The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 66 - 65: Xue Yue Helps

Xue Yue walked closer and saw Li Gaihua arguing with an old woman. He Daqiang stood to the side with a grim face, not saying a word.

Li Gaihua wiped her tears as she protested, "Mother, when the family split, we clearly agreed on providing 10 jin of coarse grain a month for you and Father. That’s 120 jin a year. How did that suddenly become fine grain?"

Zhao Xiantao spat in Li Gaihua’s direction and insisted, "It was always fine grain. You must have misheard."

Besides, no written agreement was made when the family split. If she said it was fine grain, it was fine grain.

Li Gaihua said, "Da Qiang and I only get a little over a hundred jin of fine grain for the whole year, and we have a child to raise. If we give it all to you, what will we eat?"

With a wrinkled face, Zhao Xiantao said arrogantly, "That’s not my problem. You have to give us 120 jin of fine grain every year. Besides, you’re young. You can eat anything. Look at me and your father. Our teeth are loose. We can’t chew coarse grain."

Li Gaihua turned to her father-in-law, He Guaizi, who was standing nearby. "Father, when we split the family, we clearly said 120 jin of coarse grain a year. Please, say something!"

He Guaizi glanced at Li Gaihua and said with a stoop, "Li Gaihua, you got a good amount of grain this year. Just give us the fine grain. There are more of us."

"Bullshit! What kind of talk is that? Father, Da Qiang is your son too! How can you just let his stepmother, Zhao Xiantao, bully us like this? When you split the family, you gave us nothing and just kicked us out! Everything in the house was left to her son. Now that Da Qiang and I have finally managed to borrow money, build two small rooms, and make our lives a little better, you’re back to steal our grain. You’re trying to starve us to death!"

Zhao Xiantao plopped herself on the ground, slapping the dirt and wailing, "I knew you two were a pair of heartless, ungrateful wretches! You have no conscience! When I married into this family, Da Qiang was only three years old. I struggled to raise him, and now that you’re capable, you refuse to be filial! How shameless!"

Li Gaihua was furious. "Zhao Xiantao, how can you say that with a straight face? Da Qiang only survived all these years because he was lucky. He still has scars on his body from your beatings! You nearly beat him to death! Before he left the family with me, he never had a single full meal."

Zhao Xiantao shouted at He Guaizi, "See? This is what they really think of me! Everyone says it’s hard being a stepmother, and this is why! A pair of ungrateful brats!"

Xue Yue frowned as she listened. It was another classic tale of a stepmother bullying her predecessor’s son.

He Daqiang and his wife’s house was relatively close to Xue Yue’s. It was just two rooms, and though simple, it was clearly newly built.

Xue Yue’s family had built their house so far away partly because of He Lang, and also because their private plot was there. She hadn’t realized He Daqiang and his wife had been kicked out of their family home.

People around Xue Yue were also whispering, most of them disapproving of He Guaizi and Zhao Xiantao’s actions.

"They kicked Da Qiang and his wife out without a single penny, and now they demand 120 jin of fine grain every year. They’re trying to drive them to their graves."

"Exactly. Da Qiang and his wife were foolish. They must not have gotten a written agreement when the family split. Now, whatever Zhao Xiantao says, goes. Otherwise, they’ll be accused of being unfilial."

Xue Yue slowly moved to Li Gaihua’s side and held her arm. Li Gaihua, her eyes red, glanced at her.

Xue Yue whispered to Li Gaihua, "When you split from the family, did you get a written, stamped agreement?"

Li Gaihua nodded. That was exactly the problem. She never expected Zhao Xiantao to go back on her word today.

Xue Yue glanced around before whispering in Li Gaihua’s ear, "If she denies it, you can deny it too. Just say there was never any agreement for you to provide for them every year. After all, you were kicked out. She can play dirty, and so can you. There’s no proof either way."

Xue Yue was helping because when a thief broke into her house, He Daqiang and his wife had come to help in the middle of the night. No matter what, she remembered their kindness.

A flicker of understanding lit up Li Gaihua’s eyes. ’That’s right! If Zhao Xiantao can play dirty, so can I! I’ve been bullied this much already, what’s there to lose?’

Xue Yue quietly moved away from Li Gaihua and stood to the side again.

It was grain distribution day, so the entire village was gathered. The village chief, standing on the platform, had heard a good deal of the argument. He frowned, his face darkening as he watched the chaotic crowd forming, completely ignoring the grain distribution.

"He Guaizi, your wife is here raising hell! Are you going to let anyone else get their grain or not?"

He Guaizi quickly kicked Zhao Xiantao, who was still wailing on the ground. "That’s enough! The village chief is angry. We can talk about this later."

But how could Zhao Xiantao give up? If she couldn’t get the grain during the distribution today, it would be much harder to get it later. After all, it was 120 jin of fine grain.

"Village Chief, the eldest son and his wife are being unfilial! They’ll be struck by lightning for this! When the family split, we agreed they would give us 10 jin of fine grain every month, which is exactly 120 jin a year. They just received over a hundred jin of fine grain, which is the perfect amount for them to give us old folks."

Li Gaihua raised her voice. "Village Chief, Da Qiang and I never agreed to that! When the family split, Da Qiang and I were kicked out without a single thing! They even said we wouldn’t have to support them in their old age. All these years, Da Qiang gave them 120 jin of coarse grain annually only because he felt that, at the end of the day, he is his biological father. We didn’t expect that to just feed their greed! From now on, we won’t even give them the coarse grain. Since they said we don’t have to support them, we won’t!"

Hearing this, the surrounding crowd fell silent, then turned to look at Zhao Xiantao.

Zhao Xiantao was also stunned by her words. She yelled at Li Gaihua, "You’re lying! When did we ever say you didn’t have to support us in our old age?"

Li Gaihua snorted coldly. "You’re the ones who said it, and now you’re the ones going back on your word."

"We never said you didn’t have to support us!"

Li Gaihua sneered. "You’re really using your age to bully us. You claim we’re unfilial, but how much more filial do you want us to be? Should we carve off our own flesh to feed you? Your words are worthless, changing from one moment to the next. We can’t trust you anymore."

Zhao Xiantao looked at He Guaizi. "Husband, say something! Did you hear that? She’s planning to shamelessly deny her duty to support us! No, I won’t stand for it! If they refuse to support us in our old age, I’ll report them!"

He Guaizi turned to the ever-silent He Daqiang. "Da Qiang, are you just going to let your wife stand here and tell lies?"

He Daqiang gave a bitter smile and looked at He Guaizi. "My own father doesn’t even care if I live or die. What right do I have to control my wife? If my wife says it didn’t happen, then it didn’t happen."

"Da Qiang, are you planning to disown me as your father?" He Guaizi asked, incredulous.

He Daqiang snorted coldly and said nothing more.

The village chief’s voice boomed, "That’s enough! Take your family drama home. If you keep this up, your family won’t get any grain at all."

He Daqiang and Li Gaihua had already received their share, so they pushed their grain home. He Guaizi and Zhao Xiantao hadn’t had their turn yet, so they didn’t dare cause any more trouble. But as she watched He Daqiang and his wife push all that grain away, Zhao Xiantao seethed with a hatred so intense she nearly ground her teeth to dust.