Chapter 101 Greed Leads to Loss of the House.
Qin Xiangxiang enjoyed a comfortable meal of white flour and pork dumplings. Her mother-in-law, Wu Xueyan, had prepared far too much, including large steamed buns, stewed pork, and stewed chicken, served in huge bowls. She couldn't eat much at all, but her mother-in-law kept urging her to eat more.
Unable to refuse such hospitality, I ended up eating until I was stuffed.
After exerting myself, I felt drowsy and lay on the kang (heated brick bed), which was warm and comfortable.
She chatted with Li Jianzhi beside her: "This kang is so big. Did your whole family of brothers and sisters sleep on this kang when you were a child?"
Li Jianzhi: "Maybe. It seems like that's how people sleep in other houses. There are even two families living in one house, with separate north and south kang beds, separated only by a curtain."
Qin Xiangxiang: "It's very warm to sleep like this in winter, but wouldn't it be very hot in summer?"
Li Jianzhi: "Guess."
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
Little Fatty was very happy on the kang (heated brick bed), still eating pumpkin seeds and occasionally teasing his younger sister, Sui Sui. He thought that the New Year was great, and there was plenty of food everywhere.
Li San Di was called out by his girlfriend Zhang Xiao Yue. He had drunk some wine with his future brother-in-law at dinner, and his cheeks were flushed. When he saw the girl he liked, he tried hard to suppress his shyness.
His two older brothers were both married, but he was still single. Zhang Xiaoyue in front of him was beautiful, her father worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, and her family was well-off. It was his good fortune to be able to find someone he liked.
Zhang Xiaoyue: "Li Jianping, do you really care about me? Do you really want to marry me?"
"Of course, Xiaoyue, you're the only one in my heart."
Zhang Xiaoyue changed the subject: "I can't wait to marry you either, but my brother just made a request to me. If you agree to this request, we'll get married right away."
Li San Di hurriedly replied, "I'll agree to whatever you ask!"
“Listen to me first, it’s about your older brother.” Zhang Xiaoyue paused. “Your older brother has an imported watch, and he said that if you give me this watch as a betrothal gift, I will marry you immediately.”
Li Sandi froze. "How is this related to my eldest brother?"
Zhang Xiaoyue: "My brother said it has to be this way, otherwise our marriage is out of the question. I will listen to my brother."
Li San Di: "I'm too ashamed to say that."
Zhang Xiaoyue: "Doesn't your older brother feel guilty? He's been serving in the army for so many years and only comes back a few times. You're the only son left at home to take care of your mother. He's living a good life as an officer and married a woman from a big city, while you still haven't gotten married. Doesn't your older brother bear any responsibility at all?"
"This is all owed to you by your brother."
Zhang Xiaoyue, like her eldest brother Zhang Mancang, had her own scheme. Of the three brothers in Li Jianping's family, only she was at home with their mother, while her other two brothers were working outside. If she could control Li Jianping, she could make her other two brothers spend money.
Especially his older brother, Li Jianzhi, who was an officer. In those days, the eldest brother in a family was taught from a young age that "the eldest brother is like a father" and that he should contribute and sacrifice for the family like "a silkworm spinning silk until its death".
“Your older brother hasn’t come back to take care of our mother for so many years, he must feel guilty. This is the compensation he should give to the family.”
Li Sandi pursed his lips. He felt that Zhang Xiaoyue was wrong. His eldest brother had been sending money home for so many years, and the family's current good life was all thanks to his eldest brother...
However, Li Sandi also harbored some resentment. His two older brothers were more outstanding than him, especially his eldest brother, who was an officer and cadre outside the city and married a beautiful girl from the big city. He was someone that Li Sandi, a country bumpkin, could never reach.
"I'll go talk to my older brother."
After making his promise to Zhang Xiaoyue, Li Sandi went into the house and saw Li Jianzhi and his wife on the kang. He felt ashamed, but also felt that it was only right. Zhang Xiaoyue was right. His elder brother married a woman from Shanghai. What was wrong with his elder brother giving him a watch when he got married?
"Big brother, I have something I want to tell you."
Li Jianzhi said expressionlessly, "Go ahead and tell me."
I want to talk to you alone.
Li Jianzhi and he went outside. Li Jianzhi didn't have any brothers before, and he didn't know how to get along with his adopted younger brother. There was definitely no brotherly affection between them; at most, he treated him as an ordinary relative.
Li Sandi swallowed hard: "Big brother, I hope you can give that imported watch you have to Xiaoyue's family as a betrothal gift... You're my big brother, you can't let me not be able to get married, can you?"
Li Jianzhi's face remained expressionless as he crossed his arms and looked down at the person in front of him, scrutinizing him: "..."
Holy crap, this cheap younger brother in front of me is amazing.
Is he about to face off against his own awful relatives? It's common for families to split up in novels; is he going to have to go through this process now that he's the male lead?
Then comes the sob story, where his mother or other elders come out to pressure him, saying, "Li Jianzhi, you have to think about your brother. You can't watch him not be able to get married. You, as the eldest brother, have to make a sacrifice!"
Then the eldest brother feels guilty and is willing to make sacrifices—that's how it is in typical period dramas, where the eldest brother in a family has to sacrifice for his brothers and sisters.
Then he argued with his wife, Qin Xiangxiang. Qin Xiangxiang slapped him and said, "Li Jianzhi, you've wronged me," while she replied, "Harmony in the family brings prosperity!"
In just a short while, Li Jianzhi had filled in all the plots of period dramas in his mind.
It's a pity he's not the male lead of a period drama; he's the male lead of a romance novel, only with the "face-slapping" attribute selected, meaning he's the ultimate character who wants to cause a family split and get slapped in the face.
