Chapter 27: Signs Begin to Show (Part 1)

Inside the room of the west wing, Lin Juhua had already returned. When she saw her husband, Zhang Guoqiang, come in, she greeted him with a bright smile, dusted off his clothes, and pulled him to sit on the kang. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and questions—she couldn’t hide anything from him even if she tried. He knew his wife couldn’t keep things bottled up. Seeing her smile like a blooming flower, he couldn’t help but like her even more. No matter how lazy or spoiled she was, as long as she was pretty and obedient, that was enough for him. He didn’t ask for much—what she didn’t know, he could teach her. He would let her know that, for a wife, her husband was her world.

Lin Juhua nudged their sleepy daughter to move over and asked, “I vaguely heard you and your mother talking about splitting up the family. Is it really happening? What did Dad say? Why did all three of you brothers look so upset? I overheard people outside talking about splitting up—did something happen?”

Zhang Guoqiang lay back on the kang, pushed the quilt aside, and leaned against it. “Do you really want to split up? After that, everything at home will be your own responsibility—no one to help. You’ll have to take care of the pigs and chickens, manage the housework, and there’ll be no one to watch the kids. How will you go out to work? If we split, it’ll just be me and you. I’m already worried about it.”

Hearing this, Lin Juhua started to worry too. Her own family was unreliable—she’d be lucky if they didn’t drag her down, let alone help her. She’d thought about having her mother come over, but she was afraid the house would be emptied out.

“I’ll listen to you—whatever you say, I’ll do. But honestly, I do want to split up. You know your mother never liked me. Even if we live further apart, I’ll still be filial—I’m not worse than anyone else in that. Even though she always scolds me, I know she’s much better than my own mother, and better than most mothers-in-law in the village. She never scolds me in front of outsiders and even stands up for me. I know that in my heart.”

“My mother just has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Compared to my eldest brother’s wife, you really are lazier. I don’t want to say it, but think about how much you did at your own home and how much you do now. Here, you only have to feed the pigs—everyone does their own laundry. Look at my eldest brother’s wife—she’s busy all day, running around non-stop.”

Guoqiang knew his wife was selfish—everyone had their own interests, and he wouldn’t force her. But being lazy and spoiled wouldn’t do. If they split up, the man would have to take care of things outside, the woman inside. If she still wanted to live like now, he’d have to put his foot down.

Lin Juhua knew she’d had an easier life since getting married. Compared to her older sisters, who lived like beggars—her eldest sister looked as old as their mother, with hungry children crying all day. Her second sister had been married off for the bride price to a widower, and his older kids always bullied her own nephews and nieces. There was never enough food, and the younger kids cried for something to eat. Her third sister was a bit better—she’d been married off for a high price to a not-so-great husband, but at least she got enough to eat.

She’d stolen food several times—not for her mother, who’d taken her bride price and sent her off to the Zhang family with nothing but the clothes on her back, leaving her unable to hold her head up among her sisters-in-law. Once she married out, she cut ties. Unless it was a holiday, she avoided going back. Everyone knew the Zhang family was well-off, and her sisters all said she’d landed in a nest of good fortune. Ever since, she’d never resented her mother-in-law and was grateful to her father-in-law. She thought, if her own son married a wife like herself, she’d probably kick both of them out.

Every time she saw her nephews and nieces crying from hunger, she wanted to sneak them some food. When she was little, her three sisters had raised her—without them, she wouldn’t have survived. The Zhang family was capable; while others barely scraped by on two watery meals a day, they had three solid meals, and the sweet potatoes in their storeroom were piled high. She always wanted to sneak some to her sisters.

As long as the family wasn’t split, her mother-in-law was in charge. She didn’t dare make any moves under her watchful eye. When her mother-in-law accused her of stealing food for her own family, she’d explained it to her husband—otherwise, if she’d just given it to her mother, he’d have turned cold toward her. He was right—if a man couldn’t provide for his own wife and kids, relying on outsiders wouldn’t last. The three brothers worked themselves to the bone just to get enough to eat, and couldn’t afford finer grains. So she couldn’t justify helping her sisters anymore.

Lin Juhua gazed out the window, lost in thought, and let out a deep sigh. She secretly saved food for herself and her daughter every day, but her daughter was so thin a gust of wind could blow her away. Her mother-in-law had already warned her. Life was exhausting.

“Don’t worry. Once we split up, even if I have to work through the night, I’ll plant the whole backyard. We’ll raise pigs and chickens—eggs alone will add up over a year. Shitou is already five; he can help watch the little one. In a couple of years, when Shitou goes to school, the little one will be bigger too.”

Guoqiang actually had it all figured out—he just wanted his wife to worry a bit. He had money saved, but never let her know, because he knew she worried about her sisters and their kids. In his view, you could only help others if you had the means. If he worked himself to death while his own kids were raised rough and skinny like chicks, but kept sending help to his sisters-in-law, he’d be crazy. If his mother found out, she’d skin him alive. Even with the food-stealing incident, he hadn’t defended his wife in front of his mother—he knew her too well. She had a soft heart; even if she disliked those men, she’d still help out, and if she found out, half the sweet potatoes in the storeroom would be gone. But she never thought that those families had men who also ate. He looked down on men who couldn’t provide for their families—what was the point of marrying and having kids then?

Just then, Lin Juhua remembered what she’d wanted to ask before, but had been sidetracked. She looked at him anxiously, “What were you and Xiao Wu talking about just now? I heard you mention the backyard and the wall—are we building houses for both families?”

Guoqiang chuckled at his wife—she’d finally hit the nail on the head after all that chatter.

“Dad said we’ll buy materials in the next few days to build houses. Each family will get 150 yuan, same as big brother’s courtyard. He told us to discuss how big we want to build—if it costs more or less, we’ll handle it ourselves. After leaving the main room, I stopped Xiao Wu to talk about hiring some strong men from the village to quarry stone, and we’ll pay them a bit more than regular work points. We’ll buy some tiles, a few beams, cut some wood from the mountain, and use what we have at home to save as much as possible. Xiao Wu wants all three families to have the same size courtyard, so we were discussing how to save money. How big do you want to build? Don’t worry about the rest.”

“Alright, whatever you say. But if we build it as big as this place, won’t it cost a lot? There’s only four of us—so much space would be wasted. You said each family gets 150 yuan for the house, but after it’s built and we split up, will we get anything else? Maybe we should build a bit smaller and save some money, so we won’t be left with nothing after the split. Qiangzi, look at how much money your parents have—who knows what we’ll get when we split up.” Lin Juhua was excited—she hadn’t expected such a good deal. Her father-in-law’s 150 yuan was more than she’d imagined. The Zhang family really had deep pockets.

Zhang Guoqiang immediately saw that his wife was daydreaming and decided to burst her bubble. “You’re overthinking it. The two families only get 300 yuan total—how much do you think Mom and Dad have? After all these years, the work points only add up to a little bit of money. Most of what they have was saved up in the early years. Just look at how much was spent on our and Xiao Wu’s weddings, and on little sister’s dowry. Even the coffin boards have been bought. When we split up, we’ll probably just divide up a few chickens from the backyard, buy a couple of bowls and a pot. What else do you think is left in this house?”"