The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 364 - 353: The Xia Family Splits

Lu Jingqiu left her uncle’s house and went to the community center to make a call to Jiang Nanzhou.

"Nanzhou, I’ve arrived, got here this morning."

"Good to hear you’ve made it home. Rest up for a few days. I’m going to school in a few days, and I’ll give you a call then."

"Okay."

"Also, I submitted the article you wrote to Editor Liu. He said it’s quite good."

"Really? Can it be used?"

"Whether it can be used or not, keep an eye on the newspapers on the 15th."

"Okay, tell dad and grandpa I’ve arrived. So they won’t worry."

"Okay."

After talking to Jiang Nanzhou on the phone, she went over to the apartment building. It had been a long time since she’d been home, and there was dust everywhere.

She turned on the gas stove to boil some hot water and cleaned up the place.

...

"Big Brother, our dad is the village chief. If you take our parents away to enjoy their lives, who will be the village chief then? If dad steps down, any good policies for our village won’t benefit us brothers. You were led out by our younger sister and struck it rich by luck.

But your two younger brothers haven’t had that chance yet.

We’re about to get this project for contracting our hilltop and fish ponds, not to mention the land, the open fields at the foot of our hill are hundreds of acres, and renting them out for ten years is five yuan per acre. Second Brother and I have discussed this. We’`ll rent twenty acres together and take a fish pond contract. Dad has already arranged it for us. This isn’t the time to leave. Right, Linlin?"

Xia Lin felt coming back for the New Year was a mistake.

This year, she didn’t feel the long-missed affection of her family but instead the various schemes of her sisters-in-law; even her brothers had changed.

Indeed, some people can share in hardship but not in prosperity.

When it comes to self-interest, everyone is selfish.

Since Second Brother had brought it up, she couldn’t just shrink back without a response. She cleared her throat and said, "Big Brother, your intention to take mom and dad to the city to enjoy life is kind.

But it would be a pity if dad stepped down as village chief at this time.

Didn’t you hear what Second Brother said? Our village has had quite a few good policies over the past few years. If we really leave now, we’d be at a huge loss."

In her previous life, her dad lost his position as the village chief because Lu Jingqiu’s dad had pulled strings behind the scenes.

Those were indeed good policy years, with initiatives on breeding, fish pond contracting, and land leasing.

And planting fruit trees as well.

Many people got rich from these opportunities, and even though her father was a good village chief, he had offended many petty people during those years. After he was no longer village chief, many came to kick him while he was down, scheming behind his back.

Second Brother did take up a fish pond contract, but because someone tampered with it, he suffered a lot of losses.

Third Brother didn’t lease any land either. He worked his small plot of land day in and day out, facing the yellow earth and the sky, and didn’t achieve much. Later, when his children grew up and needed money, he joined the workforce migrating to the cities, toiling tirelessly on construction sites.

There wasn’t a single person in the family who lived comfortably.

She was back now, and for some reason in this life, nothing had happened to Lu Jingqiu, and her father had no reason to take revenge on them.

So, her father still sat firmly in the position of village chief. No matter how small the official position seemed, it carried a lot of weight in the village life.

Therefore, the position of village chief couldn’t be lost.

Gao Shu also nodded in agreement, "Linlin is right, dad is doing a good job as the village chief, he can’t just give it up like that." freёwebnoѵel.com

Third Sister-in-law snorted softly, "Little Sister, don’t you see? It’s not about letting mom and dad enjoy their lives; I think Big Sister-in-law just wants them there to help look after the children."

Big Brother Xia’s family had three children, and both he and his wife were busy all the time outside, with no time to take care of the kids. Their only thought was to have Mom go over to help watch the children." After speaking, Second Sister-in-law Xia turned to Big Sister-in-law Xia and said, "Big sister-in-law, I’m right, aren’t I? But you can’t just think about yourself in everything. We are one big family. Not to mention my youngest is only two years old, and Xia Lao San’s little one just had their first birthday, and there’s another on the way. If our parents go with you, what will happen to our two families?"

Sitting off to the side, Third Sister-in-law Xia didn’t speak, but she looked grievously at her husband while holding her belly with one hand.

Seeing his wife so aggrieved, the man couldn’t bear it and said, "Big brother, you can leave if you want, but our parents cannot. Unless you have the ability to settle both me and Second Brother in the city, and we all relocate, then that would be different."

