xymnovel Chapter 558: All Play and No Work
Chapter 558: All Play and No Work
"Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother. We’re here today to have everyone witness the division of the family, not to discuss whether or not to divide it."
Mrs. Wei stood up gracefully and bowed to the elders, guiding the conversation back on track.
"Even if Fengnian and I separate, it doesn’t mean we’ll ignore Grandpa, Grandma, Father, and Mother. Please, Grandfather and Father, decide today to divide the household," said Mrs. Wei.
Old Mrs. Gu wiped her tears.
Mrs. Jia glared at Mrs. Wei with gritted teeth.
Gu Youtian had an indifferent attitude.
Mr. Gu sighed and weakly waved his hand, saying, "Alright, let’s divide the family."
Gu Fengnian looked up, and Mrs. Wei smiled.
Gu Ruinian clenched his fist.
When he had just returned from the south to Qinghe Bay, he was so glorious in the clan, but now he’s in such a miserable state.
The reason why elder brother and sister-in-law want to divide the family, to put it bluntly, is because they’re afraid he’ll be a burden, isn’t it?
Back when he passed as a child student, how did elder brother and sister-in-law speak? They said, ’Second brother, you focus on studying, don’t worry about money, once you succeed, the whole family benefits.’
Now that he failed the Scholar’s exam, and his leg is crippled, they show their true ugly faces to him.
He can understand Mrs. Wei turning against him; after all, sister-in-law has no blood relation with him.
What angers him is that Gu Fengnian is also influenced by Mrs. Wei to cut ties with him.
He once thought that once he turned his life around, he’d compensate his elder brother well, help choose a gentle and kind wife for him, and support his nephew Yao Family.
What nonsense brotherhood, everything is about profit.
He misjudged Gu Fengnian.
Mr. Gu’s voice assigning the property echoed in the room.
"As you know, since returning to Qinghe Bay, the family has no money, only a few rooms, a few acres of land, and some debts," Mr. Gu said, "Now the family has five acres of land, I’ll give you two, the west rooms of the house, two more, and fifty pounds of grain. The family owes twenty taels of silver to the clan, and you should take on this debt."
Mrs. Wei quickly agreed, "Alright, let’s go according to Grandfather’s division."
What Mrs. Wei thought was just to divide the family for now.
She and Fengnian are young and capable; if they move away from this big family and endure a few years of hardship, they’re bound to see better days.
The debt of twenty taels is a burden now, but she knows weaving and embroidery. Having heard that her aunt plans to open a weaving workshop in the village, she figures that not being involved with the old house’s people, the aunt would be willing to let her work there.
As long as she keeps her head down, she’ll eventually change her aunt’s view of her.
As for Gu Fengnian, he can lease land in the village, and her man is decent with farm work.
Mr. Gu originally thought giving the debt of twenty taels of silver to Gu Fengnian would make Mrs. Wei cause a fuss, thereby impeding the division of the family.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Wei was willing to bear the debt just to separate the family.
Enough, enough, can’t keep them.
Might as well part ways with dignity, so that Fengnian and his wife would remember their kindness, and maybe think things through and continue to support their family in the future.
Mr. Gu had Jingzhe draft the family division document.
After Jingzhe finished drafting, he read it out on the spot; neither side objected, and they signed it in front of the clan as witnesses.
Suddenly, Mrs. Jia began to cry.
Her younger son crippled, her elder son dividing the family, her daughter changed—everyone seems to be stabbing at her heart.
How glorious she once was, the most triumphant daughter-in-law in the Gu Family clan, others weren’t even worthy to carry her shoes, and now even Tong Dajiao, who she looked down on, could speak up in the clan and come to laugh at her.
Especially seeing Jingzhe standing beside Tong Dajiao, looking so composed and elegant, made her even more miserable.
Mrs. Jia’s crying made the other clan members feel awkward.
Old Mrs. Gu gave Mrs. Jia a hard look and scolded her publicly in front of the clan again.
