Chapter 20: Our Family Living a Good Life Is Better Than Anything Else!

In this house, it was clear at a glance who contributed how much to the communal family fund.

Xie Zhao smiled.

“And as for giving birth, my wife was carrying twins, which is notoriously difficult. I won’t hold it against you that you didn’t help, Aunt, but surely you could have at least asked, since you have a mouth? The doctors at the County Hospital said that if my wife had arrived any later, we would have lost both the mother and the babies.”

“If anything had happened to my children, who would have taken responsibility? The family? Or you?”

At the mention of his wife and children, Xie Zhao’s expression finally grew cold.

He shrugged and looked past the courtyard wall, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Just because they aren’t your own kids doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care. And so what if they’re girls? Chairman Mao said that women hold up half the sky. All of you aunts and neighbors are women too, so why do you look down on girls? Are girls’ lives not worth anything?”

Hearing him quote the Chairman, the crowd outside the wall instantly fell silent.

Inside the house, Xie Tian, who had been hiding and refusing to come out, poked her head out quietly. She looked at Xie Zhao, her expression filled with shock.

Can women really hold up half the sky?

This was the first time she had ever heard such a thing.

She…

Could she, too?

By now, Wang Jinhua’s face had turned rather grim.

She glared at Xie Zhao and snapped, “Who said anything about not treating girls like people? I never said that! Either way, this is the rule your grandfather set! You have to pay back the money from the communal family fund!”

She knew Xie Zhao had a sharp tongue.

Hmph.

He really is educated. Just look at that mouth of his!

But no matter what, he had to pay this money back!

Xie Zhao said, “I can pay it back. But since we’re dividing the household, let’s lay it all out and split it. I’m only paying back half!”

He turned to look at Xie Youzhen and Xie Cheng. “Dad, Brother, I don’t know how this household division is supposed to work, but since I was the one who borrowed the money from the communal family fund, I’ll be the one to pay it back.”

After saying this, Xie Zhao reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash.

This was the money he had earned today from selling fish and wild vegetables.

He had already counted it earlier; it was seventy-eight yuan and fifty cents in total.

After spending some at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, he had exactly sixty yuan left.

This money was originally meant to pay for the hospital discharge fees tomorrow, but looking at the situation now, he had to pay back the communal family fund first.

Xie Zhao pulled out fifteen yuan and handed it to Wang Jinhua.

Seeing that she didn’t take it, he said with a bright smile, “What, Aunt? Do you want to split the debt by head count instead? That works too. Our side has three able-bodied workers, so you see…”

Wang Jinhua’s eyes widened. Almost by reflex, she quickly reached out and snatched the money!

It wasn’t that she thought the money was too little.

Rather, she was shocked by what she had just seen!

So much money!

A thick stack of bills, and the one on top was actually a Da Tuanjie!

Where did he get so much money?

After all, when the family scraped together thirty yuan earlier, it had been a mess of loose change. There hadn’t been a single Da Tuanjie.

So, that meant…

“Did you earn this money yourself?!”

Xie Zhao raised an eyebrow.

He didn’t deny it.

Making money was not something that could be hidden anyway.

Besides, he would only make more money in the future, so there was absolutely no need to hide it.

Wang Jinhua’s face turned pale, then red.

She felt as if she had swallowed a fly, utterly disgusted!

“Then why didn’t you hand it over to the communal family fund? We haven’t divided the household yet! The Xie Family has a share in this money! Your grandparents are still right here!”

Xie Zhao crossed his arms and looked at her with amusement.

“Aunt, surely you haven’t forgotten that I moved out and divided from the household long ago?”

Wang Jinhua froze.

Moved out and divided?

That was right.

Once Xie Zhao mentioned it, even the villagers outside the courtyard wall remembered!

Back when he got married, Xie Zhao had moved with his wife to the riverbank. Wasn’t that essentially a household division?

Since they had already divided, why would he still contribute to the communal family fund?

Wang Jinhua was completely speechless now.

Xie Youzhen, who had been smoking his pipe in silence, finally tapped the stem to shake out the ashes before standing up.

He looked toward Xie Changtian and Zheng Guie, his voice slightly hoarse as he called out, “Dad, Mom, must we divide the household today?”

Xie Changtian and Zheng Guie avoided his gaze.

Tears welled up in Zheng Guie’s eyes.

Both sons were her own flesh and blood, but her eldest son had been crippled since childhood. How could she not feel for him?

Normally, she favored Xie Youshun in everything. Even though she knew the eldest son’s family contributed less to the communal family fund, she kept quiet. Coupled with the fact that the eldest son’s wife was a shrew, she found it impossible to be fair.

Zheng Guie wiped her tears, glanced at Xie Youzhen, and her voice softened.

“Second Son, you’re more capable and have better prospects. Can’t you just yield to your older brother?”

The light in Xie Youzhen’s eyes instantly dimmed.

“Fine. Let’s divide the household then.”

After all the arguing, once they actually started the household division, it went by very quickly.

There were six rooms in a row, originally intended to be two for each of the three sons, along with a small courtyard.

The third son had moved out in anger years ago, leaving his courtyard unlocked. Wang Jinhua and Xie Youshun would store things there one day and grab farm tools the next, so those two rooms had tacitly become the eldest son’s property.

The household division was a noisy affair. From time to time, Wang Jinhua’s loud wails and arguments could be heard, filling the courtyard with clamor.

Meanwhile, Xie Youzhen kept smoking his pipe.

He let Xie Cheng and Xie Tian handle the division.

Aside from this courtyard and the rooms, he didn’t care about anything.

His heart felt cold, as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and even his eyes throbbed with a dull ache.

Until a cigarette was held out in front of him.

It was a store-bought cigarette.

A Hongtashan^[1].

He had only ever seen others smoke them from afar. Seeing one so close, he froze instinctively.

“Dad, have a smoke.”

The young man’s voice was crisp, carrying a hint of cheerful warmth.

He looked up to see Xie Zhao smiling at him, his eyes clear and filled with a wild, resilient vitality.

Only when Xie Zhao pressed the cigarette into his hand did Xie Youzhen finally react.

What… what did he just call him?

Dad?

As if to confirm his thoughts, Xie Zhao spoke again, plopping down right next to him.

“Dad, even though saying this is a bit disrespectful, not everyone is cut out to be a parent.”

Xie Zhao’s voice was very soft, but his expression was serious.

“You know better than anyone how biased Grandpa and Grandma are. You keep telling yourself that both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh^[2], but even flesh has thick and thin parts, good cuts and bad!”

Xie Youzhen’s body froze instantly.

“Dad, don’t be sad. The household division is no big deal. As long as our family lives a good life together, that’s better than anything, right?”

Comfort between men did not require too many emotional words.

Xie Youzhen’s body finally relaxed. He let out a long, long sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his dark face.

He turned to look at Xie Zhao, his fist tightening subconsciously.

That was right.

Family.

His parents didn’t care about him. He had always known that; he had just been lying to himself.

Now that they had gone through the household division, as long as their family lived a good life, that was better than anything!