Qin Dazhuang also turned pale with fright, waving his hands repeatedly. “Second Brother, this is really not right. How could you borrow so much money from outside?”
But Li Jiao refused to back down, turning to look at Wang Cuifen. “Sister-in-law, didn’t you just say we’re all one family? Why are you trying to avoid it as soon as you hear about the debt? This is unbearable!”
Li Jiao sobbed while wiping her tears. “Since everyone is afraid of being dragged down, we won’t repay the debt either. Let’s all go to jail together!”
“Who’s one family with you? Let’s split up! Mom, let’s split up now!”
At this point, Wang Cuifen no longer cared about the lard. Her mind was filled with the terrifying two hundred yuan of debt.
She rushed up to Qin Laotai, her face flushed with urgency, and shouted, “Yes, Mom, let’s split up quickly. Kick Second Brother’s family out. If we don’t, when the debt collectors come, even our Da Bao and Er Bao will be taken to pay off the debt. This is a bottomless pit!”
Qin Laotai was also terrified. What she valued most was money and her two grandsons. Hearing that the family might be implicated, her old face looked even more frightening than before.
“Split!” Qin Laotai picked up her tobacco pipe. After all, Qin Lie couldn’t earn money now, and with his limp, he was both the child of a bad element and a cripple. Keeping him around was useless anyway.
“Since you’re buried in debt, don’t drag the family down. We’ll split up today. From now on, your debts are your own responsibility. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with the Qin family anymore!”
Qin Lie leaned against the doorframe, watching his family members who had just tried to snatch his money and now couldn’t wait to kick him out as soon as they heard about the debt. The last bit of affection in his heart completely vanished.
Well, this was the family he had worked himself to the bone for all these years, trying to get close to.
Qin Lie suddenly chuckled softly. Perhaps this wasn’t such a bad thing. Look at his Jiao Jiao—she was so heartbroken for him right now.
Li Jiao wasn’t just heartbroken; she was also feeling guilty. She had indeed come with the intention of splitting up the family, but she hadn’t discussed it with Qin Lie beforehand.
She walked over to Qin Lie and gently hooked her finger into his palm. “Do you agree?”
“Yes, I agree.” Qin Lie’s eyes sparkled with even more amusement. From now on, his world would consist only of him and Jiao Jiao. They would be bound together for the rest of their lives. How could he not agree?
Li Jiao immediately wiped away the nonexistent tears on her face and cleared her throat. “Alright, since Mom and Sister-in-law are afraid of being implicated, let’s split up. We’ll draw up a written agreement as proof. Today, we’ll split everything cleanly. Whoever goes back on their word is a coward!”
The kerosene lamp crackled and popped, and the atmosphere grew tense.
But with things having come to this point, splitting up the family was already a done deal.
Wang Cuifen, afraid that delays might bring trouble and even more terrified that the hundreds of yuan in debt would fall on her, quickly calculated in her mind.
“Since we’re splitting up, we have to follow the rules. The three large tiled rooms in the house are reserved for Da Bao and Er Bao’s future weddings and for Mom’s retirement. Naturally, they should go to the eldest son.”
Wang Cuifen cleared her throat, her eyes almost oozing with meanness. “And the two pigs in the pen are for the New Year. You can’t touch them either. As for the five acres of fertile land, that’s the family’s food supply. Second Brother’s leg is useless now, and he can’t farm anyway, so we won’t burden you with it.”
At this point, Wang Cuifen hypocritically sighed and pointed toward the end of the village as if bestowing charity: “Those two old thatched huts at the foot of the mountain, though a bit run-down, at least stand alone. They’ll be given to you, the second son, and your wife to live in. Also, since we’re dividing the family, we can’t let you starve to death. We’ll give you that iron pot at home with the missing corner.”
Wang Cuifen grew more and more pleased with herself as she spoke, barely suppressing her glee. “We’ll also give you two old quilts and fifty catties of dried sweet potatoes. Isn’t that more than generous enough?”
