Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Raising a son to provide for old age? Only a house can provide for old age...
None of the three sons was willing to discuss their mother's retirement issues.
They all say in high-sounding words that they are grateful for their parents' upbringing and will do their best to take care of their children's lives. In fact, they just treat their parents as a glass bottle:
When there is still milk in the glass bottle, they will grab and absorb the nutrients in it, but once the glass bottle is empty, it will be regarded as waste and discarded in an inconspicuous corner.
Grandma Luo is now just a glass bottle thrown in the countryside.
Maybe it will make a crisp sound when it breaks, and many fragments will burst out, but as long as it does not affect the lives of their brothers, they will not care.
"Why don't we give her girl a call?" After returning, Shen Shansheng suggested, "Aunt Luo is old, and she needs someone to take care of her. We can't really..."
"That's just nonsense."
Shen Wanshan glared at him and interrupted what he was about to say: "A married girl is like water spilled out. She still has her own family to support. Nanguan Village cannot be demolished, and her family is short of money now. To put it bluntly, if something happens, will she have to pay for the medical expenses?"
"That's right. Even if you want to fleece the sheep, you can't just catch one at a time." Wang Dongmei also said.
As a woman herself, Wang Dongmei can understand her situation best: "When she got married, she got nothing. It's good enough that she can support her mother in the past few years. You can't ask her to support her for the rest of her life, right?!"
The Chen family has four children, three sons and one daughter. The only daughter is the second child and her name is Chen Yu.
Everyone in the village can see how much the Chen family loves their three sons, but for this daughter...she is not as loving as the three sons.
Old Man Chen favors sons over daughters and firmly believes in the saying "raising sons is a way to provide for your old age", so he places all his hopes on the three brothers and seems a little indifferent to his daughter.
Chen Yu was a good student when she was young and could have been admitted to high school. However, Mr. Chen said that it was useless for girls to study because they would get married sooner or later, so he asked her to farm with him after graduation.
Chen Yu is smart. Not only is he good at farming, he has also figured out some ways to make money, such as which vegetables to plant together to yield the best harvest, and which market in the city can sell them for a good price.
After finally saving up some pocket money, Mr. Chen took all of it and used it to enroll Chen Lu in a technician's class.
It was like this every time. Every time when Chen Yu was about to bloom into a beautiful flower on her own, old man Chen would always pinch it off and put it on his sons.
But he is not the only one in the village who is biased, so no one will say anything even if he goes too far.
Because in their eyes, as long as they can raise their daughter safely, they have fulfilled their responsibility. Anyway, they don't need to rely on their daughter for support in their old age, so no matter how much they give, it will be in vain.
Finally, Chen Yu got married at the age of 20 and married into the Lao Duan family in Nanguan Village.
Although the family situation of the old Duan family was not particularly outstanding, fortunately, the whole family treated Chen Yu very well. After Chen Yu got married, she took the key to the house and started to be the head of the family. Her life became more and more prosperous.
The only mistake was probably borrowing money to build the house. But this can't be blamed entirely on her, after all, she was doing it for the good of the family, who wouldn't want to get more money from the demolition?
More than ten years ago, Mr. Chen died of a serious illness. He suffered a lifetime but never had the chance to enjoy a single day of happiness.
Thinking that it would be inconvenient for his mother to live alone in the village, Chen Yu took the initiative to bring her to Nanguan Village.
Although Mr. Chen didn't love her that much, Mrs. Chen Luo was very good to her.
Chen Yu didn't blame her. After all, she was also a victim of that era, and he did give her the care he could, so Chen Yu was willing to take her to live with him in her old age.
In a flash, she has taken care of Chen Luoshi for many years. If the demolition plan of Nanguan Village had not been cancelled, she would have continued to support Chen Luoshi, but...
"Chen Yu has taken care of her mother for so many years, she has done her best. Now there are three little kids left alone, and you want her to take care of them? Isn't that a bit too much?"
Seeing that Wang Dongmei was getting angrier and angrier, Shen Shansheng quickly brought her some water to apologize: "I just said it, I didn't mean anything else, okay, calm down."
This is the only solution. After all, they are not Chen Luo's family. Under the current circumstances, it is naturally better to let her stay with her family.
"I have an idea."
After listening to the adults’ words, Shen Miao finally raised her hand weakly, “I can call back the three uncles from the Chen family, but… it may be a little disrespectful.”
"What do you mean disrespectful?" Shen Wanshan asked.
Shen Miao scratched her head awkwardly, “It’s just… it’s unlucky.”
Shen Miao's idea was to call the three brothers of the Chen family again, but the purpose of calling them should not be to "take care of Chen Luoshi in her old age", but to "see her off at the end of her life".
