CHAPTER 21: CHAPTER 21: RULES?

Gu Rushan was about to lose his mind.

How can this girl dare to say anything, isn’t she trying to get herself killed?

She’s going to completely ruin Gu Xiaocheng’s reputation.

"Captain, Captain, you can’t listen to this girl. She just talked back to her grandmother, and her grandmother broke her head. You can’t trust her words."

This is denying it even to the death.

Gu Xiaoqing was amused.

Isn’t it that only one person can have a mouth?

The mouth is on me, can you stop me from talking?

Mr. Gu couldn’t remain calm either, he stood up and walked to the gate, saying to the crowd, "Fellow villagers, these are just some family trivial matters. The children are ignorant and are talking nonsense, don’t take it seriously."

Seeing her son and husband standing up to talk, Mrs. Gu started crying loudly again.

"Oh, my heavens, this is going to wrongly accuse us..."

But obviously, Gu Changhai was a sensible person; he waved his big hand and barked sternly, "Enough!"

This shout was probably too loud, so loud and shocking that Mrs. Gu on the ground shivered, and all her words got stuck in her throat, her face turned pale.

Gu Changhai glanced at Gu Rushan, "Aren’t you getting the old lady up? She’s so old now, what kind of decorum is this? Do you think it’s good to have your face shining with dignity?"

His words were already heavy.

Gu Rushan, hearing this, knew Gu Changhai was unhappy. Yes, in front of the village captain, causing a scene is like disrespecting him.

The whole village is watching.

Isn’t this challenging their authority?

Quickly, he went forward to help up Mrs. Gu from the ground, saying, "Captain, my mother got too angry, she didn’t mean to disrespect you."

Turning his face to Mrs. Gu on the ground, "Mom, you’re so old, get up quickly. The ground is cold, it’s the juniors’ disrespect, but as your son, I care about you."

Gu Rushan said all the words himself, but indirectly he’s still talking about Gu Xiaoqing’s faults, blaming Gu Ruhai’s family for being unfilial.

Mrs. Gu said nothing more and shakily stood up.

She was led to a stool on the side to sit down.

Gu Changhai glanced at Mr. Gu, then at Gu Ruhai’s ashen face, feeling disappointed, thinking that as a father, he’s not even as capable as his wife and daughter. He doesn’t dare to say anything.

It seems today’s affairs really are as Gu Xiaoqing said.

"Uncle Gu, you’re not young anymore, and in our village, you’re considered educated; you should have some awareness in your heart. You should distinguish what should be done and what should not be done clearly.

Furthermore, hasn’t Brother Ruhai already separated from the family? Being separated means each living their own life, and there’s no reason for parents to manage it anymore. If they’re willing, they’ll listen, if not, you can take it easy and worry less.

Brother Ruhai lives like this, instead of supporting him, you keep causing troubles every now and then; what’s the point?"

These words were spoken harshly enough.

Mr. Gu’s face was not looking good; it was burning with embarrassment.

Being lectured by a younger person, his old face was hot with shame.

He was clear about the twists and turns inside his family.

He said awkwardly, "Changhai, I understand, I understand."

But he couldn’t say anything more.

What more is there to say?

Mrs. Gu was not having it, thinking this was taking sides with the eldest.

Patting her legs, just about to open her mouth to wail, Gu Xiaoqing spoke up.

"Captain Uncle, you have to stand up for me. My dad has money to lend to my second uncle, but doesn’t have money to send me to school. My grandma insists I stop going to school and work at home.

I refused and questioned it, and my second uncle wanted to hit me. As a result, my mom protected me, and he hit my mom. Why does my family have to lend money to my second uncle’s family? I’m my dad’s own daughter; shouldn’t my dad first care about raising his own children? Is this the rule of our village?"

These words instantly caused a stir among the entire village.

If these words spread, the whole Gu Family Village can forget about marrying off daughters or having sons find wives.

Who has the reasoning that one doesn’t raise one’s own children but raises the brother’s children?

This is something only fools would do.

Aunt Wang was the first to speak up.

"Xiaoqing, you can’t say that. Our village doesn’t have such a rule. As old as I am, I’ve heard about supporting brothers if one can but never heard of not raising one’s own children but raising brothers’ children. If these words spread, people would laugh at it."

The wife from the Sanhu family also chimed in, "That’s right. We don’t know about other families, but you can’t find another household doing this in Gu Family Village. It’s truly embarrassing."

As she spoke, she glanced at Gu Rushan, mainly because Gu Rushan’s wife often had verbal disputes with her, and whenever the two met, they fought fiercely.

Missing an opportunity to throw stones when someone is down would be a waste, wouldn’t it?

Seeing that everyone was talking this way, Mrs. Gu couldn’t sit still.

She can do this secretly, but being pointed at publicly is unbearable.

She stood up, pointing in the direction of Sanhu’s wife and others, and started cursing, "Who are you idle chatterboxes to meddle in our family affairs? The eldest brother supporting his brother’s children is proper and rightful. He’s my son, and if we’re willing, you have no say! Instead, why don’t you manage your own big mouths, stop blabbering everywhere all day?"

These words instantly sparked public wrath.

The crowd immediately began to criticize: "That’s not right. This is the new society. There’s no reason to starve your own children to raise your brother’s children. Even in the old society, they didn’t do this."

"This isn’t just your family’s matter—this is the business of the entire village. If this reputation spreads, wouldn’t people outside tear down our Gu Family Village’s backbone?"

"Exactly, and Gu Ruhai has already separated from his family. Separation means each living their own life. There’s no saying that the elder brother supports the younger one. Just look at Gu Ruhai’s three children; they’re dark and thin, living in what kind of house? This house was built by Ruhai when he separated from the family, after years of savings."

"And look at Gu Rushan’s house, Gu Xiaocheng is tall and strong, and check the house—five big tile-roof houses lined up. I heard Mr. Gu supported it a bit."

"But parents shouldn’t be biased to the extent that it’s necessary for the eldest to support the second."

"Is this merely favoritism? Even rich landlords wouldn’t behave this treacherously."