"The kimchi business hasn't been divided yet! Usually, the two brothers did it together. Now that they've split, shouldn't this business be divided too?" asked Mother Zhang with a smile.
"This business matter isn't for us to decide. Fortunately, my granddaughter is here. This business was entrusted to our Lin family by her family. Let's ask her how this business should be allocated," Grandmother Lin said with a cold face. She finally understood the Zhang family's intentions; they had been eyeing the kimchi business all along.
All eyes turned to Qi Zhenzhen.
Qi Zhenzhen calmly performed the courtesy of a junior to the elders in the room and said with a smile, "This matter was discussed with my aunt, and it was agreed that this business is for my maternal grandparents' retirement. Its ownership naturally belongs to my maternal grandparents."
This meant that the kimchi business was not part of the division between the two brothers.
The elderly couple lived with the eldest son's family, so in essence, this business was no different from the eldest son's. The second son's family, however, would not benefit. Of course, if the elderly couple were willing to subsidize the second son's family, that would be another matter.
The Zhang family members all stood up, staring at Qi Zhenzhen in disbelief. "What? This won't do! Isn't this bullying the second son's family?"
Qi Zhenzhen blinked her eyes. "How can this be called bullying? This business originally belonged to my aunt. When she stopped doing it, she discussed it with me to give it to my maternal grandparents. I agreed. It was clearly stated back then that my eldest and second uncles would assist my maternal grandparents, and the business ownership indeed belonged to my maternal grandparents."
The Zhang family had instigated the division of the family precisely because they wanted half of the business to go to Lin Ruixia. Then, through Mrs. Zhang's influence, the business would naturally be counted as part of the Zhang family's assets. Wouldn't their lives then flourish? However, the family was divided, but this business had nothing to do with the second son's family. How could they still have their hopes pinned on it?
Lin Ruixia suddenly stood up. "You, you!"
His eyes were red, and he stared intently at the Zhang family. So, his father-in-law's family harbored such intentions! Lin Ruixia believed he had always treated the Zhang family with great care, yet he never expected them to scheme against him like this.
"We are also doing this for your own good," Mother Zhang said weakly. But this excuse was probably not even believed by herself.
"Father, Mother, I will not have any claims on the business," Lin Ruixia said heavily.
Mrs. Zhang panicked. Seventy taels of silver were not a small sum in normal times, but compared to the kimchi business, seventy taels of silver was not enough.
If they hadn't separated, the money would have been used as a whole. If anything happened to the family, or when Ah Lin got married, the expenses would have been shared. But now that they were separated, they had to bear everything themselves.
Mrs. Zhang was anxious, sweat breaking out on her forehead, and her stomach began to ache. Suddenly, she had an idea.
She clutched her stomach and cried out, "Ouch!" Coupled with the sweat on her forehead and her pale face, she didn't look like she was faking it, but rather genuinely ill.
Mrs. Zhang's mother rushed to her side. "What's wrong? What's wrong? Where do you feel unwell? Sit down quickly. Ruixia, hurry and find a doctor. You can't be careless at this time. Your wife is pregnant."
Mother Zhang, who was standing nearby, understood. No wonder she was so arrogant; she had a protective charm. The two sisters-in-law had been married into the Lin family for many years. They had both given birth to their first child in the first year and then had no more. Their parents-in-law had been hoping they would have more children to make the Lin family more prosperous. But for some reason, they had no more pregnancies. Now that Mrs. Zhang was pregnant, it was no wonder she was showing off.
Indeed, Grandmother Lin quickly stepped forward to support Mrs. Zhang. Seeing Lin Ruixia still standing there blankly, she scolded, "Second son, what are you standing there for? I told you to call the doctor, didn't you hear me?"
Mrs. Zhang had initially intended to feign illness, but now she genuinely felt a throbbing pain and became somewhat frightened, gripping Grandmother Lin's hand with considerable force.
"My dear in-laws, quickly, let's help her inside," Grandmother Lin said to Mother Zhang.
Mother Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. Her daughter was indeed clever. With this, the matter of dividing the family could be put aside, or at least postponed.
The doctor arrived quickly and examined Mrs. Zhang's pulse. His brow furrowed deeply. "This is a threatened miscarriage, and it's quite serious. I'll prescribe some medication to prevent miscarriage. Take it for three days and see how you do. Your fetal position is unstable, so you must be very careful."
"Can the baby be saved?" Grandmother Lin asked anxiously.
"It's hard to say," the doctor shook his head. "In any case, you must lie down honestly for now. You must not be jolted, and you must not get tired."
Grandmother Lin thought of Mrs. Zhang's two jolting rides in the mule cart in the past few days, and her anger flared. This second daughter-in-law was truly clueless. She must have known she was pregnant but kept it a secret and subjected herself to such jolts. If the baby were lost because of this, she would not let her off.
Grandfather Lin and the eldest uncle of the Lin family escorted the village head and the clan elders out. In this situation, the family division could not proceed. They had made people run for nothing, and Grandfather Lin felt bad about it. The family happened to have some pastries they had bought, so he handed a bag to each of them.
The Zhang family members were no longer shouting. They didn't need the Lin family to escort them and left dejectedly.
Grandmother Lin suppressed her anger and personally brewed the medicine for Mrs. Zhang. Everything else could wait; the baby was the most important thing now.
Lin Ruixia stayed in the room with Mrs. Zhang, looking at her pale face, wanting to say something but stopping. In the end, all his complaints turned into a sigh.
"Grandmother, please don't be angry anymore," Qi Zhenzhen said to Grandmother Lin in the kitchen. Seeing her displeased expression, she comforted her, "I believe that after this incident, my second aunt will restrain herself. Then, living harmoniously will be good."
Mother Zhang also chimed in, "Mother, our Lin family hasn't had a new addition in many years. Nothing is more important than this matter. Now that she has a threatened miscarriage, my sister-in-law surely knows the gravity of the situation and will definitely not cause trouble again. Actually, she doesn't have any major flaws, she's just a bit unclear about her own family. Mother, you can teach her more in the future."
Grandmother Lin sighed. "Let's not talk about these things for now. The most important thing is to take care of the second daughter-in-law's health."
With Mrs. Zhang in this condition, Qi Zhenzhen and Song Mingyue did not continue to stay at the Lin family's house. The eldest uncle of the Lin family drove them back in a mule cart the next day, naturally bringing them various seafood.
Qi Zhenzhen nestled in Yun Shi's room and recounted everything that had happened at the Lin family's house in detail. Yun Shi listened with a frown. "Your second aunt is truly... I don't know what to say about her. She always wants to be superior to your eldest aunt, thinking she's unique in the Lin family. Why bother? Isn't living harmoniously as a family better than anything? She seems smart but only does foolish things."
Qi Zhenzhen pouted. Who was to say otherwise?
"While you two were at the Lin family's, Mingyue's aunt came to the Song family again. This time, she didn't make a big fuss; she came quietly and repeatedly said that Ge Yusheng was greatly affected by this matter, couldn't eat, and didn't even want to study. As a mother, she couldn't bear to see her son like this, so she shamelessly came to beg the Song family, to ask you, Aunt Yu, to reconcile," Yun Shi said. "Your Aunt Yu chased her away, but she threw a tantrum and refused to leave. As a result, Wan Niang grabbed her and threw her out. She was quite pathetic."