Seeing that the old woman had taken pity on her, Zhang Cuifen added fuel to the fire and stayed in the yard, refusing to leave.
Xu Kuo didn't mince words when he heard this.
"Zhang Cuifen, what are you doing coming to our house so early in the morning, crying and wailing? Are you cursing your mother?"
Upon hearing this charge, Zhang Cuifen was furious and immediately got up from the ground.
"Third brother, you're being really rude! What does Mom's love for her grandson have to do with you? If you really can't stand it, then you should have one too."
When Zhang Cuifen said this, she didn't consider the feelings of the two people at all, and it was obvious that she was just looking forward to a good show.
What Zhang Cuifen didn't know was that Xu Kuo's health was much better than before.
However, Xu Kuo did not argue with Zhang Cuifen much, but instead picked up a broom in the yard and tried to drive her out.
Seeing the third brother's appearance, Zhang Cuifen left cursing. Not long after, Liu Xueli also arrived.
"Mom, the autumn harvest is just around the corner. You'd better think this through. If you don't help us now, don't blame us for not helping you when the harvest comes around."
Liu Xueli hit the nail on the head. Thinking of the busy autumn harvest, Ren Hongmei also hesitated.
Jiang Xiuying listened from inside the room, with no intention of getting involved. After all, no matter what she said, these two wouldn't listen to her.
However, thinking about the grain in the house, which their husbands had worked so hard to obtain, if they were to give in now, they were afraid that these two families would not leave them anything.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiuying paced back and forth in the house, but soon she heard her husband's voice coming from the yard.
"I'll say it again: we've already separated. We agreed to live our own lives. Are you jealous that we're doing well now?"
"If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."
Xu Kuo had already seen through their intentions, and Liu Xueli and Zhang Cuifen blushed and turned pale as he spoke.
Seeing that this tactic was not working, the two had no choice but to rush home and ask their husbands to come.
“Your younger brother is really something else these days. He brings home all sorts of things and doesn’t respect anyone as his older brother anymore.”
"Didn't we agree to go our separate ways? Now you..."
"What? If I hadn't married a good-for-nothing like you, would I have to put up with this humiliation? Look at the second son, I'd say he's probably already taken his good stuff home by now!"
Upon hearing that the second son had also gone, the eldest son, looking at his wife's expression, felt somewhat embarrassed but still went.
I happened to run into the second brother on the road; he was holding a child in his arms.
"The second child is still small, why did you bring him out?"
"Big brother, have you heard about what happened to the third brother's family? I don't know what kind of luck that brat had, but he managed to catch something. I don't believe it. Mom definitely wouldn't have the heart to see her child go hungry!"
It just goes to show how clever the second brother's family is. The eldest brother slapped his forehead, wondering why he hadn't thought of that.
“You’re right, I’ll go back and bring Niu Niu and the others with me.”
"Hey, big brother, don't take the child over there yet. I'll take Tiger over first to try. If it works, then you can bring the child over. If it doesn't work, wouldn't that be too much trouble for the child?"
Ultimately, the second son was afraid that if the eldest son sent his child over, his own child wouldn't get to eat at the banquet and all the benefits would go to the eldest son's family.
The two hit it off immediately, but by the time they arrived, the door was already locked.
Seeing this, what else could the two not understand? The third brother was being wary of them!
"Third brother, I know you don't like us right now, but I'll leave Tiger at the door!"
As Xu Kuo listened to his second son's outrageous words, he cursed him in his heart, thinking he was a complete scoundrel!
The eldest son wanted to try to persuade him again, but the second son had already left the child behind and dragged him away.
"Second brother, are you sure you can leave the child here?"
"Don't worry, even if the third brother doesn't open the door, Mom will open it."
The eldest brother didn't dare take the risk, but seeing the second brother's resolute attitude, he had no choice but to go along with him.
Tiger was still young, and when he saw that his father wasn't with him, he cried loudly on the ground.
Hearing the crying outside the door, Xu Kuo also felt a pang of pity.
Ren Hongmei felt even more sorry for the child, and even Jiang Xiuying in the house felt sorry for the child.
"Third brother, I know your two older brothers have wronged you all these years, but this child can't just be left out there unattended..."
"Yes, sir, whatever grudges we adults have, the child may be innocent."
In fact, Xu Kuo was also wavering. Having received compulsory education, he could not bear to watch a child suffer such torment outside.
However, Xu Kuo also knew that once he opened this door, his second and eldest sons would definitely retaliate.
While Xu Kuo remained silent, Ren Hongmei and Jiang Xiuying were also extremely anxious.
Although Ren Hongmei felt sorry for her grandson, she also knew that she couldn't hold her son back at this time.
A short while later, Xu Kuo made the decision.
"Mom, I'll pick up the baby in a bit, then you go find the village chief, and then take a few respected uncles and elders from the village with you, and we'll go to the eldest and second eldest son's house together."
Ren Hongmei didn't know what her son wanted to do, but since he had spoken, she could only do as he said.
Xu Kuo cautiously opened the door, fearing that his second son, the eldest, would be waiting there. Fortunately, only Hu Zi was there. Xu Kuo picked up the child and handed him to his wife.
“That second son is no good. He doesn’t even care about his own son for this little bit of food. Xiuya, I’ll have to trouble you to cook some rice porridge that the child can drink.”
Tiger can't walk yet, so he can't eat hard things.
Not long after, Ren Hongmei arrived with her people, while Xu Kuo took out five catties of rice and flour from each of the jars.
The village chief and the others were actually unwilling to come with Ren Hongmei, after all, her family had a complicated background, and no one wanted to get involved in such a mess.
There was nothing he could do. Although Xu Kuo's wife wasn't much to look at, her ancestors had rendered meritorious service, and even the village chief dared not neglect her.
Moreover, after so many years of being neighbors, Ren Hongmei repeatedly pleaded with them, so they had no choice but to go along on this trip to see what kind of trouble Xu Kuo was up to this time.
The villagers were all saying that Xu Kuo had gone to the back mountain and brought back a lot of things, and they were curious about what Xu Kuo had brought back.
"Sister Hongmei, I heard that your third son brought back quite a lot of things. Is that true or false?"
Upon hearing this, Ren Hongmei's mind raced, and she chuckled awkwardly.
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