Mrs. Lu was originally angry about the old man agreeing to split the family. When she heard what Mr. Lu said, she immediately jumped up:
"What broke up? What broke up? Our family was fine, why did the people's hearts fall apart? You old man are just senile and confused, that's why you let those debt collectors make trouble and then you agreed to split up the family! The third family was separated first, our family is unlucky enough, why don't you just tear down this family, you old man?
Do you want to piss me off to death?"
Seeing that Old Lady Lu was being unreasonable, Old Man Lu frowned:
"What are you talking about, old woman? What do you mean I want to tear down my house? Haven't you seen what's happened to our house these past few days? The eldest family is no longer on the same page with us, the second family has been looking forward to the separation, and the second family of the eldest family is making trouble all the time, making the house smell foul. If this family is not separated, our Lu family will not be able to make a living! We can't make a living anymore, and you're still talking about being angry!"
Old Mrs. Lu had lived for most of her life and was no fool. She had known for a long time that the family would have to be divided sooner or later, but when the time really came, she still couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart.
Why split up the family?
After the family was divided, the daughters-in-law in the house all lived their own lives behind closed doors. Who would still take her, the old woman, seriously?
Before the family split up, she was the goddess of the Lu family. After the family split up, she became a fence-sitter that everyone in the Lu family disliked!
Old Mrs. Lu sat on the kang with her hands in her pockets, looking at Old Man Lu with sidelong glances:
"So how do you plan to divide this family?"
We’ll talk about how to divide the family tomorrow!
Old man Lu had been worried all day, so he just threw back a few words, threw back the quilt, turned his back and fell down.
Virtue, you stinky old man, you got it right!
Old Mrs. Lu glared at Old Man Lu on the kang, then looked around at the big box on the head of the kang with her triangular eyes. She got off the kang and swiftly took out the money, grain coupons, cloth coupons and other things hidden in the box. These money, grain coupons and other things were all saved by the old lady by living frugally and they were not expired. There was about two hundred yuan in cash, a stack of colorful bills, and a pair of shiny silver bracelets.
These are all old lady Lu’s treasures. The silver bracelets are old lady’s dowry. I think old lady Lu’s family was also a wealthy family. Old lady Lu wanted to keep the pair of silver bracelets for her eldest grandson’s wife in the future. Only the eldest grandson’s wife in the Lu family is qualified to wear her dowry!
As for the two hundred yuan and a stack of bills, Old Mrs. Lu counted out sixty yuan and threw them into the box, and put the rest in her trouser pocket, hiding them well. These bills and other things were for her and her old man's retirement.
Don’t even think about sharing it with those debt collectors at home!
Old Mrs. Lu was determined not to share the family money with these debt collectors. After living a lifetime, she finally understood that her eldest and second sons were all bastards who got married and forgot their mother!
And the third son is not a good one either. She worked hard to raise him for so many years, but he separated from his Lu family just because he enjoyed the benefits for a few years. What an unfilial son, every one of them!
Old Mrs. Lu tied up her trouser pockets, blew out the light with a huff, and climbed onto the kang.
After a while, the snoring of the old couple could be heard in the dark room.
~
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. As Lu Lin had to take the bus back to the army after breakfast, Jiang Chunzao got up early in the morning, made some dough, and rolled out five or six egg pancakes, sprinkled them with chopped green onions, mushrooms and diced meat. The pancakes were so fragrant that one could drool at the sight of them.
It was hot even in the mornings in the middle of summer. Jiang Chunzao originally wanted to light a fire and cook millet porridge, but seeing how hot it was outside, he simply cooked sweet mung bean soup, added homemade shrimp sauce, and boiled more than 20 eggs for Lu Lin to take with him on the road.
The egg pancake was soft and delicious, and every bite filled his mouth with the aroma of diced mushrooms and meat. Lu Lin finished his breakfast in big mouthfuls. The clock in the living room showed six o'clock, and the train would leave in an hour.
Lu Lin was dressed neatly, carrying a military bag, and went out with his two children, whose eyes were red from crying. Jiang Chunzao followed behind, and the family of four prepared to send him to the village entrance to catch the bus.
Lu Lin carried the child out of the house, and the family met Changshan and his wife who came to see him off at the door. During this period of time, the two families got along like one family.
Sister-in-law Changshan and Brother Changshan knew that Lu Lin was leaving today, so they came to see him off no matter what.
Before leaving the house, Jiang Chunzao glanced at the front door of Lao Lu's house. The door was closed, and the family might not have gotten up yet. He groaned in anger.
Sister Changshan held her arm affectionately and said with a smile:
"Chun Zao, we are not angry. There is nothing to be angry about."
Jiang Chunzao nodded with her eyes like a rabbit. Lu Lin touched his wife's head with amusement and said:
"I'll be back soon."
"Yes, Dad will be back soon, don't cry, Mom."
Little Jasmine lay on Lu Lin's broad back and spoke in a baby voice.
The little stone comforted him like an adult:
"Don't be sad, mom. Dad is gone. The stone will protect you and your sister and catch all the bad guys."
Little Stone's childish words made everyone laugh. Brother Changshan said with a smile:
"You're a good boy. You'll be as successful as your father in the future!"
After hearing this, Little Stone's face turned red, which made everyone laugh. They chatted and laughed as they sent Lu Lin to the village entrance. After a while, a tractor heading to the county town drove out of the village.
