Chen Guizhi looked at Er Tian: “Have you forgotten how you used to live? You’ve been to the mountains too. Every man in the village has gone through the same thing. You’ve been to the mountains, you know how difficult and dangerous it is, you know it’s trading your life for money, but what did you do? Your older brother arranged everything for you, giving you a house, land, and a wife, yet you’re still not satisfied? Search your conscience—do you even have a conscience?!”
She turned to Wang Dongmei: “I won’t say anything else to you, but when you married into this family, there were eight acres of land. The two of you could manage it, and I helped out with Shun Ge. The family could handle everything. You insisted it wasn’t enough, that this little bit of land couldn’t support the children. You didn’t want to have children, but you insisted on having more. You just had your eye on the silver in Dafeng’s hands, didn’t you? You took the silver meant for his marriage and used it to buy more land. Are you happy now? Afraid he won’t be able to take care of you.
“With more land, you can’t cultivate it all, so he has to help. You can’t even bear to see him share some grain with you throughout the year. If you give it to Dafeng, you have to give it to your brother in your hometown. When I share some grain with Shun Ge, you also think about your paternal father. Over the past two years, how many times have I stopped you? When I stopped you, did I ever say a word against it? Didn’t I let you live your own life first before saying anything?
“Calculating to this extent, I don’t mind. You even hate the silver from Dafeng’s dowry, blaming me for being biased. I’m an old woman who raised three children in my youth. The whole family needed to eat and clothe themselves. How much money could I save? Where did this money come from? Don’t you understand in your hearts?
“When a family lives together, if you calculate like this and are never satisfied, I can’t control it. I’ve scolded you, and Dafeng has beaten you. I can’t control your hearts, so let’s divide the family.”
Er Tian couldn’t sit still on the bench anymore and knelt before Chen Guizhi to beg.
Chen Guizhi wouldn’t budge: “I’ve already discussed this with the village chief and had Lao Tongsheng draw up a contract. Today I’m just letting you know. Tomorrow we’ll go to the village chief’s house to pay New Year’s respects, press our fingerprints on the contract, and from then on we’ll be two separate families.”
Wang Dongmei touched her stomach and said, “Mother, I’m pregnant.”
Chen Guizhi wasn’t fooled: “I’m a woman too. I’ve been pregnant three times. If you’re really pregnant, forget about washing dishes. I’ll bring you meals to your bedside today.”
Wang Dongmei clenched her teeth and said, “I really am pregnant!”
Chen Guizhi ignored her: “I’m a mother, and I only raise sons. I raised my own children, and you can take care of your own.”
Since that didn’t work, she said, “But isn’t this division of the family too harsh? Aren’t you bullying Er Tian?”
Chen Guizhi said, “Look at Shun Ge. He didn’t get a single coin. He used to have an acre of land, but now we don’t know who it belongs to. He doesn’t even have a room to live in.”
That night, Er Tian and Wang Dongmei argued back and forth, going over the same points over and over again.
They argued, cried, knelt, and threw tantrums. They wanted to keep Chen Guizhi and Shun Ge’er there, as the two of them didn’t cost much to feed and could save on rent. If they stayed long enough, the house would be theirs.
Li Feng asked Lu Liu to take Shun Ge’er into the house to sit down: “Bring them some food and tea and talk about something happy.”
Shun Ge wanted to stay with his mother, but Li Feng told him to go: “I’ll take care of her.”
Lu Liu also wanted to stay.
Dividing the family was a big deal, and arguments were inevitable.
He was a part of this family, and they would have to live together in the future, so a little arguing wouldn’t hurt.
Speaking of which, his family used to argue like this from time to time.
Many people in the village would come over, making a commotion and reaching for their chopsticks. At that time, Lu Liu could only feel wronged and afraid.
He was afraid of being beaten and afraid of having bowls smashed. Applying medicine cost money, and buying bowls cost money.
Tonight was a good night. Li Feng sat steadily, and even though the Er Tian couple continued to make a scene, they dared only to engage in verbal sparring.
