1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

"Speak properly? Can you even understand human language? Zhang Baofu, my family is all here today, and I'll just say this once and for all! Do you want me and the child to move out, or do you want the three of us to make room for your nephew?!"

Zhang Baofu was speechless after being asked this question, and could only rub his face vigorously.

"Guilan, didn't the second brother already say that we should focus on getting Dahe's marriage settled first? Then the four of us can move to the storage room for a while. Once Kexin grows up and gets married, the house will naturally be returned to us. Don't pressure me anymore. Can't we just live a peaceful life together?"

Looking at his spineless brother-in-law, Chen Laonian had never seen such a clueless man in his life.

He'd rather his wife and children live in a drafty storage room than let his nephew have a nice house; he's incredibly foolish.

"Alright, Zhang Baofu, I understand what you're thinking. Guilan, let's not waste any more words with him, come home with me."

When Zhang Baofu saw that his wife was really going to leave with the child, he was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

"Hey, what are you doing! If you want to leave, you can leave yourself, but my son must stay here!"

Zhang Baofu hadn't taken Guilan's earlier fuss seriously. He believed that a woman from the countryside should follow her husband wherever he went, and there was no reason for her to go back to her parents' home so easily.

Even if there's a huge fight at home, in the end, it's always the woman who bows her head, compromises, apologizes, and life goes on as usual.

He thought this time would be the same, just a fight, the Chen family would vent their anger, and the matter would be over. But he never expected that the Chen family would be so ruthless this time, and that Chen Guilan was determined to break up with him!

Zhang's second son's wife quickly stepped forward and grabbed Chen Guilan's arm, feigning concern as she tried to persuade her.

"Sister-in-law, your mother-in-law just passed away, and you're already making a scene at home. Doesn't that make it difficult for the elderly to rest in peace? Is it wrong for your brother to care about his nephew? We're all family, why are you being so calculating?"

Chen Guilan flung her hand away and pointed at the second and third sons' noses.

"Stop trying to pin this on me! Since we're all family, why don't you ask your third brother to vacate the house for your son's wedding? Second brother, third brother, you two are such ingrates! How have your eldest brother and I treated you all these years? We helped you get married, and this is how you treat your sister-in-law? My fate is your fate tomorrow. Just you wait and see, your good son will learn all of your tricks too."

Chen Gaoshan stood beside Chen Laonian.

"Auntie, we can leave, but this matter must be settled clearly! It's not that the Zhang family doesn't want you, it's that you're not going to continue living with Uncle! Besides, everything that belongs to us must be taken with us; we can't let these people benefit from it! In all my years, I've never heard of a decent man who ignores the life or death of his wife and children, instead focusing all his attention on supporting his two married, able-bodied, and capable younger brothers!"

At this point, he turned to look at the neighbors watching outside the courtyard.

"All you uncles and aunties around here, you're all from the same village. Everyone knows what kind of people the Zhang family is. Why would we keep a spineless, clueless old man like Zhang Baofu around?"

Those villagers who had originally come to watch the excitement but were dragged over by the village head Zhang Guofa to help felt uncomfortable under Chen Gaoshan's fierce expression.

They lived next door to Old Zhang's family, so how could they not know what was going on in their family?

When Mrs. Zhang was alive, she was extremely biased, always favoring her second and third sons and treating the eldest son's family like slaves. Now that Mrs. Zhang is gone, the second and third sons still want the eldest son to do chores. The neighbors all know this perfectly well, but no one is willing to point it out to their faces.

In no time, the discussions outside the courtyard grew louder. People gathered in twos and threes, pointing and gossiping about the Zhang family members inside the courtyard. They even said unpleasant things into the courtyard, making the faces of the second and third branches of the Zhang family turn bright red with embarrassment.

A sound suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

"What are you all arguing about! You Zhang family have completely disgraced the village!"

Zhang Guofa walked into the courtyard, quickly went to Chen Laonian, and busied himself trying to smooth things over.

"His uncle, we country folk always advise reconciliation rather than separation. There's no reason to directly advise breaking up a relationship! I understand the whole story. It's a family matter, there's no need to make it unmanageable."

"Here's what we'll do. I'll make the decision today and divide the property among the three brothers right here and now. They can each live their own lives from now on. What do you think?"

As soon as Zhang Guofa finished speaking, his second son's wife jumped out from the crowd, grabbed Zhang Baofu's arm tightly, and cried and screamed.

"That won't do! Big brother, you promised us when Mother was dying that you would take good care of me and the second and third brothers' family. You can't go back on your word and abandon us!"

Zhang Laosan chimed in, "That's right, eldest brother, are you really going to abandon me and second brother? We're brothers born of the same mother!"

The two of them were talking back and forth, making Zhang Baofu's head spin and leaving him completely bewildered.

His legs went weak, and he squatted down on the ground again, pounding his head with both hands.

