Whether it was the accusations against her daughter or herself, any single one of them would be enough to ruin the Gao family.
"When has your little sister ever put on the airs of a spoiled capitalist miss? Bai Jiu, I’ll fight you to the death!" Old Mrs. Song was terrified. Unable to out-argue the Third’s wife, she could only lunge forward to attack.
She scoffed at the idea of a fight.
Bai Jiu didn’t wait for Old Mrs. Song to reach her. She dodged to the side, opened her mouth, and started yelling toward the outside. She wasn’t afraid of a physical altercation, but in this day and age, it was always frowned upon for a junior to lay hands on an elder. Her grandmother had warned her about this when she was little, and she remembered it well. Therefore, instead of fighting, she screamed.
"Shut your mouth! We’ll split the household. I’ll give it to you!" Old Mrs. Song was thoroughly spooked.
One had to admit that the Third’s wife was truly ruthless, striking precisely at others’ weak points.
Old Mrs. Song glared at Bai Jiu as if she wanted to eat her alive. "You wretched girl, how can you be so cruel? That’s your husband’s own blood sister, yet you actually have the heart to destroy her." She wondered why she hadn’t noticed how headstrong the Third’s wife was back then. It truly was a case of spending a lifetime hunting geese only to get pecked in the eye by one at the end. If she had known the woman was like this, she never would have let the Third marry her.
However, Old Mrs. Song conveniently forgot that she wouldn’t have been willing to get the Third a wife at all if it hadn’t been for the low bride price Bai Jiu’s family demanded. Fortunately, after the marriage, the Third was rarely home, and Bai Jiu had always had a soft, submissive temperament. Otherwise, the Gao family never would have enjoyed such good days.
Bai Jiu looked coldly at Old Mrs. Song. "I’m cruel? Mother, shouldn’t you look at your own actions before judging others? You were even willing to sell off your own biological granddaughter. Who could possibly be crueler than you?"
Bai Jiu wasn’t the original owner of this body; she absolutely refused to swallow this kind of grievance.
"I could overlook how you mistreat the three of us on a daily basis. But since you’ve never treated us as part of the Gao family, why should I acknowledge you as my mother-in-law or her as my sister-in-law?" She scoffed inwardly, thinking about how the old woman only ever made demands of others without reflecting on her own wicked deeds.
"You... you..." Old Mrs. Song was so enraged by Bai Jiu that she was left speechless.
Bai Jiu had no desire to waste time bickering with her. "Stop stammering and hurry up and hand over Zhijun’s things. We are splitting the household right now. If you delay this any longer, it’ll be too late for regrets once I go report you."
If they didn’t divide the household today, she would march straight to the authorities and report them. No one would get to live in peace.
Although Old Mrs. Song couldn’t bear to part with the Third’s subsidies, she was terrified that Bai Jiu would actually report them. If that happened, their family would never be able to hold their heads high again.
"Third’s wife, I can give you all of the Third’s subsidies. But no matter what, the Third is still my son. Surely I should get half of the money." Old Mrs. Song switched to a softer approach when she realized threats wouldn’t work. "Your father and I are getting old. The Third is still my son, after all, and he is obligated to provide for our retirement. It’s not too much to ask for half of the money, is it?"
Since she couldn’t keep everything, she had to settle for the next best thing. Getting half was still better than giving it all to Bai Jiu.
Bai Jiu naturally refused; she wasn’t willing to give up even half. It wasn’t that she was heartless, but rather that the Gao family had taken far too much from the original host. And the original host had conceded far, far too much.
"Mother, Zhijun isn’t your only son. You can’t expect him to shoulder your retirement all on his own. If he did, how would Eldest Brother and Second Brother ever show their faces? But don’t worry." Bai Jiu knew that if she pushed too hard, she might back Old Mrs. Song into a corner. If that happened, not only would dividing the household become impossible, but she wouldn’t see a single cent of the money either. One should never underestimate the sheer thick skin of a shameless person. She continued, "In the future, I will contribute to your retirement on Zhijun’s behalf. Whatever Eldest Brother and Second Brother give, I will match it exactly. The three households will provide an equal amount. Don’t even dream about getting anything more than that."
