Chapter 209: Separation

When they were halfway there, they ran into Uncle Zhang who was out looking for someone. The three children had been put down long ago, and now they saw their grandfather from a distance and ran to meet him.

Uncle Zhang reached out and caught the three little bombs, smiling with wrinkles on his face. He looked past Zhang Yuandong and Lin Yue, saw the little tails behind them, and asked, "What are they doing?"

The two shook their heads helplessly. The group of kids kept following them, not going home, nor talking to them. They just followed them from a distance.

When a stranger comes to the village, he is easily surrounded by the children, especially Little Stone, who has been bragging in the village for a long time that his uncle is a very powerful military officer.

Uncle Zhang waved his hands vigorously to hurry them along. At first, the group of children were reluctant to leave. Uncle Zhang threatened them, "It's already so late, and you are still playing outside. Gou Wa, your mother has been looking for you in the village with a fire stick for several circles, why don't you hurry back!"

Gou Wa was not afraid at all, but he did not continue to follow. He ran away laughing with a group of little brothers.

Uncle Zhang waited for the young couple to approach and asked, "It's so cold outside, why did you take so long? Where did you go?"

The two of them walked beside Uncle Zhang and told him what happened at the entrance of the village.

Uncle Zhang kept silent and shook his head. He had heard some things in the past few years. Not all families who came to the Northeast to escape famine lived well. Many families were so poor that they could barely make ends meet.

There was a family in the same caravan as them. Because of the unfamiliar climate and water, only three of their six children survived. Another family drove their two daughters out of the house in the middle of winter because they had no food to eat. As for whether the children are still alive now, they don't even dare to think about it.

This wasn't a good topic to talk about. Seeing that they had already reached the doorstep, Lin Yue smiled and changed the subject: "I haven't seen my little sister for a few years. She seems to have grown up all of a sudden."

Uncle Zhang shook his head. "Her personality has become more restrained in recent years. She is no longer a firecracker..."

Before he finished speaking, an angry soprano voice came from the room: "Liu Cuixia, what do you mean? This is my mother's home. I can't come back, right? Not to mention that you haven't separated yet. Even if you have separated, my eldest brother lives here. What does it have to do with you!"

The sound was so loud that several people standing on the street could hear it clearly.

Uncle Zhang frowned. Zhang Yuandong and his wife had been wandering around the village for so long, just to save face, but they still bumped into them. Uncle Zhang felt ashamed, and without turning back, he went into the house angrily.

Lin Yue and Zhang Yuandong were a little embarrassed. They both had good hearing and could hear the arguments inside even though they were standing on the street.

The second sister-in-law usually looks like a straightforward person, but her voice was even more aggressive at this moment: "Of course I know that we have no share in this family, and there is no need for you, a married daughter, to remind me! Besides, don't pretend here. Do you think I don't know what you are doing here? Since ancient times, there has been no place for daughters to marry out when the family is divided. What's the point of you running back now?

Oh, you heard that his cousin is back, so you come to get close to him, don't blame me for not reminding you, it's useless to try to curry favor with him. Even if he has any benefits, it's not your turn to benefit from them. Don't try to curry favor with him!"

Aunt Zhang scolded her several times, but it was of no use. Liu Cuixia just wanted to vent her anger and didn't care about anyone else.

"What benefits do you think you can get? Don't you think that your eldest brother's family will let you go? What good things are there in the family are not for them. Look at all the children in the family. Besides Xiao Shitou, who else has been to his uncle's house?"

She spoke this long string of words rapidly, and no one could interrupt her. Aunt Zhang scolded her several times, but it didn't stop her.

The eldest sister-in-law asked aggrievedly: "Liu Cuixia, what do you mean by this? When did we monopolize the benefits and not give them to you? Let alone other things, every time their cousin sent things over, they always divided them in advance and did not leave any children behind! Have you really forgotten that at this time last year, many of our children were still naked and did not even have a pair of cotton pants!"

Seeing that they were about to quarrel again, fortunately Uncle Zhang had already entered the house. He pushed open the door and shouted, "What are you quarreling about? Are you afraid that others can't hear the jokes in the house?"

The room was quiet for a moment, but soon the sound of arguing was heard again.

Lin Yue and Zhang Yuandong stood at the street entrance, looking at each other awkwardly, not knowing whether to go in or not.

Little Stone looked up at the two of them, not understanding why they hadn't come in yet. Lingling and Wanli understood a little, but the two children didn't care about the interests of the adults, they only cared about the problems that concerned them: "Mom, why is Second Mother angry? Last time I asked Xiaoji to come to our house to play, but Second Mother didn't let him, and Xiaoji also refused. Why are you saying that again?"

Lin Yue smiled awkwardly and said, "Your second mother is not angry. She likes you and wants you to play more with Xiaoji and Shulin'er. Can you take them out to play more often in the future? Shulin'er and Xiaoji like you very much too."

