1970s: A hot-tempered wife who accompanied a soldier to the military compound and made a fortune.

Chapter 308 Cutting the Trouble with a Quick Sword

Xia Qiu hadn't been married into the family for long and didn't know her aunt very well, but Qiu Shaofeng was different. After hearing his sister-in-law's words, he immediately realized, "Chu Xue's analysis is correct. Aunt is probably doing this for our second branch of the family."

Just as they were talking, Zhang Shanmei said, "I bore children for the Qiu family. Did I want to have a difficult childbirth? Why should I go back to my parents' home to get money?"

Wang Lihua also stepped forward: "Mother-in-law, you know my family's situation. My second brother's marriage is settled, and the betrothal gifts were exchanged with the in-laws last month. We really can't afford to pay for it right now."

Aunt Qiu looked distressed and asked Grandma Qiu, "Grandma, what do you think about this?"

Grandma Qiu could easily see what the eldest son's family meant, but the old lady had been strong all her life and would not make a fool of herself by being unfair when it came to dividing the family property: "The matter of dividing the family property was agreed upon beforehand. Shanmei has borne children for the Qiu family and this time it was indeed dangerous. It is only right to spend this money for her, but to be frank, this is the eldest son's family's business. You can't expect the second son's family to take responsibility for you."

Originally, I planned to give the betrothal gifts and dowry money for Shaohe and Shaomei's wedding first, and then divide the rest among you. But this time, all the family's savings have been spent, so this plan can no longer be considered.

At this moment, Qiu Shaomei, the youngest in the family, asked in confusion, "Grandma, aren't we separating the family anymore?"

Grandma Qiu knew everyone had misunderstood, so she waved her hand and said, "The family needs to be divided. After all, your uncle and your father are both grandfathers and maternal grandfathers now. It's inevitable that there will be some friction if so many people are still working together in the same pot. It's better to divide it up so that we can have peace of mind."

Everyone looked at Grandma Qiu, and then they heard her say, "That two hundred and sixty is all the money in the house."

At this point, she glanced at the second wife's family and sighed, "After your father and I separated from the family, I lived with the first wife's family. This was agreed upon beforehand, so of the two hundred and sixty, you will each receive one hundred yuan. Do you have any objections?" Mr. Qiu and Mrs. Qiu exchanged glances, thinking: We're not short of money now, where will this one hundred yuan come from?
The couple nodded to Grandma Qiu: "We'll listen to you, Grandma, we have no objections."

Aunt Qiu glanced at her husband, then looked at Grandma Qiu: "Grandma, what's wrong?"

Grandma Qiu looked at the eldest son's family: "Of the two hundred and sixty yuan, I'll decide to give one hundred yuan to the second son's family. But you've already spent the money, so consider it a loan to the second son's family. You'll have to pay it back later. Do you have any objections?"

The eldest son's family naturally had objections, but they dared not say them aloud.

Then Grandma Qiu continued, "Then came the day of Shao Cheng's wedding. Originally, the family should have paid for the banquet, but as you can see from the current situation..."

She looked at her second grandson again: "Laichang, I'm sorry to your second branch of the family this time. Can you figure out how to pay for the banquet yourselves?"

Since his great-grandmother had said so, Mr. Qiu naturally couldn't say anything like "no." He knew his great-grandmother's predicament, and even if he disagreed, what could he do? In the end, it would probably only make things awkward: "Grandma, do you mean that this family should be separated from now on?"

Grandma Qiu nodded: "Yes, I was thinking that after Shaocheng got married, only Shaohe and Shaomei would be left in the family. I would take out their betrothal gifts and dowry money first, and your father and I would keep a few dozen yuan for ourselves. The rest would be divided among you. But plans can't keep up with changes, so I had to cut my losses and just do it this way."

(End of this chapter)