Chapter 14: Argument

Liu Mother stared straight at the grandparents sitting on the veranda, wanting to see what they would say.

Seeing the old man not speaking, Liu Mother cleared her throat: "Second Branch, your father and I also feel for Second Brother, but you know the family's situation. What your eldest sister-in-law said, though unpleasant, is the reality."

Liu Mother was furious: "Mom, what do you mean by that?"

Ge Xiulan, fearing her mother-in-law would regret it due to face, said: "What could Mom mean? We can't ignore the younger generation's livelihood for Second Brother, right?"

Liu Chunxiao, who had been hiding at the door, couldn't stand her mother being bullied: "Eldest Aunt, that's too much. Isn't Dad a member of this family? Why was he injured? Wasn't it for the family? How did it become ignoring the younger generation's livelihood? Can I understand it as the family ignoring my dad's life?"

Ge Xiulan glared at Liu Chunxiao: "When adults are talking, what are you, a little girl, interrupting for?"

Liu Mother pulled her younger daughter aside and, ignoring Ge Xiulan's expression, walked forward a few steps: "Dad, what do you say?"

Old Man Liu was packing his pipe, knowing he couldn't avoid it, and sighed: "Second Branch, it's not that we don't want to treat Second Brother. We told you this morning, if Dongzi misses this opportunity, it will be hard to have another..."

Liu Mother exploded: "So you mean you won't care about my husband, right?"

Old Man Liu pressed the tobacco in his pipe, preparing to speak, but was interrupted by Grandmother Liu: "Speaking of which, it's Second Brother's own fault. Why did he go over before work hours?"

Liu Mother couldn't hold back anymore, roaring with a choked voice: "It was you who insisted he go to the site. How can you say that now? Why did he go early? Wasn't it to do more work and earn money to subsidize the family?"

"Was he wrong?"

Liu family's eldest son, who hadn't spoken, said: "Second Branch, how are you talking to your elders?"

Liu Mother didn't want to talk to them anymore: "I'll ask one more time, is the family going to treat my husband's leg or not?"

Old Man Liu lit a match to light his pipe, looking displeased: "It's just as I said before. The family can give you thirty yuan at most. After all, the future of the Liu family depends on Dongzi and the others."

This was truly heartbreaking. It was a disguised reminder that their second branch had no son and would have to rely on their nephew in the future.

While the atmosphere here was tense, Liu Chuxue and her sister had visited several households, the theme being borrowing money, and telling them that their mother would visit personally later.

After all, each family couldn't just give money to the two sisters.

Doing this served two purposes: first, if Ge Xiulan dared to play dirty tomorrow, these people would be witnesses to slap her face; second, to get help, one had to show a humble attitude.

Telling them in advance allowed them to prepare, as borrowing money was a major event for every family.

After visiting the families they were close to, they walked to the meeting place: "Chuxue, if it really happens as you guessed, are we really going to split the family?"

Xiaqiu still had traditional thoughts and feared the villagers would point fingers at their second branch, her face full of worry.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 15 =====