"Call them and tell them that Grandma Luo has lost her temper and trick them into coming to divide the family property."
"When the person is alive, they have reasons to shirk responsibility. But if the person is dead, then they have to come back to attend the funeral, right? Otherwise, they will definitely be criticized."
Shen Wanshan: …
Shen Shansheng:......
Wang Dongmei: …
Only Shen Miao could come up with such an "unlucky" method.
But it's not good to tell others the reason for cursing Chen Luo to death, but if we can trick the three brothers of the Chen family, it's not impossible. After all, the most important thing right now is to call them over. As for the reason...
"Then go and fight."
Shen Wanshan wanted to use a ruler to teach her a lesson for her bad ideas, but after pulling it out from his waist, he threw it on the table. "Children's words are not to be taken lightly. If you make this call, your words will not count in God's eyes."
Shen Miao: ???
She's going to be 25 soon, and she's still a "child"?!
But when I think about it carefully, I am indeed the most suitable candidate.
Shen Shansheng had just dealt with them today; Wang Dongmei was not a person who could lie; the elders in the village thought it was unlucky... so only Shen Miao, who was usually the best at doing things and had the best acting skills, could take on this task.
Shen Miao nodded solemnly and agreed to this important task.
She did not rush to call to announce the death that night, but chose a more appropriate time: the next morning.
At four or five in the morning, when the sky is just getting light and people who are sleeping soundly are not very clear-headed, it is best to call them at this time.
By the time they arrive, it will probably be daybreak, which is a good time to talk.
Of course, Shen Miao also wanted to disturb their sweet dreams on purpose, as a small lesson for them as an outsider.
Beep...beep...
"Hello?"
“Hello, is this Uncle Chen Fu? I, I’m Shen Miao, from Qinghe Village…”
Shen Miao got into the role very quickly. As soon as the call was connected, she immediately answered the call with sobs.
She let out a long breath, sniffed, and her eyes were wet: "Grandma Luo passed away last night, so please come over soon. Phew... I'm an outsider, and there are some things that I can't handle."
When I heard the bad news so early in the morning, the emotion on the other end of the phone was noticeably paused.
"What happened? Yesterday, wasn't everything fine yesterday?"
Chen Fu tried to remain calm while speaking, but his tone was somewhat surprised and fearful.
In order to completely shatter his suspicion, Shen Miao sobbed even louder, "He hanged himself in the old house. Alas! My dad only found out this morning when he went to deliver food."
Shen Miao didn’t curse him at all, but these words were much more serious than cursing him.
On the surface, she was talking about hanging herself, but in reality, she was saying: Look, your mother was forced to death by you unfilial bastards!
Shen Miao didn’t say much, just repeated to him to come quickly and immediately hung up the phone.
“Ahem.”
After clearing his throat, Shen Miao took half a minute to adjust his mood, and then dialed Chen Lu's number again.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was still very confused.
While he was still unaware, Shen Miao shouted, “Is that Uncle Chen Lu? Oh my! I finally found your phone number! Grandma Luo passed away last night, please come back quickly!”
When she called Chen Fu, her tone was slightly sad and regretful, but when it came to Chen Lu, it turned into anxiety and eagerness.
This is called treating different people differently. You have to use different ways to deceive different people.
"What what what? Can you say it again?"
“Grandma Luo is gone,” Shen Miao repeated, “Yesterday she wanted to move back to the old house, and she got into an argument with someone but didn’t win, and ended up hanging herself in your old courtyard in the middle of the night!”
To prevent the brothers from finding out something when they called each other, Shen Miao fabricated the same "method of death", but told them that each person's "cause of death" was different.
Sure enough, Chen Lu immediately said that he would go back to the village to seek justice for Chen Luo.
After hanging up the phone again, Shen Miao let out a long breath.
It was quite tiring to perform two plays in a short period of time, but fortunately, it felt much easier after calling Chen Shou.
"Hello? Is there a security guard named Chen Shou in your factory? Please tell him that his mother passed away last night and ask him to come back as soon as he is free to do the job."
Shen Miao expected that Chen Shou was not at work, so he asked someone to pass on the message.
For a major event like the death of a family member, I believe his colleagues will not delay and will definitely find a way to tell him as soon as possible.
Well, now that Grandma Luo’s three sons are all here, all we have to do next is set up the Hongmen Banquet and wait for the elders to come and decide this village case in their family.
"Mom! Oh my god... my poor mother..."
At around seven o'clock, a crying female voice was heard from afar approaching the village committee.
Shen Miao went out to take a look...
Chen Yu?!
She didn't call Chen Yu either? Why is she here? !
Not only Chen Yu, but her whole family came: Xiao Duan supported Chen Yu, Lao Duan held Xiao Xiao Duan, Xiao Er Duan and Xiao San Duan followed behind carrying funeral items. The faces of the family members did not look very good, and Chen Yu cried so hard that she could hardly walk.
