“Creak—”
Song Shulin opened the door, his face dark as he said:
“Mom, what’s the matter? Why are you hitting the kids?”
“You have the nerve to ask me why?”
Old Mrs. Wang was seething with anger, pointing the broom handle at the third branch’s children as she said:
“Look at the fine children you’ve raised—each lazier than the last. Don’t you see what time it is? And they still have the nerve to stay in bed.
Useless at everything, yet they eat everything in sight. I must have been cursed for eight lifetimes to end up with these debt-collecting brats.”
Shen Xiuzhen could tell her mother-in-law was making veiled accusations, but she remained unmoved, still lying in bed.
“Mom, didn’t Sihai tell you? The kids are suffering from heatstroke too.
As their grandmother, even if you won’t take them to the hospital, shouldn’t you at least make them some mung bean soup to cool them down?
I know you’ve always looked down on my children, thinking they’re not as promising as Zhenhua, Xingguo, and Weimin.
If that’s the case, let’s just split the family. Once we do, Shulin and I will move out with the kids.
Once we’re gone, the children won’t be in your way anymore.”
Hearing this, Song Sihai frowned suspiciously. What was going on with his parents?
His father had just brought up splitting the family at noon, and now his mother was doing the same.
Could it be that forcing Dani to swap marriages with Granny and Uncle had finally opened their eyes to the true nature of the Song family, making them decide to live separately?
Or were his parents possessed by something unclean, their minds not clear right now?
Whatever the reason, Song Sihai fully supported splitting the family.
Splitting up was good—once they did, he’d never have to put up with his cousins’ nonsense again.
His eyes lit up, and he immediately chimed in with a smile:
“Yeah, Granny, if you think we’re lazy, let’s split the family. As the saying goes, ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Once we’re divided, we’ll move far away and won’t bother you at all.”
Old Mrs. Wang threw down the broom handle, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
Hmph! Thinking about splitting the family? Dream on.
“Mom, remember to make some mung bean soup for Xiuzhen and the kids to cool them down,” Song Shulin called after her retreating figure.
Old Mrs. Wang grew even angrier. Here she was, half-buried in the ground already, and this black-hearted Song Shulin still dared to order her around.
It was infuriating!
She wouldn’t make it—let’s see what he could do about it!
Song Shulin didn’t actually expect Old Mrs. Wang to make any mung bean soup; he just wanted to annoy her.
He refused to believe that if he annoyed her enough, the old lady wouldn’t agree to split the family.
“All of you, come inside.”
Seeing that, apart from Song Sihai, his other children were standing in the yard like frightened little quails, Song Shulin called them all into the room.
“Dad, what’s up?” Song Sihai swaggered into the room, followed closely by his siblings.
Song Shulin closed the door. “Can’t I call you in for no reason?”
“Of course you can! You’re my dad—if you can’t, who can?” Song Sihai replied with a cheeky grin.
Shen Xiuzhen sat up in bed, watching the lively Song Sihai as tears fell in large drops.
In her past life, her fourth son had also been this carefree and lighthearted. But after spending ten years in prison, he changed.
He became withdrawn and afraid of people.
He shut himself in his room all day, drawing the heavy curtains, neither letting sunlight in nor turning on the lights.
After staying in the dark for several days, he quietly left home in the middle of a stormy, thunderous night.
They searched for him for over thirty years, reporting to the police and placing newspaper ads, but there was never any trace of him.
Recalling all this, Shen Xiuzhen felt both guilt and relief.
What filled her with guilt was how foolish she had been in her past life, capable of committing such a heartless act as sending her own son to prison in place of her nephew.
What brought her relief was that, in this life, her fourth son had not yet gone to prison—everything could still be set right.
“Mom, why are you crying? Did Dad bully you?”
Song Sihai knew that his other siblings were all afraid of their parents and usually didn’t dare to get too close to them. So, naturally, the task of comforting their mother fell to him.
He walked to the bedside, pulled up his sleeve, and wiped Shen Xiuzhen’s tears.
“Mom, don’t cry. If you really don’t want to stay with Dad, then get a divorce…”
Before he could finish, Song Shulin kicked him.
“You brat, always running your mouth.”
“Ouch—”
Song Sihai rubbed his butt, grimacing in pain. Just as he was about to complain about his father, he turned around and met his father’s eyes, brimming with tears.
Oh no!
Dad’s crying too.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. Song Erhe and the other siblings lowered their heads, even more afraid to speak.
“Wait, Dad, Mom, on such a happy occasion, why are both of you crying?”
Song Sihai scratched his head, utterly confused.
Weren’t their parents usually the ones who doted most on Song Weimin?
To help him save face and marry Wu Meili sooner, they had bought him a bicycle and a watch, sparing no effort.
Now that Song Weimin’s marriage was settled, instead of being happy, they were crying as if they had lost a child.
Shen Xiuzhen’s gaze swept over each of her children. She wiped her tears and broke into a smile.
“You’re right, it’s a happy occasion. We shouldn’t cry.”
Given a second chance at life, with all her children alive and well, she should be smiling.
Song Shulin grunted in agreement, turning away from the children to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.
“Shulin, let’s go bring our eldest son home tomorrow.”
Even though the time of the eldest son’s tragedy in her past life was still some days away, Shen Xiuzhen couldn’t rest easy.
“Alright,” Song Shulin nodded in agreement.
Song Sihai asked curiously, “Mom, why bring Big Brother back?”
“To let him enjoy life,” Shen Xiuzhen said firmly.
Her eldest son had always been honest and filial, and over the years, he had sacrificed much for the family.
It was time for him to come home and live a comfortable life.
Song Sihai: “…”
Mom’s really something!
With their dirt-poor family, what kind of “comfort” could there possibly be? Their parents were probably scheming again, planning to make Big Brother work like a beast of burden for the Song family.
Song Erhe and the others thought the same.
But they were in no position to speak up and didn’t dare to ask questions like Song Sihai.
“Go back and rest now. From now on, unless your father and I call for you, stay in your rooms and sleep well. If you really can’t sleep, go out for a walk, and when you come back, go back to sleep.”
After giving these instructions, Shen Xiuzhen waved her children out of the room.
The Song siblings looked at each other in confusion. What did their mother mean? They couldn’t make sense of it.
“Mom, are you serious?” Song Sihai felt that happiness had come too suddenly.
Suddenly, it felt unbelievable to him.
Shen Xiuzhen shot him a glare. “What’s true or false? If you want to go work, we won’t stop you.
But you have to keep an eye on Erhe and Dani for me. If they dare sneak off to work, you break their legs…”