Chapter 2

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“When a person dies, there’s only one lamp. Shouldn’t it light my house for seven days and seven nights? However, Chen Baolai and Mrs. Li took it and brought it to their own house. You are not the only ones who are mother’s family. My husband is also her son!”

The villagers shook their heads repeatedly. When they looked at Mrs. Li standing in the courtyard, their gazes were a little strange.

Chen Xiaosang clenched her fists. She could not hide anymore. She ran out to the yard and put her little hand into her mother’s palm. She looked up at her mother with her tender neck.

Her mother had been suffering from Mrs. Qian’s anger over the past few days, so she definitely felt bad. Now that she was being slandered by Mrs. Qian in front of everyone, she was probably even more furious.

Seeing her daughter looking at her worriedly, Mrs. Li’s heart warmed up. She scooped up Xiaosang with both arms and carried her out of the courtyard again.

The villagers dispersed one after another. Mrs. Li walked up to Mrs. Qian and said, “Mother married into our family, so she is a member of our family. For the past few decades, it was my family who bought medicine for her to recuperate. When she died, it was my family who paid for her burial. Today, you stopped her from being buried. I haven’t even settled the score with you yet, and you still have the face to come to my house to make a scene?”

“She didn’t let her mother-in-law get buried? What happened?”

Someone who knew about this hurriedly said, “This morning, when the Chen family was carrying the coffin up the mountain, Mrs. Qian refused to let it be buried no matter what. They caused a commotion for fifteen minutes.”

“She dared to stop an old person from being buried? It would not be too much even if she were to be beaten to death! Mrs. Li, hit her! Hit her hard!”

“I personally think that Mrs. Li went way too easy on her. If it were me, I would have definitely broken her limbs.”

The villagers glared at Madam Qian, wishing they could slap her themselves.

In their culture, those who had passed away were to be treated with utmost respect. When funeral affairs were being held, everyone had to give way.

The burial of the dead was a big deal. If they missed the right time and offended the King of Hell, the dead would become a wandering soul. It was not far off from killing one’s father and stealing his wife.

Mrs. Qian panicked and hurriedly said, “What do you know? My mother-in-law said that she would give half of the family property to my family. Once she dies, how could they possibly acknowledge it. That was why I wanted them to split the inheritance right in front of my mother-in-law. Can’t you see? My mother-in-law was just buried, and they don’t want to acknowledge her will. They’re the ones who are disregarding her!”

The villagers hesitated. It now seemed to them that both sides had faults, so it was difficult to decide who to support.

Mrs. Li wanted to go up and slap Mrs. Qian a few times. She was clearly lying through her teeth. When did mother-in-law say that she would give her any property?

“Mother-in-law, why did you have to go? Look at this, your youngest son is bullying your eldest son just because he has more people on his side. You toiled your entire life to build four big brick houses, but your youngest son took them all away. Mother-in-law, you can’t close your eyes even if you die. Please show us your spirit and help your eldest son…”

Mrs. Qian slapped her thigh and wailed. She conveniently wrenched her snot and threw it on the ground.

Seeing that she did not seem to be lying, the villagers slowly came to believe her words.

Just as they were about to help persuade her, they heard loud cries. They looked in the direction of the cries and saw that it was coming from the young daughter of the Chen family, Xiaosang. The little girl was sobbing with her eyes closed.

Mrs. Li did not bother to continue quarreling with Mrs. Qian and hurriedly coaxed her daughter, “Xiaosang, don’t be scared. Everything’s alright, Xiaosang. Mother will carry you back to the house.”

Chen Xiaosang grabbed Mrs. Li’s shoulder and pointed at Mrs. Qian with her other hand while crying, “She’s a bad person who lies. I live in the same house as grandma, but I’ve never heard grandma say that she would give her any inheritance.”

Everyone was in an uproar. Xiaosang was only six years old, and she would not know how to lie. In other words, Mrs. Qian was lying just now.

Mrs. Qian panicked. “You weren’t there when your grandma told me.”

