The six of them returned to the third branch’s quarters—Lin Yongshun and his wife’s rooms. There were three rooms in total: the couple naturally occupied the spacious middle room, the three sisters stayed in the east room, and Lin Yubao took the west room, though it also stored some odds and ends.
Before Zhao Lanhua and her husband could even speak, Lin Yubao blurted out, “Fifth Sister, you really made Grandma and Aunt furious just now.”
Beside him, Lin Dachun sighed, “Yeah… who knows how they’ll make things difficult for you these next few days…”
“You were amazing!” Lin Yubao’s starry-eyed look practically shone in the dark.
Lin Dachun: …
“I was in the right,” Lin Erxia said calmly. “When you’re right, you can walk anywhere with confidence. Besides, if I don’t fight for it now, how am I supposed to go to school? The gap between me and others will only grow wider.”
“But now you’ve offended not just Grandma and Aunt, but also your eldest brother. He’s a worker in the city,” Zhao Lanhua said with a heavy sigh.
“So what if he’s a worker? Even if he were the county magistrate, what does that have to do with me? Not a single cent of his salary has ever been spent on me, and he’s never cared about my affairs. He’s not even as helpful as my little brother, who at least helps me tend the fire.
Their whole family lives in glory—new clothes, malted milk drinks. Look at us—this family doesn’t even have two decent sets of clothes, let alone anything like malted milk.” Lin Erxia spoke with complete conviction.
“But didn’t Grandpa always say that when one family prospers, all prosper, and when one suffers, all suffer? That we should get along well?” Lin Dachun said softly.
“He’s the one prospering, and I’m the one suffering. Who would want to put up with that? Before, it was fine because things were balanced. Now the favoritism is blatant.
In the future, they’ll be eating rich food while we’re stuck with bran and vegetables—can you really accept that?” The more Lin Erxia spoke, the angrier she became.
Lin Dachun shrank back a little. Erxia was becoming more and more imposing—almost fiercer than their grandmother.
Lin Yongshun clicked his tongue. “The one most like me in this family is still Erxia. When it comes to food, you can’t afford to take a loss. So what if you make a fuss? If you don’t, all the good stuff will be eaten and used by others.”
This stemmed from his own upbringing. As a child, he had been doted on, but as the family grew and more people married in, he found himself increasingly overlooked. Good food became scarcer for him. He didn’t care about seniority—throwing tantrums and acting shameless came easily. What mattered most was getting food into his mouth. Pride? Could it compare to eggs or meat?
Zhao Lanhua was surprised to hear this from him. Sure, he had always been a bit lazy and gluttonous, but he used to be easygoing and agreeable, never voicing opinions about family matters.
Lin Dachun suddenly looked up at him in the dark. Noticing her movement, Lin Yongshun said, “You’re thinking about how you didn’t go to middle school back then? Sigh, that was because you said you didn’t want to. I even asked you privately.”
Lin Dachun froze, recalling that night. Her father had jokingly asked if she wanted to continue school. She had thought he was teasing… she hadn’t realized he meant it.
Lin Erxia knew her father supported her schooling now—otherwise, he wouldn’t be saying all this—but he hadn’t been this firm before.
“Dad, when Grandpa and Grandma said I couldn’t go to high school, why did you agree?”
Lin Yongshun smacked his lips. “I was fooled by your grandparents—and your aunt. They kept saying I was lazy and greedy, and how capable your eldest uncle’s family was. But after hearing you out and thinking it over, our family does just as much work, yet we get far less to eat and use than your uncle’s family.”
Earlier that day, his sister-in-law had pointed out that he was wearing clothes sent by the eldest son, as if he should be endlessly grateful. That had wounded his small sense of pride.
And Erxia was right—their household earned more work points than the eldest branch. Sure, the eldest son worked in the city, but that was his elder brother’s child—his filial piety didn’t extend to them.
