Bringing Good Luck to your Husband in the 70s - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Family Separation

Zhang Cui’e and her husband have originally fallen out with the Han family. They didn’t have the nerve to bring up the marriage again, but by chance, her daughter fell into the water and was saved by Han Aiguo. Since Han Aiguo had held her daughter in his arms, they saw this as the perfect opportunity to force him to take responsibility and rekindle the marriage.

They had always been optimistic about Han Aiguo. A son-in-law like him was rare. If not for his broken leg, they never would have withdrawn the engagement in the first place. Now that his leg had healed, it seemed like the perfect time to push for the marriage again. With this incident, it looked as if fate itself had tied their two families together.

Old Man Wang and Zhang Cui’e knew in their hearts that it was cruel to force a marriage over such an incident, but with everyone around them blaming their family, they dared not be too overbearing. Instead, they rolled their eyes and played the pitiful card.

“Oh! We don’t want this either,” they said tearfully. “But our daughter, a good and pure girl, was seen and touched by a man in front of so many people. How could she marry anyone else in the future? I can’t just leave her to rot at home as an old maid. You all have daughters, if something like this happened to them, what would you do?”

Hearing this, the onlookers wavered. They felt the Wang family’s reasoning was not entirely wrong. A girl’s reputation was delicate; if ruined, it would be difficult to find a marriage. If it had been their own daughter, they too might have demanded the rescuer take responsibility.

Now that Han Aiguo had “saved” her and “ruined” her innocence, marriage seemed like a solution beneficial to both sides. After all, Wang Yaru’s looks were considered among the best in the brigade. To marry her wasn’t exactly a loss.

Soon, several people began to shout that Han Aiguo should just marry Wang Yaru.

Su Yue nearly rolled her eyes. These people really had no conscience; they were so easy to talk when they weren’t the ones suffering.

Seeing the crowd swayed by the Wang family’s pitiful act, Su Yue finally stepped forward to tear their lie apart.

She had come out deliberately wrapped in a thin quilt, her hair disheveled and still damp, looking very much like someone who had just been in the water. She walked up to Wang Yaru with an expression of shocked disbelief.

“What’s going on with you? I clearly saved you! How can you say it was Brother Han who saved you?”

“Ah?” Wang Yaru was stunned, caught off guard by her words. The crowd was also confused, exchanging uncertain looks.

Su Yue then displayed the best acting of her life; her expression carried surprise, a hint of contempt, and an aggrieved innocence.

“I saw you fall into the water and call for help. I happened to be passing by. Since Brother Han’s legs were inconvenient, I thought it would be better for me to save you, so I went down myself. After pulling you out, Brother Han kindly gave me some clothes. But when I saw how disheveled you looked, I gave you my clothes instead. I even stayed to give you water and didn’t leave until you woke up. So how can you claim Brother Han saved you? He never even looked at you.”

“Impossible!” Wang Yaru shrieked, her face draining of color.

“How is it impossible?” Su Yue pressed coldly. “When I rescued you, Aunt Sun and her two sons saw the whole thing. My wet clothes are still unwashed at home, if you don’t believe me, go look for yourself. Or call Aunt Sun and her sons here for a confrontation.”

As if on cue, Aunt Sun, having already heard about the matter, rushed over. The moment she arrived, she grabbed Wang Yaru and snapped, “What nonsense is this? It was clearly Su Yue who pulled you out of the water. The eldest of the Han family never touched you from beginning to end. You’re lying through your teeth!”

Wang Yaru’s face turned ashen, and her legs nearly gave out. “I…I…”

Su Yue’s and Aunt Sun’s words exploded in the crowd like thunder. Everyone instantly saw through the Wang family’s sinister scheme: they had deliberately tried to blackmail Han Aiguo.

Disgust and contempt filled every gaze directed at the Wang family. Truly shameless! Such people could never live in harmony with others.

The Wang family hadn’t expected things to unravel this way. How could the “rescuer” suddenly turn out to be the female educated youth instead of Han Aiguo?

At this point, Old Lady Han stepped forward, hands on her hips, and pointed angrily at the Wang family.