Li Jiao’s small hands clenched instantly, fury churning in her eyes.
Was this what they called dividing the family? This was clearly pushing them toward a dead end!
Those two thatched huts at the end of the village were used by the Qin family to watch over melon fields years ago. They had been abandoned for over a decade, with the roofs leaking daylight and drafts blowing through from all sides. Was that a place for people to live?
Not to mention the moldy quilts and stale dried sweet potatoes—even pigs would turn up their noses at such shabby fare.
“Mom!” Qin Lie finally couldn’t hold back any longer, his eyes bloodshot as he glared fiercely at Qin Laotai, who sat silently on the kang.
He could endure poverty and exhaustion, but he couldn’t bear this kind of pressure from his so-called “family.”
He had supported this family with the money he earned at the risk of his life, only to be kicked out like a dog in the end.
He could endure it alone, but now Jiao Jiao was with him!
“Am I your biological son? In this bitter cold, with my leg still not healed, you want us to live in that drafty thatched hut? Are you trying to drive your son to his death?”
Qin Laotai didn’t even lift her eyelids, taking a puff of her cigarette before coldly replying, “Second son, don’t make it sound so harsh. If you don’t want to live in that thatched hut, then pay back the two hundred yuan debt and hand over another five hundred yuan for our retirement. Then I’ll let you stay in the tiled house.”
“You!” Qin Lie’s temples throbbed with veins, trembling with rage.
Li Jiao quickly grabbed his fist, silently comforting him.
Qin Lie’s tension eased slightly as he turned to look pitifully at Li Jiao. “Jiao Jiao?”
“Fine, we accept it. Since Mom and Sister-in-law are so heartless, we have nothing more to say. We’ll live in the thatched hut, and we’ll take the dried sweet potatoes, but…”
“The half-acre rocky slope and small grove behind the thatched hut must belong to us. That place is all rocks and can’t be farmed, but it should still count as a piece of land, so we at least have somewhere to hang our clothes in the future.”
When Wang Cuifen heard they only wanted that rocky slope, she almost laughed out loud.
That place was nothing but red soil and rubble. Forget farming—even weeds didn’t grow there. It was utterly useless land.
This silly city woman really thought it was a treasure!
“Take it, take it all! Who would want that worthless place anyway? It’s yours!”
Li Jiao wiped away a tear, her gaze sharp. “Words alone mean nothing. Let’s call the village secretary now and draw up a written agreement. We’ll put it in black and white so there’s no confusion later. From now on, we’ll have nothing to do with each other in life or death. If anyone gets jealous and tries to back out later, they’re nothing but a turtle bastard!”
Hearing this, Wang Cuifen couldn’t have been happier. She immediately sent Qin Dazhuang to fetch the village secretary.
The old secretary arrived wrapped in a heavy coat. Seeing the pitiful state of this family division, he sighed inwardly but could do nothing about it.
After all, this was a family matter, and with Qin Lie and his wife burdened by huge debts, dividing the family was a way to protect the larger household.
Under the dim lamplight, three copies of the family division contract were written.
Qin Lie’s expression remained unchanged as he pressed his bright red thumbprint onto the paper.
Li Jiao picked up the contract that belonged to them, carefully blew the ink dry, and tucked it safely into her bosom.
Qin Lie watched the sudden joy on her face, his heartbeat growing even more intense.
She was… truly binding the two of them together completely and irrevocably.
Li Jiao took the initiative to grab Qin Lie’s hand, her voice cool and detached. Her gaze swept coldly over the family, not a trace of attachment in her eyes.
“Qin Lie, let’s go. Remember, once we step out of this door, this place is no longer your home. From now on, whether they live or die has nothing to do with us!”
The two walked out the gate. Qin Lie glanced back at the old house, his eyes reddening, his voice hoarse: “Jiaojiao, I’m sorry for making you live in a thatched hut with me…”