuan would be enough, but it was actually 200 yuan.

200 yuan was enough to support three little ones for these years.

“Third brother, don’t do this.” Lin Guofeng felt uncomfortable.

He didn’t expect it to escalate to this.

“Third brother, it’s our fault. We don’t want that job anymore. We are brothers, there’s no need to calculate everything so clearly.”

Lin Guoliang had ideas about the job, but now that the brothers were in conflict, he had no more ideas.

“It’s not the fault of eldest and second houses. We’ve already split the family, and the children really have no reason to eat the food from the old house anymore. This is my fault for not teaching Ning Shu properly. In any case, it’s right for us to make up for the food, and if Eldest Family and Second family feel that money is not enough and want food instead, we can also provide food.”

Lin’s father said, “I’ll make the decision on this matter. There’s no need to make up for the food anymore. The three children haven’t eaten 200 yuan worth of food at the old house over the years, so the 200 yuan you gave your mom last year will be considered as offsetting the children’s food expenses. Eldest son, Eldest son’s wife, Second son, Second son’s wife, do you think it’s okay? Or do you feel that the three children are taking advantage and want food instead of money? Second son’s wife, you speak first.”

Since Lin Guodong came in, Zhang Qinfang hadn’t said a word.

Now that she was named by Lin’s father, she hesitantly said, “I… I have no objections.”

Lin’s father asked the other three again, “Eldest son, Eldest son’s wife, Second son, how do you three see this? Do you think this is acceptable? Or do you want food?”

Qian Aifen didn’t want to answer, so she let Zhang Qinfang speak instead.

If she spoke, wouldn’t she be targeted by the third couple?

Lin’s father spoke again, “What’s wrong? Weren’t you all very talkative at the old house? Now you’re mute?”

“Dad, I have no objection. 200 yuan is enough,” Lin Guofeng had to speak up.

He had never had any objections to the three children of the third family eating at the old house.

The children were still young, and with the third son not around, as the eldest uncle, he felt it was his duty to take care of the children.

Just like helping the third family with farm work, it was all physical labor, and he didn’t think it was a problem.

But for some reason, things had escalated to this point.

“I have no objection either, same as big brother,” Lin Guoliang also spoke up.

His thoughts were the same as Lin Guofeng’s.

He felt that as the second uncle, it was right to take care of the children.

However, regarding the job, he indeed thought that they should prioritize the Eldest brother.

Even if it was sold to the Eldest brother, he had no objections.

How could they sell it to his sister without considering the Sons?

After Lin Guofeng and Lin Guoliang spoke, Lin’s father looked at Qian Aifen.

Qian Aifen could only say something nice, “These three children didn’t eat much at the old house, so why 200 yuan? In my opinion, there’s no need to provide food or money for them. We’re all a family, and there have been times when we’ve shared food. There’s no need to calculate everything so clearly.”

Lin’s father nodded, not responding to her words. “So, you all have no objections to using 200 yuan to offset the food expenses of the three children at the old house over the years. Now, let’s talk about Xiaojing’s job.

Xiaojing’s job belongs to the third daughter-in-law, and she obtained it based on her own abilities, so it has nothing to do with our Lin family. Nowadays, no in-laws have the idea of taking their daughter-in-law’s personal property, let alone our Lin family. If this matter were to be known, it would be laughed at.

I’ll stop here today. The third daughter-in-law’s job is her own, and it’s her right to sell it to whomever she wants. Even if she doesn’t sell it to Xiaojing or to the eldest and second family, you can’t say anything. I hope you understand that we should live our lives modestly and not be envious of others. It’s unsightly.

If there’s an opportunity, you can strive for it, but you can’t use underhanded means. Do you understand what I mean?”

Lin Guofeng already felt extremely guilty.

His father had never said so much before, and he knew that his father was already upset.

So he quickly said, “Dad, I understand. I have no objection no matter who the third brothers sell to.”

