4
Dividing the Family, That Is Impossible
“Splitting the family? That’s impossible. If you want to divide the household, you’ll have to kill your father and me first. Otherwise, don’t even think about it.” She glared fiercely at Li Xiuran, her eyes filled with rage, looking as if she wanted to devour him. “It must be that bitch Gu Wenshu who put you up to this. No, I’m going to teach that little slut a lesson.”
Hearing his mother call her a “bitch” and a “little slut,” he couldn’t help but wonder how much verbal abuse she and the two children had endured in his absence—or even physical beatings.
The more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt, strengthening his resolve to split the family.
He grabbed his mother, who was about to storm out and confront Gu Wenshu, and said calmly, “I’ve been discharged from the army. There will be no more allowance in the future.”
These words instantly cooled Granny Li’s fury. She turned and shouted at Li Xiuran, “Who allowed you to leave the army?”
Her youngest daughter’s dowry wasn’t ready yet, her youngest son’s wedding and house-building funds were still uncertain, her eldest grandson and granddaughter needed school fees, and she and her husband hadn’t saved enough for retirement. Leaving the army meant no more allowance—what were they supposed to do?
Enraged, she snatched a nearby sewing basket and hurled it at him. “You ungrateful brat! Who said you could leave the army?”
Watching his mother’s hysterics and realizing she hadn’t shown a shred of concern for him since his return—only reacting so violently upon hearing about his discharge—Li Xiuran’s heart turned cold. He should have understood long ago, as a child, that his mother didn’t love him. Her heart and eyes were only for his eldest brother and younger siblings.
He said flatly, “I was severely injured this time and can no longer train or carry out missions normally. Discharge was my only option.”
Hearing this, Granny Li suddenly calmed down. She slumped into a chair, her hands trembling slightly.
The thought of losing the allowance pained her deeply.
As if remembering something, she abruptly looked at her son. “Did they arrange a job for you?”
If so, could she persuade her third son to give it to her eldest or youngest son?
“No.” With one glance, he knew what his mother was thinking. He sneered inwardly. “Not only was there no job arranged, but I also need follow-up hospital check-ups, which will cost a lot of money.”
“A Niang, give me the pension that was sent last time. I need to return it to the army. I’ve sent plenty of money home before. When we split the family, you’ll have to give it back to me. I need it for medical treatment.”
“Get out!”
The mention of money made Granny Li react like a cornered rat. She paced frantically around the room before shoving Li Xiuran out violently. “You want to split the family?”
She glared at him. “Then take your wife and kids and get out. You won’t get any money or food—those were your filial offerings to me and your father.”
“You ungrateful wretch, don’t you dare try to steal our retirement funds.”
She was forcing him to leave empty-handed.
“Then Mother should hold onto those things tightly.” With that, Li Xiuran turned and walked out of the courtyard.
Seeing this, Granny Li shouted, “Where are you going?”
Li Xiuran didn’t look back or answer, quickly disappearing from sight.
Granny Li stood at the doorway for a while and noticed her eldest daughter-in-law peeking out furtively. She glared at her: “What are you looking at? My third son has been discharged from the army. There’ll be no more income coming into this household from now on. You’d better work harder in the fields to earn work points, or I’ll have my eldest son send you back to your parents’ home.”
When Chen Hongzhen heard that Li Xiuran had left the military, she was instantly dumbfounded: “Mother, why has Third Brother left the army when everything was going fine for him?”
“Does that mean we won’t get twenty yuan every month anymore?”
It was important to remember that ever since Li Xiuran joined the army, he had been sending money home every month. Starting from five yuan and now up to twenty yuan, he had been sending money for ten years in total. The family’s house and even the betrothal gifts for her own wedding had all been paid for with the money Third Brother sent back.
She had even been hoping that her mother-in-law would send her son and daughter to school in September.
Now that there was no money, what would happen to her children’s education?
