She wanted to emphasize that the temporary job at the sugar factory was hers. Even if it couldn’t be swapped back, she wanted her grandparents to feel that they had been wronged by the eldest branch of the family.
Old Man Miao’s sharp gaze fell on his eldest son, Miao Aiguo. “How much did you know about this?”
Miao Aiguo’s face was pale as he forced a smile to reassure the whole family. “Dad, Mom, sister-in-law, listen to me. There must be some misunderstanding…”
“Bullshit misunderstanding! Ke Youzhi knew it was a temporary loading and unloading job all along. How could your wife not know? You two are in cahoots—how could she hide it from you?”
Old Man Miao cursed while grabbing a stick and swinging it at Miao Aiguo.
Miao Aiguo howled in pain.
Ke Guixiang was frantic beside him. “Dad! Aiguo is your own son. If you hurt him, how will he go to work tomorrow? Back then, my brother said he would help Xuewei get a ticket seller’s job…”
Before she could finish, Meng Suling slapped her across the face.
Ke Guixiang covered her cheek, her expression a mix of disbelief and towering rage.
“You hit me? No one has ever dared to hit me like this in my life! I’ll fight you!”
Miao Aiguo desperately held Ke Guixiang back. “Enough, stop making a scene!”
He then looked up at the fierce Meng Suling, tried to force a smile but couldn’t, and gave up trying.
“Sister-in-law, I only found out about this job situation afterward. At the time, Guixiang said her younger brother would handle everything properly. I truly believed it and thought it would make everyone happy. I never expected him to be unreliable!
What’s done is done, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I know Yunwei has been wronged in this matter. Don’t worry, we will definitely compensate Yunwei.”
Meng Suling sneered coldly. “Compensate? With what? How about swapping the children’s jobs back? After all, they’ve just started, so it’s not impossible to work something out!”
Ke Guixiang immediately widened her eyes. “You wish! Xuewei has already started the job. This position is hers, no matter what! No one can take it away!”
Miao Aiguo tightly covered her mouth, his expression grim. “Sister-in-law, there are no secrets in this compound. Everyone knows Xuewei has started working at the sugar factory. If we make a fuss now, what will people think?
We were in a hurry to get the children jobs because they couldn’t stay in school, and we didn’t want them sent to the countryside. If Yunwei really can’t handle the job at the bus station, we can just quit. We’ll do our best to find Yunwei a good marriage. Getting married could solve this problem too.”
Meng Suling laughed angrily. “You know marriage could solve this problem, so why should my daughter be the one sacrificed? Miao Aiguo, let me tell you! Today, the eldest branch must give us an explanation!”
With that, she finished the rice in her bowl and stormed back to her room with the children from the second branch.
Ke Guixiang covered her face, still defiant. “She hasn’t even settled the score for hitting me!”
Huang Caiying immediately snapped back, “Do you want another slap?”
Ke Guixiang instantly fell silent.
Outside, the noise died down. In the quiet room of the second branch, Meng Suling occasionally sniffled, sitting alone by the bed and wiping away tears.
The children were too frightened to make a sound and went to bed early.
Around ten o’clock at night, Miao Jianguo, who had been on a long-distance trip, returned home.
As soon as he entered the room and turned on the light, he was startled by the figure sitting by the bed and shuddered. “Why are you still awake so late?”
He spoke while hanging his backpack behind the door, then took off his shoes and socks.
Meng Suling wiped her tears, her eyes red and swollen from crying. “Miao Jianguo, I can’t live like this anymore! I want to split the family!”
Miao Jianguo was shocked. After understanding the whole story, his expression darkened as well.
After a long pause, he sighed. “A big tree must branch out. This house is indeed a bit small now, and living together causes too many conflicts. Splitting… let’s split! I’ll talk to Mom and Dad first thing tomorrow morning.”
Meng Suling stopped crying and said angrily, “I don’t care! This time our family is at a disadvantage. The eldest branch must compensate Yunwei, and they have to give us the house. Let the eldest branch move out!”
“Tsk!” Miao Jianguo looked at Meng Suling in shock. “Wife, will Big Brother and Sister-in-law agree?”
The courtyard apartment they currently live in was originally allocated by the old man. As the sugar factory expanded, the number of employees increased several times, and housing for employees became increasingly tight. Getting allocated housing now is nothing like in the early years. Miao Aiguo applies every year but always comes up empty.
Making the eldest branch move out is simply unrealistic.
Meng Suling turned away stubbornly. “I don’t care! I just don’t want to keep living with the eldest branch. It’s too uncomfortable!”
Miao Yunwei, who had been pretending to sleep, quietly sat up and said softly, “Dad, Mom, are you talking about splitting the family?”
Meng Suling frowned. “Why aren’t you asleep yet? If you’re going to try to talk me out of it, don’t say anything. I’m afraid you’ll make me die of anger!”
Her daughter was good in every way, except she was too soft and easy to bully.
Miao Yunwei shook her head. “Mom, why would I try to talk you out of it? Splitting the family is good. But it’s fine if we don’t get this courtyard house. We can ask for the old house.”
Alright! In her past life, she did try to talk her mother out of it, spending half the night persuading her until Meng Suling gave up the idea of splitting the family. Looking back now, she must have had water in her brain.
“The old house?” The couple spoke in unison.
Miao Yunwei looked excited. “Have you forgotten? Our family still has the old house in Hekou Village. I heard it’s much bigger than this house, with a front and back yard. You can build on it or grow vegetables. Isn’t that more comfortable than this tube-shaped apartment?”
In her past life, she only learned about this house when Hekou Village was demolished. At that time, they were compensated with a lot of square footage.
Meng Suling looked curiously at Miao Jianguo. “Really?”
When she married into the family, the entire Miao family was already living in this house. She had never even seen what the old house looked like.
Miao Jianguo frowned worriedly. “The old house is big, but it collapsed long ago. The front and back are overgrown with weeds. If you don’t look carefully, you wouldn’t even know people once lived there. If we really move there, we’d have to hire someone to clean it up and rebuild it. That would cost a lot of money.”
“Let Uncle and Aunt pay for it! Didn’t they say they want to compensate me? I don’t want anything else, just money!”
Miao Yunwei flashed eight little white teeth. Her money-grubbing look lifted Meng Suling’s gloomy mood quite a bit.
Meng Suling also perked up again. “Good! We don’t want anything else, just the house and money!”
Early the next morning.
Someone in the courtyard had secretly raised a rooster, which crowed for an hour, waking everyone up.
Shouts, curses, and laughter echoed through the building.
Miao Yunwei also got dressed and got out of bed. Today, she had to report to her workplace and couldn’t be late.
Just as she finished braiding her hair, Old Man Miao’s angry shout came from outside. “I don’t agree! I’m not dead yet. No one is splitting this family!”
Huang Caiying followed up in persuasion, “Second son, I know your eldest brother and sister-in-law didn’t handle this matter properly. Yesterday, your father gave him a good beating, and he also said he would compensate Yunwei. Can we all sit down and talk calmly?”
Miao Jianguo looked disappointed, “Mom, you said we’re brothers, but this is how he treats his own brother! If we don’t split the family, then let Xuewei return the job to Yunwei.”
“Impossible! I’ve already completed the onboarding process! No one can take my job away!” Miao Xuewei rushed out of her room angrily, glaring at everyone from the second branch with hostility.