Chapter 18: Clamoring for a Household Division

Tian Xiufen nodded.

She gathered the dirty bowls and chopsticks into a basin and said softly, “Rest for a bit before you head back. Don’t go wearing yourself out.”

Xie Zhao nodded.

He really had been exhausted these past two days.

Seeing Lin Muyu resting with her eyes closed, he quietly looked over at the two little dumplings.

They were fair and clean, their features relaxed, bringing him an inexplicable sense of peace.

Xie Zhao watched them for a while, then leaned against the bedside table and closed his eyes.

Perhaps he was simply too tired, or perhaps his tightly strung nerves had suddenly relaxed.

He fell asleep almost instantly, entering a long, suffocating dream that flashed before him like a revolving lantern.

In the dream, his family, his wife, and his children all left him. He was like a flat boat tossed on giant waves in a violent storm, a piece of driftwood in a raging sea, unable to find his bearings or the way home.

Terrified, he instinctively reached out, desperately trying to grasp even a tiny sliver of hope.

The next second, he finally caught hold of something, gripping it tightly.

It was warm and soft, slowly unfurling in his palm. He squeezed harder, as if trying to press it into his very bones and blood, for only that could bring him peace of mind.

Xie Zhao’s breathing gradually stabilized.

He remained asleep, completely unaware that Lin Muyu had opened her eyes slightly and was looking at him with a mix of astonishment and embarrassment.

She hadn’t actually been asleep, only resting with her eyes closed.

Not long after Xie Zhao leaned against the bedside table, she heard his breathing turn rapid and heavy.

It was deep and erratic, as if he were dreaming of something terrifying.

She instinctively opened her eyes, wanting to reach out and shake him awake. But the moment she reached out, he grabbed her hand in a tight, firm grip.

“Don’t go.”

His voice was raspy and strained, escaping from the back of his throat.

Xie Zhao squeezed her hand tightly and slowly pulled it to his cheek, pressing it against his skin.

“Don’t leave.”

He murmured again, his voice laced with anxiety.

Lin Muyu was silent.

A subtle, complex sense of relief suddenly welled up in her heart, akin to a stolen joy. Wanting to deceive herself just for a brief moment, she finally leaned down slightly and whispered in response, “I won’t leave. Go to sleep.”

A faint fragrance, the soft tips of her hair, and a sudden wave of warmth enveloped him.

Xie Zhao finally drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.

In his dream, the giant waves subsided, and the dark clouds parted.

The storm had passed, and the moonlight finally broke through the clouds.

*

It was exactly six in the evening when he returned to Shishui Village.

Xie Zhao pulled a handcart piled high with goods, drawing the curious stares of the villagers passing by.

“Oh! Isn’t that brown sugar? Look! It’s wrapped in oil paper from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative! That’s quite a lot!”

“Tsk, tsk! I heard the second brother’s family had newborns, but didn’t they say it was two girls? Worthless girls aren’t worth anything, so why waste such good stuff on them?”

“What’s brown sugar? Look at that! Isn’t that whole bag filled with meat?! Look! The grease is even seeping through! A huge slab of fat! They really don’t know how to manage a household! Eating like this just for giving birth, what a waste!”

*

The voices weren’t quiet, and Xie Zhao heard every word.

But he had never cared for gossip, so he ignored them completely and pulled his cart straight toward the Xie family.

The Xie family lived at the head of the village, occupying the best plot of land.

Years ago, when Old Man Xie was still in his prime, he and his three sons had claimed this plot. They packed down the yellow clay and stacked mud bricks one by one to build this large courtyard.

With a hill behind and a stream in front, they didn’t have to walk far to wash clothes; the water was right outside their door.

They say that when people work together, they can move mountains. In the early years, Old Man Xie’s household was a model family. They pulled together like a single rope, and everyone in the surrounding villages had nothing but praise for them.

But once the sons married, even this ironclad family began to show cracks.

Pillow talk was always the most destructive.

Furthermore, no human heart is perfectly impartial.

When a bowl of water isn’t held level^[1], a household can never find peace.

Just as Xie Zhao reached the entrance, a bowl shattered right in front of him with a loud crash.

Several people stood outside the fence, craning their necks and holding their own rice bowls as they stood on tiptoe to peer inside.

“Tsk! They’re clamoring for a household division! Look at that! I heard the second brother emptied the family coffers. Just for giving birth to a money-losing girl, he actually asked the family for thirty yuan! Tsk! The world’s gone mad!”

“Exactly! I heard she even went to the county seat to give birth. Who does she think she is, someone precious? If you ask me, she just needs a good beating! Women get more obedient the more you beat them!”

“Just wait and see! The eldest brother’s wife is no pushover. There’s going to be a good show at Old Man Xie’s place!”

*

Meanwhile, a dramatic scene was indeed unfolding inside the courtyard.

Wang Jinhua was wailing loudly, clutching Xie Youshun’s arm as she wept tears and snot. “Everyone, come and judge this! The money in the communal family fund was saved bit by bit by all of us! But look at the second brother’s family! Just for their daughter-in-law to have a baby, they took thirty yuan!”

“How much do we make in a year, scraping a living from the dirt? He’s truly a black-hearted, wicked man! I don’t want to live anymore!”

She wailed at the top of her lungs, while Xie Youshun’s face turned dark and pale by turns.

Opposite Wang Jinhua, Xie Youzhen stood holding Xie Tian and Xie Cheng. All three of them had rather unsightly expressions.

Xie Tian, always quick-tongued, cried out with red eyes, “Aunt, how can you talk such nonsense? My dad borrowed this money from Grandpa and Grandma, and we’re going to pay it back! How can you just open your mouth and say such nasty things?”

Xie Cheng added sullenly, “I’m heading to the mine the day after tomorrow. I’ll pay back the money.”

Hearing this, Wang Jinhua wailed even louder.

Seeing that her husband was standing there doing nothing, she stamped her feet in frustration and gave Xie Youshun a hard pinch.

“Talk is cheap! Pay it back? With what? Your second brother’s daughter-in-law is so precious she had to go to the county seat just to give birth. There will definitely be more expenses down the road! Thirty yuan is no small sum! Unless you bring the money to make up for it tomorrow, who’s going to believe you?”

Xie Tian almost rolled her eyes!

Make up for it tomorrow?

These days, thirty yuan was truly no small sum!

Even if they cut their own flesh and sold their own blood, they couldn’t come up with it!

Xie Youshun finally spoke up. He turned his head to look at Xie Youzhen, who had been silent all this time, and said, “Second Brother, you guys really didn’t do the right thing here. This thirty yuan came out of the communal family fund. Back when my Jinhua gave birth and the kids grew up and went to school, we paid for all of it ourselves. Why should you guys be the sole exception?”

“You have to pay this money back within a month at the latest. Otherwise… we’ll just have to go through a household division.”

Household division?

Well now!

This was certainly something new!

Someone in Old Man Xie’s family was actually proposing a household division!

“Eldest Brother, if you’ve set your mind on a household division, just say so. How could I say a single word against it?”

Xie Youzhen spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse.

“As long as Dad and Mom agree, then we’ll go through with the household division. We’ll settle whatever accounts need settling, and I won’t owe you a single cent.”

Wang Jinhua’s eyes darted around. This was exactly the sentence she had been waiting for!