Li Jianzhi: "Go dream about it. Dreaming will bring you here faster."
Li Sandi was stunned.
Li Jianzhi sneered, "Where do you get the nerve to ask me for a watch? Don't you think you're making a fool of yourself?"
"I don't have a shameless brother like you."
Li Sandi was dumbfounded. His eldest brother had always been quiet and reserved, and he had never seen him curse before, but when he did curse, he was truly scathing.
Why did this older brother not feel indebted to Xiaoyue, even though his story differed from Xiaoyue's?
“You, eldest brother, you can’t say such heartless things. For so many years, you’ve been serving in the army, and your second brother has been a teacher. I’ve been the only one taking care of the family.”
Li Jianzhi: "Our mother is healthy and has hands and feet. What have you done to take care of her? I send her twenty yuan every month, which is enough for her to eat and drink. I don't feel like I owe the family anything."
"If anyone owes me anything, it's you who owe me. All three of us brothers are adults. Even if it's for our parents' retirement, we should all contribute the same amount. I contributed for twenty-one months. How much did you contribute per month?"
“Take my military service for example. I didn’t spend a single penny of my family’s money on my military academy education. Military academies don’t charge tuition, and food and clothing are free. After I graduated and started receiving my salary, I sent money home. I never asked my family for money when I got married and raised my children.”
Li Jianzhi: "In a way, you should be the ones paying me back."
Li Sandi was speechless, his face turning red, because Li Jianzhi was right. Even the house that the family had built for his wedding had cost his eldest brother's money.
After confronting Li Sandi, Li Jianzhi went directly to Wu Xueyan to discuss the matter; he was not one to swallow his anger.
Wu Xueyan blurted out, "Is he crazy?"
“Li Jianping, you have no conscience! If you really feel that your family has wronged you, fine, if you have any backbone, then go and become someone else’s live-in son-in-law. I’ll pretend I don’t have a son like you, and I don’t need you to serve me at home.”
“If you really want to marry Zhang Xiaoyue, we’ll separate the family. You’ll go out and start your own household. Don’t touch the newly built house. Have you calculated how much money you’ve spent on Zhang Xiaoyue? It’s what you owe the family, not what the family owes you.”
"How dare you ask for your brother's watch? Do you have any conscience?"
Li Sandi chickened out and dared not speak.
Wu Xueyan shouted, "Go find the Zhang family and make them pay back the money! They've eaten so much of our food this past year, now the marriage is off, and they need to pay us back!"
"If you can't get the money, get out of here!"
Qin Xiangxiang was amazed by her mother-in-law's loud and forceful scolding of her son. She couldn't help but come out to watch the spectacle, while a group of onlookers gathered in the courtyard.
"What's going on? The eldest brother of the Li family, who's an officer, is back? And why are they arguing?"
Li Sandi wept bitterly: "I want to marry Xiaoyue. All my brothers have gotten married, but I can't find a wife."
"Sister-in-law, please help me." Li Sandi rushed forward and knelt down in front of Qin Xiangxiang.
Qin Xiangxiang: "????!!!"
"Please let my brother give me the watch. Xiaoyue said she would marry me if her family provided a watch as a betrothal gift."
"Sister-in-law, I'll kowtow to you if you agree."
When Qin Xiangxiang saw someone kneeling before her, she found it absurd, but she wasn't afraid at all. This kind of moral pressure had no effect on a little drama queen like her.
Qin Xiangxiang: "Li Jianzhi, your younger brother is shameless."
"Think about it, go back inside and stay there. It's cold outside. Don't talk to this beast." Wu Xueyan slapped her son, who was kneeling on the ground, twice across the face, which shocked Qin Xiangxiang.
“Even brothers should keep clear accounts.” Wu Xueyan turned around, picked up the hoe from the house, and smashed it against the newly built house amidst the gasps of the crowd. “I’ll call people to demolish this house tomorrow. If you want to get married, fine, you’ll have to rely on your own abilities in the future.”
"Your older brother paid for the building materials, you don't deserve to live here!"
"I'll smash up the house so you won't get greedy."
Qin Xiangxiang: "??!!"
"Wu Xueyan, this won't do! It's a newly built house."
"Li Jianzhi, you should try to persuade your mother!"
Li Jianzhi, who was standing nearby, simply said, "Since that's the case, let's demolish the house."
Qin Xiangxiang was stunned: "????!!!"
"Li Laosan, you'd better stop him! If you demolish the house, how will you get married?"
"Don't ruin this perfectly good house!"
Li Sandi gritted his teeth, thinking that his mother and his eldest brother couldn't really just demolish the perfectly good house.
As it turned out, his older brother was extremely capable of carrying out his orders. He went to find the nearby militia and they actually demolished the house. Building a house is difficult, but demolishing one is quick, especially for those who are skilled at building houses; they know how to demolish.
Wu Xueyan didn't feel any regret when she saw the house being demolished. She resold some bricks and other building materials to the militia at a discounted price. Although she lost some money, she felt at peace.
She knew that if her youngest son married Zhang Xiaoyue, there would be no peace in the family, as Zhang Xiaoyue's older brother was too greedy. She decided to demolish the house to completely extinguish her youngest son's interest.
If he still wants to marry, then it's up to him to decide.
The new house his family had built for his wedding was demolished, shattering his beautiful dream. While feeling pain, Li Sandi also felt a strange sense of relief.
He lost the house and could no longer marry Zhang Xiaoyue, but it wasn't as painful as he thought.
At this moment, Zhang Mancang arrived with his men, originally intending to exert pressure through his elders, but ended up at the Li family's residence.
—The house is gone.
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