If we give it to them, our own family will go hungry!
If we don't give it to them, they'll definitely cause trouble again!
Moreover, according to his two grandsons, Xie Yushu has already fallen out with Xie Yujiao and must have no other choice. Since she has already offended her, her family will not have an easy time either way, so she might as well just give up!
After thinking it through, Old Mrs. Xie calmed down and began to speak.
“I can’t believe what you’re saying, sister-in-law. Over the years, with your words, ‘The eldest brother is like a father and the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother,’ I and the children in the family have all treated you with the same respect as our elders.”
Zhu immediately retorted when she heard Old Madam Xie say that.
"Tch! Second Aunt, that sounds nice, but don't just talk the talk!"
Since you treat my in-laws like your own parents, you should at least share half of this mutton with us! The elderly and children in our family haven't smelled meat in over half a year!"
As Zhu spoke, she asked Ma...
"Mom, which pieces do you think we should get? You and Dad love to eat lamb kidneys, which are fatty and lean, and are very nourishing. The children love to eat lamb legs. As for us, we can endure a little hardship and just eat some lamb head and offal. What do you think, Mom?"
Although she was asking Ma, she had already handed two large pieces of lamb loin to Xie Baogui, two lamb legs to her two younger brothers-in-law Xie Baocai and Xie Baojin, and she was still holding a sheep's head in her own hand. In the blink of an eye, all that was left of the Xie family was a palm-width piece of bloody neck and four dry lamb hooves!
Seeing this, Old Madam Xie, Xie Baotian, and Xie Baoshu's anger surged. Xie Baoshu was about to speak when Old Madam Xie stopped him. At this moment, Xie Baoshu speaking up would only give them an excuse to scold him for talking back to his elders, so she spoke up herself.
"Stop! Although you are my older brother and sister-in-law, I have always treated you with the same respect I would show to my parents. Whenever there is something new in the house, my sister-in-law always gets a share."
But as the old saying goes, brothers should be kind and respectful to each other. Can the elder brother and sister-in-law think about us? Can they lend a helping hand to their own brother's wife and children?
In this year of severe drought, our family has long been out of food. A few days ago, I went to borrow some grain from my sister-in-law, but she wouldn't lend me a single grain! I had no choice but to marry my granddaughter off to a cripple in exchange for some food to survive!
When the family divided the property, the eldest brother received a full 100 acres of fertile land. The stored grain should be enough to last another year!
But you'd rather watch your own brother's family have to sell their children to survive than lend me a single grain!
My son risked his life to hunt this little bit of game. Our family of eleven depends on this little bit to survive, and you want us to give you this little bit as a tribute?
This is forcing us to die!
At this point, Old Mrs. Xie no longer cared about saving face and simply started making a scene.
"My lord!"
Ancestors of the Xie family!
If you have spirits in heaven, please come and see!
"The Xie family patriarch, Xie Dafu, is trying to force us to our deaths, to make his brothers' lineage end!"
Seeing that Old Madam Xie was in such a state, Madam Lu and Madam Wang went up the mountain to help her up, while Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu stepped forward to snatch back the mutton that Madam Zhu and the others were holding!
Xie Baocai was a scoundrel. Seeing that his prize had been snatched away, he raised his arm to fight back. Old Mrs. Xie suddenly rushed out and stood in front of her son, taking a punch from Xie Baocai. Her eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground!
Seeing this, Madam Lu was both angry and anxious, and cried out...
"Xie Baocai, are you even human? You couldn't even steal the meat, so you tried to beat your own aunt to death."
Uncle, as the clan leader, how can you condone your son beating up an elder? Can't you tolerate your own brother's children?
If that's the case, we might as well all hang ourselves in front of the ancestral hall, so we won't be an eyesore to you. At least we can face our ancestors in the afterlife and say that it wasn't that we didn't want to continue the family line, but that we were forced to this point!"
Lu was also forced into a corner, and spoke quickly and urgently.
Having been the clan chief's wife for most of her life, who in the entire village dared to defy her? Not only did they dare to steal her meat, but they also dared to challenge her! No sooner had Lu finished speaking than Madam Ma jumped up and slapped Lu hard across the face, cursing...
"You've gone too far! How dare you act tough with us! You ill-mannered brats! We only ask you for your respect because we consider you our juniors. Don't push your luck!"
Ma used lethal force, and Lu was so stunned by the beating that she lay on the ground, unable to get up for a while!
Seeing that his mother and wife had both been beaten, Xie Baotian's eyes turned red with anger, and he unusually became defiant.
“If you can’t stand seeing us, then just sever all ties with us! We don’t deserve the respect you’re giving us!”
"You, you!" Xie Dafu glared angrily when he saw that Xie Baotian would rather sever ties than give them the meat.
In the past, Xie Baotian would always obediently deliver the goods after a few scoldings! This time, however, he refused to budge, which infuriated them!
However, he couldn't really sever ties with them. Putting aside the fact that they were uncle and nephew, they would lose face if word got out that he would sever ties or expel them from the clan just because they didn't get the meat they wanted!
Moreover, severing ties with relatives would not win over the people. The clan leader's power depends on his prestige within the clan. If he goes too far and loses his prestige, it will be difficult for him to remain the clan leader!
"Cough!"
"Chieftain, precious..."
Baotian's family has had a tough life, and your second son is no longer a child. How could he hit an elder? This has never happened before in our clan!
According to clan rules, this is considered insubordination and disobedience, punishable by caning! You should discipline him!
"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, what brings you here?"
Just as things were at a stalemate, the two clan elders and the remaining family members arrived! Moreover, Second Uncle spoke those words openly, which showed that he had heard some of the details of the matter!
This clan isn't a place where the clan head has absolute power. If it's truly necessary to open the ancestral hall and consult the clan's laws, the two elders also have a say, and it requires the approval of the entire clan! Hopefully, Xie Dafu and his family's bullying of Old Madam Xie is just minor squabbles at home, and Old Madam Xie usually tries to keep quiet.
But if things escalated, it wouldn't do the clan chief any good either. So, after hearing his second uncle's words, Xie Dafu nodded with a livid face and mumbled something.
"Bao Cai didn't do it on purpose. I'll talk to him about it later!"
So they put the matter behind them.
Seeing Xie Dafu's attitude, the two uncles knew that he was intentionally protecting his own, so they didn't say anything too harsh. After all, he was the clan leader, and no one wanted to offend him over such a small matter!
With things having escalated to this point, Xie Dafu's family was too ashamed to mention asking for meat anymore. They simply said that their children were craving meat and had heard that Xie Baotian had plenty, so the women of the family shamelessly came to ask for some for the children. Since Xie Baotian didn't have much either, they decided to let it go.
Although everyone knew how false those words were, at this point it was better to avoid trouble, so everyone tacitly agreed to let the matter drop.
Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu had the children help Old Madam Xie and Madam Lu back into the house and ask them questions.
"What brings you here, my uncles and brothers?"
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