Just as everyone was about to divide the money, Li Zhaodi spoke up impatiently.
“Let’s hurry up and split it before anything changes.”
She looked so eager that it was as if a cooked duck might suddenly fly away.
Lu Gongxi snorted in disdain.
So petty. So money-grubbing. No class at all.
“Wait.”
The moment Zhao Jinlan saw Lin Xiyun open her mouth again, her eyelids twitched. She immediately lashed out, trying to sound fierce.
“Lin Xiyun! Just what did our Lu family ever do to you? It wasn’t enough that you stirred up this household and tore it apart—now you’re making more trouble!”
Lin Xiyun smiled calmly.
“Mom, you’re still just as talented at twisting the truth.”
She even applauded mockingly.
“You really deserve a round of applause for lying with a straight face.”
The crisp clapping echoed through the room, making Zhao Jinlan’s face burn red.
“So how did all of this start today?” Lin Xiyun shrugged. “Why don’t we ask you and Dad?”
She pointed at Lu Yezhong.
“Or better yet, ask Fifth Brother. We can let Section Chief Han decide who’s really responsible for turning the Lu family into complete chaos.”
Zhao Jinlan instantly lost her nerve and fell silent.
Watching everything unfold, Section Chief Han finally realized something.
The most formidable person in the Lu family wasn’t any of the elders.
It was the quiet, seemingly harmless Lin Xiyun sitting right beside him.
Clearing her throat, Lin Xiyun continued.
“Among everyone in the Lu family, I’m the only one who graduated from high school. Second Brother is a teacher, so let’s do some simple math together.”
Lu Gongxi immediately straightened his back with pride after finally being acknowledged.
“Go ahead, Sister-in-law.”
“Our parents both work at the Machinery Factory. Together they make at least eighty or ninety yuan a month.”
“Eldest Brother and Second Brother hand over all their salaries to Mom. Let’s estimate fifty yuan a month from them—that’s already 130 yuan total.”
“Lu Yanbei and I also contribute twenty yuan every month. Even though I’m the only one eating at home, we still pay.”
“So that’s roughly 150 yuan coming into this household every month.”
“Over just three years, that’s 5,400 yuan.”
“And it’s actually been much longer than three years.”
The simple calculation instantly sobered everyone who had been dazzled by the 1,500 yuan on the table.
The eldest two sons had started working years ago.
The fourth son had joined the army even earlier.
There was no way Zhao Jinlan’s savings amounted to only fifteen hundred yuan.
Lin Xiyun smiled sincerely at the elderly couple.
“So tell me…”
“Has our family been eating delicacies every single day?”
“Nonsense!”
Lu Aiguo denied it faster than anyone else, glancing nervously at Section Chief Han.
That wasn’t something he could admit.
His denial plunged the room into silence.
Everyone knew exactly what they ate every day.
Meat appeared only once every several days.
So…
Where had all the money gone?
Zhao Jinlan immediately shouted,
“What, do you think you’ve all been living on air?”
“Didn’t it cost money to get your brothers married?”
Then she pointed directly at Lin Xiyun.
“And you!”
“When Fourth Son married you, he paid five hundred yuan just in bride price!”
“And you still have the nerve to demand money?”
“Five hundred?”
Everyone present gasped.
Even Section Chief Han was stunned.
In those days, what kind of family gave a bride price of five hundred yuan?
Lin Xiyun had been a country girl marrying into the city.
Sure, she was pretty and had a high school education…
But five hundred yuan?
He remembered the wedding vividly.
A full set of the “Three Rounds and One Sound System,” forty-eight household items, and an impossibly handsome soldier in uniform.
The wedding had made countless young women at the Machinery Factory green with envy.
And on top of all that…
There had also been a five-hundred-yuan bride price.
It was practically like marrying home a priceless treasure.
Zhang Lijuan discreetly glanced at the Meihua-brand wristwatch on Lin Xiyun’s slender wrist.