“You people came here deliberately to frame my eldest son! What grudge do you have against him? Back then, when his leg was injured, you looked down on him and made a scene to break the engagement. Now that his leg has healed, you shamelessly come crawling back, and since I refused, you came up with such a vicious scheme! If Su Yue hadn’t happened to be there to save your daughter, wouldn’t you have forced this mess onto my son? I’ve never seen such shameless people repaying kindness with malice!”

Old Lady Han scolded them furiously, without even pausing to take a breath. Under her barrage and the crowd’s contempt, the Wang family lost all face. Zhang Cui’e and Old Man Wang’s complexions turned from red to pale, wishing they could crawl into a hole.

Their scheme exposed, their reputation ruined, Wang Yaru burst into tears. She turned and ran from the crowd, crying, “I don’t want to live anymore!”

Zhang Cui’e wanted to follow, but Old Lady Han moved quickly, catching her by the arm. “You think you can just walk away? Not so easy! Second, third, fourth—guard the gate. The Wang family won’t leave until they give us an explanation today!”

Han Lao-er, Han Lao-san, and the youngest, Han Aimin, immediately rushed to block the door like door gaurds, refusing to let the Wang family leave.

The Wangs panicked. “What are you doing? Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, our family won’t hold Han Aiguo responsible anymore.”

“Pah!” Old Lady Han spat angrily. “You think you can just say ‘forget it’? Our Han family is not here for you to bully at will. You withdraw when you want, accuse when you want, and now walk away when you want? Impossible! You’ve dragged our family through the mud, ruined my eldest son’s reputation, and you think you can leave without paying the price?”

Old Man Wang broke out in a cold sweat. Realizing they couldn’t escape, he asked nervously, “Then what do you want?”

“Compensation!” Old Lady Han declared firmly. “You slandered my son and caused chaos in our household. You must pay.”

Zhang Cui’e bristled. “We didn’t do anything! We just misunderstood. Why should we pay? You’re blackmailing us!”

“Fine,” Old Lady Han said icily. “Then let’s go to the Party Secretary. We’ll let the brigade decide whether you should pay.”

Hearing that, the Wang couple turned pale. They knew very well the villagers and cadres would side with the Han family, given how shameless their own actions had been.

After a long moment, Old Man Wang finally swallowed his pride. “Then… how much do you want?”

Without hesitation, Old Lady Han raised two fingers. “Twenty yuan. Pay, and we’ll forget it. Refuse, and we’ll go to the brigade. Let’s see if the reputation of a soldier who served the country is worth twenty yuan.”

The Wang couple froze. They wanted to protest, but at the mention of “a soldier’s reputation,” their courage crumbled. Han Aiguo’s leg was healed so he might even return to the army one day. His future was bright. Offending such a family was dangerous.

What was twenty yuan compared to their family’s safety?

So Old Man Wang scraped together twenty yuan from their relatives on the spot and handed it over.

Old Lady Han accepted it without a shred of politeness. Having thoroughly humiliated the Wangs, she finally waved her hand. “Go.”

The Wang family left in disgrace, their earlier arrogance gone.

Once the crowd dispersed, only the Han family and Su Yue remained.

Su Yue gave Old Lady Han a thumbs-up. “Auntie, you were amazing. Your fighting strength is incredible.”

Old Lady Han chuckled, still fuming. “I was just too angry at their shamelessness. If I didn’t put them in their place, they would’ve thought our Han family was easy to bully.”

With that, she stuffed the twenty yuan into Su Yue’s hand. “Good girl, this money is yours. If not for you, your Brother Han would have been blackmailed by those people. This is money warding off disaster, and you were the one who took the disaster in his place. You should keep it.”

Su Yue quickly tried to refuse. “I don’t want it, Auntie. Keep it to treat Brother Han’s leg.”

But Old Lady Han insisted, and Han Aiguo finally helped by stuffing the money into Su Yue’s pocket. “Take it. Don’t argue.”

Seeing this, Su Yue gave him a look as if to say, See, I was right. Han Aiguo touched his nose awkwardly, realizing she was indeed right.

The family had lost most of the day dealing with this chaos. Since it was too late to return to work, Old Lady Han gathered everyone inside for a family meeting.

