A century of poverty

Chapter 124 Kicked Out

It was another day in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, and the weather was gloomy with light rain.

My second brother called and asked me to come over; he was celebrating Dad's birthday.

I discussed it with Zhiqiang: "Should I go or not? Our supermarket is so busy."

Zhiqiang: "Go ahead, it's fine. You go first by yourself. After the students get out of school at noon, I'll take the kids by taxi there. After we eat, we'll take a taxi back together. It won't take long."

I said, "Okay!"

When we returned after lunch, the rain intensified, and bubbles had formed on the ground.

As soon as Zhiqiang entered the store and went to draw the curtains, the phone rang. He hurried to answer it, and I drew back the curtains.

He said, "This call came at just the right time; no one would have answered if I had called two minutes earlier."

Zhiqiang picked up the receiver: "Feed?"

Then he heard his second sister's voice on the other end: "Fourth brother? Go to your older sister's house and get the money! Dad has divided the money." Then she hung up the phone.

I was quite surprised: "After such a long delay, it just happened to be a rainy day."

"There are still so many accounts to settle, why weren't we invited to be present when it came time to split the money?"

Zhiqiang: "Don't overthink it, breaking up is always a good thing."

Looking outside, he said, "The raindrops seem to be getting smaller. Oh my god."

I said, "Go or don't go, it's up to you."

Zhiqiang went out through the gate leading to the courtyard, pushed his bicycle, and opened the gate with a "whoosh" before heading to his older sister's house.

They returned shortly after. I asked with concern, "How much did you bring back?"

Zhiqiang pulled it out of his pocket: "See for yourself."

I immediately sensed something was wrong with the pile of money: "Is that all?"

Zhiqiang remained silent.

I said, "Didn't you ask your older sister how it was divided, and what the division was based on?"

Zhiqiang: "Oh right, I almost forgot, there's a note here." He took it out and put it on the kang (a heated brick bed) along with some money.

I picked up the strip, a strip about the size of a cigarette roll, with Su Zhichun's handwriting on it, which read: "Zhang Shuangxing, 100; Zhang Shuangfei, 100; Zhang Shuanglai, 100; Zhang Xialian, 100; Zhang Qiulian, 100."

I picked up the money and counted it: exactly 1,500 yuan.

I was so angry my face turned pale: "Besides the gift my family gave, they only gave us a thousand! That's not even enough to cover our costs, what about the rest? The rest!"

That's no small sum: the west wing plus the land cost 37,000, the two middle rooms 18,000, totaling 55,000. And there's the old lady's remaining 8,000—twenty years later, has it been doubled? Where did the wedding gifts from the village go?

You shouldn't have taken that money back!

How did they calculate that they'd give us a thousand? Where did the result of a thousand come from?

There are eight siblings, and the other seven split the money, leaving us out. What are their intentions?

What they did was illegal!

"Let's go! We'll go find your older brothers, Su Zhiwei and Su Zhichun, and demand an explanation."

Zhiqiang sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed): "I'm not going. You can go if you want."

Me: "This is your business; you can't refuse to go."

Zhiqiang: "Anyway, I'm not going. I can't beat them."

Me: "Why don't you go? Are they going to eat you? Why are you so afraid of them?"

long silence.

Zhiqiang: "It's pointless to go; I have absolutely no say in anything here!"

Me: "That's outrageous! When it comes to caring for the elderly, they always try to push the responsibility onto you!"

Zhiqiang: "When I was a child, around ten years old, it was raining heavily, and the pigs knocked down the courtyard wall. My eldest, second, and third brothers were rebuilding it, but I went out to play and didn't make it back for dinner. My eldest brother threw a pitchfork at me, and when I ran away, the pitchfork went right through my heel."

My mom secretly served me a bowl of rice!

Me: "No wonder your sister-in-law looks down on us so much. We're like natural enemies, and I don't know why."

"With elderly people around, how could it possibly be their turn?"

Zhiqiang: "My dad doesn't say anything, and my mom is afraid of them too."

Me: "You scoundrel, you're only tough at home!"

