The Family Has Split!
“I don’t agree!” Old Woman Fan shrieked. “Don’t even think about it! Not unless I die!”
How could he?
How could he break away from them?
Not even in death!
Fan Minghua simply ignored her as if she were a barking dog and turned to Old Man Fan instead. “Old man, what do you think?”
He didn’t even call him “Father.”
The muscles on Old Man Fan’s face twitched.
Before he could speak, the unfilial son across from him said lightly, “If we don’t split the family, that’s fine too. I’ll just ask that Comrade Gu Jian—is his name Gu Jian? Or did he use my name and call himself Gu Minghua? I want to ask him why his parents should be my responsibility to support in their old age?”
Just as Old Man Fan was about to speak, the other man added, “And ask him when he’s going to return my real father to me?”
Old Man Fan barely managed to keep his expression under control. No one knew what he was thinking, but he said in a low voice, “Fine, we’ll split the family!”
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Fan Minghua smiled again and said to Jiang Youliang and Zhi Shu Jiang Jiefang, “Zhi Shu, Da Duizhang, please help oversee the division of the family.”
Jiang Youliang pulled him aside and asked quietly, “Why did you suddenly decide to split the family?”
Although the two elders of the Fan Family had indeed acted unfairly, what only son would want to split from his family?
Without a legitimate reason, the Da Dui Bu would never agree.
Fan Minghua whispered, “Because I’m not their son. Is that reason enough?”
Jiang Youliang: “!!”
No wonder the Fan Family treated Fan Minghua this way. He hadn’t understood before, but now everything made sense.
His expression darkened. “What happened?”
Over there, Old Woman Fan was dragged away by Old Man Fan.
All the way, she made a fuss, constantly asking him why he had agreed to split the family.
They shouldn’t have split up.
Old Man Fan didn’t say a word the entire time, his face dark and terrifying.
Only when they finally returned home did he slap her across the face again. “Stupid woman!”
Old Woman Fan was stunned for a moment before fighting back. “You hit me? How dare you hit me? I’ll tell our son—you hit me for that little bastard!”
If she had been hit outside, Old Woman Fan would have understood it was unavoidable and endured it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gotten past the Da Duizhang, and they wouldn’t have been able to hide it from the eyes of all the brigade members.
Besides, that ungrateful wretch was watching them.
But now that they were safely home, and he still hit her, Old Woman Fan couldn’t take it.
Why?
She felt both wronged and heartbroken. Hadn’t she done it all for the family?
Xiaohua had been taken away. She wanted to save her—was that wrong?
This was the only child she still had by her side, her own flesh and blood!
And now, this piece of her flesh had been harmed by that beast Fan Minghua. It was like stabbing a knife into her heart.
She wanted to save her, just wanted to save her!
Not only did he not support her, but he also blamed her. Who had she offended?
Hadn’t she done it all for the family?
Old Man Fan looked at her as if she were a fool.
He knew his wife wasn’t smart, so he had always tried to teach her, but he never imagined she could be this foolish.
At this critical moment, was it possible to move against Fan Minghua?
What family would report their own son for the sake of a daughter? Especially their only son, the one who would support them in their old age?
Who would believe that?
If this wasn’t stupidity, what was?
Didn’t she use her brain at all?
“Go ahead and tell him. Let the Gu Family suspect your son, and when it all blows back on us, we’ll both end up eating in prison.”
Old Woman Fan twitched the corner of her mouth but ultimately didn’t dare speak again.
“But you still can’t agree to split the family!”
“How can we split the family?”
“If we don’t split the family, what else can we do?” Old Man Fan looked at her as if she were a fool. “He’s already doubting his origins. If we drag this out and refuse to split the family, pushing him to the edge, what if he really goes to investigate his background?”
“Do you have any sense at all?”
Old Woman Fan mumbled something, but seeing Old Man Fan truly angry, she didn’t dare say another word.
