Seeing that Old Man Chen had fainted, Chen Zhanshan hurried forward, his face full of worry.
"Dad, are you alright? Don't scare me."
Chen Zhancai shoved him away impatiently, "Get lost. Don't pretend to be a good person. If anything happens to my dad, I'll never forgive you."
"You unfilial son, get out of here!" Old Mrs. Chen slapped her thigh and shouted angrily, "If you still consider him your father, then send that good-for-nothing to Butcher Li, otherwise I don't have a son like you."
Chen Zhanshan was completely heartbroken. With parents who were constantly scheming against his child, what was there left for him to cherish?
"Qing girl, pack up, let's move to the cowshed."
Chen Qingqing smiled and said, "Okay, let's pack our things and go."
Chen Han held the large hen in his hand, looking completely bewildered.
"Sis, do we really have to move out? Does Grandma really not want us anymore?"
"Yes, we've separated. From now on, we'll be two separate families."
Why?
Chen Qingqing thought for a moment, then explained with a smile, "Because they want to give me to a bad person, and that bad person might beat me. I don't want to, so Grandma beats me."
My parents didn't agree to give me away to bad people, so my grandmother kicked us out in a fit of anger.
Chen Han's eyes were full of heartache. "I can't bear to see my sister get beaten by bad guys. If anyone dares to hit you, I'll fight them to the death."
"Xiao Han, do you blame me for living in the cowshed with me?"
"Moving out is great! I won't be bullied by Chen Jiye anymore, and no one will be taking my meat away from me."
After Chen Han finished speaking, he licked his lips, unable to suppress the joy in his heart, "Sis, we can eat chicken today. I wonder what chicken tastes like."
Chen Jiye always says that steamed eggs are smooth, tender, fragrant, and even sweet. If eggs are so delicious, is chicken also sweet?
"The chicken smells so good, and the chicken soup is so fresh and delicious. We'll stew it tonight." Chen Qingqing patted his little head. "Alright, hurry up and get ready, or someone will chase us away again."
"Okay, I'll take this chicken back first." Chen Han agreed, carrying the chicken as he ran towards the cowshed...
Chen Qingqing returned to the thatched house where she used to live and found the original owner's belongings based on her memory. There were two sets of clothes in total, one set of winter clothes and one set of autumn clothes, both of which were patched on top of each other.
It was less a division of the family property and more a separation. In reality, apart from a few worn-out clothes belonging to the family members, they had nothing else.
Chen Qingqing's eyes darkened. This wouldn't do. Without pots and pans, she couldn't cook dinner tonight.
Thinking it over, I started walking towards the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Mrs. Sun was boiling water. When she saw her come in, she smiled and said, "What are you looking for, Qing'er? Your second aunt will help you."
In my memory, apart from being a bit greedy, this second aunt was not a bad person. She and my mother took turns doing the housework, and at least she never bullied the eldest son's family like the third son's family did.
Chen Qingqing smiled in response, "Second Aunt, I'll get some pots and pans, otherwise we won't be able to cook!"
"Then take five bowls, five pairs of chopsticks, and here's an old pot. It's a bit broken, but it'll do for now. Take it all." Mrs. Sun busied herself tidying up the things.
At this moment, Old Mrs. Chen walked in from outside. Seeing the two chatting and laughing, her face immediately darkened.
"Second brother's wife, what are you doing?"
"Mother, I'll get some pots and pans for Qingya."
"Put it down right now. We've already separated our family and severed all ties. We can't let them take even a single blade of grass if it's not written in the family division agreement."
"But without pots and pans, how will my older brother's family cook?"
"Who your older brother is is their business, why do you need to worry about it?" Old Mrs. Chen said, giving Chen Qingqing a disapproving look.
Sun looked displeased. "Qing'er, your aunt can't help you anymore."
Old Mrs. Chen is truly heartless; she won't even give us a pot or a bowl. It seems she's confident she'll eventually give in.
"It's okay, I'm thinking of something."
Chen Qingqing turned and left, walking towards her own courtyard.
The cowshed was located next to the Chen family's house, adjacent to the main courtyard, separated by a fence.
Standing here, one can see everything happening in the Chen family's courtyard clearly; conversely, the Chen family can also see everything about their own home clearly.
She frowned as she looked at the cowshed; it was a mud-brick house with thatched roofs and no doors or windows.
It looks dilapidated; if you kicked the mud wall, you could probably kick a big hole in it.
There used to be a cow here, but a few years ago, when they couldn't afford to pay Chen Zhancai's tuition, they sold the cow.
The two cowsheds were left vacant, and some dry firewood was placed inside them on rainy days.
Thankfully it's the hot summer now, otherwise, they would either starve or freeze to death.
Stepping inside, the room was covered in dust, and the beams were covered in cobwebs.
It looks fairly spacious, enough to barely partition off two sleeping areas.
If you want to move into this thatched house, you have to clean it thoroughly first.
When Lin saw Chen Qingqing walk in empty-handed, a look of surprise appeared on her face.
"Qing girl, didn't your grandma give you pots and pans?"
There's clearly an old pot and enough bowls and chopsticks at the old house, so why is the mother-in-law trying to make things difficult for the eldest son's family?
Over the years, any money the couple had was spent by their in-laws on the third wife's family. Now that they're dividing the family property, they're not even being given pots and pans.
Although she was gentle by nature, it was because she didn't want to hold grudges. She knew that harmony in the family brings prosperity, and even though the third branch of the family hadn't passed the imperial examinations for so many years, she had no complaints.
It seems she was just being delusional; her in-laws never really cared about their eldest son's family.
Even if the couple served their parents like slaves, they couldn't earn a single bit of sympathy from their in-laws.
Now that we've separated, it's a complete break from them.
"No." Chen Qingqing shook her head.
Madam Lin shook her head and smiled wryly, "Qing'er, it's alright. Let's make do for tonight, and I'll think of something else tomorrow."
Chen Han pouted, looking disappointed. "How can I stew chicken without a pot? In this hot weather, the chicken will be rotten by tomorrow."
Chen Qingqing was amused by her brother's words, "You, all you think about is eating meat. But don't worry, I'll go borrow some in a bit. I don't believe a living person can die from holding their pee."
"Mother, you and Father tidy up the house first, I'll go find the village head."
Lin said, "Qing'er, it would be best if you could borrow it. If you can't, don't make things difficult for them. We'll make do for one night. I'll go to your maternal grandfather's house tomorrow to see if I can borrow some money so we can buy a new one."
"good."
Chen Qingqing verbally agreed, but in her heart she did not take Lin's words seriously. Her maternal grandparents' home was in Dahe Village, not far from Nanshan Village, only about ten miles away. Because Lin used to go back to borrow money and grain, which was used to support the three branches of the family to study, her eldest and second maternal aunts had long had a lot of complaints about her mother.
Now, how could we possibly borrow it again...?
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