No wonder your mother always said when she was alive that the fortune teller said she would be under the jurisdiction of three provinces.

Why aren't you sisters afraid of them?

Zhiqiang: "Our daughter is the most popular. My son and I are two little devils!"

Me: "It seems this family is redundant with the two of you. No wonder Su Kai divorced her the moment they mentioned Yang."

You're afraid of them, but I'm not! I'm going to court. I don't believe there's nowhere to reason with them.

It got dark, and I hadn't slept a wink all night. This is just too much to bully!

This is absolutely intolerable; we can't let this go.

The next day, I got up early, after the children and their friends had gone to school. I said to Zhiqiang, "Don't pick up the goods today. I'm going to Da Liu's house to talk to my dad about this."

After saying that, he went to the bus station.

By this time, Shuanglai had already moved out of the old courtyard and built a house on the front street.

My second brother's old house is also scheduled to be renovated next spring. The yard is piled with sand, gravel, and timber.

I went to the easternmost room where my father lived. He was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed). I told him about what my brothers and sisters from the Su family had done.

After listening calmly, Dad asked slowly, "How much are you short?"

I said, "You do the math! The bill alone is over 1,500. In the village, we don't give more than 2,000 as a gift! As for the old man's inheritance, not counting interest, just the principal, it's 37,000, 18,000, or 8,000, which adds up to 63,000, right?"

The family divided the 63,800 yuan into 8,000 yuan, and the total amount from gifts and credit was around 12,000 yuan.

Also, all those times when Grandpa and Blackie broke our windows were for nothing, right? I've been holding back for so many years, just waiting for this day!

Dad said, "Listen, let me do the math for you: Generally, the money you receive for handling matters and the expenses you incur can roughly offset each other. You should have received more than ten thousand yuan, but after deducting the fifteen thousand yuan you'd get, you'll only have about eighteen thousand yuan less. If you sue them in court, even if you win, can eighteen thousand yuan last a lifetime? Whether you can even pay them back is another matter. Don't those people have anything to say? It's not good for your own brother to get involved with officials and government officials. In the end, we don't even know how much you'll get."

But if there's one thing, your Su family will lose this kinship. Do you think it's worth it?

Ten thousand or eight thousand yuan seems like a lot now, but in the long run, it's nothing.

You can get through even without this money.

A good son doesn't vie for the throne, a good daughter doesn't compete for her dowry.

If you're not greedy or lazy, a few years will be a good life.

I still maintain that I separated from my family when I was nine, and your grandmother and I never suffered any loss! We still made it through, didn't we? People should be broad-minded and not dwell on fame or fortune. Honest people live long lives. As long as people say you're honest and kind, that's enough. You don't need anything to maintain a good reputation!

Me: "They are depriving us of our human rights. Who gave them this right? They even dared to expel us from the Su family. They are too arrogant."

Over the years, they've caused us a lot of trouble. Are we just going to let it go like this?

Father: "Suffering a loss is a blessing."

They can't erase your names either.

It doesn't matter whether you're surnamed Su or Zhang.

Let it go so easily; taking a step back opens up a whole new world.

Family ties are more precious than money; those who are family are family, I always say that.

Me: "You always say that! You'll suffer losses your whole life, where's your good fortune?"

Father: "I have a clear conscience and feel at peace. I hope my grandchildren and future generations will all become good people. This is true happiness."

Good fortune! It is a blessing from heaven, added to your life without your knowledge or after you realize it.

One must be willing to suffer losses and yield to others.

I've lived longer than you, and seen more than you have. You'll see, in the end, the one who suffers is safe. Those who commit the greatest evils will eventually be proven right. Those who deceive and cheat will all face retribution.

It's not that retribution won't come; it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet. Even Chairman Mao said so, so what difference does it make?

You! Just stay home and cherish this family, don't look at those other things. I've said so much, think about it yourself!

I arrived full of anger, but after Dad said that, my anger subsided considerably. Thinking about it carefully, what Dad said made a lot of sense.

If you encounter a family like that, can you change them?

The only way is to work hard and surpass them, both adults and children.