Old Man Fan also felt a headache coming on. He said, “I’ve told you long ago to treat Iron Head better, not to push him too hard, but you just wouldn’t listen. If we had treated him well back then, coaxed him, would he still be thinking about splitting the family?”
“Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to split the family. Later, we can try to mend things and win him back. Iron Head is soft-hearted. As long as we coax him a little, he’ll come running back happily. We still need him to support us in our old age.”
Old Woman Fan muttered, “I have my own son. Why should I rely on him for support? I don’t care for it.”
“Your son is someone else’s son now. He’s supporting someone else in their old age. What makes you think he’ll support you? Do you think your son is living too comfortably over there? Do you want everyone to know that he’s your son? So he can support you in your old age?”
Old Woman Fan felt resentful. Her son was now a high-ranking official—why couldn’t he support her in her old age?
He was already a regiment commander. With a little more help from the Gu family’s connections, he could climb even higher, maybe even become a general. Then she would be the mother of a general—how glorious would that be?
Just thinking about that scene made her happy.
Having lived with his wife for so many years, Old Man Fan could tell what she was thinking from a single expression, especially since she didn’t bother hiding her emotions.
He said, “Wipe that look off your face. If you want a good life, keep yourself in check and don’t cause trouble for A Jian.”
Old Woman Fan’s smug expression faded slightly.
Old Man Fan felt frustrated. “Tell me, why didn’t you advise Xiaohua back then? What was she thinking, provoking Iron Head’s wife for no reason? You harmed his wife and child—how could he not be furious?”
He added, “We still have to coax him back properly. We can’t go on like this, or there’ll be trouble.”
No matter how unwilling she was, Old Woman Fan had to listen to her husband. She knew she wasn’t clever, and listening to him was never wrong.
“But now he wants to split the family. Is it too late for us to coax him back?”
Old Man Fan said, “Let’s try coaxing him first. We’ll take it one step at a time.”
Reluctantly, she said, “Then I’ll go coax him back. He’s so cheap—as long as I coax him a little, he’ll be happy and will surely forget about that incident. Maybe our Xiaohua can even come back.”
In Old Woman Fan’s mind, this adopted son lacked love. As long as she showed him the slightest kindness, he would give her his heart and soul.
“Be nicer to Iron Head’s wife too,” Old Man Fan reminded her.
Old Woman Fan said, “I know.” Then she muttered quietly, “She’s just the daughter of a capitalist, yet he treats her like a treasure. So what if she’s a Zhiqing? So what if she’s literate? My daughter-in-law is a college graduate, the daughter of a high-ranking official.”
Old Man Fan glared at her. “Isn’t that exactly what we hoped for?”
Marrying the daughter of a capitalist meant his background would never be clean. He would be stuck in this countryside for the rest of his life.
Even if his origins were exposed someday, with his wife’s background, he would never be able to rise above it.
He would never surpass our own son!
“We have to make Xiaohua keep herself in check too,” Old Man Fan thought to himself.
He was also immensely relieved that he hadn’t told Fan Xiaohua about this matter. His daughter was just as brainless as her mother.
No, she was even more foolish than her mother. If she found out she had a brother who was a regiment commander, wouldn’t she turn the world upside down?
Wouldn’t she shout it from the rooftops for everyone to know?
…
Since both families had reached an agreement, the division of the household proceeded quickly.
There were no fields or houses to split—only the family’s savings.
Fan Minghua did not take any money from the Fan Family. If they were going to split, he wanted it done cleanly.
Old Woman Fan said with a grim face, “What about the issue of supporting us in our old age?”
Fan Minghua replied, “You still expect me to support you?”
Old Woman Fan said, “Why not? We are your parents. Are you saying that after dividing the household, you won’t even support us in our old age?”
Fan Minghua said, “Fine. The money that should have been my share, I won’t take it. Consider it all as support for your old age.”
