Seeing that Old Mrs. Shen seemed to want to downplay the matter and smooth things over, Er Ya was dissatisfied.
Since things have escalated so much, it will definitely be quite awkward for us to live together again in the future. Besides, I don't feel at ease with a viper like Niu Shi around. I'm only here today because I'm here. If I weren't here, my mother definitely wouldn't have escaped this calamity.
She tugged at Lin Jianguo's hand, her little face streaked with tears and snot, and said, "Dad, I'm so scared! Why is Aunt so mean? Did Mom do something wrong? She even told Jinbao to bully Mom. Dad, let's not live with them anymore, okay?"
Lin Jianguo had never seen his beloved daughter cry so miserably before, which showed how frightened she was by what happened today. Thinking about it carefully, his daughter was right. If he wasn't home, wouldn't the two of them be at the mercy of his sister-in-law?
With a worried look on his face, he said to Old Man Lin:
“Father, I never imagined my sister-in-law was so vicious. She was pregnant for ten months. If she had such intentions, there would have been no way to prevent it. Jiang is carrying the Lin family’s child. Can you just stand by and watch it be taken away by such a villain? Even if you don’t care about these things, I do! They are my wife and children. If I can’t protect them, am I even a man?”
“Dad, why don’t we live separately for now? We’ll build another house next to you and Mom, so you two can eat wherever you want. We’re really worried about Sister-in-law.”
After mustering his courage to finish speaking, Lin Jianguo felt utterly drained of strength, and he squatted on the ground, burying his face in his hands and sobbing uncontrollably.
Old Man Lin was deeply shocked by Lin Jianguo's words. His second son had always been honest and simple, doing whatever he was asked, and had little presence in the family.
He wasn't unaware that his wife favored the eldest son's family. After all, it's a rural custom for the eldest son to support the family in old age, and the two of them would have to rely on the eldest son's family for the rest of their lives. Even ten fingers aren't all the same length, let alone people! In any family, there's always someone who has to suffer. They've gotten by all these years, but he never expected that this incident would suddenly cause such a rift.
Old Man Lin suddenly seemed to age ten years. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. What could he say? If they stubbornly refused to let the family divide, then if anything happened to the Jiang family in the future, the second son would blame them. Sigh…
Upon hearing that Lin Jianguo wanted to divide the family property, Old Lady Shen plopped down on the ground, pounding the ground and crying loudly, "You heartless second son! I raised you from infancy, enduring so much hardship, and now that you're grown up and capable, you want to cause trouble by dividing the family property! Tell me, who instigated you?"
She cried and hit Lin Jianguo, saying, "Tell me, was it that jinx from the Jiang family who instigated you?"
He started cursing loudly into the house: "You damned Jiang, you've been plotting against my son behind my back to cause trouble for the family division. Why didn't you just fall and kill yourself? You worthless good-for-nothing!"
"If you want to split up the family, why don't you just split me up instead?"
Upon hearing that Old Mrs. Shen was going to pin this blame on her, Jiang's mother disregarded everything else and rushed out of the house to explain to Old Mrs. Shen, saying with a face full of grief and indignation:
"Mother, I didn't. Ever since I came to this family, I have always been trembling with fear. I have never dared to disobey you two, let alone speak ill of you behind your back. My second brother and I are not capable, we only have this strength. When it comes to dirty or hard work, aren't we the two of us the ones who rush to the front?" The more she thought about it, the more upset she became, and she burst into tears.
Seeing her parents crying, Er Ya started crying too, and soon the whole yard was filled with the cries of adults and children...
Seeing the adults and children crying in front of him, Old Man Lin looked up at the crowd peeking in from the doorway and discussing the commotion. "Oh dear, Old Man Lin, what happened to your family? Look how wronged Jianguo is."
"She must have suffered a great injustice. Look at how Jiang is crying. I always said that Old Madam Shen is too harsh on the second son's family."
"That's for sure. Old people always say that the eldest child is the most beloved, the youngest is the most pampered, and the one in the middle is always the one who gets bullied. That's so true."
"I just heard something about the children separating from the family or something. Is something wrong with the Jiang family's children? Should we go and ask them?" she said, while pushing and pulling others to go and ask.
Seeing that these notorious gossips in the village were talking more and more outrageously, Old Lady Shen went up and shouted, "Are you all just bored and looking for trouble? Go do what you're supposed to do." She then slammed the door shut.
When Old Mrs. Shen saw that Lin Jianguo was adamant about dividing the family property, her tone softened:
"Second brother, your sister-in-law was wrong to do this, but you can't just say things like 'divide the family' carelessly! Look around the village, which family with elderly members is making a fuss about dividing the family property? Anyway, your wife and child are fine. I'll have your sister-in-law apologize to you later. Please forgive this for your mother's sake. I'm begging you."
Lin Jianguo had never heard his mother speak to him in such a pleading tone before, and he hesitated for a moment.
Er Ya saw that Lin Jianguo was about to agree to not separate the family, so she nudged Jiang's mother and whispered, "Mom, let's not live with Aunt and the others, okay? Jinbao secretly hit me. If Grandma doesn't like it, let's go to the police station and report her for intentionally hurting someone."
This body is still too small, and there are some things she can't say herself. She doesn't want to be arrested as an outcast, but looking at the situation, if she doesn't step in, all this trouble will be for nothing. She can only remind her mother appropriately.
Upon hearing Er Ya's words, Jiang's mother mustered her courage and stepped forward, saying, "No, either we separate the family or I'll go to the police station. I can't deal with that vicious woman, but someone will come to deal with her. Lin Jianguo, say something. If it doesn't work, we'll get a divorce. I'd rather take Er Ya and the baby in my belly and beg for food than die in your house without knowing why."
Medical equipment wasn't as advanced back then. If Jinbao or Niu had actually bumped into Jiang's mother's belly today, it could have really resulted in the deaths of both mother and child.
Lin Jianguo quickly stepped forward and hugged Jiang's mother and Er Ya: "No, I will not divorce you, and I will not leave you."
He turned around, crying out in grief and indignation, "Father, I'm begging you, what's the point of keeping this family together? Do you really want to watch your son be torn apart from his wife and children?"
Looking at her pleading son, she sighed deeply. "Alas, this family is completely beyond saving. If we don't separate now, the second son's family will become completely estranged from me."
Grandma Shen's eyes flickered, and she didn't dare to say anything. This was going to end up at the police station. If Niu Shi went to the police station, her grandson would be motherless. Her eldest son would never be able to hold his head up high again if he had such a wicked woman.
"Hey, let's divide it up then. Boss, go call the village chief over and see how we're going to divide up all this stuff at home."
Dividing the family property is a big deal; the village chief needs to be called over to witness it and get the document stamped.
To be continued!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com