Chapter 137: When the family is divided, which son should I live with?
Old Master Gu's face darkened, and he immediately scolded, "What nonsense! Do you think there aren't enough people making sarcastic remarks? Family disgrace should not be made public. We should solve this problem among ourselves, and there is no need for outsiders."
Gu Lianshan was fed up with hearing this, so he simply pushed it aside and said, "Since you want to solve it yourself, then you can figure it out yourself. My son has no other options now.
Tomorrow I have to find the clan leader and elders to quickly settle the matter of dividing our family. You should think carefully tonight about whether you want to live with your son or with my eldest brother. ”
Mr. Gu's face changed drastically, his hands began to tremble, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Are you determined to split up the family?!"
"Dad, check your conscience and wipe your eyes. Look at our family. You and my mother will have to rely on medicine to survive in the future. My eldest brother's family, big and small, are all unproductive and useless!
My son has four children to support. The eldest daughter is old enough to get married, and the eldest son is old enough to get married. Once these two things are done, within two years, the second daughter and the second son will be old enough to get married.
How capable can my son be? I have to support you two elders, my eldest brother's family, and my four girls and boys. I can't afford it even if I had three heads and six arms! ”
There was not a single lie in what Gu Lianshan said; he spoke from the bottom of his heart.
If they had a pair of sensible parents, they would not let the patriarch come forward to forcibly divide the family. The two brothers should have been separated long ago to avoid wasting the limited brotherhood.
Old man Gu was biased. After hearing what his son said, he had only one thought in his mind. He thought that his second son did not want to support the eldest father and son to study, so he took advantage of the fact that the two elders were seriously ill to trick the clan into helping divide the family.
He really didn't understand. He had been teaching his second son day and night for all these years, but why didn't his second son understand? Only if the eldest son and his son went to high school could they become officials in the future. Only if they became officials could their family rise to the top!
For farmers like them who make a living from the land, this is the real way out! The whole family should work together!
Why can’t the second child understand? !
Mr. Gu was very angry and spoke out what was in his mind.
Finally, he asked in confusion: "There is a broad road in front of you, why do you insist on taking that bumpy side road? You said you can't support such a large family, do you really not? With your daughter's skill in picking herbs, if she cares about the good things of the family, she will not hold on to the money!"
Now, no matter what Mr. Gu says, Gu Lianshan will not get angry anymore and just treat it as if the old man is talking nonsense.
He curled his lips sarcastically and said, "Yes, studying is indeed the best way out for us farmers, but it depends on the person. If the eldest father and son are smart, I am willing to support them.
But at the moment, it is worse to raise a pig than to support the father and son. The pig can be killed and the meat can be exchanged for silver, but what can they, father and son, do? One of them studied for decades and didn't even become a scholar, and the other one studied for more than ten years and didn't even recognize all the characters. How can I expect them to become officials after graduating from high school? Dad, you and my mother are blind, but my son’s eyes are not blind! ”
"You!" When Mr. Gu heard the second son compare his eldest son and his father to pigs, he became furious and slammed the bed.
Gu Lianshan ignored his anger and continued, "You said my daughter doesn't appreciate the kindness of her family. I want to ask you, which family in this family is kind to my daughter? Think about the life my daughter has lived. If you were to live the life my daughter has lived, would you appreciate the kindness of your family?"
Old Master Gu paused for a moment, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes.
But soon he started to shout again in a timid way: "Daughters from every family all go through this? Even the daughters-in-law who are about to marry into the family all go through this!
Go out and ask around, ask carefully, among the families with many children, which one hasn't sold a few girls or had them starve to death or freeze to death? Our family didn't starve her to death, didn't freeze her to death, and didn't sell her. We allowed her to grow up alive. This is kindness! She has to be grateful! I know I’m missing the good things at home!
But look at your good daughter, and count all the things she has done, which one is not heinous? Which one is not unkind and unfilial? If this happened to someone else's family, they would have been tied up and put in a pig cage and drowned! Can we keep her and let her continue to act so arrogantly? ”
Gu Lianshan curled his lips and said, "Are you kidding me? Do you think I don't know how much you two hate my daughter? Don't flatter yourself. You can't beat my daughter, and you can't scold her. You have been wanting to sell her out for a long time.
