CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 37: SPACE BRINGS WEALTH 19 (FAMILY DIVISION DRAMA)

When Jiang Mingyue got back, the drama of the family division at the old house was in full swing. Jiang Zhenmei, who never missed a spectacle and kept glancing at the door, spotted her as soon as she appeared and delightedly stood on tiptoe to wave her over.

Jiang Mingyue seamlessly navigated through the crowd, internally admiring the curious public gathered. If the courtyard of the old house were any bigger, the division of the family would have attracted a crowd large enough to fill a massive drying field.

"Little Yue..." Jiang Zhenmei pulled her sister close and quietly filled her in on what had happened so far.

As expected, the division was not going smoothly, with Old Mrs. Jiang and the second branch adamantly refusing to split, and accusing the elder uncle of ingratitude.

Leaving everyone bewildered.

However, not everyone in the Jiang Family was heartless.

If the family was to be divided, then all three branches should be present. The third branch did not need to be present as it had long been kicked out by Old Mrs. Jiang.

Apart from the third branch, shouldn’t the other three families sit together?

The wife of the fourth branch was called back, but surprisingly, she supported the division.

This drew the curses of Old Mrs. Jiang and the second branch, along with some villagers who didn’t understand, yet she stood tall and unwavering, without any regret.

To speak of the Old Jiang Family, it indeed seemed somewhat uncanny. The wife Lu Jinlan, who married into the family under the first branch, passed away.

The third son of the Jiang Family passed away as well.

The whereabouts of the fourth branch have been unknown for years, leaving only the wife and daughter to survive these hard times. If it were an ordinary family, mother and daughter might have starved to death years ago. It was thanks to the first branch, which brought money home every month to support the entire family. Although Old Mrs. Jiang was biased towards the second branch, she wouldn’t truly let the fourth branch starve, as they all shared meals from the same pot. The fourth aunt was an adult with a fiery personality, and people generally wouldn’t dare to bully her.

But regardless of her personality, the benefits from the first branch over the years were undeniable.

Generally speaking, the mother and daughter of the fourth branch should have clung desperately to the first branch to prevent the division, since once the family was split, it would be impossible for the first branch to continue financially supporting everyone.

Jiang Mingyue looked at the fourth aunt, who did not resemble the typical rural woman of her age. Someone unaware might mistake her for a city dweller, primarily because of her pale skin and outstanding demeanor. Her straight back was a testament to her as an unyielding and fiery spirit. Beside the fourth aunt was a little girl, around ten years old.

The little girl was also pale, but there was a glaring flaw in the large red birthmark on her face. One could imagine how many condescending looks she must have received because of this blemish, and it was likely that no peers wanted to play with her.

As their eyes met, Jiang Mingyue was intrigued by the little girl’s eyes—so pure and devoid of any melancholy, and she even smiled at her.

Jiang Mingyue: "..."

Jiang Zhenmei quietly introduced by her ear, "Our cousin, the only daughter of the fourth aunt.

You must be curious why you haven’t seen them these days?

I heard that fourth aunt’s mother was ill, and she was attending to her bedside.

You wouldn’t know, our little cousin often became the target of our grandmother’s ridicule due to that birthmark on her face... Alas! Such a pity! Mingyue, do you think if the birthmark on our little cousin’s face could be removed, would she be as pretty as the fourth aunt?"

Jiang Mingyue glanced at their similarly featured faces and thought: Need you even ask?

Continuing to watch the family division... Jiang Mingyue didn’t expect the fourth aunt would bring about the second upheaval in the division today.

"Great uncle, seventh uncle, village head, my mother-in-law is lying. For years, the eldest brother-in-law has been handing over his entire salary to support this family without taking a penny, and so has Ming’an. Ming’an has been working in the department store for four years, and he hasn’t kept a single cent of his salary for himself—all of it went to support this big family.

All the money is managed by my mother-in-law. I’m not making baseless claims. Here’s my mother-in-law’s ledger. Please have a look."

Jiang Mingyue looked at Old Mrs. Jiang, whose face turned ghostly white, her eyes filled with malicious resentment.

"Bang!" Accompanied by a loud crash, Old Mrs. Jiang glared furiously, pointing at the fourth aunt.

"You jinx, what nonsense are you spouting? Great uncle, seventh uncle, village head, don’t believe her, this woman is literate and must have forged these to slander me."

The eldest present, an elder with an upright look on his face, turned grim, "Xu Feng, do you think we’re blind?"

Jiang Zhenmei explained quietly, "The great uncle is also the village’s oldest person, a late Qing Dynasty scholar, really educated."

Therefore, his words naturally carried weight.

Xu Feng looked panicked, as she had always been most afraid of this scrupulous great uncle, avoiding places where he frequented.

"I, I didn’t."

The elder opened the ledger, letting everyone nearby have a clear look.

"Here, these uniquely ugly characters should be recognizable to anyone who’s seen them."

Then the village head spoke first, having the most authority to do so, "Aunt Jiang, these are obviously your handwriting—no one else could forge it. Here, here, I happen to have a notebook. No, last time you wrote it while distributing grains. Remember?"

Old Mrs. Jiang’s face became more and more unsightly.

The glance she shot towards the fourth daughter-in-law was filled with bitter venom. This ledger was supposed to be well-hidden under her bed, yet it emerged from the hands of the fourth daughter-in-law, which could only mean there was a thief within the Old Jiang Family.

Bah! A jinx that bites the hand that feeds, if you don’t eat from the communal pot, you’ll just starve to death. Absolutely no self-awareness, serves you right to be poor and miserable.

The village head, seeking excitement, invited, "Come on, let’s read out the ledger..."

The ledger was publicly unveiled.

The unfairness within the Jiang Family was also exposed.

Everyone gasped.

Some quietly started to discuss.

"Oh my! The Jiang Family’s first branch has given out so much money over the years. Eight thousand bucks! Even if my family stopped eating and drinking, we couldn’t earn that much in several lifetimes."

Someone chimed in, "What’s the use of earning so much? Isn’t it all for the family?"

"If I had that much money, I could build a whole lot of houses. Would still worry about not finding a wife?"

"Wang Ergou, stop dreaming and spouting nonsense."

"No, what did I hear? Eight thousand bucks... and most of it went to the second branch? Let me calculate... tsk tsk, in less than three months, the second branch withdrew five sums from Old Mrs. Jiang. One hundred twenty, sixty-nine, seventy-five, two hundred eighty, ninety... over six hundred bucks? The second branch is living entirely off the first branch!"

"Aren’t they? I live right next door to them. I’ve known about this for a long time. Old Mrs. Jiang favors the second branch, and most of the money she manages is spent on them, plus the gifts the first branch brings home during holidays—all end up with the second branch. Look at the second branch, they look like city folk, not only well-fed and plump but also dressed decently, and then look at Xiao Ran left in their care..."

Everyone recalled that tiny figure with the disheveled hair, yellowish complexion, and undernourished body, looking for all the world like a little beggar.

Silence fell... Old farmers were simple, but not stupid, much less when everything was so glaringly obvious. This was akin to sucking the blood of others while starving them!

Old Mrs. Jiang was biased, but not to such an extent. Xiao Ran was also her grandson!

Someone with a good memory recalled something, "Look at the three from the second branch, all of them schooled. I always wondered where they got the money, turns out the first branch father and son were supporting them all along."

Everyone felt some anger in their hearts, supporting the elders was expected, but supporting brothers and sisters-in-law, plus nephews and nieces, felt like an unfair burden.