Chapter 14: Argument

Liu's mother stared straight at her in-laws sitting under the eaves of the main room, wanting to see what they would say.

Seeing the old man stay silent, Liu's mother could only cough lightly: "Second daughter-in-law, your father and I also feel for the second son, but you know the family's situation. Your eldest sister-in-law's words may not be pleasant to hear, but they are indeed the reality."

Hearing this, Liu's mother's anger rose from her heart: "Mom, what do you mean by that?"

Ge Xiulan feared her mother-in-law might back out due to saving face: "What else could Mom mean? Could it be that for the sake of the second son, we should ignore whether the younger generation lives or dies?"

Liu Chunxiao, who had been hiding by the doorway, could no longer bear to watch her own mother being bullied: "Eldest aunt, you've gone too far. Isn't my father a member of this family? Why was he injured? Wasn't it for the sake of the family? How does that become ignoring the younger generation's life or death? Does that mean I can understand it as the family no longer caring whether my father lives or dies?"

Ge Xiulan glared at Liu Chunxiao: "When adults are speaking, what business does a little girl like you have butting in?"

Liu's mother pulled her little daughter who had walked over to the side, ignoring eldest sister-in-law Ge Xiulan's expression, and took a few steps forward: "Father, what do you say?"

The old man Liu was packing dry tobacco into his pipe bowl, knowing there was no escaping this. After a light sigh, he said: "Second daughter-in-law, it's not that we don't want to treat the second son. We told you this morning: if Dongzi misses this chance, it will be hard to find another opportunity like this."

At this, Liu's mother completely exploded: "So your meaning is that you don't care about my husband anymore, is that it?"

The old man Liu pressed down the dry tobacco in his pipe bowl and was about to speak when Liu Pozi cut him off: "Speaking of which, this matter is also the second son's fault. Why did he go there before work time?"

Liu's mother could no longer hold back; she roared out with tears in her voice: "Back then, it was you who insisted he go to the construction site. Now how can you have the face to say such things? Why did he go early? Wasn't it because he wanted to do more work to earn wages and subsidize the family?"

"Could it be that he was wrong?"

The eldest son of the Liu family, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "Second daughter-in-law, how can you speak to your elders like that?"

Liu's mother no longer wanted to waste words with them: "I'll ask one more time: will the family treat my husband's leg or not?"

The old man Liu struck a match to light his dry tobacco, a displeased look flashing across his face: "It's just as I said before. The family can give you at most thirty yuan. After all, the future of the Liu family still depends on Dongzi and the others."

These words truly pierced the heart; it was a veiled reminder that the second branch had no sons and would have to rely on their nephews in the future.

While the atmosphere here grew tense and confrontational, Liu Chuxue and her sister had already visited several households. Their theme was one only: borrowing money. They also said they would give everyone a heads-up first, after which their mother would visit personally.

After all, each family could not simply hand over money to the two sisters.

The reason for doing this was twofold: first, if Ge Xiulan dared to use underhanded tactics to frame them tomorrow, these people would serve as witnesses, directly slapping her face; second, if they wanted people to help, they naturally had to show an attitude of begging.

Giving everyone advance notice also allowed them to prepare mentally, since no family was wealthy now, and lending money out was a top priority matter for any household.

After the two sisters finished visiting the families who usually got along well with theirs, they headed toward the agreed-upon place: "Chuxue, what if it really turns out as you guessed? Will we really have to take the step of dividing the family?"

Xia Qiu still held traditional old-fashioned thoughts, fearing the villagers would point fingers at the second branch, her face full of worry.

(End of this chapter)