“Dad, you really catch on fast. Grandpa and Grandma favor Uncle’s family but won’t admit it,” Lin Erxia said bluntly.
Zhao Lanhua quickly cut in, “How can you say things like that so freely? You can’t just say that out loud!”
“So what if I do? Dad understands.”
“Mhm,” Lin Yongshun agreed. “From the start, your grandparents favored your eldest uncle. Next is your aunt. It wasn’t this bad before, but the older they get, the more muddle-headed they become.”
His openly disrespectful words made Zhao Lanhua instinctively glance outside, afraid someone might overhear.
He had realized this long ago. His elder brother’s position as team leader, the eldest nephew becoming a city worker, the second nephew becoming a record keeper—none of that came without the old man’s help. But when it came to him and the second branch, they got nothing.
Still, since the eldest son was expected to support the parents in old age, some favoritism was understandable. In the past, he hadn’t complained—his family had enough to eat. But in recent years, the gap between them and his elder brother’s family had grown wider and wider.
He needed someone in his household to rise above the rest. Then he could enjoy life properly.
“This situation isn’t right,” he continued. “The family isn’t so poor that we can’t afford school fees, but your mother still refuses to spend the money. Back when your aunt went to high school, they even borrowed money for her. The difference in treatment is like heaven and earth.”
“So all of you should learn from Comrade Erxia,” he concluded. “Fight for what you deserve. Otherwise, nothing will fall into our hands. Only what you eat is truly yours.”
Lin Yubao eagerly added, “Dad, don’t worry! I’m the best at grabbing meat at the dinner table—no one can beat me!”
Lin Yongshun choked. What a silly kid.
Still, he nodded. “That’s right, Yubao is very capable. But when you grab meat, don’t just eat it yourself—you have to let Dad have some too.”
Patting his chest, Lin Yubao promised, “Don’t worry, Dad! I’ll grab some for you too!”
Lin Yongshun patted his head in satisfaction.
The four women beside them listened as the father and son veered further and further off track, and simply chose to ignore them.
In the darkness, Lin Dachun tugged at Lin Erxia’s sweater. “Erxia, what if Grandpa and Grandma never agree to let you go to high school?”
“Then I’ll find a way to make them agree. I can visit eldest brother’s home in the county, drop by his factory. After all, his job was supported by the family—our branch contributed too.
If they still refuse, then I’ll just have to find a way to earn money myself.”
Lin Yongshun picked up on something else. “The eldest was supported by the family? What else do you know?”
“It’s obvious,” Lin Erxia replied. “They must have spent money back then. The county isn’t short of high school graduates—how could a rural kid become a driver just like that? Even city folks fight tooth and nail for those positions.”
A transport team driver was far more desirable than a cannery worker. It wasn’t that she looked down on rural children—it was just that they lacked access to such opportunities. Even if they heard about them, the positions were usually filled in advance. Getting a job like that without spending money? Impossible.
“I was thinking that once you went to high school, I’d have to stop being lazy,” Lin Yongshun said. “But with this situation… once your grandmother calms down, I’ll probe a bit. If that’s really the case, I can relax a bit more.”
This time, Lin Erxia was the one left speechless. Her father didn’t have to go that far…
This conversation in the third branch had a profound impact on Lin Dachun and Lin Sanqiu, especially the latter. Over the past few days, she had been anxious—her eldest sister had only finished primary school, her second sister was now being prevented from attending high school, and she herself was even worse off. Who knew what her future would be?
As for Lin Dachun, some of the knot in her heart toward her father loosened. She realized that he did care about her. Although she had chosen not to continue school, it had been under constant pressure from their grandmother, who always said educating girls was a waste. The older girls in the second branch hadn’t gone either, so she hadn’t insisted.
The third branch talked for quite a while before everyone returned to their rooms to sleep.
Unbeknownst to them, faint murmuring could still be heard late into the night from the second branch across the courtyard.
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