Chapter 6: Separation (Part 2)

  The big head knelt on the ground, one by one, recounting everything that had happened to his three siblings at Old Man Lin's house. The account was very clear, and the people listening in the courtyard of Liu's house were filled with indignation. Most people sympathized with Lin Chun and her siblings, after all, they were young and had lost their parents. Although their grandparents didn't love them, at least they provided food for them to eat. It was unbelievable that Auntie would also intervene, and now Uncle was acting as a troublemaker. This family was simply inhuman, worse than pigs and dogs.

  Cuihua helped Lin Chuan sit down, "Child, don't worry, today the village elder and Seventh Uncle will definitely protect you three siblings. Just rest well in the house, your leg injury hasn't healed yet, and now you've added new injuries... Ah, it's really..." Cuihua sighed, carefully using a coarse cloth handkerchief to apply warm water to Lin Chuan's neck, occasionally blowing on the bruise marks.

  "Yes, child, you just sit well in the house and don't go out." Seventh Uncle and Aunt also spoke up.

  Lin Chun thought for a moment, then sat down again, obediently not moving anymore. Er Ya lay on the edge of the bed, her two eyes severely swollen. Lin Chun took out a coarse handkerchief from Cui Hua's bag and gently patted her eyes with it.

  "Hey big head, you're so young, how did you know about dividing the family property? Is someone intentionally telling you this?" Some people asked with ill intentions.

  "Hey, that's right, isn't someone teaching you?"

  "Yes, Big Head, you and Village Chief Grandpa clarify, is there someone who intentionally deceived you into saying this?" The village chief thought for a moment and also asked.

  "Village chief, last time I went to the riverbank in Zhao village on the south side of the mountain next door, I heard the big aunt who washed clothes say that there was a family in their village who had no father, and the mother took the children and the younger uncle, and the older uncle arranged for them to separate from the village chief. They also said that after separating from the house, the child without a father would never be beaten by his younger uncle and older uncle again, and even if there was good food, it wouldn't be snatched away, and the wild vegetables they dug up would only be left for their own family to eat. I don't want my big sister and second sister to suffer anymore, or go hungry... In the future, when I pick fruit on the mountain, I won't worry about it being snatched away..." Da Tou's voice became smaller and smaller as he spoke, and the villagers who heard his words gradually fell silent.

  Everyone knows about the situation at Zhao Gang's house in Zhao Village, after all, it's a neighboring village and they're close by. There are still many girls from Zhao Village who married into Lin Family Village, and vice versa. So, everyone is well aware of what's going on. At this point, no one doubts that Da Tou wants to divide the family property anymore. They just think that the children have been bullied too much and it's really heartbreaking. Coincidentally, they also found out about Zhao Gang's situation, so they took action as a last resort.

  The village head and Seventh Uncle also nodded, their facial expressions relaxing. The Zhao family's home in Zhaojia Village was also divided because of the death of Zhao Gang. His wife, Zhao Zhangshi, was bullied by her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, almost losing her life. Now, the situation with Dahu's family is similar. Dahai's leg was broken, and she will be sold to a brothel. Today, Dahai almost lost her life as well. The village head made a decision on the spot, willing to preside over the division of property for Dahu and his three siblings.

  At this time, Auntie also heard the rumors from the villagers and rushed over from home. As soon as she heard that Old Lin's family was going to divide their property, she hastily squeezed her way to the front of the crowd and appeared before everyone. "Divide the property? This young kid knows how to divide property? Your father is gone, your mother is dead, what do you have to divide? From now on, everything in my sister's household belongs to Erlang. What does it have to do with you three siblings? Brother-in-law, don't give this kid a share of the property. If you do, and you give them a few plots of land and houses, where will Erlang get the money to marry a wife? How can he prepare a dowry for Xiaohua? The things that are divided out won't belong to your household anymore!"

  Aunt Liu's surname is Liu. Because there was an old lady Lin in the upper house, everyone called her Liu Erniang, and she didn't take on the husband's surname of Linjia Village.

  Old Lin heard Liu Erniang's words, thought about it and didn't want to either. There were only three blocks of land in the family, not even fertile land. The grain harvested every year was barely enough to make ends meet. If they gave one block to Da Tou San and his siblings, wouldn't they go hungry next year? Not to mention giving Er Lang a wife.

  "Village head, look at this, these three children are still young, is this division of property..."

  "The old man thinks it's good, the division of the house is not bad, all three children are good, it's your fault, Lin!" Before Lin could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Seventh Uncle's stern voice.

  The village chief also agreed with what Seventh Uncle said, and the villagers felt that Seventh Uncle's words were reasonable. It was you, Old Lin, who abused your grandson and granddaughter, and even wanted to sell your granddaughter, which is the most heinous thing, wanting to sell her into a brothel. Today, you almost drove your own granddaughter to death. This has not only obviously violated the interests of the entire village but also nearly caused a loss of life. The villagers no longer spoke, waiting for the village chief and Seventh Uncle to preside over the division of property for the three siblings.

  Lin Xiaohua originally planned to stay in the house and not come out, but as soon as she heard about the division of property, she hastily ran out of her room. The division of property was related to her own dowry, which she had discussed with Xing Ge last night. As long as she could get her father to give her the land at the north end of the village as her dowry, Xing Ge would come to propose to her. If they divided the property, her three siblings would get the land, and her happiness would be lost again. Her parents wanted to climb high branches, but age was getting in the way. Now that she had finally met someone who truly loved her, she couldn't let these three siblings ruin it.

  "No, can't divide it up, Big Brother has left and that cheap woman, Eldest Sister-in-law, is also dead. This house should belong to Second Brother now, and has nothing to do with the Dà Tóu family anymore. Why give those three good-for-nothings a share of the property? Father, since those three good-for-nothings can't even sell for money, why not just kick them out of the house directly?" Lin Xiaohua's words were all insults and curses, which made the villagers gasp in shock. The village head and Seventh Uncle frowned tightly, showing great disgust.

  Yes, since these three little rabbits can't be sold for money, they might as well be driven out of the house. The daughter is clever, but Lin Lao Tou doesn't seem to care about being scolded by Lin Xiao Hua's "cheap kind". He still puts on a show, "Shut up! They are your nephews and nieces after all, how can you talk like that? You're just a girl from a good family, what are you doing outside? Can't you see there are so many people outside? Hurry back inside!"

  "Sister-in-law, Xiaohua is right. These three good-for-nothings and their mother are all weak and feeble, just looking at them you can tell they won't live long. Since they're not worth any money, let's just drive them out. Why bother scolding your own daughter?" Liu Erniang chimed in from the side.

  Lin Chuan was listening to their conversation in the house, her heart burning with anger. She didn't care about Cuifang's and Qi Shu's attempts to stop her, and she supported Er Ya as they both came out of the house. Everyone saw Lin Chuan and Er Ya come out and looked at them sympathetically, seeing the faint marks on Lin Chuan's neck made everyone feel even more pity for them. The village head and Qi Gong were also increasingly angry with Lao Lin's family.

  "Although your family's eldest son has passed away, and his wife is gone too, Dage (the eldest grandson) is indeed the biological son of your family's eldest son, so it should be your responsibility to raise him. Now that you and your second son are acting this way, Dage, on behalf of the eldest son, proposes a division of the household property. As the village head, I should uphold justice, so today, with Seventh Uncle and everyone present, I have decided to divide the household property among Dage, his two younger sisters, and Second Son."