Lin Guoliang also said, “Dad, I have no objection either. I’m the same as big brother.”

Qian Aifen smiled and said, “I definitely have no objection. The things of the third family should naturally be decided by themselves.”

Zhang Qinfang pursed her lips.

She felt that her sister-in-law was hypocritical.

She hadn’t said this at the old house. “I have no objection either.” But she wasn’t stupid.

At this point, since everyone had said so, what was the point of arguing? If they didn’t care about their own interests, was she going to earn money for them to enjoy?

Lin’s father nodded. “Third son, it’s up to you.”

Lin Guodong looked at Ning Shu. “It’s up to you. Whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”

Ning Shu said, “650 yuan, sell it to Xiaojing.”

The reason for selling it to Xiaojing was as she said.

This girl had been very good to the three children over the past five years because of her guilt over what happened five years ago.

She didn’t like owing favors to anyone, whether it was Lin’s mother or Lin Xiaojing. The friendship over the past five years, she did owe them.

Moreover, selling it to Xiaojing was not only because of her care for the three children over the past five years, but also because of what happened five years ago, before she was controlled by the plot.

She did have a purpose in getting close to 13-year-old Lin Xiaojing through her relationship with Lin Guodong.

So, it was also an apology for that matter.

After all, even though she was influenced by the plot, she did cause real harm to Lin Xiaojing.

Lin’s father said, “Okay, Xiaojing, your third sister-in-law wants to sell the job to you. Do you want it?”

Lin Xiaojing, with red eyes, said, “I do, thank you, Third Sister-in-law. But…” She gritted her teeth, “Third Sister-in-law, I don’t have money. Can I borrow money first ? I’ll give you 10 yuan in interest every year, no, 20 yuan in interest, is that okay?”

Lin Xiaojing didn’t say this impulsively.

For the matter of selling the job, the big sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law must have objections to her.

As for the big brother and the second brother, she didn’t know their true thoughts.

But if she used the money from the old house to buy the job again, she would be lowering herself in their eyes.

Moreover, her parents would probably still suffer because of them, and she didn’t want that.

So, she remembered what the third sister-in-law had said to her before about paying interest.

She didn’t know if the third sister-in-law would agree.

If not… perhaps this job was really not meant for her.

After Lin Xiaojing spoke, everyone looked at Ning Shu, even Lin’s father and Lin’s mother were surprised.

They didn’t expect Xiaojing to say that.

And Ning Shu? Would she agree?

Lin’s mother was worried that Ning Shu would be angry and hurriedly said, “This won’t do. You said the third sister-in-law sold the job to you. How can you owe money? We can gather the money at home.”

After hearing Lin’s mother say this, Qian Aifen and Zhang Qinfang didn’t say anything, but their faces didn’t look good.

Originally, Lin’s father had the same idea, but after what happened just now, he felt that Xiaojing’s approach was not wrong.

He thought for a moment and said, “Third daughter-in-law, the old man guarantees you that Xiaojing will definitely repay this money. If she doesn’t, after the division of the family, the old man will repay her.”

As Lin’s father spoke, everyone’s eyes widened.

Was he going to divide the family?

“Dad, what are you talking about? Why do we need to split up?” Lin Guofeng’s face turned pale with fear.

“Dad, we don’t want to split up, please don’t do this,” Lin Guoliang also looked uncomfortable.

Lin’s father sighed, “When the tree grows big, it must be split sooner or later. Let’s not talk about this for now. Let’s talk about Xiaojing’s job.”

Ning Shu didn’t expect the method she taught Lin Xiaojing before to be used on herself.

When she taught Lin Xiaojing this method, she hadn’t recovered her memory yet, and she didn’t know that the three treasures were her own children.

So naturally, she didn’t want Lin Xiaojing to run a tab, especially since she didn’t have much relationship with her.

But now that she had recovered her memory, she had to give Lin Guodong face.

He was doing quite well at the moment, defending himself everywhere.

