Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 209 Fragmented
Looking at the money and receipts scattered on the ground with a livid face, Wang Degong was also dumbfounded. He loudly questioned:
"Zhao Yuju, what exactly happened?"

"Whenever I need to ask you for money for something big or small, you always say you don't have any."

"Now look what's happened! These things aren't money, are they just worthless paper? You'd better give me a reasonable explanation."

Wang Degong was absolutely furious.

Humans have needs and places where they need to spend money.

However, whenever he tried to ask Zhao Yuju for some money, she would always brush him off by saying that she had no money at home and couldn't even afford to eat.

Now look at all this money and receipts scattered all over the ground, who would dare say the Wang family has no money?
Since the Wang family is rich, who were they trying to impress with their miserable lives before?

Seemingly feeling that this was still not enough, Wang Yinshan spoke again:

"This money is just what I've discovered in my observations where money might be hidden. I really don't know if there's money hidden in other places."

"Dad, they were the ones who planned to forcibly take away my daughter's job, but now I'm the one who's become the sinner."

"Can't you see clearly?"

“It’s not that the Wang family is short of money, it’s just that Mother doesn’t plan to spend it on us.”

"Given your brother's plump and robust appearance, and the fact that all his children are so strong, can you believe they grew up on an empty stomach?"

"My poor Da Ni and Er Ni, even though they are family, they are so thin from hunger that they barely look like human beings."

"If the two families stood together, I doubt anyone would think we were a family."

At this point, Wang Yinshan revealed his true intentions, saying:
"Father, I really can't live like this anymore."

"I want to separate from the family, please grant my request."

"If we don't separate from the family soon, I'm really afraid we'll starve to death living in such a wealthy household!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yinshan knelt down in front of Wang Degong and kowtowed repeatedly.

At times like these, one cannot afford to be soft-hearted; he must quickly sever ties with this vampire family.

If my family works hard, we will be able to live a much better life than we are now, barely able to feed ourselves.

In addition, now that Dani has a job, her family might be able to live a prosperous life like her third brother's family.

Looking at Wang Yinshan kneeling and kowtowing, Wang Degong felt a headache coming on and his heart ached.

The money scattered all over the ground became a great irony, mocking his poor judgment of character and how he had brought the Wang family to its current state.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Wang Degong loudly questioned Wang Yinshan, saying:
"Since you've always known about your mother hiding money, why didn't you say anything when the third son was still alive?"

The separation of the family has always been a source of pain for Wang Degong. He felt that if the family stayed closely united, they could always make a good living.

However, even under these circumstances, the third son still dared to make the outrageous request to divide the family property.

Although he was forced to agree, the matter remained a thorn in his side.

Looking back now, Liu Chunhua's claim that her family was wealthy was not nonsense at all; it was clearly true.

In other words, the reason why the third brother left this family was entirely because he was forced out by these people.

No wonder the third son quickly started living a good life after the family split up. Not only did the whole family become noticeably stronger, but they also built a new house and became a happy family that everyone in the village envied.

Faced with Wang Degong's questioning, Wang Yinshan felt somewhat embarrassed for the first time, and simply lowered his head and said:

"I only started to observe because I heard the third child's family mention that they were rich during a family meeting."

"I've been observing for a long time, and I only recently found out about my mother hiding money."

Wang Yinshan's explanation was far-fetched, but what else could Wang Degong do but continue to pressure his own son?
Wang Degong stumbled and almost lost his balance, falling directly onto the chair behind him.

His eyes seemed to have lost their focus, staring blankly at the large family in front of him.

In the end, Wang Degong sighed and said, "Second son, I agree to your request to divide the family property."

"The reason we don't separate the family is so that you can receive the protection of the Wang family and live a better life."

"But I never expected that my poor judgment of people would directly destroy this family."

Separate the family? Absolutely not!

Zhao Yuju, disregarding her feigned death and sobbing, immediately stood up and said:
"Old man, we absolutely cannot split up the family."

"The third son's family has already received their share. Are you planning to let the second son's family receive their share too?"