Mrs. Jia could foresee her days. She used to vent her frustrations from Old Mrs. Gu onto her daughters-in-law; now that the elder son has separated to live his own life, how can she still play the role of the mother-in-law?
As the clan members were about to leave, Gu Xiaoxue suddenly spoke up.
She said that since her elder brother and sister-in-law were separating to live on their own, could she live with them?
What Gu Xiaoxue said could be considered sheer unfilial impudence.
A girl not yet married, with her parents and all, how could she live with her brother and sister-in-law?
"Outrageous! Do you think you’ve been given face?" Old Mrs. Gu shouted angrily.
Mrs. Jia looked confused and asked, "Xiao Xue, why do you want to live with your brother and sister-in-law? Do you not want your parents and second brother anymore?"
Mrs. Jia didn’t understand; even though the family no longer held Gu Xiaoxue accountable for poisoning Gu Ruinian, why wasn’t she grateful and instead resented to the point of not wanting to stay with the family?
"You’re not leaving this family unless I’m dead."
It didn’t bother Gu Youtian that Gu Fengnian’s family was moving out, but Gu Xiaoxue wanting to leave with her brother and sister-in-law made him furious.
Gu Youtian felt that no matter the separation, Gu Fengnian would remain his son and couldn’t possibly refuse to support him in old age.
Gu Xiaoxue was different; if she lived with her brother and sister-in-law, who would decide her marriage in the future?
Mr. Gu gave Gu Youtian a stern look and told Gu Xiaoxue, "Xiao Xue, if you, a young girl, live with your brother and sister-in-law, people will gossip. You’ve already tarnished your reputation with the poisoning incident, and leaving this household will just make people call you unfilial. You’re bound to marry eventually; if your reputation is entirely ruined, who would dare take you?"
Gu Xiaoxue said coldly, "At worst, I’ll become a nun."
Mr. Gu was nearly exploding with anger; he had intended to patiently teach Gu Xiaoxue a lesson, but couldn’t hold back and shouted, "How can you be so unreasonable? You have nowhere else to go but stay at home."
Gu Xiaoxue faced up and said, "Letting me stay at home is fine, but Grandpa, you need to meet my conditions. In the future, like my second brother, I don’t have to work the fields, do laundry, or cook. I want to eat well, dress well, and sleep as long as I like, just like he does. If not like my second brother, then like little aunt. In any case, if you want me to stay, I must enjoy life daily without working before I agree."
These words infuriated Mr. Gu, Old Mrs. Gu, Gu Youtian, and Mrs. Jia, nearly giving them all heart problems.
Especially Mrs. Jia. With the elder son’s family moving out, she was depending on Gu Xiaoxue to do household chores.
How can it work with Gu Xiaoxue refusing to contribute?
Tong Huaqiong internally applauded for Gu Xiaoxue, thinking the girl had finally risen up.
Indeed, she needed to keep Mr. Gu and others in line; otherwise, she wouldn’t even be safe working at Tong Huaqiong’s weaving workshop.
"You still want to compare yourself to your second brother? What do you have to compare with him, you silly girl? Are you able to study or become an official?" Mrs. Jia shouted at Gu Xiaoxue.
Gu Xiaoxue chuckled and said, "Mother, you’re still hoping Second Brother will study and become an official to earn you a title. Open your eyes and see, Second Brother is already a cripple. Even if his leg weren’t crippled, he’s a useless son, unable to farm or do household chores, with aspirations bigger than the sky but a fate as thin as paper—useless indeed. I really can’t compare with him."
Mrs. Jia was furious enough to nearly die at those words.
Gu Ruinian watched Gu Xiaoxue quietly from the shadows.
He couldn’t understand why this opportunistic younger sister suddenly became like this—first poisoning him, now wanting to leave the family.
He couldn’t believe such a drastic change in personality could happen in such a short time.
In a previous life, his several sisters sacrificed for him for over twenty years and continued to do so without fail.
No matter whether he needed money or even his life, his sisters never hesitated.
He couldn’t believe that Gu Xiaoxue, as a rural girl from ancient times, could experience such a transformation.
Where did things go wrong?