Chapter 14

“How…how…how could you hit your husband?” Han Yuan exclaimed.

She wouldn’t even dare to shout at her husband, much less hit him.

“If he can hit me, why can’t I hit him?” Han Qiao retorted.

Han Yuan was stunned.

Han Qiao continued, “We’ve split up with the main Sun house, but the deeds for the house and land are still in the hands of my mother-in-law.”

“Sun Yiming hasn’t been doing his job the past few years. He’s been drinking and fooling around all day. If he doesn’t have money, he’ll go to his parents’ house to get it. I’m guessing that the house and land is all they have left. Sun Yiming is still alive. At least we have a roof over our heads. If he were to die drunk on the streets, my daughters and I would be at the mercy of the Suns. They would destroy us.”

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“…” Han Yuan’s eyes widened.

“How, how is that possible?”

“How is it not possible? Mother, it is so hard to predict what others are going to do. If I hadn’t come to my senses, you wouldn’t even know how I died,” Han Qiao sighed, “Forget it, I’m done talking about this. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about our future path in life. This time, I came back to discuss with you, Father, Eldest Brother, and Second Brother. If Sun Yiming and I were to divorce, could I bring my three daughters back to Xishan Village?”

Han Yuan was shocked. “Qiao, don’t mess around. Divorce isn’t a joking matter. Also, if you were to stay at home…”

“Don’t worry, mother. I won’t be staying at home. When the time comes, I’ll ask Father to help me buy a piece of wasteland at the foot of the mountain. After the land is cleared, we’ll build two houses. The courtyard walls will be higher. I’ll live there with Xiu and the others.”

Han Yuan looked at Han Qiao. “You’ve already thought this through?”

“I’ve been thinking it over for the past several days, and I have been saving money. Yesterday, I even went to the local government to get a household register. Mother, I’m your own flesh and blood. You won’t just watch me die, will you?” As Han Qiao spoke, her eyes turned red.

Han Yuan raised her hand and brought it down on Han Qiao. “What nonsense are you talking? What do you mean watch you die? Bah! Qiao, divorcing your husband and moving back here is a very big deal. I can’t agree to it so easily. This matter is up to your father.”

Han Qiao heard this and quickly unwrapped the bundle. “Mother, this is some cloth that I pulled. I’ll make clothes for you and father. Here is some mung bean cake and caramel. They are for the children.”

“You spent all this money.” Lady Han Yuan said as she reached out to feel the cloth. Her eyes reddened.

How many years had it been since she had worn new clothes?

With clothes you would sew for three years, then mend for three years, then sew and mend again every three years.

The family still had seven grandsons waiting to marry. Five granddaughters, too, needed a husband. They had to spend money left and right.

How could they spend money on clothes?

As long as the children at home could eat their fill, wear warm clothes, and be comfortable, they would be fine. They simply didn’t have the money to buy these ridiculously expensive mung bean cakes and caramel.

“Mother, help me persuade Father. Give me and the three children a way out, and let me return to Xishan Village,” Han Qiao saw that the opportunity was ripe to persuade her.

“…” Han Yuan ran her hands up and down the cloth, “You need to go talk to your father about this yourself. But let me tell you something first: after you divorce and come back here with the children, you’ll be able to live under this roof for ten days to half a month at the most. You absolutely can’t stay any longer than that.”

“Don’t worry, Mother. I know all this.”

She understood the ways of the world.

Otherwise, why would she buy cloth, mung bean cake, and caramel when she came back this time.

Soon, Father Han came back with his two sons. Sun Xiu, Sun Yi and Sun Ke shouted in the courtyard, “Hi Grandpa, First Uncle, Second Uncle.”

Father Han nodded.

Seeing how fair and tender his three granddaughters were, he was happy.

“Why don’t you go pick some oranges to eat.”

The Han family had a few orange trees and picked oranges every year to sell. The nice ones were to be sold. Only the ugly and shriveled ones were for the family’s children.

This was also a rare opportunity for the grandchildren. Otherwise, there’s no way they would have wanted to eat them.