"Although we're still family, once we've separated, we're two families. Look how long it's been since the third brother's family came to visit us!"

Even if she couldn't take Wang Dani's job, as long as Wang Dani was still in this house, she would have to hand over her salary.

In other words, the money still ended up in Zhao Yuju's pocket.

That's why Zhao Yuju jumped out to refute it immediately.

There's no such thing as family affection; all there is is a desire for money.

Yet she still puts on an act of doing this for the good of the family, as if she can't bear to part with family ties—it's utterly hypocritical.

Thump, thump, thump—that was the sound of the cane hitting the ground.

Wang Degong retorted without hesitation, "Are you going to keep bullying me if we don't separate the family?"

"I've really learned something today, and I have a completely different understanding of the two of you."

"If Wang Yinshan hadn't been somewhat intelligent, wouldn't he have been bullied to death by you again this time?"

"In a few days, will our Wang family be known for driving our descendants to their deaths?"

At this point, Wang Degong slammed his cane on the ground again, the thud sound seeming to strike the hearts of the mother and son in front of him.

Seeing Wang Degong's fury, the two ultimately couldn't say anything more.

Otherwise, if this matter gets out, the two of them will probably gain even more good reputation as fellow countrymen with disabilities.

At that point, probably no one in the entire Wangjia Village would dare to associate with them.
If you're so ruthless to your own people, wouldn't you be even more ruthless to others?

With a sigh, Wang Degong continued:

"Yinshan, pick up the money on the ground and give it all to me. I will be in charge of the money in this house from now on."

"After you've finished packing, go to the village and find the brigade leader, and have him witness your division of the family property."

At this point, Wang Degong sighed again and said:
"Our Wang family has ultimately fallen apart and is no longer what it used to be."

"It's all my fault; I failed to manage this family well."

"I just hope that after you separate from the family, you will have time to visit us, the two old folks, more often."

Wang Degong glared fiercely at Wang Jinshan and Zhao Yuju, and said angrily:
"As for you two, go back and reflect on your actions. I'll deal with you later."

In this era, grandfathers are practically the pillars of the family.

Now that Wang Degong had spoken, the matter was settled. Although Zhao Yuju and Wang Jinshan both had their reservations, they ultimately had no choice but to leave.

As soon as he stepped out of the main house, Wang Jinshan angrily berated Zhao Yuju:

"It's all your fault, you old codger, for not giving me the money. You said it would be safer if I kept it with you."

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's definitely safe now. We safely delivered the money to the old man and safely exposed all the shady things we two did."

Zhao Yuju isn't stupid. Even if she dotes on her eldest son, Wang Jinshan, she can't completely trust him.

After all, countless historical lessons have taught us that money must be firmly held in one's own hands for one's descendants to be filial.

If all the money is given to them, I'm afraid no one will take this old man seriously.

Zhao Yuju glared at Wang Jinshan with annoyance and said:
"Jinshan, how dare you speak to your mother like that? Have you no shame?"

"I did save the money, but I've given you plenty of money all the time, otherwise how could your family be so well-fed?"

"Now that the money has been discovered, you're blaming me?"

"This second brother usually pretends to be harmless, so none of us noticed him."

"But I never expected him to be so ruthless. Not only did he beat you up like this, but he also revealed all my secrets."

"With a ruthless and vicious person like him, can you guarantee that he won't find out if the money is with you?"

"At that time, not only will you be charged with all these crimes, but you might even have your own savings confiscated."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jinshan seemed to agree, and immediately changed his tune, flattering him:

"Mother, how could I blame you? I just misspoke."

"I've always known that you're the only one who loves me the most."

At this point, Wang Jinshan said meaningfully:
"Mother, you're so smart, you must have hidden money in more than just those few places. You must have hidden money in other places as well, right?"

"I think you should take this money out and let me keep it safe for you. Otherwise, if the old man at home sees it, it will really be confiscated."

A cunning rabbit has three burrows; someone as cunning as Zhao Yuju must have at least eight or ten burrows.