Su Yue wanted to leave, feeling it inappropriate as an outsider to stay, but Old Lady Han held her hand firmly. “Sit, listen.” The others didn’t object as everyone already saw Su Yue as part of the family.

Then Old Lady Han dropped a bombshell.

“Today, I want to talk about separating the family.”

The brothers’ expressions changed instantly. Even the second daughter-in-law stared wide-eyed in shock.

“Mother, what are you saying?” Han Lao-er blurted out. “Separation? Didn’t you say we’d wait until Eldest Brother’s leg healed? Why bring it up now?”

Old Lady Han looked at him and spoke calmly. “Originally, I planned to wait. But your eldest brother’s treatment has cost too much, and the whole family is tense. I’m getting older and don’t want to see endless quarrels. So let’s separate now. Each of you can live your own life in peace.

“Second and third sons, you will manage your own households. I’ll stay with the eldest and the youngest. Together with Yueyue, we’ll earn money to heal your eldest brother’s leg and help both him and the youngest get married. When the time comes, if I still have money, I’ll divide it equally among all four brothers.”

Han Lao-san opened his mouth, but Old Lady Han cut him off. “Third, I know you’re filial. I won’t blame your wife. But since you have your own family, you will inevitably think of your own interests. At first, I couldn’t figure it out, but now, why not I just let you go your own way? I’ll even give you something to help you build a house later.

“But remember this: the cake-making skills were taught by Yueyue. They don’t belong to our family. I will never pass them to the second or third daughter-in-law. Don’t even think about it.”

Her gaze landed pointedly on the second daughter-in-law. The woman lowered her eyes quickly, not daring to speak, though in her heart she still longed for the skill.

Han Lao-san flushed with shame. “Mother, don’t listen to Gu Ming’s nonsense. She was possessed when she dared to make such a request! If she keeps this up, I’ll divorce her!”

“Nonsense!” Old Lady Han scolded sharply. “What divorce? What about Maomao? You want to let him suffer with a stepmother? No more of this talk. Settle down and live properly. Don’t make your old mother worry.”

Han Lao-san’s eyes turned red, guilt weighing heavily on him.

“Alright,” Old Lady Han said firmly. “Now let’s divide the property.”

She brought out her money box and opened it in front of them. “This is the money I earned from selling cakes, plus what your fourth brother earned, and also the remittances from your eldest brother all these years. Altogether, there’s one thousand two hundred and thirty yuan.”

Han Lao-er protested, “Mother, there’s no need to show us. However you divide it, we’ll agree.”

But Old Lady Han shook her head. “No, it must be fair and clear. Since I won’t ask you to support me in my old age yet, this money will be split into five shares—240 yuan each. The second and third families will take theirs now. Your eldest’s and youngest’s portions will stay with me until they marry.”

She handed out the money, and then continued, “The rooms you live in now will be yours. Each family will take one chicken. Other tools and utensils can be shared. Third son, you can build a stove out back and cook separately. As for food, the autumn harvest will be divided soon. When it comes, I’ll split it into five equal parts. Any objections?”

No one spoke.

“Good.” She nodded with satisfaction. “From now on, I’ll live with your eldest and youngest brothers. When your eldest brother marries, I’ll stay with the youngest. Later, all of you will support me in my old age.”

Her tone was calm, even smiling, but the brothers’ hearts felt heavy, as though the family had been cut apart.

Seeing their expressions, Old Lady Han laughed gently. “What’s with those faces? Aren’t we still a family? We’re just living separately; it’s no different from before. Be happy.”

Everyone stayed silent. Even Su Yue felt weighed down. Compared with other families who fought viciously over separation, the Han family was peaceful, but still, it was heartbreaking. Old Lady Han was truly a good mother and mother-in-law.

Finally, she concluded, “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow I’ll ask the Party Secretary to witness it, and the separation will be official. Third son, tomorrow go to your in-laws’ house and explain it to your wife. If she has objections, you settle them yourself. Don’t bring them to me.”

“Yes, Mother,” Han Lao-san said, with red eyes and quickly wiped his eyes with his hands.