Song Sihai had no idea that his parents’ crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide were all part of their plan to push for dividing the family.
With a wide grin, he supported Song Shulin with one hand and held Shen Xiuzhen with the other, escorting the elderly couple into their room.
“Dad, Mom, it’s the middle of the day. Why don’t you both get some rest first? We can talk about whatever it is after you’ve had a nap.”
With that, he turned and left the room where Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen lived, even thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Ah!
They say a dog doesn’t despise a poor home, and a son doesn’t resent his parents, even if they’ve gone mad.
He truly was the epitome of filial piety.
Song Sihai was even moved by his own actions.
Little did he know that inside the room, Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen were nearly driven to fury by him.
Ah!
Useless and only capable of ruining things!
“What do we do now?”
After all that drama of threatening death, the matter of dividing the family had come to nothing. Shen Xiuzhen was utterly frustrated.
Song Shulin scratched his head helplessly. “We’ll just have to find another opportunity.”
“Mm.” Shen Xiuzhen nodded.
Given the nature of the Song family members, they would definitely never agree to divide the family.
Maybe that was for the best.
In her previous life, she had suffered under their torment for a lifetime. If they simply divided the family now, it would be letting them off too easily.
Before the family was divided, she had to stir up chaos and ensure the Song household was thrown into turmoil and unrest.
As Shen Xiuzhen was lost in thought, Song Shulin suddenly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly into his embrace.
“Xiuzhen, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I’ve let you and the children down.”
They say a man doesn’t shed tears lightly, but recalling the tragic fate of their family of nine in their previous life, Song Shulin couldn’t hold back his emotions and began to cry.
Listening to her husband’s suppressed and restrained sobs, Shen Xiuzhen hugged him back, gently patting his back as she choked up:
“It’s not your fault. It’s the Song family members who were too cruel…”
Inside the room, the couple wept in each other’s arms.
Outside, the rest of the Song family was still in a state of confusion.
They had no idea what had happened or why Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen seemed to have changed overnight, no longer obedient as before.
“Mom, do you think the third son and his wife have been possessed by something?”
Liu Zhaodi strongly disliked the current third son and his wife.
In her view, Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen should have remained as they were before—like two obedient old oxen, forever at the beck and call of the first and second branches of the family.
Old Mrs. Wang shot Liu Zhaodi a sharp glare, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Truth be told, she thought the same, but with the current ban on promoting feudal superstitions, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing and ending up in prison.
After the commotion at noon, Old Mrs. Wang was also feeling weary. Hobbling on her old, aching legs, she returned to her room for a nap.
More than twenty members of the Song family were crammed into one large courtyard.
In the four directions of the courtyard—east, south, west, and north—three mud-brick houses were built in each.
Old Mrs. Wang lived in the middle room on the north side, with the first and second branches occupying the rooms to her left and right.
The three rooms on the west side were occupied, in order, by the eldest son of the first branch, Song Zhenhua, and his wife Zhou Xiaolan; the second son, Song Xingguo, and his wife Li Juan; and the third son, Song Weimin, along with the youngest son, Song Yaozhong.
The first room on the east side was the kitchen, the second was the room of the second branch’s only son, Song Dabao, and the third was shared by the two sisters of the second branch, Song Hongxia and Song Xiaoxia.
Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen lived in the middle room on the southernmost side. Their four sons were crammed into the room on the right, near the main gate, while their two daughters slept in the storage room on the left.
…
Four in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day, had already passed.
Normally at this hour, the third son and his wife would have long taken their few small yellow oxen to work in the fields.
But for some reason today, even at this late hour, the third son and his wife were still lying in their room, showing no intention of going to work in the fields.
Old Mrs. Wang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. The autumn harvest was approaching, and there were still several acres of weeds to be cleared. She couldn’t understand how the third son and his wife could sleep so soundly.
The eldest son and his wife, as well as the second son and his wife, remained perfectly calm.
After all, the work in the fields wasn’t their responsibility, so why should they worry?
“Third, it’s getting late. It’s time to go work in the fields. Take advantage of the cool weather now to clear the weeds. When the sun sets later, you can water the land.”
After waiting in vain for any movement from the third son and his wife, Old Mrs. Wang had no choice but to go to their door and personally call them to get up.
“Mother, Xiuzhen and I have heatstroke. Our heads are pounding right now. Why don’t you ask Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law or Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law to go clear the weeds and water the fields?”
Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen had agreed that until the family was divided, they would not do any work, whether at home or in the fields.
Not only would they not work, but their few small yellow oxen wouldn’t be allowed to work either.
After all, this family wasn’t just their family of nine. Why should they be expected to do everything?
“Your eldest brother has trouble with his legs, and your second brother is coughing his lungs out. How can you have the nerve to ask two sick people to work in the fields?” Old Mrs. Wang frowned so deeply she could have crushed a fly.
“Mother, if Big Brother and Second Brother can’t work, aren’t there still Big Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law?” Shen Xiuzhen curled her lips, silently cursing: That old hag only knows how to bully honest people.
Old Mrs. Wang would have liked to make the eldest and second daughters-in-law work, but those two lazy women would never agree.
“Your Big Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law need to stay home to take care of your Big Brother and Second Brother. How would they have time to work?”
“Shulin isn’t feeling well, so I need to stay home to take care of him. Mother, since you have nothing to do anyway, why don’t you go work in the fields?”
Shen Xiuzhen was determined that from now on, not only would she not do any work, but she wouldn’t even lift a finger to wash the dishes after meals.
Unless they agreed to divide the family and let everyone live their own lives.
Old Mrs. Wang was so angry she stomped her feet, but there was nothing she could do about the third son and his wife.
What if she pushed them too far and they threatened to kill themselves again?
The eldest son and his wife, as well as the second son and his wife, naturally overheard their conversation.
The four of them simply hid in their rooms and refused to come out.
Work was out of the question—now and forever.
“Erhe, Sihai, Wuhu, Dani, Erni, since your parents are sick, the work in the fields will be left to you.”
Unable to rely on her sons and daughters-in-law, Old Mrs. Wang turned her attention to the third son’s children.
“Alright…”
Just as Song Erhe was about to agree, Song Sihai clamped a hand tightly over his mouth.
“Grandma, we have heatstroke too. Our heads are pounding terribly. Why don’t you ask Xingguo and Hongxia to go work in the fields?”
Seeing that none of their brothers had agreed, Song Dani and Song Erni simply pretended to be dead and stayed silent.
At this, Old Mrs. Wang completely lost her temper.
She grabbed the broomstick by the door, kicked open the door to the room where Song Erhe and his brothers lived, and began whacking the three brothers on the bed with loud thuds.
“Have you all rebelled against heaven? If I can’t order your parents around, does that mean I can’t order you little bastards around either?”
The brothers were caught off guard and took a few hits on their bodies.
They grimaced in pain—this old lady was really going all out!
Song Sihai was the first to jump off the bed, running while calling out to his parents for help.
“Dad, Mom, save us! Grandma is trying to beat us to death…”