What?
Splitting the family?
Like a bolt from the blue,
Everyone's chopsticks clattered to the floor.
Sun Hui looked especially incredulous.
Wang Weichuan and Wang Weidong exchanged glances, their faces as bitter as gourds.
Zhang Yun was smarter than Sun Hui.
She had already given birth to two sons, and all their expenses were covered by Wang Jianguo and Yu Lanhua.
If the family split, they’d have to shoulder these costs themselves.
Yu Lanhua wasn’t some tyrannical mother-in-law—on the contrary, she was fair-minded. The family ate together, worked together, and when the production team distributed earnings, she only asked her sons to contribute a small portion, keeping the rest for savings.
Sun Hui just wanted her mother-in-law to treat everyone equally, not to split the family.
But now, she couldn’t bring herself to back down.
Yu Lanhua’s outburst about dividing the household had been impulsive.
Yet after saying it, she felt no regret—only a strange sense of relief.
Wang Jianguo was silent for a moment.
"Are you really sure about this?"
"Yes, I’ve made up my mind."
Yu Lanhua had dreams of her own. She refused to spend the rest of her life trapped by her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren.
She’d raised her children through thick and thin, arranged their marriages, and cared for her grandchildren. She’d done more than enough.
Life was short. In the time she had left, she wanted to shine for herself—to earn money!
(ง •_•)ง
Shen Nanchu hadn’t expected Yu Lanhua to push for splitting the family so soon—and with such determination.
Wang Weichuan and Wang Weidong turned to Shen Nanchu in unison. "Comrade Shen, please talk some sense into our mother. Don’t let her split us up."
"No."
Without hesitation, Shen Nanchu refused.
Yu Lanhua shot her disappointing sons a glare.
"Don’t drag Comrade Shen into this. This is my decision—she had nothing to do with it."
Wang Weichuan muttered under his breath, "If not for her putting ideas in your head, would you even think of splitting the family?"
"Exactly! This all traces back to her," Wang Weidong chimed in.
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Yu Lanhua grew even angrier.
"You two ungrateful brats! Do you think your mother’s a fool who can be swayed by a few words from Comrade Shen?"
"Exactly."
Shen Nanchu applauded.
"Why does Aunt Lanhua want to split the family? Maybe you should ask yourselves that."
Her gaze swept across everyone in the courtyard.
"Ever since I arrived in Wang Family Village, every time I’ve visited the village head’s home, I’ve seen Aunt Lanhua in the kitchen, while her daughters-in-law either coddled their children or clutched their stomachs, claiming discomfort."
"Aunt Lanhua’s clothes are faded from washing, yet her sons dress smartly."
"And if I’m not mistaken, this smallest, dimmest room belongs to Aunt Lanhua and the village head, doesn’t it?"
...
Wang Weichuan and Wang Weidong hung their heads in shame.
Sun Hui, however, remained defiant.
"I’m pregnant—it’s exhausting! Mom’s cooking is better than ours, so what’s wrong with her doing it? We wash dishes too!"
"You break a dish every time you wash one. I ended up doing it after you," Wang Jianguo added quietly.
Sun Hui doubled down.
"I bought fabric for Mom—she just didn’t want to use it!"
"Didn’t you take it back after two days, saying you needed it for the baby’s clothes?" Wang Jianguo delivered another precise jab.
Sun Hui stubbornly insisted, "We didn’t force Mom to give up this room—she offered it!"
"Wasn’t it because you said your dowry wouldn’t fit in a smaller space?" Wang Jianguo remembered every detail.
Sun Hui’s excuses were stripped away, layer by layer, and trampled underfoot.
Shen Nanchu hadn’t expected the drama to be this intense.
She gave Yu Lanhua a thumbs-up.
"Aunt Lanhua, you’re the best mother-in-law in Wang Family Village—no, in all of Ning’an Town!"
Yu Lanhua straightened her back proudly.
"Damn right."
"If my daughters-in-law aren’t great, at least I’ll be the best mother-in-law!"
Having suffered under her own mother-in-law’s harsh treatment, Yu Lanhua knew what it was like to endure hardship. Now, she wanted to shelter others from the same pain.
"Nanchu, my eldest son, Wang Weimin, is a company commander in the army."
Shen Nanchu was puzzled.
Weren’t they discussing splitting the family? Why was Aunt Lanhua bringing up her eldest son?
In the few days they’d spent together, Yu Lanhua had genuinely grown fond of this girl—beautiful, clever, capable, and well-off.
She outshone her two pig-headed daughters-in-law by miles.
Blushing, Yu Lanhua made a bold pitch.
"If you’re unattached, would you consider my eldest son?"
What?
Shen Nanchu wondered if she’d misheard.
Sun Hui and Zhang Yun exchanged knowing looks.
"So that’s why she’s been so nice to Comrade Shen—she wants her as a daughter-in-law!"
"Hah! And she made splitting the family sound so noble. As if Weidong and his brother are dragging them down."
Sun Hui had a talent for twisting the truth.
"Sun Hui, shut your filthy mouth."
"Splitting the family has nothing to do with Comrade Shen!"
To Sun Hui and Zhang Yun, Yu Lanhua’s words sounded like desperate excuses.
"Mom, if you favor Big Brother, just say so. No need for this charade."
"Mom, I’ve given you two healthy grandsons. Even if I’ve made mistakes, just tell me—I’ll change."
Zhang Yun was shrewder than Sun Hui, playing the victim card.
"Think whatever you want."
"But the family is splitting—that’s final."
Yu Lanhua’s resolve was firmer than Shen Nanchu had imagined.
Wang Weichuan and Wang Weidong were dead set against it.
Sun Hui and Zhang Yun didn’t want it either—but they resented how Yu Lanhua doted on Shen Nanchu.
"Mom, if word gets out that our family split over a chicken leg, the whole village will laugh at us!"
Wang Weidong tried to muddy the waters and sweep the issue under the rug.
"Hmph!"
The mention of the chicken leg reignited Yu Lanhua’s anger.
"That chicken was brought by Nanchu! Was it wrong to give her two drumsticks?"
"If you’re so capable, bring home a whole chicken! I’ll give you the entire bird!"
Sun Hui flushed when she learned the chicken was from Shen Nanchu.
But she refused to admit fault.
"Who just gives away a whole chicken for no reason?"
"Nothing comes for free—she must have her eyes on Big Brother!"
Shen Nanchu, an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, felt wronged.
All she did was gift a chicken—and now a family was splitting because of it.
Not her fault!
In a small voice, she clarified:
"Um... I’m already married."
...
