She kicked the door of Old Master Xu's house hard and roared, "Bai, you come out here! My husband's leg has been unable to walk for two months. He has to stay at home to eat, drink, and relieve himself. I can't do anything but take care of him. How dare you, the murderer, jump around like that?"
"Bai, get out here right now!" Zhou Xing roared into the house again.
Back in the village, Zhou Xing was known for her fiery temper and how she protected her younger siblings. She came to the Xu family to temper her temper for Xu San's sake, but unexpectedly, her two sisters-in-law looked down on her.
Seeing that they dared not reach out to Zhou Xing, Xu Laoda and Xu Laoer had no choice but to go and beg Xu San.
"Third brother, you'd better control your wife. If this continues, she'll scare the children," Old Master Xu coaxed his third brother in a low voice.
Xu San glanced at Xu Laoda indifferently, said nothing, and silently reached out to touch the leg bound with the wooden board.
Boss Xu: ......
When Xu Lao Er saw that his elder brother couldn't persuade his younger brother, he had no hope of getting anything out of him.
He looked at the old lady and said, "Mother, you and Father should do something about Zhou Shi. What kind of talk is it to shout like this in the first month of the lunar year?"
As for Xu Lao Er's wife, Yuan Shi, she had long since hidden herself in a corner in fear, also afraid of being beaten.
She and her sister-in-law, Bai, used to badmouth Zhou Xing behind her back, thinking she was a pushover, but they never expected her to be so shrewish.
It seems that the third sister's leg injury is really serious, otherwise she wouldn't have gone crazy as soon as she came back.
When Xu San heard his elder brothers' words, he felt a chill run down his spine. Now he realized how much humiliation Xiao Xing might have suffered during the past six years while he was away during the day.
Xu San kept his head down, wanting to wait and see what his parents would say.
Grandma Xu wiped away her tears, said nothing, sighed deeply, and walked towards Zhou Xing.
"Bai, come out here! If you don't, I'll beat up Boss Xu!" Zhou Xing shouted again.
She was sure the Bai family wouldn't dare to come out, which was why she said that.
What Boss Xu said just now was disgusting; she said it on purpose.
"Xiao Xing, don't be angry. Come back to your room with me and rest for a while." The old lady took the stick from Zhou Xing's hand.
Fearing she might hurt the old lady, Zhou Xing obediently gave it to her.
The old lady was relieved, knowing that the child was just trying to scare Bai.
Oh, what a pity, those two cowards!
They were both her sons and the daughters-in-law she had personally chosen. She couldn't understand why there was such a big difference between them.
Zhou Xing followed the old lady for a few steps and said, "Mom, wait for me!"
She turned around, pushed Xu San along, and followed the old lady into their house.
She knew the old lady was about to say something.
Before the old lady went inside, she said to Xu the eldest, "Eldest son, go and call your wife and all the children over. Let's have a family meeting while we're all here during the Lunar New Year!"
Xu Laoda and Xu Laoer responded with a puzzled look and went to call their own children.
No one called to Nan Nan and Dong Dong, but the two little ones just squatted at the doorway inside the house watching what was happening in the yard. Their mother told them to just watch and not to come out.
Now that they heard their grandmother telling everyone to go, the two siblings obediently came out, locked their own door, and then went to their grandmother's place.
My mother told me before she left that I should remember to lock the door when I came out later.
Inside the old lady's house, all three families were present.
The old lady and the old man sat side by side in the middle, neither of them speaking at first, remaining silent.
The two elders remained silent, and no one dared to speak up.
Bai was still afraid of Zhou Xing, so she hid in a corner behind Xu Laoda and didn't dare to come closer.
In the past, whenever the whole family gathered together, she was always the one who stood out at the front.
Zhou Xing didn't look at anyone, but sat on the stool next to Xu San, her hand under her sleeve being held tightly by Xu San.
After a long silence, the old lady spoke first, "Although there is an old saying that as long as the elders are alive, the family does not separate, rules are rigid, but people are flexible."
“I know what you’re all arguing about, and I know what you want, but I always think that you are brothers, family, and I gave birth to and raised you all. You are all my children.”
“After your father and I pass away, you three brothers will be the closest relatives in the world. But I think I was wrong. After you get married, your closest relatives should be your wives and your children.”
"While you are working hard for the greater good, what you want to protect first is the gains and losses of your own small families. You don't see how much your brothers have sacrificed for this, and you don't say anything about it."
“You only think about how much your brothers might have taken behind your backs. You can’t see it, but you say that you’re making a fuss about it. Have you ever thought that while you’re doubting others, they might also be doubting you in their hearts?”
The old lady's eyes were red after she finished speaking.
The old man glanced at the old woman again and waved his hand:
"Alright, let's not say any more. Since you brothers no longer trust each other, there's no need for this group to exist."
"Three ropes are twisted together to make them thicker and stronger, but if the three ropes are twisted together and then knotted again and again, then there is no need to twist them."
"Now let's discuss how to divide this family property. The three daughters-in-law don't need to say anything, just listen. Whoever says something out of turn will have 10% deducted from their share. If you want to take less, then you can say something."
“You three brothers should come up with a plan on how to divide this family property. Then your mother should bring out all our family accounts and make a clear division of assets.”
“If none of you want to properly divide this family property, you can invite the clan chief over and lay out all the family’s assets in front of the whole village so that they can help you divide it.”
The old man said sternly.
The three brothers remained silent for a moment.
"Speak!" The old man was angry when he saw that none of the three people spoke; none of them were as sharp-tongued as he was in his youth.
The eldest and second eldest brothers still couldn't come up with a plan, so they both looked at Xu San.
Xu San snorted inwardly, looked up at the old man, and said indifferently, "Our family doesn't have many trades. The reason our family is where we are today is because of our bamboo weaving skills."
"As for bamboo weaving, Dad taught all three of us the same skills. As for how well we learned it, that depends on each individual. So, even if we don't get anything in return, each of us will have a skill to support our families. How we live will depend on our diligence and skills."
"As for our family's big courtyard now, the savings in Mother's hands and our family's belongings, these are all accumulated by Father. The three of us are all doing the same things and putting in the same hard work."
"As for these things, it's up to Father and Mother to decide how to divide them. We, the third branch of the family, have no objections." After Xu San finished speaking, he glanced at Zhou Xing, and squeezed her hand under his sleeve, as if to ask, "Is it alright if I say this?"
Zhou Xing gave him an approving look.
My husband is right! He has such a silver tongue!
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