Lingling frowned and nodded. Although she didn't quite understand, she could feel that it was definitely not what her mother said. She wanted to ask more, but was stopped by Wanli. There were always many things that adults didn't want children to get involved in. Even if their mother was willing to find reasons to lie to them, they had to save face for her.

While Lin Yue was talking to the child, someone in the room was talking about something else. It was quiet now, and Uncle Zhang could be heard asking angrily, "Second brother, you were the one who wanted to divide the family property, and now you are still the one who is unwilling. Today, your cousin and his family are here, and you are making a fuss again. What can you do to satisfy me?"

As soon as Liu Cuixia opened her mouth to call out "Dad", she was interrupted by Uncle Zhang: "Okay, stop talking. Xiao Huizi and his wife are still outside. I don't want to argue with you right now. Old family, go out and ask your cousins ​​to come in."

Lin Yue was communicating with Zhang Yuandong with his eyes, wondering whether he should go out for a walk. When he heard his sister-in-law coming out to invite him, he had no choice but to pull Zhang Yuandong in.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy. They had just had a big fight, and now everyone had to smile awkwardly and try to find topics to talk to the two of them, especially the eldest sister-in-law. Her eyes were red, but she had to suppress her grievance and act as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Huilan was pulled by her mother and sat on the kang reluctantly. The anger on her face had not yet completely dissipated. As for Liu Cuixia, she had already been pulled back into the house by Zhang Erge.

Lin Yue regretted it again, thinking that they came at a very inappropriate time. Uncle Zhang and his wife obviously had no intention of letting them get involved, but they just happened to run into them. Lin Yue didn't know how Zhang Yuandong felt about this, but she felt very embarrassed anyway.

Zhang Yuandong seemed to sense her emotions and patted her hands quietly, which comforted her a little. Lin Yue did not look back. She quietly sent a signal to Zhang Yuandong in her heart, staying up all night or leaving early tomorrow morning.

Lin Yue didn't have this superpower, and Zhang Yuandong's signal reception failed. Soon, he looked at Uncle Zhang and said directly: "Uncle, we met the captain on the road, and he said that you will separate the day after tomorrow. I still have tasks in the army, and I may not be able to stay until then. I want to ask if there is anything I can do to help."

Lin Yue looked at Zhang Yuandong in surprise. She had been struggling for a long time trying to avoid this question, but she didn't expect him to suddenly come straight to the point and say it so frankly without considering whether Uncle Zhang's family would be embarrassed.

Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang were a little embarrassed. They had been strong all their lives, but in their old age they were in a turmoil over the division of the family property. They were both very concerned about their reputation, and they thought that even if the family was rotten and smelly, they had to keep it under wraps and not let others see and laugh at them.

Zhang Yuandong saw their expressions and said gently, "Aunt, Uncle, you know that my father has ignored my mother and I have spent most of my time in your house. In my heart, there is no difference between you and my parents. If something happens at home now, I don't know about it. Now that you know about it, there is no reason for you to ignore it. Uncle, if you still regard me as your nephew, don't be so polite to me. If you can use me, just speak up."

When this emotional card was played, everyone in the room was moved. Aunt Zhang slapped Uncle Zhang on the back and scolded him, "I told you, they are all our children, there is nothing to hide. You just love to do sneaky things and can't bear to hurt the children's feelings!"

Aunt Zhang's hand was very strong. Uncle Zhang was sitting on the edge of the kang when she knocked him to the ground. He didn't get annoyed. He stood up and stood with his hands behind his back in silence for a while. Then he slowly found his big pipe and sat down at the table.

Aunt Zhang scolded him, "There are so many people in this room, and there are so many children. What kind of cigarette are you smoking?" She patted Xiao Shitou's head and ordered, "Go and take your grandfather's cigarette gun!"

Little Stone responded and rushed over. Brother Zhang and Sister-in-law Zhang were unable to stop him and watched him snatch his grandfather's cigarette stick.

Little Stone moved so fast that Uncle Zhang was startled. He raised his hand as if to hit him, but Little Stone was not afraid. He ran faster than a rabbit and hid behind his mother, making faces.

Uncle Zhang wasn't really angry. He just scared him a bit and didn't do anything else.

He sighed, as if all his energy and spirit had been drained away, and slowly said, "It's not a big deal in the first place. Our house is too small to accommodate so many people. We decided to divide the house so that we don't have to stay together and feel uncomfortable."

Things are definitely not that simple, but the old man is too proud to say anything.

Zhang Yuandong nodded and asked, "What are the rules for dividing the family property? Is the new house ready?"

The third sister-in-law frowned and said, "What new house can we have? Our family is so poor, how can we get the money to build a new house? Even if we divide the family, we still live together without dividing the rooms!"

