"What did you say, second son?! Separate the family? Your mother and I aren't even dead yet! And you're already thinking about separating the family? There's no son as unfilial as you in the world! If you want to separate the family, you'll only do so after I'm dead!"
Old Man Lin slammed his chopsticks on the table, stood up, and glared at him angrily!
Liu went to the doorway, plopped down on the ground, and started throwing a tantrum.
"I don't want to live anymore. My parents are still alive, and their son is already planning to divide the family property. I might as well just die."
Lin Zhenghong turned his head to the side, not wanting to look anymore.
The village head rushed over in a hurry.
Seeing Liu howling on the ground again, his head started to ache.
"What's going on? Aunt Liu, what's wrong with you?"
"Village head, you must help this old woman! My son is demanding a division of the family property!"
Upon hearing this, the village head looked at Lin Zhenghong in surprise and cautiously offered his advice:
"This family division is no small matter. You can't just talk about it carelessly. After the family is divided, there will be no clan protection. Do you know how difficult it will be?! You should think carefully about dividing the family."
Hearing the village head's words, Lin Zhenghong's anger did not subside; instead, he became even more furious!
What kind of tribe's protection?
When his mother sold his daughter, why didn't any of the clansmen stop her?!
Of course, he wouldn't say these things aloud, since his wife and daughters would still need the clan's care in the future.
“Village head, you must know that my mother sold my daughter. If she can sell my daughter today, she can sell my son tomorrow. Wife, I have no choice. Today, I am determined to separate this family!”
The village headman now wished he could slap Liu a few times!
And there's Old Man Lin too!
Without his permission, how could a woman dare to sell her granddaughter?
He truly didn't want anyone in the village to cause trouble by dividing the family property unless absolutely necessary.
First they sold their granddaughter, and now if they split up the family property again, how will people from other villages view them?
“You really need to think this through. After the family splits up, it will definitely affect your son and daughter’s marriage prospects. Even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about your children.”
"Village head, this matter is beyond consideration. Please grant my request, otherwise I cannot go to work in town with peace of mind. I don't expect Xiaoyan to pass the imperial examinations, and our family doesn't have the ability to do so. As for my daughter, if no one can arrange a marriage for her, I will find her a husband who will live with us. In short, I have made up my mind to divide the family property today!"
The village headman, unable to persuade Lin Zhenghong no matter what he did, had no choice but to take him to the ancestral hall to ask the clan head to preside over the division of the family property.
Even after entering the ancestral hall, Old Man Lin and Mrs. Liu were still in a daze...
They never expected that the usually honest second son would actually dare to bring up the matter of dividing the family property!
Old Man Lin was the first to react, and with a thud, he knelt before the clan chief, his tone earnest:
"Chieftain, you must stand up for us! What kind of parents are still talking about their sons dividing the family property? What will others think of us if word gets out?"
The clan chief was a seventy-year-old man.
They valued the collective face of the clan most, and upon hearing what Old Man Lin said, they looked at Lin Zhenghong with disapproval.
“In our Lin family, there has never been a case of a son dividing the family property while his parents are still alive. Don’t bring this up again in the future. Not only will your father disagree, but I will never agree either.”
Lin Zhenghong knew that the clan chief always put the clan's reputation first and never considered his own interests.
Remembering the wound on her son's forehead, she said cruelly to everyone:
“Since the clan chief doesn’t agree to the division of the family, I have no choice but to report it to the authorities. My mother sold my daughter to a slave trader behind my back. Fortunately, I have some connections in town, so I’ll let the officials decide. Otherwise, it won’t just be our family that will be disgraced.”
"You...you are an unworthy descendant, an unworthy descendant!"
The clan chief was so angry at his words that he could only agree.
After all, they couldn't let Lin Zhenghong report it to the authorities under any circumstances.
How can the Lin family establish themselves here?
"Bring me paper and pen. Since you're so eager to separate from the family, I'll grant your wish. From now on, your life and death will be none of the clan's concern!"
The clan chief's words were quite serious, and everyone tried to persuade Lin Zhenghong.
But he seemed determined, and no matter how they tried to dissuade him, he remained unmoved, readily taking the documents, signing them, and affixing his seal.
The document was made in triplicate, one copy for Old Man Lin, one copy for Lin Zhenghong, and one copy for the clan chief.
Although Liu was usually fierce and shrewish.
But once they were in front of the clan chief, they didn't dare utter a single word and could only watch helplessly as they signed the papers.
After receiving the document, Lin Zhenghe felt relieved and carefully tucked it into his sleeve before leaving the ancestral hall.
As soon as he arrived at his doorstep, a soft, delicate body bumped into him.
He gently stroked the woman in his arms, his face full of apology:
"I'm sorry for all the trouble you and your mother have suffered over the years. I won't come here to bully you anymore. Look what this is?"
Ye Lan took the document he handed her, and under his expectant gaze, she opened the paper and read it quickly.
When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at the man in front of her, her lips trembling uncontrollably.
"Brother Hong..."
Even though Ye Lan had a thousand words in her heart.
But at this moment, she couldn't say anything; she could only keep crying and sobbing softly.
It was as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances she had held back over the years...
Seemingly knowing what she was thinking, Lin Zhenghong put his arm around her, gently patted her back to comfort her, and remained silent.
"Cough cough..."
A deliberate cough interrupted their tender moment.
Ye Lan was too embarrassed to break free from Lin Zhenghong's embrace.
Her face flushed slightly as she glanced at the man beside Lin, wondering why they couldn't resist hugging and cuddling at their doorstep.
"Dad, Mom, I'm starving! Let's make dumplings early. I bought another thirty catties of lard to render into pork fat. I want to make pork crackling dumplings."
Lin Yan admitted that the scene just now was beautiful.
The man is tall and the woman is petite; the handsome man and beautiful woman look so well-matched when they embrace.
But her belly just couldn't wait any longer!
He went to the mountains early in the morning to fight a black bear, and then traveled back and forth to the town.
It's already afternoon, and she hasn't had lunch yet; her stomach is practically empty.
While they were all at the ancestral hall, she went directly to the old house.
The pork cracklings had already been used by Liu to make dumplings and eaten, which made her so angry that her teeth itched.
She didn't want to eat the dumplings made by their dirty hands, so she carried the remaining rice and flour back with her.
Thirty catties of lard took two large pots to render for quite a while.
Two large basins full of lard and fragrant pork cracklings looked incredibly tempting.
It's early autumn now, and the cabbages in the yard are almost fully grown.
She picked three, washed them with water with her younger siblings, and then chopped them up for later use.
Lin Zhenghong was strong, so the task of kneading the dough was assigned to him.
Ye Lan was preparing the filling, and everyone worked together to wrap the dumplings.
Just as the family of five was happily making dumplings, a series of sharp and heart-wrenching cries suddenly came from next door!
The piercing cries were especially eerie in the quiet environment...
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