Sure enough, Zhao Yuju immediately said proudly, "The second son's skills are really not enough to impress you."

"Don't worry, I still have money, I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

"However, I will continue to keep the money. Since they didn't find out this time, there is absolutely no possibility that they will find out in the future."

"Alright, let's go over there and pretend to change our minds, just to make it look like we're backing out."

"That old man is all talk and no action. We'll just coax him a bit and get more money from him without any problem."

With a fawning smile, Wang Jinshan said, "Mom, I knew you were the most resourceful."

"Okay, we'll do as you say. The future is long, and we have plenty of time to squeeze money out of the old man."

"Besides, now that the second and third sons have separated from the family, won't all the money the old man has end up being ours?"

"Even if they come back to seize the family property, they will definitely not be able to outcompete the two of us."

Nodding in satisfaction, Zhao Yuju showed an expression of "this child is teachable," and said:
"As it should be."

"It's just a pity that Ah Wei went to the city back then, otherwise how could I have ever looked at this good-for-nothing old man?"

"He looks impressive, but he's actually just a coward."

"If he hadn't been so inactive, how could this family have ended up like this?"

Ah Wei?

Wang Jinshan asked with some confusion, "Mother, who is Awei?"

Zhao Yuju then realized she had misspoke and quickly tried to cover it up, saying:
"What, Awei? You must have misheard me."

"Jinshan, you know that some things should be said and some things shouldn't be said. This is better for both of us."

Wang Jinshan nodded vigorously and said with a smile, "Mom, look at my memory."

"I clearly didn't hear anything, so how could I be talking nonsense?"

Although he claimed he hadn't heard anything, Wang Jinshan secretly memorized the name Awei.

His mother seemed a bit difficult to deal with, and often even her eldest son was wary of her.

At crucial moments, the name "Awei" might be the key to controlling her.

……

While Wang Jinshan and Zhao Yuju were enjoying a loving and filial relationship, Wang Yinshan had already finished cleaning up the money that had been scattered on the ground.

As he tidied up, he started counting.

After a while, Wang Yinshan handed the thick pile of money and receipts to Wang Degong and said:

"Dad, it's a total of 1,025.83 yuan, plus a whole bunch of receipts. It seems our Wang family is really rich."

They were said to be rich, but those two words were a huge irony for them.

They knew exactly what kind of life the Wang family led; this was a slap in the face to him, the head of the family.

With a sigh, Wang Degong admitted his mistake, saying, "Yinshan, I'm sorry you had to suffer this injustice."

"If I hadn't failed as the head of the family, the Wang family wouldn't be in such dire straits despite having so much wealth."

Wang Yinshan was also an accomplice in deceiving Wang Degong, and only turned against him now that the knife was in his own hands.

Furthermore, he lacked the mental fortitude of Zhao Yuju and Wang Jinshan, and in the end, he could only offer words of comfort to Wang Degong, saying:
“Father, this matter is not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it is Mother and my elder brother who went too far and deceived you as if you were a fool.”

"But now things are clear, and under Grandpa's leadership, the Wang family will definitely be able to live a better life."

Having accepted Wang Yinshan's view that he had only been deceived, Wang Degong immediately felt much better and looked at Wang Yinshan with some anticipation, saying:
"Yinshan, since you've said that, how about we don't divide this family property?"

This time, a rare pleading look appeared in Wang Degong's eyes, a stark contrast to his usual domineering demeanor.

He was, after all, an old man, and all he wanted was to see his children and grandchildren all around him at any time.

Upon hearing Wang Degong's words, Wang Yinshan's body trembled instinctively.

This time, he managed to break through the impasse by imitating Wang Chengpeng's approach, but he might not be so lucky next time.

He didn't think he would always be so lucky to win against these two.

Perhaps next time, this seemingly shrewd old man will be deceived again and become an accomplice to his own poisoning.

Thinking this through, Wang Yinshan said firmly, "Dad, this family still needs to be divided."

"Don't worry, I'll find a place to settle down near you and visit each other often. That'll be almost the same as if we never separated."

(End of this chapter)