CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 18: ZHANG FAMILY SECOND BRANCH

Lin Juhua was already back in the room outside the west wing. When she saw Zhang Guoqiang, the second son, come in, she smiled, dusted off his clothes, pulled him to sit on the kang, and then looked at him with bright eyes. The curiosity and questions in her eyes were impossible to hide. Knowing her wife couldn’t keep things to herself, and seeing her smile like a flower made him love her even more. He didn’t mind that she was lazy; as long as she was pretty and obedient, that was enough. His requirements weren’t high; what he couldn’t do, he would manage it, making her understand what it was like for a husband to be the sky.

Lin Juhua nudged her drowsy daughter to move inward, "I vaguely heard mom saying about separation, is it really happening? What did dad say? Why did the three of you brothers look upset? I heard talks about separating, what’s going on?"

The second son lay on the kang, shifted the quilt back, and leaned against it, "Do you want to separate the family? After the separation, there will be a mess at home with no one to help but yourself. At that time, with raising pigs and chickens and managing household chores, plus no one to look after the kids, how will you go to work? If we separate, it would be just me. I’m just worried."

Listening to him, Lin Juhua also grew worried. Her family wasn’t reliable; it would be a blessing if they didn’t hold her back. She also thought about her mother coming over, afraid that the house would be left empty.

"I’ll listen to you; whatever you say goes. But I do want to separate the family. You know your mom doesn’t like me. Keeping some distance won’t change our obligation to show filial piety. Although she always scolds me, I know she’s much better than my own mom, and better than the grannies in the village. In front of others, she never scolds me and even protects me. I know it in my heart."

"My mom has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Compared to the eldest sister-in-law, you’re indeed lazier. I don’t want to say much, but think about how much you worked at your mom’s home compared to now. At home, you just feed the pigs; even washing clothes is done separately. Meanwhile, the eldest sister-in-law is busy non-stop from dawn to dusk."

The second son knew his wife was selfish, saying everyone has their own interests. He didn’t enforce too much, but being lazy won’t do. After separation, the man would work outside, and the woman inside. If things stayed the same, it wouldn’t end well.

Lin Juhua knew she enjoyed blessings after marriage, especially compared to her sisters, who lived like beggars. Her eldest sister looked as old as her mother, with kids at home crying out from hunger. Her second sister’s mother forced her into marrying a divorced man for the bride price, and the earlier children always bullied her nephews. Food was already scarce, and the younger ones cried to her for something to eat. Her third sister fared slightly better, marrying well for a high price, but could only manage half-full stomachs.

She often stole food, not for her own mother. Her mom received 500 yuan for the bride price, making her enter the Zhang household naked, forever unable to lift her head in front of her sisters-in-law. Once married, she cut off ties. Except for festival occasions, she avoided visiting. Everyone knew the Zhang family had better living conditions and gossiped that she had entered a blessed nest. Since then, she never resented her mother-in-law and was grateful to her father-in-law. She felt that if she were a stone’s wife in the future, she would drive her son out along with his wife.

Every time she saw her nephews crying from hunger, she would secretly pass over something to eat while munching on cornbread. Her sisters raised her, and without them, she wouldn’t even exist. The Zhang family was very capable; others barely maintained two light meals a day, but they had three meals a day with a storeroom piled high with sweet potatoes. She always thought about sneaking some to her sisters.

Without family separation, the mother-in-law managed the household. She dared not act lightly under her mother’s-in-law watchful eye. If her mother-in-law accused her of stealing food for her maiden family, she had explained to her husband. Otherwise, if she sent to her own mother, she expected a rift between them. Her husband was right; a man who couldn’t support his own family wasn’t a long-term solution. Despite the three brothers dedicating themselves to work, they barely managed enough to eat. She couldn’t justify further aid to her sisters.

Lin Juhua gazed out the window, sighing deeply. Each day, she secretly saved a portion of her own and her daughter’s food, leaving the child so skinny she might be swept away by a gust of wind. Her mother-in-law had already voiced her concerns. Life was tiring.

"Don’t worry. Once we separate the family, even if I have to stay up all night, I will fully plant the backyard. Raise pigs and chickens, and the eggs from those hens will add up over the year. Shi Tou is already five years old and can help with Little Ya. In two more years, Shi Tou will start school, and Little Ya will be older."

The second son had a plan, reassuring his wife. He had some money saved but never let her know because she was worried about her sisters and nephews. In his view, help should be given when one is capable. To exhaust oneself while one’s own children are barely nourished enough, like little chicks, yet continuously supplement the relatives, makes no sense. If his mother found out, she’d flay him. Over the matter of stolen food, he didn’t speak for his wife with his mother. Knowing his mother’s soft heart, once she understood those men’s inadequacies, she’d intervene, depleting the storehouse significantly. Yet, she wouldn’t consider those families have men who eat too.

Lin Juhua then remembered she meant to ask about the family separation earlier, feeling some urgency as she looked at her husband, "Earlier, what were you and Xiao Wu discussing? All I heard was something about the backyard and walls. Were you talking about building houses for the two families?"

The second son found his wife amusing, as she had finally grasped the main point amidst the chatter.

"Dad said he’d buy materials to build the houses in the coming days. Each family will budget 150 yuan based on elder brother’s current yard. I came back to discuss with you how big the house should be; if it’s more or less than 150 yuan, that’s our business. After exiting the main house, I stopped Xiao Wu to talk about hiring strong laborers from the village to cut bluestone. We’ll pay a bit more than regular worker points. We’ll also buy some tiles, get a few beams, and chop some wood from the mountain along with our own. This way, we can save a lot. Xiao Wu suggested all three families have the same size yard. We were just discussing how to save money. How big do you want it? Leave the other matters to us."

"Alright, whatever you say at home goes. But it’s going to cost not just a little if it’s as big as this place, isn’t it? There’s just four of us; it feels wasteful to leave it empty. You say now building each house is only 150 yuan, what else will be given at the family separation? Should we build it smaller? Then we’d have extra money and no worries after the separation." Lin Juhua was thrilled, never expecting such good news. The 150 yuan from her father-in-law was beyond her imagination, which confirmed the Old Zhang’s family was indeed affluent.

Zhang Guoqiang knew his wife was daydreaming, needing a reality check, "You’re thinking too much. Just 300 yuan for both families; you think Dad and Mom have how much? These years, earnings from work points have saved up a bit, just enough for a few years of extra. The dowries for our and Xiao Wu’s weddings took a big chunk, same with our little sister’s marriage. Perhaps even the money for their coffins is gone. At the separation, they might distribute a few chickens from the backyard, a couple of bowls, or a pot. What else do you see around here?"