Father Xu couldn't be bothered to argue with her and asked directly, "What are you here for? Don't tell me you came specifically to give us our son back; I won't believe that."
Seeing his attitude, Old Mrs. Xu decided not to beat around the bush either. "I heard you went to town today and bought quite a few good things. I've come to take the portion that belongs to your father and me."
Xu Jianing was genuinely amused by her shamelessness.
She truly never expected there would be people like this. They couldn't stand seeing others do well and constantly tried to freeload, yet felt entitled to it.
Seeing that he hadn't moved much, Old Mrs. Xu spoke with some dissatisfaction, "Hurry up, quickly bring the things over for me. I need to go back to sleep."
Father Xu's eyes turned red with anger at her words. He said with disappointment, "You truly are my good mother! Fine, it's time to settle things."
Xu Jingde, who had already gone back, came over again after eating, feeling uneasy.
Father Xu happened to see him and shouted, "Jingde, go and call Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and those few elders over. Tell them I've invited them to mediate justice."
"Alas, I'll go right away." Xu Jingde, afraid he might change his mind, rushed out quickly.
Old Mrs. Xu panicked a little and said with dissatisfaction, "Second Child, what are you doing? If you don't want to give it, then don't! I don't want it anymore anyway."
After speaking, she quickly left.
Xu Jianing vaguely sensed what her father was planning.
Instinctively, she wanted to stop Old Mrs. Xu who was preparing to slip away, but her father stopped her. "Forget it, let her go! We can go find them later too. Let's go pick up your mother and the others."
On the way, Xu Jianing couldn't help but steal glances at her father several times.
Father Xu noticed and said with some amusement, "You girl, if you want to ask, just ask. Sneaking around isn't like you. Are you curious why I asked Uncle Jingde to call them over?"
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Jianing couldn't hold back the guess in her heart and said, "Father, you want to completely sever ties with them?"
Father Xu lovingly stroked her head. "Ning'er is so smart. Father is tired. After this time and the last, all the affection is gone. It's just a shame for you and Yin'er; your reputations will surely be affected."
Xu Jianing didn't know how to respond. How disappointed must one be to reach this point?
After their family finished putting away the things they brought back from the Mountains, Xu Jingde had already brought several older masters to sit in the courtyard waiting for Father Xu.
Seeing them come out, the oldest master spoke first, "Dongyang, what's going on? You asked us old folks to come over; do you have some plan?"
Father Xu immediately knelt on the ground. "The elders are aware of our family's situation. Back then, my Parents disliked that my leg was lame and forcibly made our family move out, never caring whether we lived or died."
"Now that our lives are finally getting a little better, my mother and the others come over every few days to cause trouble. Life is simply unbearable."
"So, you mean...?"
"I want to establish my own household. From now on, we will have no connection whatsoever with the Main Family. However, during festivals, I will still provide the filial respect due to my Parents."
After saying this, Father Xu felt much lighter.
One of the older men expressed some disapproval, "You are trying to sever ties! Dongyang, do you really have to be so absolute? Doing this will affect the children's future marriages. You..."
They had finally reached this point; no mistakes could be made now.
Worried that her father might have second thoughts, Xu Jianing quickly spoke up, "Elders, my father was forced into this decision because he had no other choice."
"Just now, my Grandmother and Grandfather came to our house one after the other, accusing my mother of being unable to bear sons and demanding that an older brother from my Uncle's family be adopted for my father. But when they heard they had to pay for my father and mother's medical treatment, every word they said was harsher than the last."
"My Grandmother, moreover, comes to our house every few days to snatch food. Tell me, our family is already pitiful enough, but she acts like this, completely trying to drive us to extinction! Relatives like that are better off without."
They had actually heard about these matters. It was just that it hadn't been brought directly before them, so no one had stepped in to manage the situation.
Most people felt that the two old ones from the Xu Family had acted wrongly.
It was only because Father Xu was honest that others would have already caused a huge uproar.
Seeing him make this decision now wasn't entirely surprising. Cutting off someone's livelihood was truly unacceptable; it was too cruel.
The few men discussed it and then sent someone to the Old Residence to invite Old Master Xu over.
Unexpectedly, the person who came back wasn't just Old Master Xu; even Xu Family's Uncle and Xu Wangshi rushed over in a hurry.
As soon as she entered, Xu Wangshi preemptively spoke, "Second Uncle, what are you doing? Is there something that requires alarming the Clan Leader and the others? Don't tell me you really want my son to be adopted by you—don't even think about it."
Father Xu gave her a cold look. "Rest assured, if we sever ties, we'll sever them completely. Son, you can have children yourself. If all else fails, I'll take in a live-in son-in-law. I will never take advantage of you."
Old Master Xu sensed something was off in his tone.
He asked with a face full of forced smiles, "Second Child, are you still angry about what Father said just now? We were just making a suggestion; if you don't want to, you don't have to follow it."
"Uncles, it's been a long time. My Second Child is immature; I apologize for letting you see a joke."
Old Master Xu tried to resolve the matter in a few sentences. But Father Xu did not intend to grant him his wish.
He quickly stated his position, "Uncles, what I said just now was not a spur-of-the-moment joke. Now that my father is here, I request the Clan Leader to draft an agreement."
"Agreement? What agreement? Second Child, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Old Master Xu became furious, his entire demeanor turning fierce. "How did I give birth to a son like you? You're already old, yet you still don't understand things."
Father Xu closed his eyes with complicated feelings, then opened them instantly. "Enough! I am taking the children to establish our own household; this decision is final. I trouble the Clan Leader to write down the points I just mentioned."
"Nonsense! Utter nonsense! Wicked son, how did I give birth to such a wicked son? Clan Leader, he is trying to sever ties! I am not dead yet, and I still have the final say in this house. I do not agree."
Even Xu Wangshi, who was watching the excitement from the side, was stunned. She had considered many possibilities, but she never expected Second Child to choose to sever ties. How could that be allowed? If so, they wouldn't be able to take advantage of them at all.
She couldn't help but add fuel to the fire from the side, "Second Uncle, how can this be allowed? Father and Mother are still alive; how can one establish a separate household? People will laugh at this if it gets out."
The more he spoke, the more agitated Old Master Xu became.
Wanting to establish his own household? Not a chance. He would never agree to it.