Big Brother Xia frowned and said, "What are you talking about, Third Brother? What ability do I have? It’s all thanks to our younger sister giving us the opportunity to make money that we have today. I originally thought about taking our parents to the city to enjoy a better life, but before they could even speak, you all started causing a fuss."

Second Brother Xia said, "Big brother, you are not considering this right. No matter how capable you are outside, you can’t abandon the foundation of our home. A home, no matter how run-down, is still home."

Big Sister-in-law Xia retorted, "Aren’t you exaggerating a bit too much, Second Brother? We had good intentions, but you’re making our filial piety seem worthless."

Second Sister-in-law Xia said, "After all is said and done, it’s because Big Brother has money now, and he just wants to show off in front of our two families.

If you ask me, our younger sister isn’t being fair. At first, she said it was for Big Sister-in-law to go help out. Couldn’t Big Brother have made enough money on his own? Yet the second time, Big Brother was asked to go too.

Before our sister got married, both Second Brother and Xia Lao San truly doted on her. When you wanted to eat meat and we had no money at home, Second Brother worked an entire day and ran to the river late at night to catch fish for you.

And not to mention Xia Lao San, whenever someone bullied you, he was the first one to rush forward and fight for you. On the contrary, Big Brother didn’t treat you that well normally; it’s just that when it comes to benefiting the family, he’s the first to reap the advantages."

Xia Lin hadn’t expected the conversation to drag her into it and looked at her second sister-in-law, filled with disappointment, knowing why she had not wanted Second Sister-in-law to go there in the first place—because she knew this sister-in-law liked to stir up trouble.

"Second Sister-in-law, what are you implying with your words? Are you blaming me for not helping Second Brother and Xia Lao San? When I initially suggested Second Brother go, you said the child was too young, and you were unwilling. And regarding Xia Lao San, Third Sister-in-law had just given birth to my niece, and didn’t want to leave her. That’s why I asked Big Brother to go instead.

I married a city man and started a workshop, wanting to find someone from our own family—to help support our parents’ home. But now it seems that I was wrong. Wasn’t I? I was wrong to only let Big Brother go there, right, Second Sister-in-law?"

Second Sister-in-law Xia pursed her lips and kept silent. That wasn’t what she had meant.

After a long silence, Village Chief Xia suddenly slammed his hand on the table: "Enough, no more arguing. Your mother and I are not going anywhere. From now on, no matter who among you becomes successful, we will not leave Ten-miles Village. Big Brother, since you bought a house in the city and the kids have already moved to the city with you, then stay in the city and do business well with Linlin.

Now the policies are getting better and better. This year we have a surplus of grain.

Your mother and I were actually planning, after the New Year, to build a new house at the end of the village and separate the family."

Upon hearing about the division of the household, all the siblings looked astonished and quickly said, "Mom and Dad, we were wrong. Why split the family? Won’t it be laughed at?"

"What’s there to laugh about? It’s not like the past when each family relied on manpower, huddling together without dividing the household.

Now, everyone has their own land and won’t be short of food.

Every family has surplus grain and even spare cash. With more possessions, a large family living together starts to have secret thoughts and calculations.

Consider how many family disputes I’ve had to mediate over this past year.

So, that’s why your mother and I were thinking of splitting the household.

The family has some money these years, plus the filial piety money given by your older brother, and the filial piety money your younger sister gave to us, which together amount to a couple of thousand yuan now.

Your mother and I have our eyes on a plot of land not far from the former Educated Youth Spot.

Next year, that area will be allocated as residential land, prepared for the young village couples getting married. A residential plot costs two hundred yuan.

We will build a three-room adobe house there. On this side, the old residence, we will add a dividing wall, then construct a kitchen and a side room for each of you. The house on that side is small; this one is big. When the time comes, we will draw lots to choose the houses. Additionally, since we are staying with Big Brother, we will build him one extra room. Does anyone have any objections?"

As Village Chief Xia finished speaking, the daughters-in-law all made faces but dared not say anything.

The sons didn’t think it was a bad idea, but it left them feeling uneasy.

Off to the side, Xia Lin and Gao Shu kept silent.

Xia Lin now didn’t want to spend another moment in her hometown.

Her return this time was a mistake. It was good to divide the household; after that, she would only need to take care of her parents.

She would no longer get involved in anything else.