"Fine! You wretched woman, how can you be so stingy? You won’t even part with half..."
"Stop shouting, Mother. I don’t mind letting everyone come over and listen to our family’s scandalous affairs—as long as you can afford to lose face," Bai Jiu said. She sneered inwardly; if the old woman kept cursing at her, she would go all out and cause a massive scene. "I certainly don’t mind at all."
Old Mrs. Song knew she was in the wrong. When it came to providing for the elderly, every family split the burden equally among their sons. If she demanded more from the third branch alone, she wouldn’t find anyone to side with her, no matter where she took her complaints.
Left with no other choice, she went into the house to fetch the pension and subsidies issued by Gao Zhijun’s work unit.
In reality, Old Mrs. Song had received a total compensation of eight hundred yuan for Gao Zhijun, but she only brought out two hundred yuan. Since Bai Jiu had no idea how much there actually was, Old Mrs. Song fully intended to keep the lion’s share. She refused to let this wretched woman get it all so easily.
As for the monthly subsidies, they required taking a specific booklet to the commune to claim them each month. Even if she wanted to embezzle those, she couldn’t. She could only target the lump-sum compensation. Fortunately, no one had known when she initially went to collect the money. Otherwise, she might not have been able to keep any of it. Given the Third’s wife’s current temper, she would definitely cause an absolute uproar.
Seeing Old Mrs. Song’s reluctant expression, Bai Jiu straightforwardly snatched the money right out of her hands.
After counting it, she complained inwardly, "Is a human life really worth so little in this day and age? Only two hundred yuan."
Holding twenty brand-new ten-yuan bills, she asked, "Did you pocket some of it? Why is there only two hundred yuan?"
Old Mrs. Song jolted in surprise, but she quickly calmed down. She recalled the time she had gone to collect the compensation; absolutely no one else knew about it.
Thus, her tone grew forceful. "Bullshit! As if I would pocket your things! It’s just you being narrow-minded and greedy, trying to rake every last thing into your own hands without any regard for family harmony. Our Gao family really suffered the worst luck in eight lifetimes the day we married you!" She cursed while violently slapping her thigh, as if the dramatic gesture could somehow prove her innocence.
Bai Jiu couldn’t be bothered to argue with her; as long as she had the money in hand, it was fine. Two hundred yuan wasn’t a massive fortune, but it wasn’t a small sum either. After all, the annual dividend distributed by the production brigade was only around twenty yuan. It would take a farming family years to save up two hundred yuan.
Even if the old woman had embezzled the rest, Bai Jiu would find a way to make her spit it back out later. She figured there would be plenty of time for that in the future.
Bai Jiu cast a sidelong glance at Old Mrs. Song. "It’s good that you didn’t pocket any. Whoever steals from orphans and widows will have grandchildren born without buttholes."
Since Old Mrs. Song doted on her daughter so much, hearing this vicious curse infuriated her beyond belief. However, she managed to hold her tongue. If she started arguing with Bai Jiu now, wouldn’t it be an admission of guilt?
She couldn’t bear to risk it.
Even though she had kept six hundred yuan for herself, seeing the two hundred yuan in Bai Jiu’s hands still made her heart ache, as if a piece of her own flesh had been gouged out.
"You wretched woman, now that Zhijun’s things have been given to you, don’t even think about taking a single cent of anything else in this house. I’ll give you two days. After two days, get the hell out of the Gao family," Old Mrs. Song spat, her heart bleeding for the lost money.
Bai Jiu had no desire to continue living with the Gao family either. "Fine. But the kids and I will take our own work points, and you have to give me a few dozen catties of grain."
She could do without household items; since she had money, she could easily buy new ones without worry. But as for the grain, she absolutely had to take her share. She would rather feed it to dogs and chickens than leave it for the Gao family to eat. "Let’s get one thing clear: don’t you dare covet anything belonging to my third branch in the future."
"BAH! Look at you! As if I’d ever covet your things! Take a good look at yourself in the mirror—are you even worthy of me coveting anything of yours?"
