Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 241:  239: Dispute Over the Division of the Old House, Elderly Mr. Di’s Decision

“Puff! Cough cough cough…”

This made Liu Sisi cough so hard that tears came out of her eyes, and she finally stopped coughing and put down her chopsticks.

“Is the old house really going to be divided? Can the father and mother agree to this?”

If the family really splits, it must be Ms. Zhao following Di Ah-bao and Elderly Mr. Di following Di Gaoyuan, right?

“How could they possibly agree? Your mother-in-law absolutely doesn’t agree! She even said that if anyone mentions this again, she’ll fight them to the death.”

Guihua could see the situation clearly: “But this is also within reason, after all, she is a stepmother. If the family really splits, she can only follow Di Ah-bao. What kind of future can Di Ah-bao have? She knows her own children. It would be strange if she agreed.”

Liu Sisi shook her head: “I don’t think this matter will end so simply.”

The corner of her mouth involuntarily lifted up high.

As expected, that afternoon, Di Wei ran over crying all the way.

“Third Aunt, something happened to my grandfather at home! Boo-hoo…”

“What happened?”

“Blood… so much blood! Boo-hoo…” Di Wei sobbed incessantly.

Liu Sisi’s heart raced, and she didn’t care about anything else. She threw down the work in her hands, turned around and ran outside, quickly heading towards the old house.

“Sisi, slow down, be careful of slippery roads in the rain!” Guihua called out loudly from behind.

Liu Sisi disregarded everything and ran quickly. When she arrived, even Mr. Land Officer had arrived. The old house’s courtyard was packed with fellow villagers, all craning their necks to look inside. Liu Sisi struggled to squeeze into the center of the crowd.

Elderly Mr. Di sat in a disheveled state under the eaves, leaning against a pillar, his face gray and defeated. He didn’t say anything when he saw Liu Sisi come in.

Di Gaoyuan and Di Ah-bao, the two brothers, glared at each other like fighting cocks. Ms. Wang and Ms. Zhao standing nearby had clearly fought physically and were in a mess.

On the contrary, the bride Ms. Xin stood there softly and weakly, her face like a flower. She was always eye-catching wherever she went. At the moment, she sobbed quietly with her handkerchief, looking pitiful with her tear-stained face.

The scene was oddly quiet.

As soon as Land Officer saw Liu Sisi, his eyes lit up!

“Sisi, where’s Third Son Di? How come I don’t see him coming?”

Liu Sisi quickly greeted Mr. Land Officer: “Your Honor, Ye Lei went to check the traps on the mountain early this morning. You know, he’s been injured. It’s just that it’s getting colder now, and there’s less game every day. Our family still has a long winter to get by, so he went to see the traps on the mountain to see if he could catch a wild pheasant or something.”

This made Mr. Land Officer’s face slightly better: “At least, there’s someone reliable!”

After saying that, he glanced at everyone again: “What do you all think of my proposal just now?”

Ms. Wang beside him couldn’t help but speak up: “Father, our Second family branch agrees to support you. But you are not only Di Gaoyuan’s father, you also have to be supported by the Third family branch. Why should everything be pushed to us, the Second family branch?”

Mr. Land Officer frowned, but before he could speak, Ms. Zhao next to him let out a furious yell and jumped up from the ground.

“Ms. Wang, let me tell you! Over the years, Di Gaoyuan has grown up with me, and I’ve worked hard to support him! You want to just leave me behind? No way!”

This shout frightened Mr. Land Officer!

“Ah! What a shrew! How can you talk like that? Huh!”

Mr. Land Officer was furious: “When the men are talking, why are you, a woman, interrupting? Have you forgotten all your manners?”

Ms. Zhao shrank back but still stubbornly retorted: “I don’t care! All these years, how I’ve treated you, Di Gaoyuan, and your children, you all know it well! You can’t just get rid of me like this! If it really comes to that, I’ll just jump into the river and end my life. Oh, my goodness…”

As she spoke, another round of cursing and sobbing ensued, causing a headache for everyone.

Mr. Land Officer scolded repeatedly but couldn’t control the situation as he struck his crutch continuously. The scuffle only escalated over there, quickly turning into another fight.

Thus, the sound of cursing, pulling people apart, onlooking, wailing, and rebuking… all mixed into a cacophony of high-decibel noise that echoed throughout the old courtyard.

Liu Sisi quietly squeezed next to Elderly Mr. Di, and carefully looked at him: “Dad, how are you feeling? Do you want Sisi to get a doctor?”

“No need…”

Elderly Mr. Di slightly opened his eyes, shook his head at Liu Sisi and closed them again.

Liu Sisi felt quite helpless as the fight only escalated. Her feeble body would only be useful for cooking, but standing aside and doing nothing while everyone fought made her feel guilty…

Wait! It seemed like there was someone else!

Liu Sisi’s gaze turned, and she met a pair of smiling eyes tinged with faint disdain.

In the blink of an eye, the expression in those eyes changed to a crying face: “Ah-Bao! Ah-Bao, you’re all right, aren’t you? Please don’t hit my son Ah-Bao! Don’t hit Ah-Bao! Ah-Bao——”

Wow!

Indeed, as one would expect from a performer of a brothel, she could cry and laugh on cue. Her face-changing speed was even more impressive than those with the skillful face-changing act!

When everyone was finally separated again, only the sounds of pain and crying were left.

Mr. Land Officer was also infuriated by the situation, and on such a cold day, sweat was pouring from his forehead!

Unable to help himself, he took out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead a few times, throwing the handkerchief onto the ground before cursing angrily.

“Have the people of Di Family no shame? You all are really barbaric and unmanageable! If that’s the case, I’m going to strip you all of your names and banish you from Upper Village to perish on your own!”

Mr. Land Officer was clearly enraged!

In this era, banishment from the village meant being driven from one’s home and losing everything.

The vast unknown was always the most terrifying aspect, especially when facing the coming winter, with young and old mouths to feed, their homes, and roots were all here. If they were expelled, where could they go?

As Mr. Land Officer’s words fell, everyone’s faces changed, and they quieted down.

Di Gaoyuan, seeing the current situation, clenched his teeth and finally backed down!

“Fine! We’ll listen to Mr. Land Officer, and we’ll follow his orders. Whatever Mr. Land Officer says, we’ll do.”

“No way! You people think you can just get rid of me? Absolutely not!”

Ms. Zhao gave up all hope and directly rolled onto the ground, refusing to get up.

“Enough! You all…”

As everyone’s attention focused on the center of the scene, the Elderly Mr. Di beside them stood up and spoke.

He leaned on his chair and struggled to his feet, taking two shaky steps and standing before Mr. Land Officer: “I, I think… I want to… go with Third Child…”