Chapter 180: Forget It, A Forcibly Twisted Melon Is Not Sweet

Liu Shanling wanted to back down, but Su Hongjuan, seeing his cowardly look, walked straight over: "Father, it's precisely because the house is too chaotic that we want to split the family. Look at what kind of life we're living now?"

"After all, Xiao Man is already sixteen. With our family's current reputation, is it wrong for us to think a bit more for the children?"

Old Man Liu directly pressed his forehead and let out a heavy sigh.

He knew that if he didn't give in today, Liu Laosan's wife would not give up: "Fine, since you've thought it through, then let's split."

Ge Pozi said anxiously: "Old man."

Old Man Liu raised his hand to stop her words: "Forget it. A forcibly twisted melon is not sweet."

If he disagreed, the brotherhood between the eldest and the third would likely be exhausted; at that point, where would the old couple turn?

He had calculated all his life; if the whole family ended up like this, wouldn't the brothers in the clan look down on them? Wouldn't the villagers laugh at them?

Thinking of the eldest couple who had caused today's situation, he truly said not another word.

He ignored the eldest grandson who was still wailing, stood up with a hunched back, entered the room where he lived, then with trembling hands filled a pipe with dry tobacco, lit it, took a heavy puff, and finally managed to suppress some of his sorrow.

Ge Pozi followed in: "Old man, are we really splitting the family?"

Old Man Liu remained silent until he finished a pipe of tobacco, then tapped the pipe bowl on the edge of the kang: "When sons grow up, they don't obey their fathers. Liu Laosan's wife isn't wrong; in the end, everyone loves their own children. If we grant the Third Branch's wish, at least they will remember our kindness."

Soon, the Party Secretary and the Village Head were invited to the house. Old Man Liu said: "You all know the family matters clearly. Today, I make the decision to split off the Eldest Branch and the Third Branch."

Liu Shangan didn't quite understand: "Father, you say split us off? You won't live with us Eldest Branch?"

Old Man Liu coughed lightly: "Your mother and I are still in decent health, so for now we won't burden you. When the day comes we can't earn work points, you brothers will take care of us in our old age."

Actually, Old Man Liu's heart was very conflicted. He didn't want to stay with the Eldest Branch, but now the Eldest Branch owed a mountain of debt; if they stayed, there would be no good days. What if later they couldn't earn work points? Wouldn't they burden the Eldest Branch then?

He thought for a long time; it was better not to stay with either branch. For now, they would earn work points themselves to support themselves. When the day truly came they could no longer move, both sons would care for them, and the burden on the Eldest Branch would be lighter.

Ultimately, he still favored the Eldest Branch and feared that in the future, if the Eldest Branch became powerless, the Third Branch might stop caring for them. So this arrangement was best; in the future, the Third Branch couldn't ignore them either, which would add an extra layer of security for the old couple.

Thinking of this, and then of the Second Son, seeing that after the split the Second Branch's life went on, yet it had nothing to do with him, he felt truly stifled, as if a lump of anger was stuck in his chest, making him very uncomfortable.

Soon, news of the Liu family splitting again spread out. In the fields, at the field edges, and among neighbors, people gathered in twos and threes discussing the matter: "Look, pain isn't felt unless the knife cuts one's own flesh. Before, Su Hongjuan was openly and covertly slandering the Second Branch's reputation in the fields."

"Now it's their turn. Isn't this just because they're afraid of sharing the debt, so they directly proposed splitting the family?"

"When a tree grows large it splits branches; when sons grow up they split families. This is an unchanging law through the ages. Shangan is already a grandfather; splitting the family is normal. Don't twist things."

"What did we say? If it weren't for Shangan and his wife acting inhumanly, could the Liu family have reached this point today?"

"Fine, just pretend I said nothing. You speak, you speak."

(End of this chapter)