"I didn't expect that old turtle bastard to turn on me."
"Mother, how can you be so forgetful? Don't you remember last time when you hit Da Niu, my brother almost kicked us all out?"
"Uh, Mother forgot. Second child, what do you think we should do this time?"
"What to do? What else can we do? If you want my elder brother to keep supporting us, then just settle down and stop looking for trouble."
Old Mrs. Tian: Who was she doing this for? Didn't she want to keep the eldest son's family in check so they would support her and the second son's family without complaint?
"Mother, I'm telling you, I can't afford to support you. I can barely support myself."
Tian Xingsheng's voice was not quiet either. Er Xi heard it and grumbled, "Since you can't even support yourself, why did you get married and have children? It's better to be a bachelor and save the trouble of harming others."
Tian Xingsheng was unhappy to hear this, but his forbearance had reached its highest level, and he pretended not to hear.
Old Mrs. Tian was accustomed to being the sole authority in this family. How could she tolerate her grandson insulting her youngest son? She immediately started scolding, "You little brat, get out of here. This family is not for you to speak in."
Hearing his mother's words, Tian Xingsheng knew something bad was about to happen, but before he could think of a solution to salvage the situation, he heard his elder brother's voice.
"Tomorrow, I'll go find Commander Qi and ask him to help us divide the family. Don't worry, when spring thaws, my family of four will move out. I'll take the things I bought, and I'll leave this house for you to live out your years."
"Uh." Old Mrs. Tian felt her neck being gripped tightly by her eldest son, and she couldn't breathe.
She was dumbfounded now. If the eldest son's family moved out, who would work the fields, do the laundry, and cook?
She wouldn't agree, absolutely not. She grabbed her neck and shouted, "I forbid you to move out."
Tian Xingwang didn't argue with her. He just said softly, "A widow follows her son."
"..." With these four simple words, Old Mrs. Tian was speechless again.
Tian Xingsheng had always lived under his mother's protection, giving the impression of being a quiet, non-contending, and indifferent person.
But now, he couldn't be indifferent any longer. He used all his strength to express his stance. "Brother, you can't abandon me."
Listen to that. With just one sentence, the listeners could tell how selfish he was. He didn't mention his mother, nor his wife and children, only himself.
Er Xi didn't want to indulge him anymore. He immediately retorted, "Why should I? My father is only your brother, not your father. Besides, even if my grandfather were alive, he might not support you. You're not a child anymore. You're as tall as my father, much sturdier, and you're married with children. Yet, you expect your brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and nieces to support you. Aren't you ashamed?"
Seeing that his father had proposed dividing the family, Er Xi had to help and encourage his father to persevere and not give up halfway.
If it were any other time, Jin Shi's sharp tongue would have already joined her mother-in-law in badgering the eldest branch of the family.
But today, she didn't dare. Even though she was usually reckless, she was more cunning than anyone.
She knew perfectly well that the two children of the eldest branch were the elder brother's sore spot.
Sometimes, she would secretly remind her mother-in-law not to provoke those two children, but that old woman was the most troublesome and liked to find fault with those two children whenever there was nothing else to do.
Now it was good. She had completely angered the eldest son. Today's incident would not be easily resolved.
Jin Shi was annoyed internally and, being exceptionally clever, said nothing. Er Xi found it strange, wondering if Jin Shi had a change of heart today.
Tian Xingwang, however, knew what was happening. Since he had decided to divide the family, he had to take action to prevent anyone from forgetting their place.
He saw his son return to their wing room carrying a large bundle of branches and then went to the main house.
"Father, where are you going?"
"I'm going to the main house to get our family's grain."
Er Xi remembered that the grain, which his parents had grown with him and his sister, was still in his grandmother's hands.
His grandmother decided who got to eat it. Their family of four did the most work but often went hungry.
What was most hateful was that while their family was out working in the fields, their grandmother would secretly cook and eat with her younger son's family.
Today, his father said he was going to get their grain back, so of course, he wholeheartedly agreed.
Zhao Shi was cooking in the kitchen with her daughter. Even though her husband was arguing with the old lady, she didn't come out.
She had become numb. Her husband was a coward, and her own strength was useless. If she wasn't afraid that the two children would suffer even more without her, she would have divorced that coward long ago.
"Mother, Father is really going to the main house this time."
"If he can really get the grain back, then I'll respect him as a man."
After Zhao Shi finished speaking, she heard the old lady's wailing from the main house, followed by Jin Shi's loud voice.
"Quick, let's hurry to the main house to help your father." Zhao Shi said, grabbing a fire poker and running towards the main house. Having been sisters-in-law for so many years, she knew what Jin Shi was up to as soon as she made a move.
As expected, when Zhao Shi and her daughter rushed into the main house, they saw Jin Shi throwing herself with all her might into her elder brother-in-law's arms.
Enraged, Zhao Shi raised the fire poker and swung it at Jin Shi, "You shameless slut, you're throwing yourself into your elder brother-in-law's arms in broad daylight. Do you think I, Zhao Yanmei, am dead?"
The more Zhao Shi thought about it, the angrier she became. If Jin Shi succeeded, this family would be completely ruined. The fire poker in her hand struck harder.
"Help! Help!"
Even though Jin Shi was usually the most vocal, under Zhao Shi's absolute martial pressure, she was nothing.
Since they had already fallen out, and especially thinking of Jin Shi trying to ruin Tian Xingwang, Zhao Shi's fire poker struck down even more forcefully. "Jin Shi, yell louder! It's best to call the entire village. Let all the men, women, and children in the village know what kind of person you are."
"Ah~ Mother, help me!" Jin Shi couldn't endure this beating with the fire poker any longer. She scrambled and crawled towards the old lady.
Zhao Shi hated these people to the bone. She couldn't hit the old lady, but as for Jin Shi, since she harbored improper intentions, Zhao Shi would beat this slut to death today.
"Ah~ Ahhh!"
Jin Shi's mournful screams could be heard from afar. The neighbors, needless to say, all heard them.
As expected, Grandma Chen's family came to watch the commotion, as they had nothing else to do.
Other families living nearby also rushed over to watch.
It was truly a rare sight to see Jin Shi being beaten so badly that she screamed like a ghost.
"Ah~"
Hearing Jin Shi's cries, Grandma Chen told her daughter-in-law to quickly go and break them up.
Chen's daughter-in-law also found Jin Shi extremely annoying. Seeing Zhao Shi beating her today, she thought to herself: Serves her right.
But she had to obey her mother-in-law, so she walked over slowly and said half-heartedly, "Da Niu's mother, stop hitting. If you keep hitting, someone will get killed."