Han Datou has always kept a low profile at home, and most of his affairs are managed by his grandmother.
But when he got angry, everyone trembled with fear, and all the branches of the Han family rushed over, including the injured fourth brother Han.
Han Datou recounted what had happened outside, and noticing there was an extra person in the house, he pointed to something:
"Luhua, when did you get back?"
It's important to understand that Luhua wasn't getting married back then; she was being sold. People like that generally wouldn't return to their parents' home.
Luhua was so frightened that she hid behind Li Shi, who kept her head down and dared not speak.
Grandma Han angrily recounted what had happened that day, concluding with a smug remark:
"We won't go hungry for long. Two hundred catties of grain can last us a long time."
After hearing this, what else did Han Datou not understand?
His gaze was fixed intently on Old Lady Han, as if poisoned, as he asked, word by word:
"The third son's family has already separated, and you still want to sell his wife and daughter?"
"Hmph, so what if they've separated? I'm still their mother-in-law and grandmother."
"Besides, the third son's wife doesn't even have a family to rely on, so I'm the one who calls the shots."
Han Datou seemed to be seeing Old Lady Han like this for the first time, and sneered:
"Good, really good, you're really amazing. I don't think there's anyone in Wuling Town who's better than you."
Grandma Han raised her head triumphantly, then slapped her hard across the face, making her mouth taste sweet and causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"What...what do you mean?"
"The village head just came by. Do you know what he said?"
Han Datou wanted nothing more than to beat this useless and troublesome old woman to death. His voice was icy cold, so frightening that the children didn't dare to breathe.
"What...what did you say?"
Grandma Han suddenly remembered that she seemed to have said she would drive them away. Could Han Qiang really be going to drive them away?
"Let's leave the village."
"That's impossible."
Grandma Han instinctively believed it.
"Dad, is it true?"
The eldest son of the Han family couldn't believe it either. He asked, "This matter has nothing to do with our eldest branch of the family. We can't be implicated."
"Luhua, get the hell out of here."
Han Lao Er slapped Lu Hua on the head, making the little girl stagger. If she hadn't grabbed Li Shi's clothes, she probably would have fallen to the ground.
"This unfilial daughter has nothing to do with me, nor with our second branch of the family."
Han Lao Er said it bluntly: he wouldn't look at the reeds again.
"I'm still an injured person, so it has nothing to do with me."
Han Laosi said calmly, "I was humiliated yesterday and was thinking about how to get along with Lao San, but then this happened."
However, in his view, the first step to getting on Han Mingyuan's big ship was to...
"Father, look at the state of the world now. If we are really driven out, we will starve to death."
"Starving to death is the least of your worries. If you get caught, you can be boiled and eaten. You don't want no one to visit your grave after you die, do you?"
Han Datou was furious when he heard Han Laosi's words. "I'm still alive and well, and you're cursing me to die?"
Han Datou was looking for something to hit someone with, but he hadn't found anything yet. Han Laosi continued:
"In my opinion, this kind of thing should be done and one person should take responsibility. Why don't we split up?"
Han Laosi's words made the others' eyes light up. Separate the family? Separate the family is good. Once the family is separated, it will have nothing to do with the Han family anymore.
They're not from the Han family anymore, so they can't just drive them away for no reason, can they?
Besides, look how well Han Mingyuan is doing after the family split up.
Who knows, even after they separate, they'll still have plenty to eat and drink and everything will go smoothly for them?
Everyone's eyes were shining, but Han Datou was so angry that he almost vomited blood on the spot.
Grandma Han's vision went black again, and she fainted.
...
Not far from Hutouya Village, separated by two villages, lies Lujia Village.
Most of the people in this village share the same surname, and they can almost all be traced back to their generation.
“Jinghua, go to your parents’ house and get some food. They haven’t eaten for five days, and the child can’t hold on any longer.”
Han Jinghua has been staying in bed a lot lately. She can't help it; she's too hungry. She drinks some water and goes to sleep, otherwise she'll get even hungrier if she moves around a little.
"Where can we find food over there? Every time I go there, my mother asks me for some."
Jinghua said irritably.
Her husband kicked her and said angrily, "Didn't you hear what they said? Life is so much better over there now, adults and children alike have food to eat."
"Impossible. Didn't my mother try to sell that little slut Han Luoxue just a few days ago? People in the village are starting to sell their children, where would they find any surplus food?"
Jinghua still didn't believe it, but the man said irritably:
"Are you going or not? If you can't get the grain, I'll replace you."
Upon hearing that she was to be replaced, Jinghua was so frightened that she jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed). Because of her sudden movement, her son, Gou Dan, started crying loudly.
Jinghua quickly picked up her child and gently comforted him. Seeing her two-year-old son, so thin he looked like a monkey, Jinghua felt terrible. But the famine had struck right after the child's birth, and the family's food supplies were dwindling. What could she do?
The baby's cries attracted the attention of the mother-in-law, Tan, who, for the first time ever, brought out a bowl of cornmeal porridge.
She walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), handed the porridge to Jinghua, and said with a kind and gentle smile, "Jinghua, after you've drunk this porridge, go back to your parents' home. Look, the children have been hungry for several days. They can have a full meal there."
Jinghua thought to herself, "Could it be that her family has really become rich?" She hadn't gone out these past few days and hadn't heard any rumors.
However, she wouldn't be polite if there was something to drink. Although the porridge wasn't very thick, it contained quite a few grains.
She even fed her son a few bites, while her husband, Lu Xiaonan, watched with his mouth watering, wishing he could snatch the food and drink it himself.
But with his mother watching him intently from the sidelines, he didn't dare.
"Remember to maintain a good relationship with your third brother's family."
Her mother-in-law kept reminding her, but Jinghua was puzzled. Wasn't her third brother a cripple? He was just a useless person, so why bother getting along with him?
When Jinghua saw her mother-in-law dump her two daughters on her, she was completely overwhelmed. The couple, carrying their son and leading their two daughters, returned home in a large group.
...
Han Luoxue knew that Han Qiang would deal with the Han family, but she didn't expect the way the Han family would handle things to be so unexpected.
Looking at the two people kneeling in front of her courtyard gate, Han Luoxue's lips twitched violently.
Both men's clothes were torn, indicating they had been whipped with something, and faint traces of blood were visible. Han Datou, holding a thorny branch, stood behind them and angrily said:
"You old hag, I already said we've separated the family, we've separated the family, what are you still doing? I'll beat you to death today."
As they spoke, the rope slapped down on Old Lady Han again, causing her to wince in pain, but she dared not resist. The three brothers of the Han family surrounded the village head, constantly discussing the matter of dividing the family property.
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