He Tiantian was quite surprised to hear this. Given how stubborn the old woman was, it was really difficult to get anything out of her.
She suddenly thought of something and looked at Tao with bright eyes.
Tao felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze. "W-what's wrong?"
“Sister-in-law… Now that Da Niu is married, have you thought about dividing the family property?” He Tiantian suggested.
Tao's face had already changed. "Divide...divorce the family?" She had never even considered such a bold idea. Her mother-in-law had made all the decisions in the family over the years, and she had gotten used to it.
“Yes, look, Da Niu got married. Tie Zhu will get married in a couple of years, right? If your whole family doesn’t separate and all live together, what kind of place will that be?” He Tiantian winked, giving Tao Shi a hint.
Tao was always a very proper person, and in those days, dividing the family property was a major event. She felt that doing so would make her seem unfilial.
"Sister-in-law, this is just a suggestion. You'll have to make the final decision yourself. Otherwise, taking care of this whole family will be exhausting for you." He Tiantian said before leaving. She had been out for so long; she still needed to go back and nurse her baby.
Tao nodded blankly, and kept thinking about the question on her way back.
To be honest, she was tempted by He Tiantian's suggestion. But she was timid and didn't know how to bring it up.
Especially He Tiantian's last sentence, "serving the whole family..."
Over the years, Tao has truly been like the Zhao family's old ox, working diligently and conscientiously without complaint.
She did more work in her parents' home in all those years than she did in the Zhao family in just one year.
What's most infuriating is that everyone in the family thinks it's only natural for her to do these things, especially the children from the third wife's family, who treat her like a servant.
Tao hadn't cared before, but ever since Da Niu got married and moved in, these people still treated her this way.
This made Tao feel somewhat uncomfortable, as she felt she couldn't hold her head high in front of her new daughter-in-law.
Tao returned to the Zhao family somewhat distraught, only to be belittled by Zhao Xiaocao as soon as she entered.
"Where did Auntie go so early in the morning? It's so late and she hasn't cooked yet. We're going to starve!"
Old Mrs. Zhao also came out of the house, leaning on her cane. She gave Tao a disapproving look.
"You don't know what kind of books you've read, you're just wasting money! Don't you even know that our Zhao family has never produced a scholar in all these generations?!"
Old Mrs. Zhao was filled with regret. She knew she shouldn't have entrusted the money to the cold-hearted eldest son. He was incompetent and squandered it all.
Wan Cunhua had just returned from digging for wild vegetables outside. She silently chopped the vegetables without saying a word.
Fatty Zhao and Skinny Zhao were in a hurry to get to the county to work, but they were about to leave and hadn't even had a meal yet. They would usually have finished eating by this time.
So the two brothers were a little dissatisfied, saying, "Why hasn't Aunt cooked yet? How can we have the strength to work if we don't eat our fill?"
Tao was so cornered by the barrage of words from these people that he couldn't utter a single sentence.
Zhao Daniu returned from outside carrying a hoe. When he saw his younger brother's attitude towards his mother, he immediately put down the hoe and became angry.
"What are you saying? How dare you talk to my mother like that!" With that, he went up to fight with Fatty Zhao and Skinny Zhao.
Tao quickly went up and pulled her eldest son back, saying, "Da Niu, calm down."
"What's there to calm down, Mother? I think those three deserve a beating. You three have mothers too, so why do you call me 'Mother' every day?" Zhao Tiezhu, backed by his older brother, also came out of the house angrily.
"I've been fed up with you guys for a long time. If you want to eat, cook for yourselves! Stop begging for food like beggars all the time!"
Zhao Tiezhu is usually quiet, but he turned out to be quite talkative at a crucial moment.
This barrage of insults left Zhao Pang, Zhao Shou, and Zhao Xiaocao completely bewildered.
"Hey... Second Brother, you've gotten a temper? Today I'll show you that while your temper is fierce, my fists are even stronger." Zhao Shou brandished his fist and was about to attack.
At this moment, Zhao Xiangnan and Zhao Xiangbei also returned from working in the fields.
Seeing her sons all around the yard, their faces contorted with rage and their eyes wide open, she hadn't even had a chance to ask what was going on when she heard Old Lady Zhao roar, "You unfilial sons and grandsons, trying to fight right in front of this old woman! Are you trying to drive me to my death?!"
Zhao Xiaocao glanced at Old Lady Zhao and thought to herself: It would be good if she died of anger, then no one would be making her do chores every day.
Tao shielded her two sons in front of her, and the grievances she had kept hidden in her heart for so many years suddenly burst forth.
"I want to separate from the family!" Tao shouted.
This statement left everyone present completely stunned. They all stared blankly at Tao.
What's wrong? They usually talk to their aunt like this, and their aunt always speaks to them gently. Why are they so angry today?
They want to split up the family? If they split up, who will do their laundry and cook for them? Their mother isn't even here anymore...
Zhao Daniu looked at his mother's resolute expression, though he didn't understand why she suddenly brought up the idea of dividing the family property.
But he was the eldest son, and since he was the only one who got married, it wouldn't matter if the family divided the property.
So he said, "I support the division of the family property; I'll live with my mother."
“Then I also support my elder brother and mother. Little Mao’s elder brother next door separated from the family after getting married,” Zhao Tiezhu said confidently.
Old Mrs. Zhao was so angry that she was stunned and stumbled back a few steps.
"Fine...fine...you've all grown up and you're deliberately trying to drive me crazy, aren't you! You all want to separate from the family and don't want to take care of this old woman."
Tao quickly defended herself, "Mother, even after we separate the family, I will still take care of you and support you in your old age."
But at this moment, Old Lady Zhao wouldn't listen to any of it.
"You are all unfilial; you don't want to support this old woman!"
Zhao Xiangbei also came over and persuaded, "Mother, Tao Tao didn't mean that. We will take care of you in your old age."
"So you also support dividing the family property?" Old Mrs. Zhao looked at her eldest son in shock, never expecting him to say such a thing.
She then turned her gaze to Zhao Xiangnan, "You tell me, what do you mean by this?"
Because his wife wasn't home and the incident happened so suddenly, Zhao Xiangnan didn't know which side to take.
However, if they separate from the family, they won't have to give their earnings to their mother anymore, right?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiangnan pretended to be heartbroken and said, "Since my elder brother and the others say they want to divide the family, they've probably been planning this for a long time. If they insist on dividing the family, there's nothing I can do."
That's a complete shirking of responsibility.
Tao quickly defended herself, "I just brought this up, without discussing it with Xiang Bei beforehand. But with our whole family here, it's impossible for Tie Zhu to still be living together after getting married."
“I have three sons. We’re not separating the family now, but we will next year or the year after. Otherwise, what will it be like when a new daughter-in-law comes in?”
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