“Eldest Brother, are those two old geezers still refusing to settle?”
In the dark and damp basement, Shen Xiuzhen huddled in a corner, tightly clutching the large, rough hands of her husband, Song Shulin—hands as gnarled as tree bark.
The voices of their nieces and nephews reached her ears through the crack in the door, their words sharp with resentment. Her long-scarred heart throbbed with a familiar, dull ache once more.
“No.”
“If it really comes down to it, let them starve to death and be done with it. That’s ten million in compensation! If we siblings split it, we’d each get over a million.”
“Third Brother is right. It’s not even about the money for me. The key is that the Lu Family has too much power; we can’t afford to offend them. If those two old geezers keep refusing to sign the settlement agreement, we’ll all be dragged down with them.”
“Eldest Brother, make a decision quickly. I’m about to be promoted to deputy director of the hospital. At a critical moment like this, I can’t let my career go down the drain just because those two old bags of bones offended the Lu Family.”
“…”
In the darkness, Shen Xiuzhen heard her husband’s heavy breathing. She didn’t need to ask; she knew that at this moment, his heart was being twisted by the same knife-like pain as hers.
These were the seven nieces and nephews their entire family had exhausted themselves to lift up!
The past flickered through Shen Xiuzhen’s mind like a movie reel.
Her husband was a man of misfortune. His father had died when he was young, and his mother was chronically ill, so he had been raised by his two older brothers.
To repay the kindness of his brothers and sisters-in-law, after they married, he and Shen Xiuzhen not only honored the elders but also cherished their nieces and nephews as if they were their own flesh and blood.
The couple had worked like two old oxen, leading their own “little oxen”—their biological children—to toil day and night.
The money they earned went toward building new houses for the brothers, paying for the nieces’ and nephews’ education, buying them apartments in the city, and securing their marriages.
And their own children, in order to fulfill their parents’ desire to repay the “debt of gratitude,” were forced to step back and make concessions.
These concessions lasted a lifetime.
Yet, the extended family remained unsatisfied, their demands growing more outrageous by the day.
Whenever she and her husband showed signs of hesitation, their mother-in-law and the two older brothers would wail and cry:
“San, do you see this limp in your eldest brother’s leg? It happened because you said you were hungry when you were little. He got his leg broken by a beating while stealing a bun for you! It doesn’t matter how many cold shoulders he’s endured all these years; he just wants these kids to have a future!”
“Cough, cough… That’s right, San. Your second brother jumped into the river to catch fish for you in the dead of winter just to give you some nourishment. The water was deep and freezing; he almost drowned. Though the villagers saved him, he’s been sickly ever since. Now, whenever he works, his lungs act up… cough, cough.”
“I’m just a useless old woman, relying entirely on your brothers to raise you. San, and you, San’s wife—you can’t be heartless!”
Remembering these words, Shen Xiuzhen felt a lump in her throat.
It was true. If not for the brothers, her husband would have starved to death long ago, and she would never have given birth to seven lovely, sensible children.
The debt of upbringing was greater than the debt of birth. Since the brothers had raised her husband, it seemed only right that their entire family should serve them like beasts of burden for life.
When the eldest nephew was born with a weak constitution and couldn’t work the fields, the couple went deep into debt to buy him a job in the city. To help pay off that debt, their own eldest son went to work in a coal mine without a word.
When the second nephew fell seriously ill and needed a kidney transplant, the couple sent their own second son to the operating table. They thought their second son was young and healthy and would recover fine after some rest at home.
When the third nephew wanted to marry a city girl whose family didn’t want a dowry but instead wanted a pretty wife for their own crippled son, the couple grit their teeth and married off their fifteen-year-old eldest daughter. They comforted themselves by saying the groom was at least a city dweller and their daughter would never go hungry.
When the fourth nephew failed his college entrance exams and threatened to jump into a river, the couple held a knife to their own throats to force their fifth son to give up his university spot. Their fifth son was smart; they told him he could just take the exam again later.
When the fifth nephew got mixed up with thugs and was sentenced to ten years in prison, the second brother and his wife cried and screamed that they had to protect their only son or they wouldn’t live. With bloodshot eyes, the couple made their fourth son take the fall. Their fourth son was always adaptable; they assumed he wouldn’t suffer too much in prison.
When the eldest niece moved to the city and was scolded daily by her in-laws for being slow at chores, the couple sent their eldest daughter to the niece’s home to cook and clean for her.
When the second niece took a liking to the youngest daughter’s fiancé, an army officer? The couple decided the youngest was still young and could find someone else later; she should give him up to her cousin first.