Chen Guizhi had made her point clear, only responding with a word or two, refusing to engage in a back-and-forth argument.
Lu Liu poured her some tea.
He had brought his reading book tonight and had Shun Ge sit next to him.
“I’ll teach you to read.”
Shun looked at his mother, and Chen Guizhi nodded.
This was all happening in the main hall, and despite the commotion nearby, Lu Liu’s voice was clear. Shun sat next to him, reading each character one by one, then using flashcards to recognize them. He treated it like a game, his mind wandering, a smile spreading across his face.
Someone set off firecrackers, and the sound startled everyone in the room awake. They realized that Er Tian and Wang Dongmei hadn’t spoken in a long time.
Li Feng stood up, reached out one by one, and pulled his mother, Lu Liu, and Shun Ge up. The four of them went outside together to set off firecrackers.
It was Lu Liu’s first time lighting firecrackers. The Lu family couldn’t afford firecrackers before.
He dared not light them, so he held a stick of incense, while Li Feng held the firecrackers, lit them with the incense, and then threw them far away.
The firecrackers exploded, and by the time he covered his ears, the sound had faded away.
Lu Liu let out a brief “Ah!”
“Just the sound?”
He hadn’t noticed before that the continuous sound of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve was the sound of fireworks from house to house.
With the first explosion, people from his family came out, and people from other families came out as well.
The village paths and the fronts of each house were filled with the sound of firecrackers.
It was livelier than Lu Jia Tun, perhaps because he was right in the middle of it.
Lu Liu looked toward Lu Jia Tun, wondering how his two fathers were spending the New Year.
Her brother said that her uncle’s family would take care of them, and perhaps they would stay up together on New Year’s Eve. It would be so lively.
She looked toward Shangxi Village.
Her brother said they would move during the New Year, perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow.
The next time they met, her brother would be living in the county.
She turned to look at Li Feng: “Da Feng, have a safe New Year!”
Li Feng laughed: “Everyone says ‘prosperity in the New Year.’”
Lu Liu had his own reasoning: “I’ll make money; you just stay safe!”
Chen Guizhi, standing nearby, glanced sideways and exchanged a smile with He Shun.
A new year, a new beginning—safety and prosperity.
………………………………
On New Year’s Eve, the Xie family spent the night packing their belongings.
The house had already been looted, and many items had been pawned. What remained were clothes, shoes, books, writing implements, and household items.
Lu Yang brought out the baskets, placing clothes and miscellaneous items inside. The wooden boxes were left empty for Xie Yan to store his books.
The books were precious and delicate, and they didn’t want them to get creased or damaged.
The door god paintings were truly beautiful. Xie Yan had put a lot of effort into them, taking several days to complete.
Lu Yang was reluctant to hang them directly on the door. Xie Yan searched high and low at home and had the two paintings mounted. He nailed them to the door and hung them up to look at. The next morning, he took them down and left.
That evening, the house was brightly lit, and the family was chatting.
Zhao Peilan was distracted, clearly wanting to say many things to Xie Yan’s father. While tidying up, she went to the ancestral tablet to light an incense stick, muttered to herself for a moment, then continued with her chores.
This year’s New Year’s provisions were not abundant. Since the shop was open, there was no shortage of meat and flour. They could bring them back from the shop whenever they needed them. After preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner at home, there was little left over.
A new year brings a new beginning. After packing their luggage, Lu Yang kneaded dough for dumplings. On the morning of the first day of the New Year, they ate dumplings.
There was some leftover chicken soup from New Year’s Eve, so when they got hungry in the middle of the night, they used it to cook noodles.
When dawn broke, Lu Yang took some sunflower seeds and peanuts left at home, along with a bowl of dumplings, and called Xie Yan to go pay respects to Lu Lin.
As relatives, Lu Lin is the older brother. It was their turn to visit first.
In Shangxi Village, this was the only relative they visited. Lu Yang also mentioned that there was no need for them to come over for the New Year’s visit.
“The house is all tidied up. Later, Daxiong and the others will come over to help move the belongings. We’ll see each other again on the fifth day of the New Year.”