Granny Li slapped her eldest daughter-in-law hard on the head: “Money, money, money—that’s all you ever think about.”
The thought of money made her ache all over. That black-hearted Li Xiuran actually wanted to take back the pension and the money he had sent over the years. What an ungrateful wretch, a rotten scoundrel who could never be tamed.
If they had known it would come to this, it would have been better if he had died out there. Then they could have sold the two little brats and the little slut next door.
One adult and two children—they would have been worth a lot.
The commotion had long reached Gu Wenshu’s ears. When she heard Granny Li shouting about dividing the family property, she was somewhat surprised.
That man actually demanded the family split?
Thinking about what she had learned from the original host’s memories, she suddenly felt that Li Xiuran’s demand to divide the family property was a good thing. Even if he hadn’t proposed it, she would have eventually stirred up trouble until this family had no choice but to split. She had no desire to live with such a pack of ungrateful wolves.
This whole family was like a bunch of bloodsuckers—spending the money Li Xiuran sent back, living in a house built with his money, yet in the end, they abused Li Xiuran’s wife and children.
If they hadn’t been so extreme, the original host would never have been driven to the point of selling her son and daughter.
Sanbao, who had been sitting nearby playing with his younger sister, suddenly looked at Gu Wenshu and asked quietly: “Mom, if the family splits, will we have to move out?”
He was already five years old and understood what dividing the family meant.
Gu Wenshu reached out and ruffled Sanbao’s head, then pulled him into her arms: “Does Sanbao not want to move out?”
If Sanbao didn’t want to move out, it wasn’t entirely impossible. At most, she would just have to find a way to drive Granny Li’s family out.
After all, this house was built with Li Xiuran’s money, so she wouldn’t feel the slightest burden about driving them out.
Sanbao, nestled in her arms, stiffened all over. He still wasn’t used to being held so intimately by his mother. He wanted to escape, but he couldn’t bear to leave the warmth of her embrace. His little face was full of conflict, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet.
Hearing his mother’s words, he quickly said: “As long as I can be with Dad, Mom, and my little sister, we can live anywhere.”
He thought about how Gousheng’s father had split from Gousheng’s grandparents, and Gousheng’s father could only take Gousheng to live in a dilapidated thatched hut at the end of the village. If they split up, would they also have to live in a thatched hut in the village?
He glanced cautiously at his mother: “Mom, if we have to live in a thatched hut at the end of the village, can we live close to Gousheng? Gousheng is really nice—he helps me and my sister.”
Gu Wenshu retrieved memories about Gousheng from the original host’s mind and instantly felt her teeth ache with discomfort.
Gousheng was seven years old this year. His mother had fallen ill last year, after which his grandparents used the pretext of dividing the family to drive them out. The family of three had no choice but to live in a thatched hut at the village’s edge. Not long after, his mother passed away. The original host often beat the two siblings in secluded spots, and on several occasions, Gousheng witnessed it and tried to intervene.
In the end, the original host ended up beating Gousheng along with them.
That little wolf cub Gousheng would glare at the original host with a murderous expression every time he saw her.
What kind of mess was this?
Beating her own children was one thing, but she even laid hands on other people’s children.
Gousheng’s father was remarkably tolerant. If it were her, she would have beaten the person regardless of whether they were a man or a woman—hitting her child was absolutely unacceptable.
Thinking of the child’s protectiveness toward his siblings, she smiled and nodded gently: “Mom agrees here, but we need to discuss this with your father. If Dad agrees, it’ll be a happy outcome for everyone. If he doesn’t, we’ll try to persuade him together, alright?”
A warm smile spread across her face as she looked at the sensitive Sanbao in her arms.
Before Sanbao could respond, numerous footsteps sounded outside the door.
Her room door was knocked on again, and Chen Hongzhen’s angry voice came through once more: “Third Sister-in-Law, Seventh Uncle and the others are all here. Get out here right now!”