"Mom! Why did you just leave like that...!"
Hearing Chen Yu's crying outside, Grandma Luo, who was talking to Shen Wanshan, raised her head in shock: "Huh? Who said I'm dead?"
Coming out of the yard on crutches, Grandma Luo saw her daughter crying until her voice was hoarse, and hurried to greet her.
"Xiaoyu? Why are you here?"
"Mom? What's wrong with you?"
Shen Miao explained the whole story to Chen Yu, and apologized to them for her "childish talk".
Grandma Luo and Chen Yu could understand, and they also knew that Shen Miao was worried about her family’s affairs, and she really had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure, so they did not blame her.
"Aunt, why are you here?" Shen Miao asked.
Chen Yu: "My elder brother called me early in the morning and told me that my mother had passed away. My younger brother also called and scolded me for not taking good care of my mother. Then I hurried over."
Chen Yu was also woken up by a phone call in the morning.
The first call was from Chen Fu. He did not blame her directly, but only asked her what happened at home that forced her mother to have no place to live and had to return to the village.
The second call was from Chen Lu, who cursed her so harshly, saying all kinds of obscene words that were unbearable to the ear. She said explicitly that she was the one who killed my mother, that my mother hanged herself, and that she had to bear most of the responsibility.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Yu didn't bother to pack up and hurried over with his family.
Shen Miao: …
What a pair of good brothers.
When they heard that their mother was in trouble, their first reaction was to find a married sister to take the blame? Put all the responsibility on her... Why didn't they say that they had never taken care of their mother for a day?
Shameless!
"Mom, why don't you come back with me?" Chen Yu held Chen Luo's hand and persuaded her gently, "I will take care of you in your old age. You don't have to worry about the family debt. I will pay it off in a few years. It will be fine."
"Yes, Mom, I can support you." Lao Duan followed.
Xiao Duan's voice was the loudest, and he solemnly assured his grandmother, "Grandma, I can earn a lot of money at work, so you can rest assured and let me live in your house for as long as you want."
"Grandma, grandma, go back."
Three-year-old Duan also came over and hugged his great-grandmother's legs, blinking his big watery eyes.
Chen Luo sighed and insisted, "I won't go back with you. Your brother must give me an explanation for what happened today."
After a night of counseling from Shen Wanshan, Chen Luoshi also came to her senses.
She wanted an explanation and made her husband, who had been partial to his sons all his life, take responsibility.
So what if you are old? Do you deserve to be kicked around like a ball by children when you are old?
"mom……"
"Don't try to persuade me," Chen Luo sat up straighter with the help of her cane, and looked firmly at the entrance of the village. "If you have nothing else to do, go back quickly. I want to settle this case with the boys, and it has nothing to do with the girls."
Chen Yu hesitated to speak and also sighed.
Instead of leaving, they all stayed.
Chen Yu was worried. Since he was here, he had to know the final result.
Three hours after Shen Miao finished her phone call, Chen Shou arrived; a quarter after nine, Chen Lu also arrived; and when it was almost ten o'clock, Chen Fu and his wife finally arrived.
The people in the families of the three sons combined are not as many as the number of people from Chen Yu's family.
Seeing that their faces were all livid, Chen Luoshi was worried that they would blame Shen Miao harshly, so she took the responsibility for her, saying that it was her idea and that Shen Miao had lied to them to come.
"Mom, who would curse themselves like that?"
"That's right. If you want to see me, just call me. Can you afford to lie to me?"
"Really? Do you know that I didn't have time to deal with stocks because of this trip? How much money did I lose in the morning?"
Implicitly, they were blaming Chen Luo, blaming her for being unreasonable, for having to bring up family matters, and for calling so many people to make the situation awkward.
Chen Luoshi didn't want to talk to them. She just turned her head and said to the elders present: "My children are all here. Please judge for me what to do about this matter in my family."
"You three are really useful. Now that you have the ability, don't you want your mother anymore?"
"It's a pity that they have been so kind to you kids since you were young, giving you everything good. Now that they are old, they can't even eat a meal at your house?"
"Our village has had many cases for many years. If you were filial, your mother wouldn't have come to this point."
…
This was pressure from the elders. Perhaps they were also well-known figures in the city, but at this moment, as juniors, they had no right to speak up for themselves, not to mention that they were not in the right.
The case of the village closure is not a court case. It is mainly about emotions rather than reason. Therefore, only after the emotions are sorted out can we talk about what to do next.
The elders in the village have watched the Chen brothers grow up since they were young. Although they don’t know everything about their family, they know about it to a certain extent.