For the first time, she couldn’t help feeling jealous.
When she had gotten married, they had barely managed to assemble the thirty-six traditional wedding items.
The only major appliance had been a sewing machine.
Even that had been provided by her own parents.
Her bride price had been just one hundred yuan.
Some comparisons really did make people miserable.
If Zhang Lijuan felt this way, Li Zhaodi felt even worse.
She dug her fingernails deep into her palms.
Her resentment reached its peak.
What was so special about that lazy woman, Lin Xiyun?
Five hundred yuan.
She had never spent that much money in her entire life.
Yet Lin Xiyun had received that amount just in bride price.
Thinking of all the expensive furniture and household goods in Lin Xiyun’s room made her dizzy with frustration.
Lin Xiyun herself had no memory of where the bride price had originally come from.
But after spending time with the Lu family…
Did she believe Zhao Jinlan and Lu Aiguo had willingly paid that much?
Not for a second.
She sat calmly and said,
“Why don’t we just call Lu Yanbei and ask him where that bride price came from?”
“Judging from the bride prices my two sisters-in-law received, I seriously doubt you two paid for it yourselves.”
The sarcasm in her voice was impossible to miss.
Before the argument could spiral further, Section Chief Han finally stepped in.
He looked sternly at Lu Aiguo.
“Old Lu… you’ve gone too far.”
“These are your own children.”
“If you keep treating them like this, how are we supposed to discuss your future support when you’re old?”
His meaning was obvious.
Don’t play favorites so openly.
One day you’ll still have to rely on your children.
Lu Aiguo sighed heavily.
“Jinlan… bring out the other one thousand yuan.”
With folded arms, Lin Xiyun watched leisurely as Zhao Jinlan reluctantly produced another stack of money.
It looked as though someone were carving flesh from her body.
The family’s total savings now came to 2,530 yuan and 65 cents.
“Our family earns a lot, but there are many mouths to feed.”
“Especially so many grown men.”
“We also had to pay for your marriages.”
“This is all that’s left.”
There’s definitely more hidden somewhere, Lin Xiyun thought.
Should I sneak in and become a burglar for once?
Under Section Chief Han’s supervision, the money was divided equally into five shares—including one share for Lu Aiguo and Zhao Jinlan.
Each share totaled 506 yuan.
The remaining sixty-five cents stayed with the elderly couple.
Actually, the biggest winner was Lu Yezhong, who hadn’t even married yet.
Lu Aiguo then declared,
“Your mother and I will live with Fifth Son.”
“I agree!”
Lu Yezhong answered immediately.
His mental abacus was already clicking away.
His parents would eventually receive generous pensions.
All of that would belong to him.
He could already picture his wonderful future.
Lu Aiguo’s decision made the usually silent Lu Jiandong frown once more.
“Dad.”
“If you do this, what will people think of me as the eldest son?”
“They’ll point fingers at me and call me unfilial.”
Lu Aiguo glared.
“You were the one who forced your father to split the family.”
“Let people think whatever they want!”
“If they really want to stare, I’ll stand right in front of them and let them look!”
In the end, no one could change the old couple’s minds.
The arrangement stood.
Lu Jiandong’s heart, however, grew colder and colder.
Section Chief Han wrote up the official family-separation agreement.
“This is the standard practice at the Machinery Factory.”
“After the family is divided, supporting your parents remains everyone’s responsibility.”
“Once Aiguo and Jinlan retire, each household will contribute five yuan per month toward their support.”
“You may also pay in grain instead.”
“Any objections?”
Only Li Zhaodi started to speak before Lu Gongxi quietly pulled her back.
No one else objected.
Just like that, the Lu family officially split into separate households.
The news spread through the Machinery Factory residential compound as if it had grown wings.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiyun held the freshly acquired 506 yuan in her hand.
She was just thinking about going out to celebrate a little…
when she stepped outside and came face to face with a very familiar person.