As soon as Yinxia entered the door, she saw Liu Sen with a worried look on his face.
"Where have you all been?" Liu Sen threw down his pipe and charged forward, yelling.
Yinxia said, "Dad, we went to pick up my sister. The Wang family was about to beat her to death. What's wrong with my mother and me going to bring her back?"
Old Liu slapped him across the face: "You ignorant fool! Your sister is already married. You're saying you're going to bring her back? What kind of nonsense is this?"
Jinxia's worst fears have come true. No matter what, she has to speak up clearly and not drag Yinxia into this for no reason.
“Dad, my mom and sister are all doing this for me because I'm such a good-for-nothing. If you think I'm superfluous, I'm here right now. Why are you making such a fuss?”
Old Liu stepped forward and shoved Jin Xia aside: "You useless thing, don't think I don't know why the Wang family has been beating you all these years? It's because of what you did before that your in-laws look down on you. Now that you're married, you're like water spilled from a bowl. What are you doing coming back?"
Enraged, Jin Xia grabbed a bundle and ran away.
Aunt Liu shouted twice at Jinxia, "Jinxia, Jinxia, come back!"
Aunt Liu pointed at Old Liu and started cursing: "Liu Sen, you damned devil! You dote on your daughter-in-law so much, but now you're so heartless in front of your daughter! If you're going to do this, then we'll call the judge here and we'll separate the family! I'm not living with you anymore!"
This was the first time Aunt Liu had straightened her back and spoken to Old Liu like this. Old Liu grabbed a leather whip from the corner of the wall and said angrily, "You still want to separate from me? Believe me or not, I'll show you how powerful this whip is right now!"
Yinxia hugged Old Liu tightly: "Aunt Jin, come and help! My dad is going to beat my mom to death!"
Liang Shuyan, who was resting inside the house, heard Yinxia's shout and hurriedly put on her shoes and came out: "Dashan, Erniu, come with me to help."
When Liang Shuyan went outside, she saw Yinxia tightly hugging Liu Sen, who was holding a leather whip and shouting, "Yinxia, let me go, or I'll beat you to death!"
Liang Shuyan stepped forward and snorted coldly: "What's wrong? Is your dad bored and has nowhere to vent his frustrations or what?"
"You, Widow Zhang, isn't this all your doing? Why did you go to Yushugou to bring Jinxia back? We already have enough to do at home, so please stop stirring things up, okay?"
Old Liu then threw away the whip in his hand!
"So you really did conspire with that old woman from the Wang family. I knew it! How could that old woman from the Wang family burn Jinxia with a fire poker? You're Jinxia's father, how could you not take a closer look at how badly Jinxia was burned? If it weren't for her aunt, who was her mother, feeling sorry for Jinxia, Jinxia would probably have been killed by that old woman from the Wang family long ago. How could you be so cruel as her father?"
Aunt Liu was determined: "Forget it, Auntie, I've dragged you into this, but I've thought it through. Since Old Liu wants to live with his daughter-in-law, then forget it. We'll separate the family. After that, the three of us will live together. I'll go call Lizheng over right now!"
"Dashan, Erniu, I beg you, please help me find Jinxia quickly. Jinxia got scolded by that old geezer and ran away with her bag."
Aunt Liu's eyes were swollen like peaches from crying. Da Shan and Er Niu replied in unison, "Don't worry, Auntie, we'll go right away!"
Aunt Liu quickly called Li Zheng over, and the villagers followed in droves.
"Old Liu, what kind of trouble are you causing now? In the middle of the night, why can't the family just stay together? What exactly does your wife mean by wanting to separate from the family?"
Old Liu said fiercely, "If you don't want to live here, then get out of this house. What's with this talk of dividing the family? This is a house left to me by our ancestors!"
"Old Liu, why don't you want Jinxia to stay? She's already suffered so much at her in-laws' house. When she comes home, you, as her father, ignore her and even complain about her return. Is this the kind of thing you, as her father, should do?"
Liu Sen said matter-of-factly, "What's wrong with me being a father? In our Daling Village, if a woman's family takes her back to her parents' home, even if I love her, how will she ever get married? Who would want her?"
Old Liu is right. That's how it is these days. Once a daughter gets married, no matter what the reason, she'll be looked down upon when she returns to her parents' home, and remarrying will be a problem.
Liang Shuyan cursed the patriarchal society of the time in her heart, and then said, "You think Jinxia is a burden and no one wants her, right? I want her. I have plenty of space at home. I am willing to raise Jinxia as my own daughter."
Aunt Liu shook her head: "No, it can't be like this. I don't want to trouble her anymore. Please be fair and let us divide the family property. I want to live with my two daughters. We'll get some of the land. As for where we live, we'll stay in that old, abandoned house in the village for now."
According to the laws of the time, there was no such provision for dividing the family property. However, Liang Shuyan was well aware of Jinxia's current predicament. She stood up and said, "Lizheng, I think her aunt is absolutely right. Jinxia has been beaten so badly by her in-laws that even her parents don't want her anymore. What kind of kinship is there in this world?"
The plump auntie said from the crowd, "Hey Old Liu, you always think only sons are useful, but look at your son, how many times has he come back? Aren't your two daughters and wife still the ones serving you? Put your hands on your heart and think about it!"
“That’s right. Since our daughter-in-law is so kind, we might as well go with her and make room for Aunt Liu in this yard.”
Old Liu stepped forward: "If that's the case, then I'll come out and live in this dilapidated old house, let them live in the house, I don't want the land anymore, I might as well starve to death."
Li Zheng said, "Old Liu, this is about dividing the family property, it's not a joke, you need to be serious!"
Since his daughter passed away, Wang Daikui has been living alone. Hearing noises from Stone Mountain in the middle of the night, he couldn't sleep. When he learned about Old Liu's situation, he took the initiative to invite Old Liu to live with him.
Wang Daikui's family also has scattered tile-roofed houses, so they don't have to worry about not having a place to live. Two grown men living together might even provide companionship.
"Old Liu, my Xuehua hasn't come back yet. Why don't you come live with me? That way we can look after each other. What do you think?"
Li Zheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, since Wang Dai Kui is all alone, you can go and live with Lao Wang, and also help look after Stone Mountain."
"Fine, if that's how you put it, then I'll move out. Don't come looking for me in this house anymore, no matter what happens. Even if I die out there, you don't need to take care of my funeral arrangements!"
Dashan and Erniu returned, pulling Jinxia along, panting as they said, "Mom, we, we finally managed to pull Sister Jinxia back, but she, she's going to jump into the river!"
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