But you have not yet received the silver from my daughter, and you are afraid that if you sell my daughter you will not get the silver. Besides, you are afraid that selling my daughter will make me angry. This family depends on me to support everything. If you sell my daughter, I will definitely not give up. You know it very well in your mind. When it comes to calculating gains and losses, who can compare with you? ”
Having his fig leaf torn off by his son, Mr. Gu felt ashamed and annoyed. It turned out that his second son had figured him out clearly.
Seeing that things had come to this, Mr. Gu simply laid it bare and said, "Dad knows that you feel unfair and that you have suffered a loss. As long as you promise not to divide the family, Dad will make the decision. Your mother's illness is incurable. Tomorrow you can borrow a bullock cart to take me to find your mother, and I will coax her back.
As for the money for my future medicine, our family has some savings, not much, but enough for me to buy medicine for a few years. You just need to support your eldest brother and his family well. In a few years, even if your eldest brother can't pass the imperial examination, your nephew will definitely be on the list! ”
Gu Lianshan sighed: "Why are you so sure that my eldest brother and his son will pass the imperial examination? If my son really wanted to support a scholar, wouldn't I send my son to study and take the imperial examination?"
"Your son?" Old Master Gu had a look of surprise, as if he had heard some fairy tale, which he found very absurd.
"Not only does your son steal and cheat, he also went to school for two years, but in the end he couldn't even recognize twenty characters! Even so, you let him go to school, what's the difference between that and throwing money into the water?"
Gu Lianshan listened with a cold face and said nothing.
Old Master Gu added: "The second kid in your room looks neat, but he is stubborn and doesn't know how to adapt. He only moves when you tell him to. He looks depressed and doesn't look like a scholar.
Second brother, daddy wouldn't be wrong and wouldn't lie to you. You two boys are the same. You are destined to dig in the fields for food and not to study! I know your daughter still has the money from selling the deer in her hand. Don't waste that money. I advise your daughter, and yourself, to use it to support your elder brother and his son in their studies. ”
"Are you done?" Gu Lianshan still did not get angry, as if the old man was not talking about his son.
Old Master Gu felt a sinking feeling in his heart, for he knew his second son well and knew that this did not convince him.
Sure enough, Gu Lianshan said in a cold tone: "Today is the last time my son will speak these heartfelt words to you. From now on, we will have nothing to say to each other.
I say the same thing again, think carefully tonight, when we divide the family property tomorrow, do you want to live with our second branch or with your eldest brother? No matter who you live with, I will never give you less than a penny of the filial piety I owe you. After all, you and mother gave birth to and raised me, and I have to take care of you in your old age and see you to the end of your life. ”
After saying this, Gu Lianshan didn't care about Mr. Gu's reaction, he stood up and walked out without looking back.
Old Master Gu's heart sank to the bottom, his eyes fell on the stool where his son had sat. His old face, like tree bark, was bright and dark, and slightly distorted under the swaying light.
Gu Lianshan left the main hall and smelled the fragrance of rice when he arrived at the west wing.
Following the smell, I walked into the kitchen and saw my son and daughter busy cooking: a pot of rice porridge and two plates of fried meat with pickles.
Seeing the meat, Gu Lianshan was very surprised: "There is still meat at home? Didn't Dad eat it all on his birthday?"
Gu Tang whispered, "This meat was bought last time when I bought things for the courtyard. I brought some back and have been hiding it secretly."
Hearing this, Gu Lianshan also remembered that when his daughter was buying things for the yard, she did buy a lot of meat, saying that it was cold and they wouldn't have to worry about it going bad if they put it in the yard and freeze it.
"Anything else?" Gu Lianshan suddenly asked.
Gu Tang was puzzled, but nodded: "I guess there are still about ten pounds."
Ten pounds?
Gu Lianshan secretly calculated and felt that it should be enough, so he said: "Dad will go to the clan leader and elders tomorrow. If everything goes well, the division of the family will be completed by tomorrow afternoon. In the evening, we must invite the clan leader and elders to dinner. You go to the villagers tomorrow to ask if they have any good dishes. We will buy them with money and prepare a good meal."
So that's what it is.
Gu Tang was very happy and agreed to the matter: "Don't worry, leave it to me. Tomorrow I will not only prepare a good meal, but I will also hire a chef for you! I guarantee it will be decent for you!"
Chef?
Gu Lianshan was confused: "The village is not like Bei'an City, where are you going to hire a chef?"
"Don't look down on the villagers. There are so many aunts, sisters-in-law, and wives in this village. There must be some who are good at cooking. I'll pay someone to come to my house to help prepare meals. It's a great way to show off and earn some money. I'm sure someone will be willing to come!"