Old Woman Fan was furious. “How can that be? You said you didn’t want the money, and now it’s suddenly our old-age support? I’ll go report you!”
But Fan Minghua ignored her and instead asked Old Man Fan, “Old man, what do you think? Do you also expect me to support you? Do you also want to report me to the Revolutionary Committee?”
Old Man Fan’s face was long and sullen.
He wasn’t like Old Woman Fan; he knew Fan Minghua had nothing to fear.
He was certain that if they dared to report him to the Revolutionary Committee, Fan Minghua would immediately make that matter public.
Struggling to suppress the rage in his chest, he pulled Old Woman Fan aside and said, “We won’t report you, and we don’t need your support. We can take care of ourselves.”
Satisfied with Old Man Fan’s decision, Fan Minghua added, “And don’t disturb us or my wife. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not making myself clear today. At worst, we’ll both suffer—those with nothing to lose have nothing to fear. I’m sure Comrade Gu Jian would be pleased with my decision now.”
Old Man Fan was so angry he could have spat blood, but he could only watch as Fan Minghua strode away.
There was nothing he could do about it.
At least not now.
Old Woman Fan said, “Old man, are we just letting him go like this?”
“What else can we do?” Old Man Fan had a headache and didn’t want to speak.
All of this had come to pass because of this foolish woman.
…
Not only did Fan Minghua retrieve his own household registration, but he also managed to separate Ning Zhi’s registration from the Fan Family.
The only pity was that Ning Zhi’s registration couldn’t be transferred to the city, as that required a receiving unit in the city.
As for their daughter, for the time being, she could only follow Ning Zhi and remain registered as a rural resident.
To register her, they needed to give her a name.
When it came to the child’s name, Fan Minghua had his own idea.
“I don’t want her to have the surname Fan. Let her take your surname, Ning. We’ll call her Ningning,” Fan Minghua said to Ning Zhi.
He was disgusted with the surname Fan and didn’t want his daughter to bear it.
He hadn’t yet reclaimed his original family name, and whether he would be able to in the future remained uncertain. It was better for her to take her mother’s surname, Ning.
Ning Zhi was taken aback, her heart softening instantly. She said, “How can she take my surname? How about this: Ningning can be our daughter’s nickname. Later, when you change your surname back to Gu, we can change her name to Gu Ningning. What do you think?”
Fan Minghua didn’t care whether she had the surname Gu or not, but since his wife had suggested it, he naturally didn’t object.
He said, “Then we’ll call her Ningning. As for whether she takes the surname Gu, we can decide later.”
Even if she never changed it to Gu, it wouldn’t matter.
He didn’t mind.
And so, the baby’s name was settled.
She would be called Ningning.
Little Gu Ningning slightly opened her eyes. Hearing her parents finalize her name, she felt a faint stir in her heart.
Unexpectedly, this name would still return to her. The joy of not having to change her name made her unable to resist taking several big gulps of milk.
Her enthusiastic suckling delighted the new parents. Fan Minghua said, “Look, our daughter likes this name too, doesn’t she, Ningning?”
Gu Ningning squinted her eyes slightly, drinking the sweet milk in her mouth. Hearing her father’s question, she didn’t hesitate to give him a smile.
This smile made Fan Minghua’s heart feel as if it were soaked in sweet water—so tender, so sweet.
After drinking her fill with little murmurs, Gu Ningning, held by her father and listening to the lullaby, began to feel drowsy and ready to sleep.
After lulling his daughter to sleep, Fan Minghua didn’t rush to carry her back to the incubator room. Instead, he brought her to the bedside and placed her beside her sleeping mother.
Gazing at his daughter’s peaceful sleeping face, Fan Minghua’s heart overflowed with tenderness.
“Wife, child, and a warm bed”—this saying truly held no falsehood.
He had never felt as fulfilled as he did at this moment.
[Author’s Note]
Finally, the family is separated.
Hmm, leaving comments for a chance to win red envelopes.