Chapter 33: Taking a Stand

They had anticipated that Zhou Qing would make a fuss and had prepared for it.

But...

Why did half the village show up?

Zhou Qing didn't waste any time and headed straight for the main room.

Sun, who was stunned, immediately stepped forward to block her. "What are you doing!"

Zhou Qing stared at Sun, "Grandma, I respect you as an elder, but there's no reason for you to take my things into your room when we've already split the family."

The Zhou family's separation was supposed to be a secret.

Now...

The villagers who had followed them suddenly erupted into a clamor of discussions.

Wang stood there with a difficult expression, feeling a bit dizzy.

Sun looked at the villagers and then at Zhou Qing, and sat down on the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing.

"Oh, why is my life so hard? My granddaughter dares to ride roughshod over me!^[1] People raise sons to support them in old age, but what sin did I commit to be humiliated by my children and grandchildren?"

Zhou Qing ignored her and walked into the main room.

The big baskets were placed on the floor of the main room.

Zhou Qing dragged the baskets towards the door, and Zhou Yao and Zhou Ping quickly came to help.

Sun scrambled to her feet and blocked the door, lying down in the doorway.

"If you take those things away today, I won't live anymore! Just carry them over me! Never heard of sons eating well while parents starve!"

Wang, as if just catching her breath, hurried to Sun's side, knelt down beside her, and started crying and wiping her tears.

"They say you don't split the family while parents are alive. Our parents are healthy, but the second and third brothers insisted on splitting the family. They ate meat noodle soup early this morning without leaving a drop of broth for the parents."

"I don't expect you to share with me, but these are your parents! In the past, everything was equally divided, but now that our parents are old and unable to work, you take the good things for yourselves. When the parents say something, you retort with the division of the family. What kind of justice is that?"

Zhou Qing looked coldly at Wang and Sun, just about to speak when Zhou Huaishan stepped in.

Wang cried, Sun cried, and now Zhou Huaishan also cried.

Covered in mud, he squatted on the ground and cried pitifully and heartbreakingly.

"Our family did have meat noodle soup this morning, but that meat was a gift from my apprentice yesterday. Why didn't you give it to our parents? You know why. Mother pretended to be sick yesterday, and big brother framed my daughter. Why? Can you only bully us, and we can't hold grudges? If so, you don't want to live, and I don't want to live either!"

With that, Zhou Huaishan got up and headed for the main house.

"Daughter, give me the basket."

Zhou Qing and Zhou Yao lifted the basket together, and Zhou Ping supported it from the bottom, lifting the big basket out.

They passed it over Sun's head, handing it to Zhou Huaishan.

Zhou Huaishan reached out to catch it.

Damn!

Almost forgot, I’m just a dandy!

How could I have this much strength!

Zhou Huaishan almost lost his grip on the big basket, nearly dropping it on Sun’s head but Zhou Huailin arrived just in time to help hold it.

"Mother, if you think the neighbors don't know enough about our family matters, I don't mind explaining it to them in detail. If you're not embarrassed, I won't be either."

After saying this, Zhou Huailin carried the basket to the second room.

When other families can't find their children, all the parents, uncles, and elders go out to look.

When our family couldn't find the children, only Zhao was worried while Wang and Sun were busy stealing!

After handing over the basket, Zhou Huaishan lay down next to Sun, shoulder to shoulder, crying out.

"None of us want to live anymore. Anyway, I don't want to live. I've wanted to die for a long time."

Ever since he transmigrated, he's been forced to write every day, eating chicken secretly, and earning his own money to spend.

As a noble marquis, why is my life so hard!

The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. Zhou Huaishan cried, with tears and snot streaming down his face.

Sun suddenly felt scared.

What is the second son trying to do?

I don't really want to die, but it sounds like the second son really doesn't want to live.

And she felt that the second son almost wanted to kill her with that basket just now.

But now that he's lying down, how can she get up?

The villagers...

The second son of the Zhou family is really pitiful!

Look what they've driven the honest man to!

Zhou Qing...

This resentment is clearly because he doesn’t want to write, only wants to eat chicken!

Amid the commotion, Zhou Bingde and Zhou Huaihai returned.

As soon as they came back, they saw the courtyard full of people and heard Zhou Huaishan's crying before they even entered the house. Old Zhou felt his head swell instantly.

He entered the courtyard with a dark expression. The villagers gave them a strange look and made way for them.

The clan leader stood at the front, and when he saw Zhou Bingde, he sighed in relief.

They came as a group, and with Zhou Bingde and Zhou Huaihai not present, he couldn’t directly speak to Sun.

Now seeing Zhou Bingde, the clan leader immediately darkened his face, "Bingde, your family's affairs are not something we should interfere with, but everything has a limit."

Old Zhou, feeling lost, looked blankly towards the main door.

Zhou Qing and the others had already moved the big baskets. Only Zhou Huaishan and Sun were lying side by side at the door, competing in crying.

Wang knelt beside them, feeling awkward and uncomfortable, wanting to stand up but having no reason to do so.

Seeing Zhou Huaihai return, she quickly got up and walked towards him.

Zhou Huaihai's face was dark, "What happened?"

Wang lowered her head, stammering for a long time, "Qing bought some white flour and meat, and mother wanted to use some to make a meal for father. The second and third brothers started a fuss."

The clan leader’s sharp gaze immediately fell on Wang.

Wang quickly lowered her head even more.

The clan leader glared at Wang and then said to Zhou Huaihai, "Since the family is already split, you should provide for your own meals. There's no reason for the eldest to still be eating and drinking from the two younger brothers’ households. Even if you don’t care, you should consider Yuan’s reputation."

The clan leader's words were harsh.

Zhou Huaihai's face immediately turned red with shame.

However, the splitting of the family was supposed to be a secret. Who leaked it, and how did the clan leader find out?

Even if mother took Qing’s meat, it shouldn't have caused half the village to come here to stand up for her.

Zhou Huaihai realized that Wang was lying.

Old Zhou felt a sudden stiffness in his spine, like he had been struck by lightning, with the clan leader’s words echoing in his mind: Family split.

The whole village knew that Zhou Bingde couldn’t keep his family together and they split!

Although they agreed yesterday that no one would talk, so how did it get out!

The clan leader looked at Zhou Bingde and sighed, "Bingde, don't blame me for not giving you face. Since the family is split, parents shouldn't keep thinking about taking what your children have worked hard for."

Look at what they've driven Zhou Huaishan to.

He has to carry a basket whenever he leaves the house.

"From now on, if anything is missing from the second or third households, I'll hold you accountable. These words are harsh, but I have to give the whole village an explanation."

After speaking, the clan leader sighed heavily and waved his hand, "Disperse, disperse. Go home and fill your own stomachs instead of watching other people's drama. Disperse!"

With the clan leader speaking, no one dared to linger.

Everyone left, chatting and gossiping.

After everyone had gone, Zhou Bingde looked at each person in the courtyard with raging anger.

"Who said it, who on earth said it!"

He was like a wild beast exploding, with eyes blazing with fury.

_____

Footnotes:

[1] Ride roughshod over (someone or something). To completely ignore the rights, opinions, or feelings of others.