Chapter 15: Second Uncle's Attitude!

Yang Hualin gestured wildly at the crowd, spitting as he spoke: "If you entertain the idea of treating those legs, the money spent will be like throwing meat buns at a dog—gone forever with no return! Just look at this big family of ours. The old and the young are all here. Fifth Brother needs money for his wedding, right? Sixth Sister needs a dowry for her marriage, right? The boys in the First Branch are growing up too; they are like wheat ready for harvest, one marriage proposal after another. Setting aside the mouths in the Third Branch that do nothing but eat, look at the Fourth Branch. Fourth Sister-in-law has already had two daughters, and she’s pregnant with another. With so many mouths to feed, Father, you can't possibly sacrifice all of them just for a third son. Both palms and the back of the hand are made of flesh, but this north wind won't fill anyone's stomach!"

"Second son, every time you open your mouth, it's nothing but money, money, money. I think after working as an accountant for your wife's maternal uncle these past few years, you've fallen into a pit of greed. Is there even a shred of sibling affection left in your eyes? And Third son, he is only in his early thirties, in the prime of his life. With three children below him to feed, do you truly have the heart to just watch him become a cripple? If your third brother is ruined, will you be the one to raise his three children?" Old Man Yang questioned Yang Hualin in a heavy voice.

Yang Hualin curled his lip and simply stood up, spreading his hands wide. "It's not my fault Third Brother is ruined; it's that foolish daughter of his who brought this on. If he really wants to treat his legs, let the Third Branch sell their sons and daughters to raise the money themselves! Let me raise his children? What a joke! I can barely support my own wife and children! If you insist on treating Third Brother's legs, I won't stop you, but our Second Branch will move out to live separately. As for the land and silver, just have Mother allocate our share of the inheritance!"

"You scoundrel!" Old Man Yang slammed the table so hard that the teacup in front of Yang Hualin jumped. Yang Hualin was startled, seeing Old Man Yang's face turn completely black, the muscles twitching with rage!

At that moment, Madam Tan, who had been sulking with her head turned toward the bed, also lost her temper. She grabbed a pillow from behind her and hurled it at Yang Hualin.

The pillow was old, and the stitching at the corners of the pillowcase had long since loosened. Being thrown with such force, the reed fluff and dried chicken feathers inside burst out, scattering everywhere like a heavy snowfall over the table. The men sitting at the table were also covered in a layer of fluff and feathers on their heads and shoulders.

Madam Tan pointed at Yang Hualin's nose and cursed indignantly, "Second son, you ungrateful white-eyed wolf! Your father and I aren't even dead yet, and you're already jumping around wanting to split the family? Are you intentionally trying to anger your father and me, is that it?"

Yang Hualin had a poor sense of smell; stimulated by the reed fluff, he let out three loud sneezes. Seeing Madam Tan's ferocious expression, as if she wanted to devour him, he realized he had poked a hornet's nest. He immediately put on a pleading smile, "Mother, please don't be angry. That's not what I meant. Since you and Father are both well, how could I dare..."

"You little brat! According to you, the moment your father and I draw our last breath, this family has to fall apart? What kind of heart do you have? If you don't explain yourself clearly, I am not done with you!" Madam Tan was relentless. Scared, Liu, the Fourth Sister-in-law sitting by the bed, hurriedly stood up and stood to the side with her head bowed, her hands trembling uncontrollably as she held her teacup.

Yang Hualin stood by the table with his head hanging low, his forced smile looking more miserable than a cry. He cast a pleading look toward Old Man Yang, who sat in the seat of honor.

"Everyone, be quiet! Second son, you sit down too!" Old Man Yang roared, and the room finally fell silent.

Yang Hualin rubbed his nose and hurriedly sat back down as if receiving a grand pardon.

Old Man Yang put his tobacco pipe back in his mouth but did not smoke. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face was darker than the bottom of a cooking pot.

Recalling his early years, he had gone out to make a living in his teens, doing every kind of dirty and hard work. Later, he had worked as a manager for someone in the county town for a few years, saving up some capital. He had originally intended to establish some businesses in the county town to take root, but a legal case had occurred; his employer went to prison, and he had nearly been implicated himself.

After spending money to grease the right palms, he finally cleared his name, but he no longer dared to stay in the county town. It happened to be around the time Madam Tan gave birth to the third son, so he hired a carriage and brought the whole family back to their ancestral home in Changping Village.

He had purchased dozens of acres of land. During his most prosperous years, he even hired long-term laborers and built this two-entry mud-brick courtyard, finally settling down to live a stable life.

His sons were born one after another and married. Decades had passed, and the number of mouths to feed had increased significantly, while the land remained the same few dozen acres. Life grew tighter and tighter, while taxes and levies increased every year. In years of famine, the family had to endure long periods of hardship.

Yet, he still felt there was hope!

Looking at his large family of children and grandchildren, his heart was filled with gratification. Having lived a lifetime, at his age, he didn't seek great wealth; he only sought for the whole family to live together in harmony and share the joys of family life!

Split the family? He had never even thought of it!

But tonight, his second son had actually proposed splitting the family, which had truly infuriated him!

Old Man Yang could not recover his senses for a long time; he sat there as if struck by lightning, unable to catch his breath.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became heavy and stiff, with everyone bowing their heads, not daring to make a sound.

Yang Ruoqing sat quietly, feeling the body of Lady Sun beside her tighten. The hand Lady Sun held was so cold, a chill that seeped straight into Yang Ruoqing's heart.

Yang Ruoqing frowned inwardly. Since her second uncle, Yang Hualin, had spoken so bluntly, there was no need to keep asking.

If a person does not look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them. Although these people were all Yang Huazhong's biological brothers, when disaster strikes, everyone only looks out for themselves and their own children. No one wants to be dragged down by a brother or a brother's wife and children.

This was human nature—a very realistic human nature!

Having come to terms with it, there was actually nothing to be angry about!

She stole a glance at her mother. Her mother's head was deeply bowed, a few strands of bangs covering her eyes, but her pale profile and cold fingers all revealed her current sadness and despair!

Yang Ruoqing's lips pressed into a straight line. It is better to rely on oneself than on others. Even if everyone in the Yang family had given up on Yang Huazhong, she would not. She would definitely find a way to make Yang Huazhong stand up again; she just needed time!

At the large square table, no one spoke, and the air was unnaturally heavy. After a long while, Old Man Yang let out a heavy sigh, his gaze seemingly turning dim. He pointed toward the fourth son of the Yang family, Yang Huaming, who had not yet spoken: "Fourth son, you and Fifth son grew up playing with your third brother. That winter when you fell into the ice hole in the village pond, it was your third brother who jumped in to pull you out and save your life—and he nearly lost half his life in the process. I still remember you kneeling by your third brother's bedside, swearing that you would repay him. As brothers, your third brother never expected anything from you back then, but regarding this matter today, I want to hear what you have to say!"