First, I helped them recall the sacrifices made by the old couple of the Chen family in the past, then talked about how difficult it was for the old couple to live at home when they were living a good life in the city, and finally talked about the fact that Chen Luo had been living in Chen Yu's house in recent years.
"...It is definitely impossible to let your mother live in the village by herself. You must take her to live with you."
"How about this, let me suggest that you three brothers take turns raising the child, each of you taking him home for half a year. This way, no one loses out."
"Chen Fu? You are the eldest in the family. Set an example for them and take your mother back today."
Since they were going to talk it out today, there was nothing else for them to worry about, so they just threw their faces on the ground and met each other bare-chested.
Chen Fu: "I told Old Shen about my current situation yesterday. I can't support him, so why can't the second child be raised? My parents loved him the most in the beginning, and they spent all their money on him."
Chen Lu: "??? If you don't want to support our mom, just say it directly, don't beat around the bush. What do you mean by spending money on me? Did you pay for your tuition fees when you were studying? "
Chen Shou: "Yes, big brother, you have taken care of your father-in-law and mother-in-law for so many years, so what's wrong with taking care of our mother for half a year?"
Chen Fu: "You have a say now? You are a spendthrift. You spend the most in our family! Aren't you unmarried and have no children? Then I think we should start with you. You are the most suitable person to take care of our mother."
Chen Shou: "I can support him. I didn't say I won't, but you insist on saying I spend too much. Then let's settle the accounts and see who is the prodigal son! Using the Chen family's money to support someone else's family!"
At first, they were just arguing about who would support Chen Luo first, but later the topic unknowingly shifted to who took greater advantage of the family and who should contribute more to the family.
Chen Fu said that Chen Lu spent a lot of money on his parents, Chen Lu said that Chen Shou was the one who caused his parents the most trouble, and Chen Shou said that Chen Fu never brought a penny home...
One thing leads to another, like a vicious circle. Everyone feels that they are extremely wronged, that they are the least loved child in the family by their parents. Everyone feels that their life is not easy, so why can't they be a little considerate of themselves?
But the least loved and most wronged child in the Chen family was sitting outside, secretly wiping away tears.
The brothers inside were discussing who got less money, and they would even bring up the matter of who had less meat to eat.
But what about Chen Yu? She was the one who took out money to spend on her brothers and sisters at home, and she didn't even have meat in her bowl.
"Okay, okay, you don't have to say anything!" Xiao Duan couldn't bear to listen any longer, so he walked into the house and said to them, "My grandma is still living with me, right? You don't have to worry about her anymore!"
"How can you interrupt when the adults are talking?" Chen Fu glared at him sternly.
Chen Lu also snorted coldly, "I really don't know, is it the Duan family's turn to speak about our Chen family's affairs?"
"Yes," Shen Wanshan blocked their words for Xiao Duan, "Who sitting here is not an outsider? If you guys are useful, it will be our turn as outsiders to interrupt?!"
Boom! Boom!
Another elder in the village also followed suit and knocked the cane in his hand to put out the fire in the house.
"Since you don't want to raise it, then give the money and let Xiaoyu raise it!"
If you don't want to take the baby in and raise him/her, giving him/her money is another solution.
Giving a fixed amount of alimony every month is better than giving nothing at all.
But when it comes to money, the Chen brothers start arguing again.
If each family is asked to give the same amount, they will say that the eldest child spent a few years with his parents and the second child spent a lot of money, so it is unfair. But if someone is asked to give more, they will bring up their own difficulties and no one is willing to pay an extra word.
Shen Miao understood what they meant.
As for people, they don't want to accept it; as for money, they don't want to pay. But no one can say that they are unfilial, because each of them has their own difficulties, and if they have the opportunity, they will definitely fulfill their filial piety.
He said he came to solve the problem, but it dragged on and on from the morning until one or two in the afternoon with no result. He didn't even stop to eat because he was so angry.
When it was almost three o'clock in the afternoon, the phone in the village chief's office rang, and Shen Shansheng had to answer the call temporarily.
About ten minutes later, Shen Shansheng hurriedly returned from next door. When he entered the room, he stumbled and almost fell.
"Slow down, slow down, what's going on?"
Looking around at the people in the room, Shen Shansheng calmed down, not knowing what expression to show for a moment: "Our village is going to be demolished."
Everyone: ???
Demolition, demolition?
At this moment, who still cares about this little thing of the Chen family? Everyone opened their eyes wide and wanted to lean over to confirm with him.
"Is this true? When?"
"The urban villages haven't even been demolished yet, and it's our turn first?"
"No way, did you hear it wrong?!"
Chen Shansheng said affirmatively: "You heard it right, it's our village. The city called me to attend a meeting to discuss the demolition and reconstruction of our village."
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