Zhou Zimo sniffled, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and said, “Great-uncle, my father died, and wasn’t there supposed to be a hundred taels of compensation from the government? Just after you and the government officials left, my grandma and uncle, and aunt came and snatched all the silver. They even pushed Mom down—her forehead was bleeding so much, and she fainted for half a day before waking up. It scared me and my sister to death… wah…”
“Wah… Dad… Mom… wah…” Zhou Zimeng cried loudly alongside him.
At first, Zhou Yunda hadn’t paid much attention, but now he looked closely. Li Wanting’s head was wrapped in a cloth strip, and her forehead had a swelling the size of an egg, with blood soaking through a large patch. He was startled.
“Ah, that Zhou Zhangshi woman is inhuman! This could have ended in death! Dashan’s wife, stop crying. Come on, we’re going to the old house—this matter will be handled by your uncle today,” Zhou Yunda said angrily, slapping his thigh for emphasis.
“Wah… thank you, Uncle… wah…” Li Wanting felt a small relief upon hearing that the village chief would take care of the matter.
“Dashan’s wife, get up quickly. Your uncle is going to handle this,” Wang said, helping her.
“Yes, little sister, get up. Your father-in-law will take charge,” Liu Guihua agreed, echoing Wang.
Li Wanting finally stood, supported as she followed Zhou Yunda. Zhou Zimo held his sister, sniffling, trailing behind their mother. Behind them, a crowd of villagers who had come to watch followed. The procession moved toward the old house.
“Old Hao, are you home?” Zhou Yunda shouted as he entered.
Old Zhou was sitting inside smoking dry tobacco, and Zhou Zhangshi was mending clothes. Hearing her elder brother, the couple quickly came out, responding, “We’re here, big brother. Please come in.”
Zhou Dahe and his wife and children also emerged. Seeing the crowd, they were stunned—so many people had come! The yard and even outside the walls were filled with a large crowd.
“Big brother, what’s going on?” Old Zhou asked, puzzled.
“What’s going on? Look at Dashan’s wife! You usually ignore them, fine. But now Dashan has died, leaving just a widow and orphans. You let your wife snatch all of Dashan’s compensation and almost caused someone’s death! Dashan is your son too. Don’t you feel guilty?” Zhou Yunda scolded his younger brother fiercely.
“Big brother, this… I…” Old Zhou’s face turned red, and he could not speak a word, while glancing helplessly at his wife.
Zhou Zhangshi, used to having the final say at home, glared at Old Zhou as if to say, try defending Dashan, and you’ll regret it.
Seeing his brother so timid, Zhou Yunda grew even angrier. He turned to Zhou Zhangshi and said sternly, “Sister-in-law, even if Dashan wasn’t your biological son, you can’t play favorites like this. Now that Dashan is gone, you’ve taken all his compensation. How are his widow and children supposed to live? You pushed Li Wanting down—look at this swelling on her forehead! If she had died, you would have gone to prison.”
Zhou Zhangshi looked at Li Wanting and, seeing that she hadn’t died, breathed a sigh of relief. Returning home, she had genuinely feared this little “brat” would die; her heart had been in turmoil all along.
“Big brother, I didn’t mean for Li Wanting to die. She fell on her own—how can anyone blame me? Yes, Dashan wasn’t my biological son, but I raised him and even got him married. I’ve earned some credit, haven’t I? Besides, he’s dead, and his father is still alive. Shouldn’t he support his father?” Zhou Zhangshi argued, shamelessly twisting logic.
Li Wanting, pretending to cry, listened to Zhou Zhangshi’s words and inwardly thought: If someone didn’t know, they’d think this woman is a kind stepmother. But everyone in the village knows the truth. She only cares about her own benefit.
“Your words may sound good, sister-in-law, but everyone knows how you treated Dashan. His wife was brought home by him. As soon as he went to the army, you expelled his widow and children, leaving them with nothing. You didn’t help take care of them at all, and every few days you harass them. Old Hao, you don’t have only Dashan as a son. How can you rely on the dead to honor the living?” Zhou Yunda pointed at his brother angrily.
“Ah… this…” Old Zhou could only shrink into a corner and sigh, unable to respond.
“I don’t care! Regardless of whether Dashan is alive or dead, he must honor his father. The younger generation must respect the elders,” Zhou Zhangshi said brazenly.
“Yes, the younger generation should respect the elders, but if the father isn’t kind, the son cannot be blamed for seeming unfilial. Besides, Dashan is dead, and Old Hao still has two sons. How can you expect the grandson to support the father? Do you even have a conscience?” Zhou Yunda said disdainfully, glaring at the couple.
“What conscience? Dashan is dead, so his son should honor his grandfather!” Zhou Zhangshi shouted.
“You should also think about Dahai’s future. He’s going to take the county-level exam in the autumn,” Zhou Yunda said patiently.
Hearing this, Zhou Zhangshi’s face changed. Their youngest son had always been smart—by age eight, he passed the preliminary examination and was now studying at Lishan Academy in town. Indeed, he would sit the autumn exam.
Seeing that her sister-in-law had fallen silent, Zhou Yunda continued: “Sister-in-law, you leave half the compensation for them—the widow and children. That way, they can live, right?”
“No,” Zhou Zhangshi snapped immediately at the word “half.”
“Then how much do you want to give?” Zhou Yunda probed.
“Ten taels, at most ten taels,” Zhou Zhangshi insisted.
“That’s too cruel,” Zhou Yunda said angrily.
“I don’t care. Ten taels, take it or leave it. Not a single coin more,” Zhou Zhangshi said stubbornly.
“You… you…” Zhou Yunda was so angry he didn’t know what to say.
“Wah… Dashan, she’s trying to starve us, a widow and her children! I’ll go as you wish,” Li Wanting struggled, trying to run into the wall, but Wang and the daughter-in-law held her tightly.
“Dashan’s wife, don’t think like that,” they said, pulling and trying to reason with her.
“Little sister, think about the children. What would happen to them if you did this?”
“Wah… Mom, don’t leave us… Mom… wah…”
“Wah… Mom… Mom…”
Zhou Zimo and Zimeng both clung to their mother’s legs, crying uncontrollably.
“What’s all this crying for? You miserable bad luck star, daring to threaten me! You shameless woman! And you two little brats, a bunch of ungrateful wolves!” Zhou Zhangshi yelled impatiently.