Chapter 46: New Year
Dividing the family is not a trivial matter. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that parents should not separate the family, so this matter must be discussed with Old Lady Song first. If she disagrees, the family will definitely not be divided.
"This is a rebellion! This is a rebellion!" Song Qiao returned to his yard angrily.
"What happened?" Qin stood up and asked quickly after hearing the voice.
"That kid from the third family is really capable! He actually dared to rebel!"
"Huh?" Qin thought she had heard it wrong. The boy was only sixteen years old after his birthday, and he was still a teenager whose hair had not even grown out.
Maybe Song Qiao ran into something outside...
"Qiao Lang, do you still know who I am?"
Song Qiao frowned and looked at her: "Are you okay?"
Qin rolled her eyes and said, "What did you say happened to the kid from the third house?"
"He rebelled!"
"What?!" Qin's eyes widened, as if she had heard something from heaven: "Don't be ridiculous, what can he use to rebel?"
"You can ask his father about this. I don't know! Anyway, the third brother is trying to split the family now."
"Then let's split it up. We won't lose money anyway." The clinic's business is not good. In recent years, it has lost more than it earned. Song Qiao has invested a lot of money in it. It's better to split it up so that we don't have to help them in the future.
Song Qiao frowned and asked, "Have you forgotten Song Yumin?"
Qin slapped her thigh and said, "The old lady still has his money!" She was wondering why the third wife suddenly wanted to split up the family property. It turned out that they were eyeing the first wife's money!
The 130,000 taels of silver were almost equal to half of the Song family's assets. Now that Song Yumin was close to them, they would definitely have to give the silver to them when the family property was divided.
"No, I have to tell the old lady about this. We can't let them divide it like this!" Qin put on her shoes and was about to go to the old lady's yard.
Song Qiao held her back and said, "Don't worry, it's already the 28th, and the Chinese New Year is only two days away. Don't let the old lady have a bad New Year!"
"Aren't you afraid that they will speak first?"
Song Qiao understood his brother: "The third brother won't tell anything, so you just take care of yourself." After saying that, he got up and went to the room of his new concubine.
Qin was so angry that she pushed the teapot off the table. "I've worked so hard, and you just run to that place every day. Never mind! Whoever wants to share the money can share it. I don't want it anymore!"
"Second Madam, please calm down." Chunhong stepped forward to comfort her.
"Pa!" Qin slapped her hard.
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Understand your true identity and stop worrying about things that are not your concern. Otherwise, you might end up dying without knowing how you died!"
Chunhong's face turned pale, she lowered her head and murmured a response, then hurried to get a broom to clean the house.
*
The brothers Song Qiao and Song Bai had a tacit understanding, and neither of them mentioned the separation of the family. However, the mansion had already sensed the signs of impending storm.
As soon as Song Yuzhu woke up early in the morning, Song Quan brought her a bowl of snow pear and white fungus soup and said, "Madam made this for you. Drink it when you wake up."
Snow pears can clear the lungs and reduce phlegm. Knowing that Song Yuzhu had a bad trachea, Jiang always stewed this for him every winter.
After taking a sip, Song Yuzhu realized that this was brewed by her mother herself, and she must have not slept well again.
Since he told his parents about the rebellion, they were worried and had dark circles under their eyes. Song Yuzhu regretted telling them, especially since Jiang Rong was pregnant and he was afraid that she would not be able to bear it.
"Brother Quan, you don't have to serve me these few days. Stay with your family for a few days. We have to leave on the third day of the New Year."
Song Quan smiled and said, "Okay, then don't leave me behind when you go!"
Song Yuzhu took out a purse from the box and threw it to him: "Take it." The purse was heavy, filled with silver ingots, weighing more than a hundred taels.
"Master, why are you giving me so much silver?"
"Take it and buy something nice for Xiaomei and her daughter. I'm looking forward to attending your wedding!"
Song Quan blushed and smiled foolishly: "Okay!"
After seeing Song Quan off, Song Yuzhu went straight to her mother's yard. Today is the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month and tomorrow is New Year's Eve.
The maids pasted blessing characters and window decorations, and Jiang Rong, with her belly sticking out, helped direct the height. Jiang Rong was already seven months pregnant, and the roads were slippery in winter, so salt was sprinkled in the yard for fear that she would fall due to ice.