Besides, since Lin’s father had said so, putting aside the face of the elders, if she still refused, it would be too disrespectful.

“Dad, how can you say that? Don’t you believe in Xiaojing? There’s no need for Dad to guarantee. As long as Xiaojing and I write an agreement, we don’t need any interest. Consider it as a dowry for Xiaojing when she gets married, and we, as her elder brother and sister-in-law, will add to it.”

Twenty yuan a year was indeed quite a lot. Some women didn’t even have twenty yuan in their private stash.

Although she loved money, she wasn’t superficial. She didn’t care about the twenty yuan interest.

“Thank you, Third Sister-in-law.” Lin Xiaojing couldn’t help but cry and laugh.

Her tears flowed out.

Lin’s mother thought to herself that the third daughter-in-law was indeed good.

However, she didn’t blame the first and second daughter-in-law either.

It was normal for people to fight for their own interests.

She just felt a little uncomfortable.

Lin’s father said, “In that case, it’s settled. Also, I’ve decided to split up after the New Year. The two of us will move out, and Xiaojing will live with us until she gets married. This year, let’s have a good New Year’s together. It’s rare for the third son to come back, and the whole family is together. After that, the third daughter-in-law will follow the army. I don’t know when the whole family will be together again.”

After that, he walked out.

Everyone was shocked by Lin’s father’s decision to split up.

They wanted to say something, but Lin’s father had already left, so they had to follow.

Suddenly, there were seven fewer people in the kitchen, and it felt empty.

Seeing them leave, Lin Guodong took out the bamboo shoots from his pocket and asked, “What are you doing? It seems a little burnt.”

“Ah…” Ning Shu exclaimed.

She had been too busy listening to their conversation and had forgotten about the sweet and sour pork ribs.

She quickly opened the lid of the pot and flipped the ribs. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s a little burnt, but it doesn’t affect the taste.”

“It smells so good, what are you cooking?” Lin Guodong came over curiously.

Seeing this, Ning Shu picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs for him. “Try this sweet and sour flavor, see if you like it, be careful, it’s a little hot.”

Lin Guodong opened his mouth, bit down, and hot steam rushed into his mouth.

It was indeed hot, but this taste was quite strange.

He had never eaten it before.

While Sanbao was drooling.

Lin Guodong and Ning Shu watched this scene, their mouths pursed, wanting to laugh but unable to.

They had to save San Bao’s face, so they couldn’t laugh out loud.

Yi Bao looked at San Bao’s innocent eyes and really wanted to give his little brother some food.

However, Mom said they couldn’t feed him, so he couldn’t do anything.

Suddenly, Yi Bao had a clever idea.

He remembered his mom’s trick from before, so he poured some rice vinegar and dipped the chopsticks in it.

Then, pretending to dip the chopsticks in the ribs, he handed them to San Bao to lick: “Try it, it really doesn’t taste good.”

San Bao stuck out his little tongue and licked the chopsticks, then exclaimed, “Ah…”

His mouth opened, and his tongue kept sticking out.

San Bao was sour. “Mom…”

San Bao ran to his mother in distress.

However, he was intercepted by his father halfway there.

Lin Guodong picked up San Bao and lifted him up high. “Come on, Dad will take you to play and not disturb your mother cooking.”

“Ha ha ha…” San Bao was lifted up high and laughed happily.

Er Bao chuckled and gloated, “San Bao is really stupid.”

Yi Bao glanced at Er Bao and thought, it’s only because San Bao can’t talk, otherwise Er Bao wouldn’t say that.

Er Bao, seeing his brother looking at him, asked puzzledly, “Brother, what’s wrong?”

Yi Bao shook his head and continued to eat sweet and sour ribs.

Outside, San Bao’s laughter kept coming into the kitchen, stirring up the hearts of the two brothers.

They quickly finished the ribs and ran out.

“Dad, lift me up high, lift me up high…” Soon after, Er Bao’s voice rang out!