Looking back now, she and her husband had been completely shackled by moral blackmail.
Others blackmailed them, demanding they honor the brothers.
They, in turn, blackmailed their own children, demanding they always put their cousins first.
The result was—
The coal mine where their eldest son worked suddenly collapsed. He was buried deep underground, and by the time he was dug out, he was no longer breathing.
After losing a kidney, their second son’s health never recovered. He died of illness just a few years later.
Shortly after their third son was born, their mother-in-law gave him away to another family in exchange for food rations. By the time the couple found him years later, he was already gone.
Their fourth son spent ten whole years in prison, where he was broken into a silent, withered old man. Just a few days after his release, he vanished completely.
On a late night after giving up his university spot, their fifth son jumped into a river and committed suicide.
Their eldest daughter, married to a crippled and violent husband, remained childless for three years and was eventually beaten to death.
…
After their children had either passed away or gone missing, the burden of earning money to support the nieces and nephews fell solely onto the old couple and their youngest daughter.
She and her husband farmed during the busy seasons and worked odd jobs at city construction sites during the off-seasons.
Moving bricks, mixing cement, laying walls… the old couple were experts at everything.
Their youngest daughter, while still so young, worked several jobs at once.
During the day, she was a hospital caregiver, cleaning up after patients, and at night, she ran a street stall to sell goods.
The money she earned was taken away by the nieces and nephews through various schemes before she could even warm it in her hands.
They always said they would pay it back once they were more financially stable.
Shen Xiuzhen believed them, and Song Shulin believed them too.
But over the years, they watched their nieces and nephews live in luxury villas and drive expensive cars, yet they never once mentioned repaying the money.
As they aged, the couple could no longer work, and their health declined day by day.
Dragging their sickly bodies, they went door to door to ask for their money back, but without exception, they were kicked out.
Shen Xiuzhen still remembered the ugly, unrecognizable face of the eldest nephew when he turned on them.
“Uncle, Aunt, what nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever borrow money from you?”
“Fine, for the sake of our relationship, I’ll give you twenty yuan. Take a taxi back so people don’t say I’m an unfilial nephew.”
The second nephew was no better.
“Uncle, Aunt, we live in a society ruled by law now. Everything needs evidence. If you say I borrowed money, show me the IOU. If you have an IOU, I’ll pay you back immediately. If not, I’ll call the police and report you for extortion.”
An IOU?
When the old couple lent them money, they had never even thought of asking for an IOU.
They thought they were all family; asking for an IOU would hurt their feelings.
The eldest niece didn’t ask for an IOU; instead, she produced a stack of her own debt notices and said:
“Uncle, Aunt, it’s not that I don’t want to pay you back, but my husband’s family went bankrupt. We owe tens of millions in external debt. If you keep pushing me, I’ll have no choice but to hang myself.”
Bankrupt? It was clearly a lie.
Before entering the house, they had clearly heard the family discussing whether to have Australian lobster or king crab for lunch…
A casual meal like that cost as much as several months of food for the old couple and their youngest daughter.
That night, the old couple collapsed from rage.
Their youngest daughter rushed them to the hospital, but she couldn’t afford the medical bills. In the middle of the night, she went out frantically to borrow money.
However, she didn’t get the money. Instead, she was struck and killed by a car driven by a drunk Rich Second Generation.
“Mother, I know you and Father didn’t love us siblings. In your eyes, our cousins were your real children. But it’s okay; I will honor my brothers’ and sisters’ wishes and take care of you until the end. But now, I have to break my word… I’m sorry, Mother and Father, I’m going on ahead.”
Their youngest daughter’s final words were like a sharp blade piercing Shen Xiuzhen’s chest, causing such pain she nearly lost consciousness.
How could she not love her own children? They were the flesh of her flesh.
She and her husband adamantly refused a private settlement. They insisted that the Rich Second Generation pay for a life with a life and rot in prison.
The Rich Second Generation’s family couldn’t do anything with them, so they targeted the nieces and nephews.
The nieces and nephews took turns trying to persuade the couple to settle quickly, take the money, and be done with it, lest they end up with nothing at all.
They still wouldn’t budge.
Those heartless, ungrateful creatures then checked them out of the hospital against their will and imprisoned them in the basement of the eldest nephew’s house.
Recalling all this, Shen Xiuzhen felt nothing but regret and apology in her heart.
In this life, she and her husband had been blind and foolish, owing too much to their children.
If there were a next life, she would surely treat her children well and make those ungrateful nieces and nephews pay the price.
Rumble—
Thunder rolled outside.
Shen Xiuzhen and Song Shulin, holding hands, died on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2010…