“Either divide all the money Tianyou sent back into seven parts—two parts for you two, the rest for Tianyou’s wife and children—and split some of the food as well.
Or let Tianyou’s family establish a new household. From now on, all money goes to Tianyou’s wife and children, and Tianyou’s labor points also belong to them.” The eldest uncle gave Li Father two choices; he really couldn’t stand it any longer.
Compared to the useless Li family members, Tianyou’s family was far more deserving of help. Ye Xiaoxiao shot the eldest uncle a glance—this old man clearly had a sharp mind.
Li Father thought about the tens of thousands of yuan in his hands—there was no way he would willingly divide it.
So he agreed to the eldest uncle’s suggestion: Ye Xiaoxiao would set up a new household, and from then on, all of Tianyou’s money would belong to her.
Li Father’s plan was simple: as long as he didn’t hand over Tianyou’s private seal to Ye Xiaoxiao, she wouldn’t be able to withdraw money. Saying it verbally was no problem—what was there to fear? After a while, he could just change the household registration; the money would still end up with him.
Ye Xiaoxiao saw through his plan. While everyone was still present, she loudly demanded, “Father, give me Tianyou’s private seal now! All these years, you and Mother have been the ones withdrawing money. If you don’t give me the seal, any written agreement is meaningless!”
The crowd felt their limits pushed once again. Li Father was truly amusing—he hadn’t mentioned this at all, clearly not because he forgot, but because he didn’t want to give it.
His earlier agreement had only been for show; without the seal, the money could still be withdrawn by him, leaving Ye Xiaoxiao in the dark. Such scheming!
Li Father glared angrily at Ye Xiaoxiao. He did not want to give it. “Eldest daughter-in-law, I’ll give it to you when Tianyou sends the money. How about that?”
Ye Xiaoxiao, who usually agreed to everything, now resolutely demanded the seal. Li Father was metaphorically on the fire pit, roasting; Li Mother didn’t care and began shrieking insults at Ye Xiaoxiao:
“Shameless little swordswoman! Do you deserve this? Are you qualified?” Every word was as nasty as it could be.
Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t get upset; she insisted on getting the seal.
Seeing the hostile eyes of the entire village, Li Father could only sheepishly hand it over. Even then, he clutched it tightly; the brigade leader and the old secretary had to remind him five or six times before he reluctantly gave it to Ye Xiaoxiao.
Ye Xiaoxiao was overjoyed. When news came of Tianyou’s disappearance and presumed death, another large sum of money arrived. She immediately rushed to the brigade office to get certification, set up a new household with Tianyou as the head, and then had to sprint to the commune to register the new household.
It was frustrating—she hated Tianyou for all he’d done, yet she had to use his name to get things done.
Without establishing a new household under Tianyou’s name, the villagers would never have helped her as an “outsider.” That was reality.
Once everything was clarified, Ye Xiaoxiao went to collect their clothes.
As she approached the firewood storage—a drafty, four-sided mud-brick room—the aunt accompanying her panicked.
The rest of the Li family lived in clean, bright brick houses, while Ye Xiaoxiao and her mother stayed in a mud house no different from the firewood storage. It was blatant bullying.
The aunt wanted to help, but upon seeing the few patched-up clothes, a thin blanket barely thicker than a sheet, and a single military water bottle—not even an extra pair of worn shoes—she was speechless.
The previous night, the head of the house had claimed Li Father had hidden new clothes and shoes for Ye Xiaoxiao to frame them.
Seeing it for themselves, the aunt realized these were mere scraps—so bad that even a beggar wouldn’t want them.