Gu Lianshan was very surprised: "Dad thought you would do it yourself, and your craftsmanship is not bad."
Gu Tang pulled the corner of his mouth and gave an awkward smile.
With her novice cooking skills, she can only appease her father. If she is asked to prepare the meal herself, she would feel really scalp-tingling.
What's more, she hated kitchen work the most. Cooking a meal occasionally was part of the fun of life, but if she was asked to prepare a meal seriously, she would definitely refuse to do it!
"It's better to invite people to your home. Invite two more. There will be many people tomorrow, at least a dozen. With so many people, we can't be short of food. If you calculate, there will be a lot of work to do. You are small, and you can't do such tiring work."
Gu Lianshan was reluctant to let his daughter do such tiring work. After all, it wouldn't cost much to hire someone from the village, so he listened to his daughter and invited someone to be the chef at home.
While the father and daughter were talking, the rice porridge in the pot was ready and the rice flowers bloomed beautifully.
Gu Tang first scooped out a bowl, then picked up the pickled vegetables and fried meat and put some vegetables into the porridge bowl, then took a boiled egg, and then asked her father to bring it to Grandpa Gu.
"Your grandfather doesn't like eggs! When you were little, you wanted to eat eggs because you were greedy for them. But your grandfather said, what's so good about eggs? He didn't like to eat them. Since he didn't like to eat them, just give him a bowl of porridge, and don't give him eggs."
Gu Lianshan took the egg away and let Gu Tang peel it and eat it by himself.
Looking at the rice porridge and meat, he thought of what the old man had said just now, and he was immediately furious: "It's a waste to give your grandfather such good food! Look at your uncle, he didn't even bring a bowl of water to your grandfather, but my family brought both water and porridge, but he couldn't even get a "good" in return! In my opinion, just make a bowl of porridge for your grandfather to repay him!"
Gu Tang rolled her eyes at her father and asked, "Do you think she agrees?" This is just for his father to see!
No matter what her father thinks, as a daughter, she can argue with the two elders of the Gu family, but she must never treat them harshly in terms of food and drink.
If she really wants to be treated harshly, it must be her father himself, not her.
"Please calm down. We have to do our best to show others these two days. Apart from other things, my grandfather has to eat and drink the same as us. My uncle is always watching us. Who knows if he will do something bad? We have to do a good job on the surface so that people can't find any flaws."
Gu Tang gave some advice, peeled the eggs and put them in the porridge bowl.
Gu Lianshan calmed down and thought that it was indeed true. At this critical juncture, he really couldn't let anyone take advantage of his weaknesses.
Seeing the egg fall into the porridge bowl, he did not say anything more about not allowing the egg to be delivered. He just went to the main room with a reluctant look on his face.
Old Master Gu was already starving. Feng was not at home, the eldest daughter-in-law had disappeared, the second daughter-in-law had been divorced, and the two girls in the main house could only cook porridge and cut pickles. The same was true for Gu Mei in the second house, who also only knew these two things.
As for Gu Liansheng, Gu Tianbao and Gu Laian, they can’t even cook porridge!
In the morning, the three girls tried to cook porridge, but it turned out to be as thick as mud, without any water at all. They had no choice but to add water halfway through.
The porridge that was finally cooked was really not very tasty.
But even so, the girls and boys still found it extremely delicious.
The portion was just a small amount, and everyone, big and small, was only thinking about themselves. After they were all full, they remembered that the old man in the main room had not eaten yet.
There was still a little rice porridge left in the pot. I scraped it around with a spoon and managed to get out half a bowl of rice porridge.
I didn't even add any pickles and just served it to the old man.
Half a bowl of rice porridge was not enough to fill him up, so Grandpa Gu asked someone to cook another bowl.
Gu Liansheng was reluctant to do so, and he wanted to secretly sell the grain in the east ear room for silver, so he lied to the old man, saying that Doctor Gu had told him not to eat too much as it was bad for his condition, and he would also need to take medicine later, so half a bowl of porridge would be enough.
Old Man Gu did not doubt his son's words. Firstly, he thought that he did not ask for delicious food. Secondly, there was plenty of rice and flour stored at home, so he would not need a bite of food. So he believed his son's words.
The consequence of believing this was that I had to endure hunger for the whole day.
Seeing his second son bringing in the meal, Mr. Gu's cold heart softened a bit.
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