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed his son Zhang Kexin's arm.

"You're all pressuring me, you're all pressuring me! What am I supposed to do? Kexin, you're my own son. Your mother and your sister don't understand my difficulties. You have to know what your father is thinking! Those are your third and second uncles."

Seeing Zhang Baofu's clueless and pathetic state, Zhang Guofa was so angry that his face turned ashen. He immediately waved his hand, spat in annoyance, and decided to ignore the matter altogether.

"Fine, fine, I'm not going to interfere in your family's affairs anymore. Do whatever you want! Zhang Baofu, you're a fucking idiot! You don't care about your wife and kids at all. They deserve to suffer because of you. If they really leave, it's your own fault. You have no one to blame but yourself!"

Chen Guilan forcefully pulled her son back from Zhang Baofu's grasp and shielded him behind her. Without further hesitation, she turned and went into the house to pack her luggage.

The grain was divided among the family members, and not a single grain was given up for her and her two children. She didn't leave any of what belonged to her to the Zhang family to take advantage of.

"Sister-in-law, you can't take all the food from home! If you take it all, what will our whole family eat and drink?"

The third son's wife next to him also hurriedly shouted, staring intently at the fabric in Chen Guilan's arms.

"That's right, sister-in-law! This piece of cloth was specially saved for Dahe to make new clothes for his wedding. How could you touch it!"

Chen Guilan held a piece of cloth in her hand, while her two children followed beside her, moving bedding and tidying up odds and ends.

"Bullshit! You second and third wives, all you do is loaf around and wait to die! Who toiled in the fields to build this family? You still have the nerve to ask for anything! Everything that's mine, I'm taking it all, not a single penny left!"

Just as the Zhang family was about to step forward to stop and pull them apart.

Chen Gaoshan reached out and pulled out the Mauser pistol tucked into his waistband.

"Let's see who dares to stop me today!"

The second son's wife was so frightened that her soul almost left her body. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud, crying and screaming.

"Oh no! Murder! The Chen family are all bearded! They're armed and robbing our things! You'll all die a horrible death!"

Zhang Lao Er and Zhang Lao San were still unwilling to give up, and hesitantly moved forward, trying to stop them from moving the things.

Chen Laonian knocked down the two Zhang brothers with just two punches.

These guys wouldn't admit defeat until they were faced with a fatal blow. Without saying a word, Chen Gaoshan raised his hand and fired a shot into the air.

boom.

The courtyard and surrounding area fell completely silent; everyone stood frozen in place, afraid to move.

There's some truth to that; only the truth matters.

It wasn't until the move was complete that Zhang Baofu, still in a daze, finally came to his senses, looking at the empty house.

He staggered after them, crying and shouting desperately as he walked towards the carriage.

"Guilan, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Let's live a good life together from now on. We won't give up the house to Dahe. Please don't leave, please don't take the children with you!"

Chen Laonian suppressed his anger, stopped, and quickly walked back, kicking Zhang Baofu in the stomach.

"You know you're wrong that your wife is running away? So you still want to coax my sister back to continue suffering with you, right? Zhang Baofu, you're such a fool! Stop pretending to be so tough! Look at your big, thick head, you're like a cowardly bastard who's become a demon. You're not a real man. It's a waste that you've been holding onto that thing down there. If you can't even handle things at home, you can forget about your wife and kids."

Chen Laonian didn't go all out with that kick, but it still hurt Zhang Baofu so much that he curled up on the ground, sweating profusely, and couldn't straighten up for a long time.

"Brother, I was wrong, really. Please don't take Guilan and the child away."

Old Chen grabbed him by the collar and threw him aside.

"You should really think about how to be a real man now."

The cart was completely crammed with grain, bedding, pots and pans, clothes—everything that Chen Guilan had painstakingly acquired over the years was loaded onto the cart. There was so much stuff that there wasn't even enough room for anyone else to sit on it.

Chen Gaoshan led the horse and his two younger siblings forward.

"Xiaxia, Kexin, when we get home, I'll ask your sister-in-law to make you some hand-pulled noodles. You must be starving."

Xiaxia quickly and sensibly shook her head.

"Second brother, Kexin and I will just eat cornbread. We can leave the wheat flour for Uncle and Aunt."

Back in the Zhang family, the white flour and refined grains were always eaten by Grandma. She would secretly save them all for Dahe, while the siblings could only eat cornbread and sorghum rice, and they still weren't full.

Chen Gaoshan patted the little girl's head.

"From now on, our whole family will eat white flour, and there will be plenty to eat."

Chen Guilan followed behind the carriage, listening to her nephew's words, and tears streamed down her face.

Ultimately, a woman needs brothers in her family to stand up for herself; otherwise, if she suffers injustice, she has nowhere to turn.

She had already planned two escape routes for today's incident. No matter what, she was determined to ensure that her child would have enough to eat every day and would never have to suffer again.