Chapter 17: Marriage Exchange, Past Events

Chapter 17: Marriage Exchange, Past Events

Old Lady Lin was so angry her fingers trembled, "Alright, alright, let’s split up, let’s split up, so you won’t find this old woman an eyesore."

Old Man Lin sternly tapped his pipe against the edge of the table, "Third son, third son’s wife, is this idea of splitting the family yours or the child’s?"

"Father, we’re not splitting up," Lin Jianshe said in a muffled voice.

Sun Sipan, Lin Jianshe’s wife, was so scared her heart nearly stopped, "Father, mother, the child’s feverish and talking nonsense. I’ll take her inside and cool her down with water to reduce the fever. Father, mother, we won’t split the family."

Sun Sipan, who usually was not good at sweet talk, was so scared by her second daughter’s wild talk that she suddenly understood the art of language.

This whole mess finally came to an end.

Old Lady Lin was too mad to cook dinner.

The sisters-in-law, back from work, cooked the meal together.

Lin Erbo’s wife was also stunned by what happened today, and because of this, she didn’t dare to complain while cooking.

After a long day’s work, coming home to no food and having to cook while exhausted, usually the mother-in-law would have prepared the meal. Compared to this, even though the mother-in-law is a bit biased, it’s still bearable. To have a ready meal every day after work, it seems necessary to keep the mother-in-law happy.

Old Lady Lin was too angry to eat dinner.

Old Man Lin, after working all day, was starving when he got home, but he was also holding in his anger. He didn’t eat as comfortably as usual, and was also a bit upset by the third son’s daughter. He grabbed his bowl and went outside to eat.

Dinner was unusually quiet.

The adults’ grim faces put a damper on the kids’ mood.

The kids were good at picking up on the atmosphere, and there was no fighting over food for once.

After dinner, the sisters-in-law pitched in to clean up.

Each couple went back to their rooms, shut the doors, and couldn’t help but whisper about what happened, each with their own opinions.

In the first household.

Lin Dabo’s wife wasn’t on board with splitting the family just yet. Why? Naturally, because the eldest son and eldest daughter of the first household were getting older. The daughter would need a dowry when she got married, and that’s a big expense. The eldest son would need to build a house and have money for a wedding, which is no small expense.

If we don’t split up, the family would cover the dowry and the house, which is the benefit of not splitting.

Splitting up has its perks, like being able to call the shots herself, not having to live with a large family, but in the end, the downsides outweigh the upsides.

Even if we split up, the family property would be split evenly. How much could the in-laws really give? It’d have to be split five ways—one for each of the four branches, plus a share for the in-laws. How much would we end up with? Not much, I bet.

The second household was also not idle. They didn’t dare to speak during dinner, afraid of provoking the old lady and getting scolded. Lin Erbo’s wife was almost bursting; she’s usually the most talkative.

Today, there was talk of splitting the family in the main room. To be honest, she was a bit tempted. Splitting the family would be good for the second household.

She and her husband are both strong, and their two children are over ten years old, which is half a labor force. If they could split the family, with her and her husband not being lazy, they could earn enough work points to support the children.

But the idea of splitting the family is just a thought. With the parents-in-law around, it’s not so easy to split the family.

The atmosphere in the third household was a bit heavy. Sun Sipan sat on the kang wiping tears, her face full of worry, "Second daughter, what’s wrong with you today? Why are you so bold? Why do you dare to say anything?

Whatever your grandmother tells you to do, just do it. Why are you opposing her? It’s really worrying.

Not just our family, look at which child doesn’t help the adults with work. Don’t blame your grandmother; she’s not easy. With such a big family, how can she take care of everything?"

Now you've offended your grandparents. What are we going to do?"

Lin Jianshe scratched his head in frustration and silently crouched by the wall.

By this time, Lin Dongzhi also realized she had acted rashly. Dividing the family was a serious matter, not something she could accomplish by just making a scene.

However, she didn't regret it. From now on, she wouldn't indulge anyone, including her grandparents.

"Mom, I just feel it's unfair. Why should our Third Branch do all the hard and dirty work? And why does Fourth Aunt always bully you, dumping her work on you? Why?

Mom, think about it. If it weren't for our Third Branch's hard work, the First and Second Branches would be fine, but could the Fourth Branch live so comfortably? Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt are lazy and greedy. They can't even support themselves, let alone their three children. How can they live so well? They're sucking the life out of our Third Branch to raise their children.

We do so much work, but no one appreciates our efforts. The Fourth Branch can occasionally eat eggs, but what do my sister and I get?

We get nothing. And our grandparents are so biased. Have they ever shared any of the good stuff from their room with my sister and me?

Anyway, my grandparents don't treat me well, so don't expect me to look after them in the future."

Lin Jianshe's wife frowned so deeply it could kill a fly. "Second Daughter, how did you turn out like this? You weren't like this before. Your dad and Fourth Uncle are brothers. It's so shameful to fight like this. And your grandparents are your elders. You can't talk back to them anymore, and stop saying those rebellious things."

Lin Dongzhi fell silent. In her past life, her mother had been just as spineless, always agreeing with whatever her mother-in-law and husband said, never standing up for herself.

Her father, on the other hand, was blindly filial, caring more about his nephews than his own daughters.

They were like that themselves, and they expected their children to follow suit, always obedient and hardworking.

In her past life, her grandmother had set up an arranged marriage for her through a matchmaker. After much deliberation, her Fourth Aunt introduced her to a man.

They actually wanted to marry her off to a man five years her senior for a dowry of two hundred yuan.

Her grandmother was trying to throw her into the fire, claiming that an older man would be more caring, steady, and reliable. Although he had retired from the military, he had a hefty severance package, and marrying him would bring her happiness.

If he was so caring, why didn't they let Lin Xixi marry him? After all, it was Fourth Aunt who vouched for him.

If he was so great, let Fourth Aunt's daughter, Lin Xixi, marry him and enjoy the good life. She didn't want any part of it.

The two hundred yuan dowry sounded nice, but in reality, it was just selling her off.

Everyone knew that man had a cursed reputation, and his whole family kept it from her, but she eventually found out.

That old man had two fiancées who died in accidents before they could marry. His cursed reputation was well-known.

Her family didn't care about her at all. What if she was cursed to death as well? That man also had hidden injuries from his military service. Although he could run and jump, he couldn't continue serving.

Everyone praised him for being a good man, but what good was that if he was cursed and brought misfortune?

She didn't want to marry him. She tried every method of resistance—crying, making a scene, even starving herself—but nothing worked. Her parents and grandparents were determined to send her to her death, all under the guise of sending her to enjoy a good life. What a joke.

In the end, she begged her sister, who secretly took money from the family and helped her escape in the middle of the night. It was during the early days of economic reform, and she was afraid her family would find her. She moved from place to place, and her money was almost gone.

She finally found a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant and worked there for a few months. At first, it was fine, but later the restaurant owner, behind his wife's back, started making advances on her. She was terrified and wanted to leave, but the owner deliberately made things difficult for her, refusing to pay her wages. Without money, she couldn't go anywhere.

Later, the restaurant owner found out she had no relatives in the city and became even bolder. A fellow apprentice worker, Fang Zhiyun, saved her. Fang Zhiyun was a local, so the owner didn't dare to do anything to him, but both of them were fired on some pretext and had some of their wages withheld.