Lu Lin put down Little Jasmine with his military bag on his back, patted the little heads of the two children, gave them some instructions, and said goodbye to everyone one by one. Finally, he took a last look at his little wife with rabbit eyes, and uttered two words with his thin lips:
"wait for me."
After saying that, he jumped into the car with his bag on his back. The tractor rumbled forward. A group of people stood at the entrance of the village and watched Lu Lin slowly turn into a small black dot before they reluctantly went home.
On the way back, Changshan's wife looked at Jiang Chunzao, who was holding Little Jasmine and Little Stone, and looked listless all the way, and said in a low voice:
"Sister Chunzao, I heard that your grandmother's family is splitting up today?"
Jiang Chunzao, who had been immersed in the mood of parting, finally reacted. Today was the day when the Lu family split up. According to the village regulations, when a family splits up, even the separated people have to go and listen as a witness.
It was already late. Jiang Chunzao remembered that last night, Old Man Lu said that he would ask the brothers Lu Dashan and Lu Ershan to invite the team leader and their uncles to their house to divide the family property early the next morning. They must have been on their way now.
Jiang Chunzao said goodbye to Lu Changshan and his wife in a hurry, and walked home with big strides along the way. The mother and her two children changed from big strides to small strides, and when they got home, they happened to meet the brothers Lu Dashan and Lu Ershan who had invited the captain and his entourage to their home.
Jiang Chunzao heaved a sigh of relief, took his two children, and followed Lu Dashan and his group into the house in small steps.
In the main hall of Old Lu's house, Old Mrs. Lu was still sitting on the kang with a sullen face, ignoring everyone. Seeing her like this, Old Man Lu just sighed, stood up and greeted the team leader and the eldest and second uncles by himself.
"Brother Rongfa, you two are here. People from the first and second families, go get some water for your uncles."
Mrs. Lu and Liu Hongyan knew that today was the big day for the Lu family to split up. After all, they were more sensible than Mrs. Lu, so they immediately went to pour water after hearing this.
The team leader of Lujia Village is called Lu Rongfa. Although he has the same surname as Old Man Lu, the team leader's family has nothing to do with the old Lu family. The reason why Old Man Lu calls the team leader "brother" is because the two grew up together. Lu Rongfa is a few years older than Old Man Lu, and Old Man Lu has called him brother since he was a child, and he got used to it after calling him that.
Lu Rongfa was a very capable man. When he was young, he had very good skills. When he was in his teens, he followed the village guerrillas to fight against the Japanese devils. After liberation, he became the leader of the village scaffolding team. After the old village chief passed away, the villagers elected Lu Rongfa as the team leader.
Lu Rongfa had been the captain for decades and always kept his word. Seeing that old man Lu, who had grown up with him, had a sad face, he couldn't help but speak up:
"Brother, I'm not saying anything bad to you, but you're already over 50 years old, why are you going backwards?"
Old Man Lu took a puff of his cigarette and muttered:
"It's going to rain, my mother is going to get married, and the children at home are all grown up. I can't control them anymore."
The captain was so angry at Old Man Lu that he glared at him and simply turned his head away. Old Man Lu's uncle is now over 70 years old. Seeing his nephew like this, he said:
"Alright, stop talking nonsense. We are here to be witnesses today. What's the point of saying these things?"
Lu Rongfa also knew this truth, and waved his hands and spoke:
"Well, I won't say any more. You have the final say on your Lu family's affairs. Okay, call everyone out now and tell us how you want to divide the family?"
"That's all the stuff we have at home. The third brother's stuff has already been divided up in the front, so the stuff that comes back home is divided equally into three parts. The pots, bowls, pans, and other things have all been divided up. There's also 60 yuan in the house, about 200 kilograms of food, and some food coupons and cloth coupons, which have also been divided equally. The house is also divided up the same as before, and whichever room they live in gets the stuff. If anyone thinks the house is shabby, they can build a new one with their own money. Anyway, that's all the stuff we old couple have.
My wife and I will continue to be supported in our old age as before. The third family gives us 10 yuan a month. The first and second families are not as wealthy as the third family, so the three families will give us 5 yuan a month in support, plus 20 kilograms of food. If my wife gets sick, the money will be shared equally among the three families. "
Old man Lu said what was in his heart and then fell silent. Lu Dashan and his wife had no objection to the division of the family property, and Jiang Chunzao also thought it was a good idea. However, Lu Ershan and Liu Hongyan were very naive. They kept saying that Old Mrs. and Old Man Lu had saved money for so many years, so they should have at least several hundred yuan. How could they only have sixty yuan? This was not the right amount, and five yuan a month was too much. It would be better to give them two yuan a month and so on.
Old Lady Lu heard what was said and she jumped up and started to curse Lu Ershan and his wife again. The old lady was very good at cursing and she jumped up and down and wiped her tears, and she really made Lu Ershan and his wife lose face.
Finally, the captain couldn't stand it anymore and scolded Lu Ershan and his wife, saying that they really wanted to drain their parents' family assets. Your parents gave birth to you, raised you, built you a house and married you off, and they have already done you a great favor. If you want to live a good life, you should earn it yourself and don't be like a blood-sucking mosquito that keeps staring at your parents' family assets all day long!
The captain scolded Lu Ershan and his wife like their grandson, who hung their heads and dared not make any noise. Just like that, with the captain and his uncles as witnesses, the Lu family was divided.
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