Chapter 5: Separated

Su Sanlang reached the door and paused before entering.

He knelt down in front of Old Master Su and explained, “Father, I didn’t deliberately resist Mother. Hua and Chong’s mother was in danger. She was bleeding and her life was at risk, so I had no choice but to do that. Madam Zhao gave birth to four children for me. I couldn’t leave her in the lurch.”

“You unfilial son. I raised you up in vain. If I had known you were so unfilial, I would have pressed you into a urine bucket and drowned you back then. You’re black-hearted to treat me like this for an outsider. If I let you disobey me today, you will dare to sh*t on my head tomorrow. Since you don’t have me in your heart, I don’t want you as a son. Bring your family of useless trash and get lost!”

Madam Wang pointed at Su Sanlang and cursed him fiercely. She did not look frightened as she did not earlier.

She was alone at home just now, and she could not suppress Su Sanlang when he was angry. Now, it was different. The head of the family was here. Even if Su Sanlang was given a hundred guts, he would not dare to challenge his biological father!

“Third Brother, you’re really muddle-headed. You can still find another wife, but you only have one mother.”

Madam Li added fuel to the fire from the side. It seemed she had completely forgotten that she was also a daughter-in-law who had married into the family.

Old Master Su’s expression darkened as he asked, “What did the doctor say?”

Su Sanlang’s jaw clenched and his cheeks puffed.

He said with difficulty, “Doctor Wu said that she has bad health and can’t give birth again in the future. She will definitely die if she gives birth again. Madam Zhao has done me justice by giving birth to four children. It’s my bad luck. In the future, I won’t let Madam Zhao give birth again.”

With that, Su Sanlang looked up at Old Master Su with determination.

He wanted to see some warmth in Old Master Su’s eyes, but he was disappointed. There was only endless coldness in Old Master Su’s eyes. At this moment, Su Sanlang understood that his father was going to give up on him.

Before Old Master Su could speak, Madam Wang said coldly, “Madam Zhao is a jinx. You have to divorce her. That little loser is also a jinx. She’s a jinx the moment she was born. It’s better to get rid of her as soon as possible. If you don’t agree, your entire family will have to get lost.”

Old Master Su took a few deep breaths before saying to Su Sanlang, “Sanlang, you made a huge mistake today. Father and Mother can’t stand you. Did you hear what your mother said? If you do as she says, you’ll still be my third son. If you’re unwilling, then you can bring your family and get out.”

If Madam Zhao could not give birth, she would be useless. The third branch had four children, but none of them could support them. They were equivalent to seedlings that did not grow well in the fields. They had to be removed as soon as possible so that they would not affect the seedlings that grew well.

After abandoning the third branch, he still had two sons. The eldest son had three sons, and the second son had two sons. Each of these two families were going to send a son to school. The burden of the third branch had to be abandoned.

Old Master Su seemed to have given Su Sanlang the choice, but in reality, he did not leave any leeway at all.

He knew that Su Sanlang would not divorce Madam Zhao or abandon the newborn girls.

Su Sanlang’s heart ached. He gritted his teeth so hard as if he wanted to break them. He didn’t come back to his senses until he tasted blood in his mouth.

He looked at Old Master Su and said, “Alright, then Father and Mother shall separate us from the family. We will live on our own.”

After saying that, Su Sanlang lowered his head and bent down to kowtow to Old Master Su and Madam Wang.

He only hoped that this would make his parents feel more sympathetic and give him more things.

Madam Wang turned around and mocked coldly, “Don’t kowtow anymore. I can’t take it.”

Old Master Su said calmly, “I’ll give you 200 catties1 of Golden Jade Rod, 50 catties of rice, 10 catties of cured meat, and two chickens. Bring your family to live in that old house at the back of the mountain. I’ll give you the four acres of land at the back of the mountain. As for the vegetables, I’ll give you 30 catties.”

With that, Old Master Su stopped talking. Su Sanlang waited for a while before confirming that this was all his parents had given him.

He looked at Old Master Su in disbelief and said with difficulty, “What about the fields?”

His family had ten acres of good land and ten acres of good fields, but his father did not want to give him any.

There were twenty chickens in the house, five ducks, and eight or nine pieces of cured meat. Each piece weighed more than ten catties. The golden jade rod had a good harvest this year and could collect more than three thousand catties. The harvest of rice was also good, amounting to more than a thousand catties. However, they had only given to him two chickens, ten catties of meat, fifty catties of rice, two hundred catties of golden jade rod, and thirty catties of green vegetable leaves.

Su Sanlang felt extremely pained. His parents’ hearts were so biased.

Old Master Su said coldly, “You don’t have a successor. Your eldest brother and second brother have a lot of family members. Moreover, Cheng and Shun are going to study. If they can produce results, our family will have to sell our fields to send them for exams. You’ve been unfilial and disobedient today. It’s already very kind of me to share these with you. If you still want to cause trouble, I can only ask the village chief to remove you from the family register and treat it as if I don’t have a son like you in the future.”

By saying that, Old Master Su was clear that he was giving up on Su Sanlang.

The six of them would definitely not be able to survive this winter until next year’s harvest with these supplies. But even so, Old Master Su was determined to do so.

Since Old Master Su had already said so, it would be even more disadvantageous for Su Sanlang if he were to say anything else.

His eyes filled with tears, and he had to grit his teeth to force the word “okay” out.

Seeing Su Sanlang agree, Old Master Su’s gloomy expression softened a little. “I’ll give you two more pots and pans. In the future, when your family is living outside, it doesn’t matter to us whether you are well. You don’t have to be filial to us either.”

Su Sanlang’s heart was bleeding, but he had to endure the pain and replied with gratitude, “Thank you, father.”

Su Sanlang got up and was about to return to the back room in a daze.

When Madam Li saw this, she could not help but smile. She gently nudged Su Dalang and said, “Dalang, Third Brother’s family is going out to live. Help him move his things.”

Su Dalang came back to his senses and realized that this situation was advantageous to him. He smiled and agreed. “Alright.”

Su Erlang also replied, “As we should.”

Su Erlang did not feel much sadness. He had also gained from this situation. They had all grown up and had their own families. Although they had not separated, their families were still different.

Third Brother’s family was a burden. There was something wrong with Hua and Chong’s brains. They might cause trouble one day. Sanmei and Simei were both girls. When they grew up, they would belong to someone else. Staying at home was useless.

His son had to go to school, and that would cost money. Removing this family’s burden was a good thing, no matter what.

In the name of brotherhood, Su Dalang and Su Erlang moved the things that Old Master Su had given to Su Sanlang to the old house.

However, when no one was paying attention, Madam Li quietly slipped into the back room.