"I……"
Han Juhua hesitated for a moment. She wanted to say that there was no rush and that she wanted to choose one carefully, but Lu Hua seemed unhappy.
"Hurry up and get to work."
Aunt Xu glared at the two of them, displeased, as they continued talking.
"The only connection you two have is with Xueya. Otherwise, would you be able to do the work in this village?"
Hmph, she remembers clearly how they bullied Xueya when they were little, those two heartless bastards.
Now they're starting to play the victim.
"Hmph, is she out of her mind?"
Han Luhua rolled her eyes: "So what if we have a relationship? If she's so capable, she is too."
Han Juhua looked in the direction of Aunt Xu and sighed:
"She has a good relationship with Han Luoxue, so we'd better not provoke her."
After all, Han Luoxue didn't give her a kind look.
"Han Lin, you better explain yourself, or I'm going back to my parents' home."
Suddenly, a woman's loud shout came from next door. Aunt Xu was startled and quickly got up to go home.
Her house is too close to Han Mingyuan's house; she could hear something breaking over there. Were those two arguing again?
"I married you, not to be your slave. I can't even support two kids, and you want me to support four more?"
Hearing this, Aunt Xu felt a wave of dizziness. Luckily, the four little ones weren't there; they had gone to school with the children this morning.
Otherwise, if the other girls hear this, they'll start overthinking things.
Aunt Xu hurried home. Although the people working in the yard didn't go to see the commotion, they all pricked up their ears.
It's clear that things aren't going well at Aunt Xu's house either.
"Sigh, I said yesterday that if Aunt Xu left these four girls behind, something bad was bound to happen."
An older woman sighed.
"What can we do? That's Nizi's child."
"Don't they have fathers? Let their fathers raise them."
Another person spoke up in surprise.
"I heard Yunniang say that the father of those children was no good either, and that Xiaoni was beaten to death by that man."
"When Xue found these children, they were covered in injuries. If they had stayed with their father, they would probably have been beaten to death sooner or later."
"What a miserable life."
Women are most easily moved to soft hearts, especially when they are from the same village!
They might talk the talk, but they definitely wouldn't be willing to help. Everyone's struggling financially; how could they possibly raise someone else's child?
"Hmph, her own home is a mess, and she's the only one who dares to meddle."
Han Luhua snorted and also pricked up her ears to listen to the sounds from next door.
When Aunt Xu returned home, she looked at the shards of porcelain on the ground and felt dizzy. Weren't these things money? Those two spendthrifts! She picked up a broom and chopsticks and swung them at the two men.
"Ah, Mother, you actually hit me?"
Sun was hit and her eyes turned red with anger.
Han Lin also took two blows, but he didn't say anything, and there were still bloody scratches on his face from the woman's attack. Seeing this, Aunt Xu's anger flared even more.
His second son is useless; he can't even control his wife.
"You... I'll beat you to death, you coward."
Han Lin was also wronged, as he was hit several times.
"Mother, stop hitting her."
Sun couldn't bear to see it, after all, he was her man, and if she didn't feel sorry for him, who would?
"Hmph, wasn't he beaten up because of you?"
Aunt Xu glared at her and said angrily:
"I've already said it, I'll raise those kids myself, what are you making a fuss about?"
"I... Mother, but we're all together. If you're going to raise me, then we'll raise me too, right?"
"It's not that I'm making a fuss, but our family is already struggling financially. With four more mouths to feed, how are we going to survive in the future?"
Sun started to sob. Aunt Xu looked at her and at this moment, how could she not understand what the woman meant?
"Okay, I understand what you mean. When Han Qiang comes back tonight, we'll separate the family."
"Let me make this clear: we two elderly people will raise these four children ourselves, and their life or death is none of your business."
"Of course, if they become capable in the future, don't be envious and eagerly approach them, claiming you are their elders."
“Mother, we didn’t mean that.” Hearing these blunt words, Madam Sun was also unhappy.
"Hmph, you know perfectly well whether you mean it or not, Madam Sun. I also know your nature; you're always cheating and shirking your duties. How many times have you actually done anything around the house?"
"I'd like to see how you manage to live your life after the family splits up."
"Also, these things were broken by you, so they will be taken into account when the family is divided."
After Aunt Xu finished speaking, she didn't listen to the two men's excuses.
Watching her leave in a huff, Madam Sun curled her lip in disdain: "Hmph, without those four burdens, our lives are much better than ever."
Han Lin, however, was a little apprehensive. His wife, aside from being pretty, was otherwise...
When I go to work in the fields, I always complain that it's tiring and I'm lazy.
When he went home to cook, he made such terrible food that his mother made him tend the fire.
They never bother with the house, even when it's dirty and messy.
Han Lin suddenly felt a little sad. If they really separated their families, what would happen to them? Would his wife change her mind? He wasn't sure.
When Aunt Xu went home, some gossipy aunties gathered around:
"Aunt Xu, is your family really going to split up?"
In ordinary villages, unless both elders have died, it's impossible for people to separate their households.
"Um."
"But?
"But what? Didn't you see how well Han Mingyuan's family is doing after they split up?"
"The children are all grown up and married. It's lively when the whole family is together. We, as the elders, want to help each other out, but the young people might think we're a burden."
"It's good to separate them and let them live their own lives."
These words made the eyes of several middle-aged women turn around.
Thinking about the Han family again, they seem to be doing quite well even after being separated for so long.
Separating from the family doesn't mean cutting off all contact; the family can still live together happily. Many people are tempted by this.
That evening, Aunt Xu called Han Qiang over and talked about dividing the family property.
The four younger children were in the next room, listening intently. The second oldest tugged nervously at her eldest sister's hand; she was old enough to understand things now, and felt even more uncertain.
"Big sister, did Grandma separate because of us?"
After they came here, their maternal grandmother treated them very well, but their two aunts-in-law's attitude became unpleasant.
"Don't worry, if things really don't work out, we'll just..."
The eldest sister sighed. She knew her thinking was wrong. That lady was not related to them. She had already saved her once, so why should she blame the lady?
But they are still young and don't know how to survive on their own.
"Big sister, if all else fails, shall we go out and beg for food?"
Surely, these four people are so pitiful, surely they will meet someone willing to give them a bite to eat?
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