Li Erlang looked at his elder brother, a brother who was only five years older than him. He was wearing a gray shorts, one sleeve of which had been patched so badly that it was unrecognizable.
Years of working in the fields have made his skin dark and rough, and the palm that he was patting himself was covered with cracks.
Li Erlang felt mixed emotions when he saw his hardworking and simple elder brother. He was a burden to the family!
Since ancient times, it has been difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son. Now the burden of life falls on the father and brother.
I am already over thirty years old and I know that I can't go on living in a muddle-headed way like this. After a long time, my brother and sister-in-law will become estranged because of me, and by then, no matter how good their relationship is, it will be exhausted.
Thinking of this, Li Erlang walked over to his father who was sitting under the eaves smoking a pipe and said, "Father, shall we split up?"
When Li Dalang heard about the family division, before Old Man Li could respond, he immediately shook his head and said, "Second brother, what nonsense are you talking about? Our parents are still alive. Why divide the family? How will others view us?"
The hunched old man Li took a deep drag on his pipe, the smoke blurring his eyes. He looked up at his depressed son and paused, "Have you thought it through?"
He knew his son. He was suffering. He had achieved fame at a young age, but had repeatedly failed to achieve his goals. He carried the hopes of so many people on his shoulders! Everyone began to question him, and some in the village were already saying behind his back that he was a burden and would bring down the Li family.
Li Erlang nodded firmly: "Yes."
Old Man Li took another puff of his pipe and said, "If that's the case, then we'll divide the family when the busy farming season is over! The western part will be allocated to Erlang and your family. However, according to the rules, your mother and I will live with your eldest brother, and the corresponding land will also be given to your eldest brother. Do you have any objections to this?"
Li Erlang said: "It's all up to father!"
When Li Dalang heard his father agreed to split the family, he immediately jumped up and shouted, "Dad, how could you agree to split the family? A family is a family!"
In Li Dalang's mind, dividing the family is absolutely unacceptable, as it means a lack of recognition of him!
It was because of his own inability to take good care of his family. Li Dalang was in a terrible mood! He had a bitter face, stopped talking, and quietly packed up the grain he had harvested today.
When Liu, who was in the kitchen, heard that her father-in-law agreed to divide the family property, her mood immediately improved. She couldn't help humming a little tune and was glared at by Old Lady Wu without realizing it.
In the past, after paying taxes every year, they would subsidize her younger brother-in-law's education, so there was no money left at home. In her opinion, why should a peasant study? Such expensive things were only suitable for the young masters in the county town.
If the family splits up, my brother-in-law and his family will have to move out. In this way, within two years, we can use the public funds to build two new tiled houses for our family!
In the more than ten years since she married into the Li family, the family has not purchased any big items. Erzhu, the wife who married into the family at the same time as her, lives a better life than her, and she is very envious of her.
Lin stood behind her husband with her head down and silently shed tears. She understood her husband. She and her husband had known each other since they were young. He was full of ambition and pride at that time. Although he looked calm on the surface now, he often tossed and turned at night.
Looking at her husband's thin back, Lin felt dizzy from the busyness and worries of the past few days, and she passed out.
Li Yan, who had been paying attention to the situation here, quickly went over to support her mother, but her small body could not support her mother's weight, and they fell to the ground together.
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