“I stayed in grandma’s room all this time. You never came to look for grandma. Grandma would even say that uncle was unfilial and never came to see her even when she was already about to die. She said that daddy was still the best and had taken care of her for decades. When she goes to the netherworld, she would definitely bless our family and my health.”

Chen Xiaosang added, “Grandma said that you’re unfilial and didn’t even give her a dose of medicine. You’re a bad person and a liar!”

“A child can’t lie. I think that Baolai’s wife was speaking the truth.”

“I live nearby and I’ve never seen Qingshan bring the old woman any medicine.”

“You didn’t even care for your mother-in-law when she was alive yet you want to divide her property after she dies? What kind of logic is this?”

“There’s one filial son and one unfilial son. Baolai’s mother would have to be absolutely stupid to give any inheritance to Qingshan.”

“What does Qingshan even need the inheritance for? I’ve heard that Qingshan’s family is living rather prosperously. Baolai’s family has two ill, and it would be difficult for them even if they had a mountain of gold and silver. Their lives are hard.”

The more the villagers talked, the more enthusiastic they became. They no longer held any sympathy for Mrs. Qian.

Mrs. Qian jumped up and pointed at the onlookers, scolding, “She’s her daughter. How could you believe her? I even gave her ten copper coins during the New Year.”

“During the New Year, my family invited you to visit your mother-in-law, yet nobody from your family came. That being the case, how could you have given your mother-in-law ten copper coins? Did you have a dog bring it here?” Mrs. Li asked angrily.

“You didn’t even come to visit your mother-in-law during the New Year?”

“Was Qingshan afraid that Baolai would ask him for some medicine money?”

“Isn’t Qingshan living a good life? Why wouldn’t he be willing to give his mother some money for medicine?”

Mrs. Li saw that everyone in the village was now making fun of Mrs. Qian. She patted Xiaosang’s head and said softly, “Good job, Xiaosang.”

Hearing the accusations, Chen Xiaosang felt relieved. She leaned over and whispered into Mrs. Li’s ear, “Mommy, I don’t want to give away the house.”

Mrs. Li patted Chen Xiaosang’s back to show that she understood.

She and Chen Baolai had worked hard for half of their lives to get this house. How could she give it to someone else? She was not a fool.

Mrs. Qian could not scold the surrounding people, so she could only face Mrs. Li, “The elders in the clan said in the morning that they wanted me to split the family wealth. If you don’t want to split it, let’s go to the clan leader’s house and talk.”

“Alright, I’ll go with you right now. Since you want to divide the family’s wealth, your five big brick houses will also be divided, and your family’s silver will also be divided.” Mrs. Li said firmly.

Mrs. Qian exploded, “Why should I give you my things?””

Her three sons were all successful and had saved up a lot of money. She would suffer a huge loss if she split their wealth with Chen Baolai’s family. She was here to ask for money, not to give any away.

“Don’t your family have the money that mother-in-law has saved up? If you want to split the inheritance, then we must split it all together. We must carry things out thoroughly. The house, land, food, and silver have to be redistributed. All these years, mother-in-law has been eating and drinking, and the money for her medicine should have been split equally between our two families!”

Mrs. Qian was so angry that she stomped her feet. “The land and the house were left behind by my ancestors. Why should I give them to you? Are you trying to take advantage of me?”

“My family’s land and home were also left behind by my ancestors. You’re already asking me for it, so why can’t I ask you for yours? If you want to be filial, can I stop you? Today, I’ll let you make up for what you owe me from the past few years. Do your filial piety and keep the lamp lit for your family. Mother-in-law will protect your children and grandchildren.”

After she finished speaking, Mrs. Li felt her entire body relax.

Recently, she had been busy with the wake and did not dare to disturb her mother-in-law. She had always endured the trouble caused by Mrs. Qian. Now that the matter was over, she did not need to endure it any longer.

The surroundings quieted down, and everyone was dumbfounded.

Chen Xiaosang buried her face in her mother’s shoulder and laughed secretly. Her mother was really amazing.

Since she wanted to split the family wealth, she should do it thoroughly. When the time came, her family would be the one benefiting.

Mrs. Qian was simply shooting herself in the foot.