Uncle Guai drove the ox cart and directly delivered everyone to the doorstep. He had eaten two large meat buns from Shen Meng today and now felt an abundance of ox-like energy, not only carrying each child down, but also delivering all the purchased goods into the hall.
"Zhenping’s wife, I’ll be heading back then, hehe. Next time I go to the county, call on me again!"
Shen Meng hurriedly grabbed a handful of candies from her bag and stuffed them into Uncle Guai’s hand.
"Uncle Guai, take these for your kids to play with. Next time, we will still need to trouble you. Jinghao will give birth in a few months, and if we need to go to the county, we’ll have to impose on you again."
"Aw, how can I take so many? Two would have been enough." With so many candies, his thick-skinned face started to feel a bit embarrassed.
"Just take them, you’ve had a long day. Head back early and rest up!"
Uncle Guai happily stuffed the candies into his coat pocket, said goodbye to the kids and Xie Jinghao, and then drove the ox cart away. After Shen Meng tidied everything up, she had Lu Mingyang take his younger brothers and sisters to wash their hands, then let them run out to play.
"Jinghao, let me take you back. Don’t let any nasty words get to you when you’re on your own."
"It’s okay, elder sister-in-law. I thought about it for a long time last night and felt that what you said was right. I need to stand up for myself, if not for me, then for Xiao Gang, as well as for the child in my womb. You also had a hard day, you should rest."
Shen Meng looked at her for a moment, then tidied up the things and medicine for her, wrapped them nicely, and placed them on her shoulders.
"Xiao Gang, you go home with your mom. Come to our house tomorrow for a meal. Your elder aunt will stew pig trotters for you to eat."
"Wow~ Great, thank you, elder aunt! Elder aunt is so nice."
Having spent a lot of time with his older brothers and sisters, Xiao Gang, like Xiao Kai, learned how to please others from Lu Mingliang. His little mouth was as sweet as if it had been dipped in honey, speaking sweetly without hesitation.
"Such a sweet talker, be good, okay? Tonight, your elder aunt will send Mingyang to bring you some tasty treats."
Xie Jinghao smiled and led Xiao Gang by the hand, taking the child back home.
The atmosphere at the Lu Family’s home was not good, very awkward. When Xie Jinghao entered the courtyard, the eyes of the entire family turned toward her.
Actually, she was also somewhat puzzled; it was only mid-afternoon, why were the Zhou Family’s people not going to work again, and weren’t they afraid at the end of the year there won’t be much to share when distributing food and meat?
Wu Xianglan felt guilty and embarrassed when she looked at her. Usually, she behaved with the demeanor of an elder sister-in-law, and their relationship was not necessarily bad. But yesterday, she angered her to the point that Xie Jinghao suffered a pregnancy scare. Wu Xianglan was just greedy and didn’t intentionally mean to harm Xie Jinghao.
After hesitating for a moment, she still forced a smile and said: "Jinghao, you went to the hospital, eh? What did the doctor say? And why did you bring back such a big bag of medicine, is it serious?"
She herself was a mother too, and if something actually happened to Xie Jinghao’s child because of her, she would be tormented by nightmares every day!
Xie Jinghao blinked, pursed her lips, a sadness in her eyes as she watched her.
"The doctor said the child might have been hurt, and might need a cesarean section during birth. I’m still in pain, so I’ll head back to my room first."
Wu Xianglan’s face was deathly pale as she watched Xie Jinghao’s retreating figure, and at that moment, Lu Jiahe sneered coldly.
"Wu Xianglan, let me warn you, if anything happens to my younger sister-in-law’s child and Jiasheng kicks up a fuss, don’t expect me to side with you."
Wu Xianglan didn’t dare to talk back; she glanced over at Zhou Jiaojiao for help, but the latter didn’t even bother to look at her, acting as if the matter didn’t concern her at all.
Lu Jiahe was cursing and swearing at Wu Xianglan; he had already reprimanded someone last night. This woman constantly embarrassed him; a woman who doesn’t listen just needs a beating, he thought, but no matter what, you can’t damage the relationship with his own brother.
His heart was in turmoil. He hadn’t gone to work today and had lost a day’s work points. By year-end, his share of the grain would undoubtedly be much less, and he was getting anxious.
"Mom, if elder brother wants a division of the property, then let it be. We’ve already given her the grain and money the last time. Just tell her directly, it’s no different from living separately and cooking separately anyway. But we can’t give the private plots to Shen Meng; that woman is lazy. Can she take good care of the fields?"
Liu Sanjin felt her heart bleeding; if the family were divided, her household’s income would decrease significantly. Furthermore, not only would the gifts from village officials and county leaders at festivals all go to the main family, but she would also lose out on the things and money mailed from the military. From then on, she would have to rely on Zhenping’s three yuan pension each month. Life would be very tight – how could she feel comfortable with this!
"Mom, Jiaxuan’s situation is urgent. The job at the commune pays seven yuan a month. It’s a lucrative position, and many well-connected people have their eyes on it. There’s only one slot, and if he doesn’t get the job this time, who knows how long we will have to wait. Mom, even if the family is divided, elder brother and elder sister-in-law are still your son and daughter-in-law. If something happens at home, they can’t just drop their responsibilities."
Lu Jiaxuan was already discussing with Liu Sanjin early in the morning about managing crucial relationships; he was also very nervous. If his mother absolutely refused to divide the family property, his dream of securing the office position would crumble.
"Mom, life is long, and us brothers can still honor you."
Lu Jiahe, seeing the third son and his wife constantly urging their mother to divide the family, thought for a moment and chimed in.
"Mom, it’s not easy for Lao Si to have such an opportunity. Just agree to the division. My stance remains the same - the private plots should not be divided. If you really want to divide them, you have to compensate our second and third families a bit. All the benefits can’t just go to the main family and Lao Si!"
Lu Jiahe typically didn’t care much about these things, but for some reason, he seemed very restless today.
Liu Sanjin had already considered dividing the family, but she hadn’t expected that her second son, who was known only for hard labor, would now ask for his share.
"Second son, what are you saying?"
"Mom, don’t look at me like that. I’m just the one who does heavy labor at home. I don’t have the skills of the third son, the education of Lao Si, nor am I as capable as the eldest brother. All I want is to work for my share of food, but mom, if you end up living with the eldest or with Lao Si later on, won’t our second family starve? Even if you could let slip a little something from between your fingers, that would be fine. Just enough to let Xianglan make a new pair of shoes for the kids, okay?"
Wu Xianglan’s eyes lit up; the resentment she had harbored towards Lu Jiahe vanished in an instant. Though he was inattentive, he still had some calculations in mind and thought of his wife and children.
After Lu Jiahe made his proposal, the room went silent. The Lu family’s finances had always been tightly controlled by Liu Sanjin. Now that they were discussing splitting the eldest son’s family, everyone had their eyes on her purse – how could she not be infuriated!