"Just tell me if you agree or not. There’s no need for extra nonsense." Bai Jiu felt it was best to make this crystal clear now. Otherwise, once her life improved in the future, this old hag would definitely come knocking on her door.
"Hmph, I agree! But in the future, when the three of you run out of food, don’t come begging at the Gao family’s door!" Old Mrs. Song sneered, wondering how long this woman could possibly last on her own.
Lin Guihua watched as the third branch was separated from the household just like that, and she felt a twinge of temptation. Envy sprouted in her heart.
She wasn’t against dividing the household, mainly because none of Gao Zhijun’s subsidies had ever benefited her anyway. Previously, Old Mrs. Song had kept an iron grip on Gao Zhijun’s wages and used almost all of the money to subsidize Gao Yulan. In the production brigade, Gao Yulan lived a more glamorous life than even city girls. Not only was she excused from farm work, but she was constantly getting new clothes and the face creams that women coveted the most.
If she wanted to eat meat, it took merely a single word from her. Just like this morning. If it had been anyone else in the family, let alone new clothes, they wouldn’t even dare to dream of eating meat.
Even with all that, the family still had to send a large portion of their refined grain to the Second Brother in the city every year.
Second Brother and his wife both had city jobs, earned wages, and ate state-supplied grain. Logically, of the three brothers’ branches, the Second Brother’s family lived the most comfortably and didn’t need any subsidies from home. However, Gao Zhiguo was a country boy, while his wife was a city girl.
To put it bluntly, Gao Zhiguo had married up into the Yue family in the city. Because of this, he would return every year to take some fine grain back to the city to solidify his standing and ensure his in-laws wouldn’t look down on him. Old Man Gao and Old Mrs. Song were more than willing to help Gao Zhiguo secure his status in his marriage, so they faithfully subsidized him with the family’s best refined grain year after year.
As a result, only the eldest branch was left at home, eating coarse grain and living in poverty.
Seeing the third branch successfully split off, Lin Guihua began to formulate her own plans. However, Gao Zhishan, who had been keeping a close eye on her, immediately pulled his wife back. He knew her temperament better than anyone. If she dared to bring up dividing the household right now, his mother would definitely tear her to pieces. With the third branch gone, the family was already down one laborer and one source of income.
Having officially divided the household, Bai Jiu felt incredibly refreshed.
She immediately sent Zhengyang to fetch the Production Team Captain to sign the agreement. In this era, such a document carried legal weight. This step was absolutely crucial; she couldn’t rely on Old Mrs. Song’s empty words to finalize the separation.
When the Captain arrived, the entire Gao family was waiting at home.
"Why are you making such a ruckus at home instead of going to work early in the morning? Gao the Fourth, does your whole family not need to eat anymore?" The Captain had very little respect for the Gao family.
"Sorry for the trouble, Captain. This matter... sigh." Old Man Gao immediately stood up and offered his seat to the Captain. "Children grow up and have a mind of their own. Since the Third’s wife wants to divide the household, then let’s divide it." He spoke as if he had absolutely nothing to do with the situation and it was all Bai Jiu’s fault.
Bai Jiu wasn’t about to indulge his hypocrisy. "Father, how can you say that? If the family had treated the three of us even just a little bit better, a widow like me wouldn’t have been forced to move out and raise the kids on her own." If he was going to put on an act, she could play along, too.
She turned to the official. "Captain, please listen to me..." Bai Jiu had no intention of taking the blame for this mess, looking fully prepared to tear away all their facades.
Seeing her stance, Old Mrs. Song didn’t dare let her continue. "Thank you for your hard work, Captain. The children and grandchildren are all grown up now, so it’s time to divide the household," Old Mrs. Song hurriedly interjected.
Bai Jiu shot her a withering glare but held her tongue, deciding not to say anything more.
Seeing this, Old Mrs. Song breathed a sigh of relief.
The Captain had no interest in meddling in other people’s family drama, as long as it didn’t delay the farm work. "Alright, tell me how you’re dividing things up, and I’ll write it down."
Soon, the Captain had the household division document drafted and ready.