Chapter 28: Signs Begin to Show (Part 2)

In the main house’s west wing, Old Zhang and his wife had also gone back to lie down and rest on the heated brick bed. Now that they were getting on in years, they didn’t have the same energy for working in the fields as the young folks. The two of them chatted idly, reflecting on how their son had married and had children, and how the kids had grown up and started their own little families. There was both worry and happiness in their hearts; this is how families branch out, generation after generation. As parents, it’s impossible not to feel reluctant about splitting up the family. But for the sake of future harmony, dividing up early meant fewer troubles and fewer conflicts—it was all for the sake of their children and grandchildren. The old couple’s hearts were a tangle of mixed emotions.

Mother Zhang glanced at her husband lying beside her, eyes closed and brow furrowed, and softly started reminiscing about the children’s childhood mischiefs and embarrassing moments. But thinking it might be better to talk about something else to put him at ease, she changed the subject. After all, even though the family was splitting up, their sons were still their sons, all of them filial. Their children were different from others.

“Listen, the youngest bought a whole bunch of things today, all sorts of newfangled stuff. I reckon he had someone bring them from the city. I won’t go into the details now—we can look at them later. Jiao Jiao and I had a chat, and what she said made a lot of sense, even turned my old way of thinking upside down. I wanted to tell you about it.”

Old Zhang looked surprised—no wonder his wife had been in such a good mood all day. He hadn’t realized his youngest daughter-in-law could say something to touch his wife’s heart. He was curious to hear what had left such an impression.

“Today, the youngest brought back a big bag of special rice, some red dates and brown sugar, two pig trotters, and two black-bone chickens. You wouldn’t believe it—he’d heard that red date and rice porridge is good for the blood, and insisted I drink it every day to build myself up. The two black-bone chickens were for me and Jiao Jiao to eat together. He said he bought extra just so I could have some too—otherwise, he wouldn’t have bought two. But I really didn’t want to take food meant for a woman in confinement. No matter what, I wouldn’t agree.

Then Jiao Jiao said, since the youngest bought these things, I should just happily accept and eat them. In the future, whenever he buys food or clothes, I should gladly take them too. She said, ‘If your children are being filial and you refuse, won’t that make them unhappy? Next time he sees something nice, he’ll think, “This is good, but my mother won’t want it.” Even if he wants to buy something for me, he’ll remember I probably won’t take it. Over time, he’ll just stop buying things for us—after all, we never accept them. Eventually, he won’t even think of being filial. So, Jiao Jiao thinks, whenever your child buys you something, you should accept it with joy. That way, when he sees something good, he’ll think, “My mother would love this, I should buy it for her.” Next time he sees something else, he’ll remember, “She liked what I got last time, so she’ll like this too.” He’ll bring it home, and I’ll happily accept it. The youngest will feel that his mother really does like what he picks out, and he’ll be happy too. In the future, he’ll keep buying things for me, and he’ll always think of me when he sees something nice, because he knows I’ll like it. That’s how he’ll keep being filial to us.’

Don’t you think that makes sense? If we keep refusing, he’ll think we don’t like these things. When we’re old, who’s going to look after us? But then again, isn’t it a mother’s job to give everything good to her sons and grandkids? What do you think—does Jiao Jiao have a point?”

Old Zhang burst out laughing. “That’s just her way of persuading you. The kids are filial—they don’t want to keep the good stuff for themselves. If the parents refuse, they’ll try every way to comfort and persuade us. They’re good kids.”

“She’s right. From now on, just do as she says. If they can afford to buy these things, it means they’re not short on money. If they tell you to eat, just eat. If they were struggling, they’d be worrying about their own meals, not buying for us. The kids just don’t want to enjoy things alone.”

“Exactly. You should’ve seen the bags the youngest brought home today. I put them in the other room. Besides what I mentioned, there were things you’ve never even seen before. Those diapers are whiter than towels—he said a classmate got them, and they won’t give the baby a rash. And the baby bottle is clearly a special product—we’ve never seen anything like it. Who knows what kind of connections his classmates have. Oh, and he bought two bags of milk powder, left one for the two girls at home. The packaging is all in foreign writing—real rarities. I doubt you could even buy them in the provincial capital.”

“Our son’s a good son, and his wife’s a good wife. If they can get these things, it shows they have ability. Just remind them to keep a low profile—don’t let the whole village find out and start gossiping. You should pour the milk powder into another bottle and burn the packaging with the foreign writing. Let the kids drink it, but don’t go telling everyone.”

“Alright, I know. The youngest was about to talk about the Zhou family, but the topic got sidetracked with the family split. I asked him at lunch, and he said he’d wait until you got back. He did mention something about a big fight with a shrew—probably had a run-in with the Zhou family. I checked him over, and he wasn’t hurt, so I guess he wants your advice.”

“If it was urgent, the youngest would be here soon enough. Let’s just wait and see. You know your son—if it was anything serious, he’d have made a big fuss and everyone would know by now. That boy’s sharp—he knows what he’s doing.”

Old Zhang reassured his worried wife. He wasn’t worried about his youngest at all—the boy had always been clever and capable, and everyone in the village praised him. The only one who had it a bit tougher was the second son. But even compared to other families in the village, their second son wasn’t really struggling. He hadn’t handed over his private savings in years—probably had 200 yuan stashed away. His wife claimed it was all spent, but Old Zhang didn’t believe it. If they had money, would the second daughter-in-law be stealing sweet potatoes? What a joke. That one was cunning, always calculating for himself—not as generous as the eldest or the youngest. But he still cared for the family, just a bit too fond of money.

He knew his three sons inside out. The second was the shrewdest, the eldest had no selfishness in him (though his wife did keep a little private stash), and he didn’t worry about the youngest at all. Even without seeing what he bought today, just hearing about it, he knew it must have cost over a hundred yuan. That boy wouldn’t spend like that if he had less than 2,000 yuan saved up. But he was too free with money, and Jiao Jiao was the same—they didn’t care much about money, so he’d have to remind them.

The second son had plenty of money too, and once the family split and he got his new house, he’d have over 150 yuan left. When the two younger brothers moved into their new homes, life would be easier for everyone. Back when he split from his own family, he’d had nothing at all. The one who’d suffered most was the eldest—he was the oldest and worked the hardest. When the family first split, he and his mother had no money, and he’d taken care of his younger siblings. The family’s savings were all thanks to his hard work, sneaking out at night to earn extra.

When it came time to write the family division agreement, he’d make sure to give each son their private savings—he’d kept track. The eldest’s savings would be returned too. There was no reason why, just because the second son hadn’t handed over his savings in recent years, the eldest and youngest’s money should be counted as family property. Dividing the family meant dividing the parents’ assets. As parents, it was impossible to treat everyone exactly the same, but the eldest had had a much harder time than his brothers. Raising three sons wasn’t easy—no one understood that better than he did.

With the eldest’s honest nature, if he kept working in the fields and supporting his brothers and sister on work points, he’d work himself to death. After the split, he’d keep helping him out for a few years. With help from his wife’s two younger brothers and the youngest son, things wouldn’t be too hard. As for the cellar, the contents would have to stay put for now—those couldn’t be divided. The whole country was denouncing landlords these days, and if those things ended up in the kids’ hands and got out, it would be a crime.

“In prosperous times, antiques are treasures; in troubled times, gold is king.” He always remembered the old clan leader’s words. He wondered if he’d live to see a truly peaceful and prosperous era."