Chapter 88 Dividing the Family

Zhang Xiuying stared at Shen Hongmei, her tone serious: "You all need to count carefully. Once you press your fingerprints, there's no going back."

Shen Hongmei snatched the money and counted it several times as if guarding against a thief before reluctantly pressing her fingerprint on the document.

She cursed inwardly: Mother is so biased! If she doesn't settle things with the fourth son now, and waits until the pickled vegetable business makes a lot of money before dividing it up, wouldn't the fourth son be getting a huge advantage?

And the third sister, she married a rich man and made a fortune in business before, so why should she have to share the family's money?

Sure enough, the old couple's hearts were completely set on the Pacific Ocean!

Although she cursed the whole family in her heart, she didn't dare to utter a single word in front of Lu Jianping and Aunt Zhou.

Everything has settled down.

Looking at the Liu family's meager assets, Lu Jianping finally felt a little better.

I thought the Liu family had made a fortune, but it turns out they only have this much wealth.

He was about to leave when Zhang Xiuying called him back.

"Captain Lu, what exactly happened to your mother?"

Lu Jianping was taken aback: "My mother? What happened to her?"

"He came to my house today and went crazy, grabbing my daughter and calling her 'granddaughter-in-law,' and talking nonsense," Zhang Xiuying said irritably.

A hint of disgust flashed in Lu Jianping's eyes: "Ever since your bracelet broke, she's gone mad. She keeps yelling that the bracelet can grant immortality and make you rich. She's senile, just ignore her."

"That's your own mother!" Zhang Xiuying exclaimed angrily. "Couldn't you keep a closer eye on her? My daughter is married now. Don't let her come to my house and cause trouble again! And don't let her spread rumors in the village and ruin my daughter's reputation!"

Lu Jianping was about to lash out when he met Aunt Zhou's sharp, knife-like gaze.

He swallowed the curse that was on the tip of his tongue and could only reluctantly reply, "Okay!"

After saying that, he slunk away.

Everyone was somewhat surprised to see that the usually arrogant Lu Jianping had backed down so easily.

Aunt Zhou smiled and revealed the answer: "The people from the commune came directly to my house today. He's like a clay bodhisattva crossing the river, afraid that I'll say anything bad about him. Don't worry, he definitely won't dare to cause trouble anytime soon."

Upon hearing this, Shen Hongmei's eyes lit up instantly: "Auntie, is the brigade leader going to be replaced? If my husband is elected as a squad leader, and the brigade leader is replaced, can he take over?"

Aunt Zhou smiled awkwardly: "This... depends on the arrangements from above."

Even so, Shen Hongmei's mood instantly soared.

It seems that splitting up the family isn't such a bad thing after all!

Once her husband becomes the brigade leader, those poor relatives of the Liu family will no longer be able to get close to her!

The smugness and disdain in her eyes were undisguised and exposed to everyone.

Zhang Xiuying felt utterly humiliated and quickly pulled Aunt Zhou up, saying, "Come on, I'll take you home! We can also... talk about Xiao Kai."

"Xiao Kai?" Aunt Zhou exclaimed in surprise, "What happened to him?"

Zhang Xiuying covered her mouth and chuckled: "Didn't you notice at dinner today? That Zhao educated youth's eyes were practically glued to your son! If they're both interested, I'm definitely going to be the matchmaker!"

"Really?!" Aunt Zhou was overjoyed.

My son used to have his eye on Zhixia, but now that she's married, it would be such a great thing if he could find someone else to date!

After Zhang Xiuying left, the courtyard returned to silence.

After a long day of running around, it was already evening.

Liu Zhixia took Shen Yi's hand and smiled sweetly: "Come on, let's cook. Are you starving?"

"I'll go tidy up the yard!" Liu Xuejun yawned tactfully.

Liu Shouren looked at his eldest son, hesitated, and finally just sighed and went into the house with his hands behind his back.

In the courtyard, only Liu Xiangyang and Shen Hongmei remained, staring at each other awkwardly.

Liu Xiangyang hesitated before asking, "Then... shall we eat at home again tonight?"

"What are you talking about!" Shen Hongmei rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "The food has already been distributed, and you still have the nerve to go and freeload? We'll cook for ourselves after they've finished using the stove!"

"Fine..." Liu Xiangyang had no choice but to accept his fate and huffed and puffed as he carried the allocated grain back to the house.

The couple counted the money they received several times before carefully hiding it away.

Soon, the aroma of food wafted in through the crack in the door.

Liu Xiangyang swallowed hard, looking utterly pathetic.

Just by smelling this, I know that my little sister must have made something delicious today!

He looked at his wife pitifully, a wave of despair washing over him: he feared he would never again be able to eat such delicious food.

Shen Hongmei was annoyed by his gaze and glared at him, saying, "What are you looking at! I haven't cooked in ages since I married into your family, don't expect me to be able to cook anything fancy!"

Liu Xiangyang sighed helplessly, "Forget it, we're not separating the family anyway, and my little sister will leave home sooner or later. Let's just consider this... getting used to it in advance!"

The two sat facing each other on the edge of the bed, listening to the laughter and chatter coming from next door, smelling the tempting aroma of food, when their stomachs started growling uncontrollably. Their appearance was utterly miserable.

After Liu Zhixia and the others finished eating, Liu Xiangyang and his wife finally came out of the house, albeit reluctantly.

By this time, the kitchen had been cleaned up spotlessly, not even a single scallion was left.

Shen Hongmei stared blankly at the empty stove: "Little sister, where's everything? Where's the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar?"

Liu Zhixia smiled faintly: "Mother said that since we've separated the family, it's best to keep our food and belongings separate as well, to avoid future disputes. So, we've put everything into her room."

"What?!" Shen Hongmei exclaimed, "It's just some seasoning! Mother is so stingy!"

Liu Zhixia ignored her complaints, placed the last washed bowl on the counter, and continued:

"However, you can use the pots and pans. As for firewood and water, we'll take turns providing them from now on."

Shen Hongmei was dumbfounded again: "What do you mean?"

“What I mean is,” Liu Zhixia looked at her and said, word by word, “that from now on, you and your older brother will have to fetch water and chop firewood in the mountains yourselves. Mother said that if you feel that we are taking advantage of having more people, we can separate completely and each use our own things.”

Liu Xiangyang, standing to the side, said in a deep voice with a dark face, "Forget it! No need to be so detailed, let's leave it as it is!"

He can't bear the shame!

“Okay,” Liu Zhixia said without further ado, “Then the kitchen is yours to handle. We’ll be leaving now.”

After saying that, she took Shen Yi's hand and left without looking back.

Shen Yi is leaving in a couple of days, so she has to cherish this time alone with him. She doesn't have time to waste words with these two!

The two were strolling hand in hand, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility.

Suddenly, Shen Yi looked up in the direction of his home, his expression changing: "Is that... our house?"

Thick smoke billowed into the sky!

"Oh no! There's a fire!" Liu Zhixia's heart tightened.

Shen Yi reacted extremely quickly, rushing back like an arrow! When Liu Zhixia arrived, panting, he was already standing shirtless in the yard, carrying an empty bucket.