Uncle Zhang scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

The third sister-in-law said rudely, "Why should I keep this secret? If I don't tell you now, will my cousin and his wife not be able to see it next time they come?"

Lin Yue wanted to say something to show his concern, but now he didn't know what to say. If you divide the family but not the house, what kind of family is this? When you divide the family, you have ruined all the affection. If you have to continue living under the same roof, after a long time, relatives will become enemies.

This was not a good time for the children to listen, and seeing that the quarrel was about to break out again, she quickly took the children out of the house and found the remaining group of children in the west room.

There are a total of six grandchildren in Uncle Zhang's family. Excluding Xiao Shitou, there are five left. Plus Sisi and Xiao Mushroom, they are all squeezed into the west room.

The oldest of the children in the family was the five-year-old Xiaoji, and the youngest was still breastfeeding. Zhang Sange was lying on the kang in the west room, looking at the little ones bored. When he saw Lin Yue coming in, he sat up straight and greeted, "Sister-in-law, come here!"

Lin Yue nodded and said with a smile, "I'm talking about something in the house. I'll send them to play here for a while." He then instructed the three children beside him, "Look after your brothers and sisters."

Seeing that they couldn't join in the fun, Lingling and Wanli responded with a "OK" in a depressed mood.

Zhang San also jumped down from the kang upon hearing this, hurriedly put on his shoes, and patted Xiao Shitou on the head: "You are the eldest brother, you can take good care of your younger brothers and sisters, right?"

The little stone shook his head quickly and shouted: "I can't!"

Brother Zhang rolled up his sleeves and scolded, "You little bastard, you're singing a different tune, aren't you? Be careful or I'll beat you up! Together with your sister Lingling and brother Wanli, keep an eye on the child. Do you hear me?"

Just as Xiao Shitou was about to shake his head, Brother Zhang San forcefully straightened his head, forced him to nod a few times, and then followed Lin Yue and ran away excitedly.

Lin Yue's mind was still on the main house. As she walked into the house, she listened to Aunt Zhang's explanation: "It's not that they all have to be crowded together. There are some vacant houses in the village. My family has saved some money recently. If we pool our money a little more, we should be able to buy one. We can clean it up and live in it when the time comes."

Lin Yue walked in while listening to the conversation inside, but he saw Liu Cuixia standing at the door of the main house, secretly eavesdropping on the conversation inside. As soon as Aunt Zhang finished speaking, Liu Cuixia pushed the door open and said coldly: "You have the nerve to call those shabby houses idle houses? Who would not live in a good house and let it sit there idle? Whoever buys it can live in it, anyway, I won't go!"

Lin Yue and Brother Zhang San were blocked at the back and couldn't get into the house, so they could only stand at the door.

Aunt Zhang and Uncle Zhang had recently seen how annoying their second daughter-in-law was. Seeing her coming over again, they were not in a good mood and said in a cold voice, "So what do you want? If you don't want to move out, then just stay at home and move out when you've saved enough money to build a house!"

Uncle Zhang also said, "Let me make it clear here. This time when the family is divided, the money and food in the family will be divided according to the number of people. I will not favor anyone. The children in the family are still young, so two children will be counted as one adult. As for your mother and I, I will make it clear today that as long as we can still move, you don't need to support us in our old age. When we can't move anymore, we won't be able to take care of us even if we want to. Supporting us in our old age is all up to your conscience."

The brothers and sisters in the room all shouted anxiously: "Dad, what are you talking about!"

There was also Liu Cuixia's sharp voice in the middle: "What about the house? You said nicely that we don't need to support you in old age, but in the end the house still belongs to the boss. The boss takes all the benefits, and he wants us to share the responsibility of being a father and mother. What a good plan! Besides, if you can speak nicely, who knows how much you will help them in private? "

When she said this, not only the old couple looked unhappy, but also the brothers and sisters looked angry. The eldest brother Zhang turned around and scolded the second brother Zhang: "Second brother, are you dead? You don't care about this, do you want to piss off your parents to death?"

Brother Zhang's face flushed red. He gently tugged at Liu Cuixia's clothes and whispered, "Say less..."

Liu Cuixia shook his hand away, spat, and cursed: "You are useless, you coward!"

Aunt Zhang and Uncle Zhang were the kind of parents who were strong-willed but not very authoritative. When their children went along with them, their words were more effective. But in a situation like today, they could not muster the authority of a parent, and no matter how loud they shouted, they could not scare Liu Cuixia.

Aunt Zhang covered her chest and asked in a trembling voice: "Then tell me, what do you want? This is the condition of our family. No matter how much trouble you make, what can you achieve?"

Liu Cuixia said in a cold voice: "Mom, let's be frank. If you really are not biased, then take out the treasures you have hidden. Let's not hide anything and do those little tricks behind the scenes!"