"Mom, go and have a rest."
Jiang Rong said: "I'll take a day off, I'm not tired."
"You didn't sleep well last night. Look, there's darkness under your eyes." Song Yuzhu said with concern.
"It's your father who keeps tossing and turning, disturbing my sleep."
Jiang Rong yawned and said, "I'm going to take a rest. You stay here and I'll ask the cook to cook you some dumplings."
Song Yuzhu smiled and nodded.
After a while, Song Bai came back with two medicine bags in his hands.
"Dad, what is this for?"
Song Bai stammered, "Your mother couldn't sleep well, so I gave her two prescriptions for tranquilizers."
Oh my god, it turns out that these two people are lying to me. Song Yuzhu knew her parents' good intentions, but she felt very uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry to have made you worry."
Song Bai squeezed his son's shoulders and said, "It's okay."
"Have you told your grandmother about the division of the family?"
Song Bai shook his head: "I haven't said it yet. I plan to talk about it after the New Year. Your grandmother is old, and I'm afraid her body can't stand it..."
"I know your grandmother has been a little cold towards you over the years, but you can't really blame her."
Ignore? That's just total disregard!
Song Bai said: "She also liked you when she was little, but then something happened and she misunderstood."
Song Yuzhu was a little curious: "What happened?"
Song Bai did not hide it from him and told his son what his mother said: "In fact, it's all her imagination. Don't blame her."
Song Yuzhu nodded with a strange expression on his face. Perhaps he had just come here and forgot to disguise himself. However, it had been so long that he could not remember it at all. He did not expect that such a thing would happen.
*
On the other hand, after Song Quan came back, he first reminisced with his family. The next morning, he took the things he bought from Xuzhou and went to the courtyard behind.
Xiaomei was washing clothes in the yard. The child was sucking his fingers in the package on his back, his little face red from the cold.
When Song Quan saw Xiaomei, he was so nervous that he couldn't speak. He walked to her and coughed lightly.
Xiaomei raised her head and smiled brightly: "Second Brother Song, you're back!"
"Well..." Song Quan smiled shyly, took the package from his body and handed it to her: "I bought it for the baby."
Xiaomei wiped her hands on her clothes and said, "How can I feel embarrassed about this?"
"It's not valuable, just take it!"
Xiaomei opened the package and saw a wooden rattle inside. It was painted red and had lotus flowers and fish painted on it. It looked delicate and beautiful.
She picked it up and shook it. The doll behind her giggled and stretched out its chubby little hands to grab it.
"Thank you so much!"
There was also a silver hairpin and two sets of cotton clothes in the package, one for Xiaomei and the other for the girl. The fabric was ordinary cotton cloth, and the color was the same red.
"I won't accept these things. They're too expensive." Xiaomei handed over the bag.
Song Quan blushed and said, "You keep it. The clothes are custom-made in the clothing shop, and no one at home can wear them if you take them back." After saying that, he ran away.
Xiaomei held the clothes in her arms, not knowing what to do. Mrs. Li, the cook in the next room, came out and slapped her gently: "Silly girl, just wear it if I give it to you."
"Brother Song and I are not related at all, how can I accept his things?"
"Can't you see what he thinks of you?"
"I...I, I've already got married and had children."
Sister Li said, "So what? You are young and good-looking. I think you two are a perfect match!"
Xiaomei blushed at what she said, remembering that Song Quan had asked his father to place her in the mansion and had specifically told him not to let her be bullied. If it weren't for Song Quan, she and Niuniu wouldn't know if they could survive.
But as a widow, being with him will inevitably lead to gossip. I don’t know whether Brother Song’s parents will agree.
Xiaomei hung up the washed clothes, took off the swaddling clothes on her back, hugged her daughter, rocked the rattle and whispered, "Niuniu... do you want your daddy?"
The doll giggled, its red little face full of joy.
*
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. Before dawn, the sound of firecrackers could be heard sporadically outside.
Song Yuzhu changed into the new clothes that her mother had prepared in advance, and went to her parents' room to pay New Year's greetings. After receiving two gifts of New Year's money, she followed the two to the front yard.
The stove in the old lady's room was burning brightly, and a large group of people were sitting around in the room to make her happy.
