Meng Changshou didn't expect Meng Tao to pay for the bus ride. In his opinion, the shaking bus would make one dizzy, and the smell of oil would be enough to kill one. It would be better to walk comfortably. Although he was nearly seventy years old, he had been doing farm work all his life and was in good health. Walking for half a day was not a big deal for him. He didn't have to carry any load and could walk very fast.

When he walked back to his home in Liuzhuang, it was still early.

There were no people joining in the fun in the yard. A few chickens were walking around leisurely, basically back to their normal state. The two granddaughters-in-law were hanging strings of peppers under the eaves. When they saw Meng Changshou coming in, they shouted, and immediately a group of people surrounded Geng Liuju and came out of the house to greet him.

When Meng Changshou saw his eldest son Meng Laifu among them, he felt relieved: he was not arrested by the police as the girl said. This way, the Meng family's reputation would not be too bad and they still had some face.

Geng Liuju looked at Meng Changshou and asked, "Why did you come back by yourself? Where's Sanwa? Why don't you bring him back? It's a waste of money to keep him in the hospital. How much money can you give him?"

The sons next to them, Meng Lai Fu, Meng Lai Xi, Meng Lai Cai and Meng Lai Bao, were also looking at Meng Changshou eagerly, waiting for his answer.

Meng Changshou had been walking for quite some time and hadn't had a chance to catch his breath, so he had no time to pay attention to them. He just walked into the house in silence. The group followed him in, and Geng Liuju was still asking questions.

It was the third daughter-in-law who had good sense. She poured a bowl of boiled water for Meng Changshou. After Meng Changshou finished drinking it, he glared at Geng Liuju and scolded: "You old woman with long hair but little knowledge and a spendthrift attitude, do you also know how to be thrifty with money? You act like a ancestor in this room all day long, but you never do anything useful. This will only bring disaster upon yourself. I told you not to do this recklessly and to ask first, but you insisted on doing this!"

Geng Caiyue's husband died. No matter how bad her in-laws are, the Geng family will take care of them. What's it to you? You insisted on taking the responsibility and forcing Sanwa to marry you. Even clay people have some temper. Do you think Sanwa doesn't have any? Why would he, a young man who is not married, want a widowed niece like you? Now it's good. Going to the hospital means spending money. The fifty yuan that the team advanced is all gone! It's all your fault. You have to pay for this mess yourself - I don't care!"

"What? Take fifty dollars to kill that ungrateful bastard? You're crazy, old man! You can't even earn fifty dollars a year. You might as well have just beaten him to death!"

Geng Liuju felt distressed and angry. She beat her chest and stomach and screamed and cursed, wishing she could die of anger.

Meng Laifu and his wife Geng Guifen hurriedly helped Geng Liuju calm down. Meng Laifu comforted her, "Don't worry, mom. When Sanwa comes back, I'll sign him up to repair the reservoir in the mountains. I'll ask him to work overtime and earn 50 yuan to return to the family!"

Geng Liuju felt better finally.

Meng Laixi, who was standing beside him, poured cold water on him, "Brother, that's easy for you to say. You beat Sanwa like that. I'm afraid his brain must be half broken and his legs are lame, right? If it weren't for our whole family testifying for you that Sanwa was the first to hurt someone, you would have let the police take him away by now. When Sanwa comes back, as the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. Will he still be able to work? Even if he is willing to sign up, no one will hire him! The fifty yuan should be paid by you, brother. You can't take it from home."

Meng Laicai and Meng Laibao nodded in agreement: "Second brother is right, that's the truth."

Meng Laifu: "Where do I get the money?"

Meng Laixi: "You have to have it even if you don't have it. Your fourth child, King Kong, his family supported him to go to school until he graduated from high school. The county wants to build a paper mill, and he got a quota for a worker. Huang Dafa from Dongcun is envious. He is willing to pay for the quota. Just ask Huang Dafa for fifty yuan, and he will definitely give it to you!"

Meng Laixi's suggestion is indeed a solution to the problem. First, the eldest brother should take the responsibility for his own stupidity. That's fifty yuan. The whole family is reluctant to spend money on food and clothes, so they are just going to fill the hole for him? No way! Second, the eldest brother Meng Jingang and his son Meng Jinlin both graduated from high school. Why can Meng Jingang get the recommendation of the team to go to the paper mill, but his son can't? There is no trick in this. Meng Laixi absolutely does not believe it. It must be that his mother Geng Liuju is partial to him and privately gave money to the team cadres to get benefits to Meng Jingang to get a quota! The reason is, of course, that the old lady favors the eldest wife. Geng Guifen, the daughter-in-law of the eldest wife, is the old lady's niece, and the old lady unconditionally protects her family. If Geng Guifen asks, how can she not do it? Meng Laixi has seen a lot of such things.

In this case, and the matter of the third child just happened, it was just perfect. Meng Jingang could be dragged down and no one could think of becoming a worker. They could all work at home. This way, their son Meng Jinlin wouldn't have to suffer.

This idea was supported by Meng Laicai and Meng Laibao.

Meng Laifu said nothing, Geng Guifen jumped out and objected fiercely: "Why sell my King Kong's quota? Don't think I don't know what you are thinking. You are just jealous that my King Kong can be a worker and want to ruin his future. Humph! Don't even think about it! The money advanced by the team is paid by the family, so what? There are so many people in our big house, and we earn the most work points on weekdays. If you don't believe me, let's do the math. Most of the work points of the whole family are earned by the big house! It means that we are the big house that supports the whole family, and we get 50 yuan, which is also the big house's money!"

The three brothers Meng Laixi were certainly unhappy to hear these words, and their women could not stand it even more. They immediately retorted, and the sisters-in-law immediately started quarreling.

Geng Liuju picked up a pestle from somewhere and banged it hard on the table. The room finally quieted down, but Meng Laibao took advantage of the opportunity to say something: "Brother and sister-in-law, if you want to say that, then let's split up the family. You have more people in the first house, so live your good life. I have fewer people in the fourth house, so I am willing to live my poor life!"

"I agree to divide the family. My third branch has few people." Meng Laicai said in a low voice. He and his wife have two sons and a daughter. None of the children go to school. They all work to earn work points. They are still said to be supported by the first branch. He is very angry.

Meng Laixi's wife said, "Let's divide it, who's afraid of who? There are many people in the first house, but how many of them work hard? Only the third son Jinniu is willing to work hard and earn full work points every day. But what about the others? The eldest son Jinbao fishes one day and rests for three days, either with a stomachache or a fever. The second son Jingui only works half a day, and the remaining half day will have no work points unless the third son finishes it! Let's not talk about you two, Manzhi is a spoiled girl who only earns 7 or 8 points, and Jin Gang and Manxiang are both studying. Think about it yourself, your work points are not enough to pay the children's tuition, how can you support such a big family? It's a joke!"

Geng Guifen and Meng Laifu looked at each other, not knowing how to respond. Geng Liuju hit Meng Laibao twice with her stick: "I told you not to talk nonsense! Your father and I are still alive. You want to split up the family? Wait until we die first!"

(End of this chapter)