Sun Xiu, Sun Yi, and Sun Ke understood how the world worked. They wouldn’t take too many oranges and let them go to waste. Each of them picked one and played with it.

Father Han brought his two sons into the central room. Han Qiao immediately stood up and said, “Hello Father, Eldest Brother, Second Brother.”

Father Han nodded.

Han Firstborn and Han Secondborn, smiling, called out, “Hi, Qiao.”

Han Yuan looked at her husband, son, and daughter. “Qiao, talk to your father. I’m going to the kitchen to cook.”

When Father Han heard this, the smile on his face faded.

Han Qiao held nothing back. She told her father how Sun Yiming had beaten her within an inch of her life. As she spoke, she saw her father’s face turn darker and darker. She then told him how the four of them had tied Sun Yiming up, beaten him and sold his books. Now, she told him briefly about how she was forcing Sun Yiming to make copies of Thousand Character Classic at home.

She also wasn’t afraid to voice her suspicions about the Sun family. She had money and a household register. She wanted to divorce Sun Yiming and bring her three children back to live in Xishan Village. She told her father and brothers everything.

This time, Han Qiao asked them to choose whether they would take her in or not.

Father Han’s face was shady. He reached for his pipe.

When the tobacco was ready, he realized he had nothing to light it with.

Han Qiao paid close attention to her father’s expression, as well as her two brothers’.

They went from anger to silence.

The room descended into silence.

Outside the room, it was still quite lively. A few Han boys and girls who had been working in the fields had returned. When they saw their cousins, they began playing together.

After a long silence, father Han looked at Han Qiao.

The daughter in front of him was much tougher than before. She had her own way of viewing things.

Never before had she come home to complain about her married life with Sun Yiming.

Was he really going to let his daughter die? He knew he couldn’t do it.

But the family was really poor. They couldn’t afford to take her in. But since she had some of her own money, she could still live on her own. With the help of her family, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to settle down in Xishan Village.

“Have you thought about this?” Father Han asked.

“I have,” Han Qiao declared.

Father Han took a deep breath and looked at his two sons. “What do you two think?”

The two Han men looked at each other. “We’ll follow what Father does.”

Father Han nodded. “Go and invite your first uncle, second uncle, third uncle, and youngest uncle’s family over.”

Getting a divorce and bringing three daughters back to her parents’ house to settle down was no trivial matter. He had to discuss it with his brothers.

With his brother’s support, he would be able to settle her in Xishan Village. Only then would she be safe from being taken advantage of by others.

But they had to wait until the new land had been cleared and the house had been built before they could do anything to help her.

“Yes.”

Han Qiao’s four uncles arrived shortly.

Having heard Father Han’s words, the four uncles fell silent.

Uncle Yao had worked in the town in his early years and knew a thing or two. He asked Han Qiao, “How much money do you have now?”

“Five taels of silver in total.”

Of course, she left out one tael. She wouldn’t tell them about that. That at least left her another escape route if things went south.

Uncle Yao thought, “To buy a mu of land, you’re going to need one tael for a bribe. We have enough people to develop the land; no need to spend any money on that. We also have enough people to carry the lumber into the mountains and set up roofs and beams. However, for some things we’ll need carpenters and stonemasons. That’ll require another tael. The most expensive things are still the tiles, pots, pans, food, and so on…”

“Uncle Yao, we can build two rooms first. We can live in one room, and the other we can use as a kitchen. If we use bamboo to build it, we’ll save a lot of money.”

Han Qiao quickly put in her suggestion. “The courtyard wall absolutely must be higher than normal.”

Turning it all over in his head, Uncle Yao nodded, then said, “If we do it that way, five taels of silver will be enough.”

The other uncles agree., “Then let’s do it that way. Since you’ve made your decision, hand the silver over to your father and let him take care if it for you.”

With that, they agreed to let Han Qiao divorce Sun Yiming and bring her three daughters back to the village to live. And if necessary, the Han family would step in to support her.

This was going to be a smooth divorce.