Song Bai and the other two came over to wish them a happy new year. Old Mrs. Song was smiling from ear to ear and quickly waved to Jiang, telling her to sit down and have a rest, and not to move.
He took out another red envelope and handed it to Song Yuzhu. This was his New Year's money.
Song Yuzhu accepted it with surprise. He had never received such treatment in previous years. Every time the old lady gave out New Year's money, she would directly skip his...
Although Song Yuzhu didn't care, Jiang Rong did, and she would be so angry that she would cry every time she went back.
This time, she finally didn't make her mother angry. Song Yuzhu felt a little better about her grandmother, but only a little.
"If you ask me, our ancestors are so lucky. We will soon have a little grandson." The person who spoke was Song Bai's cousin's wife, Luo Suzhen. She was of the same generation as Song Yuzhu, but much older than him. She was a woman who was good at speaking and had a lot of face in front of the old lady.
Old Mrs. Song smiled with wrinkles all over her face: "Everything is fine, as long as the mother and child are safe."
Jiang smiled and nodded, she also hoped that the baby in her belly could be born safely.
Giving birth to Yuzhu almost cost her her life. Now, more than ten years later, she is giving birth again and she is still very scared.
Luo Suzhen looked at Song Yuzhu carefully, and suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Oh, Brother Zhu, we haven't seen each other for two years. You have grown up to be so handsome! I wonder which girl will marry you in the future!"
It's no wonder she was surprised. Song Yuzhu had indeed changed a lot. Not only was his appearance more handsome, but his demeanor was also different from that of ordinary people. It was a kind of calmness and composure that could only be seen in those who had been in a superior position for a long time.
The women burst into laughter, and while they were playing, the door was pushed open and Qin came in with Song Yufeng.
"Happy New Year to my mother." Qin lowered her body.
"Happy New Year, grandma. Where is my New Year's money?" Song Yufeng ran over and hugged Grandma Song's arm affectionately.
Old Mrs. Song touched Song Yufeng's face, smiled and took out the New Year's money from her bosom and handed it to him.
"Use it to buy candy and sweeten your mouth."
Luo Suzhen joked: "Our Yufeng's mouth is sweet enough, if it's sweeter, we have to apply honey!"
Song Yufeng laughed and said, "Sister-in-law is teasing me again."
Soon Song Qiao, Song Yumin, and Song Yutang and his wife all arrived.
Song Yutang's wife Zhang seemed to have just cried, and her eyes were still red. Song Yutang stood beside her and comforted her in a low voice.
Qin rolled her eyes when she saw this, thinking that this little bitch was still sticking to her during the New Year's Day, which was more disgusting than eating a fly.
Song Qiao poked her with his arm with an unpredictable look on his face, but he didn't expect that this would stir up a hornet's nest.
"Why are you yelling at me?!" Qin had a loud voice to begin with, and she was full of resentment, so she shouted like a firecracker.
Song Qiao was startled: "Keep your voice down."
"Why do you want me to keep my voice down? Are you afraid that someone will hear you and embarrass you?"
The room was silent for a moment, and Old Mrs. Song lowered her eyes and said nothing.
Luo Suzhen also stood up and said, "I still have some things to do at home. I will come back tomorrow to talk to the old ancestor."
Song Yumin timidly walked to Song Yuzhu's side and said, "Third brother, can I sit next to you?"
"Um."
Song Yuzhu pulled Yumin closer to her mother, telling them not to bump into her if a fight broke out.
Song Baitou said in a big voice: "If you have anything to say, let's go back and talk about it. Don't make trouble here during the New Year."
Qin squinted her eyes and said, "We are all family, there is nothing shameful about it, are you afraid of someone hearing it?"
Song Yutang frowned and pulled her back, saying, "Mom, can you please stop being like this?"
Qin slapped him in the face and said, "You bastard! I raised you for nothing! You married a wife and forgot your mother. What kind of magic potion did Zhang give you to make you defend her like this?"
Song Yutang was stunned. He didn't know what happened to his mother today and why she suddenly went crazy.
In fact, Qin had been harboring resentment for a long time. Her husband was indifferent to her, her son sided with his wife, and her daughter-in-law's family was stuffing people into her father-in-law's room. All these problems piled up and finally erupted on New Year's Eve.
"Song Qiao, are you sleeping well with the concubine your daughter-in-law found for you?"
(End of this chapter)
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