The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 122 - 111: Great Sobbing

Chapter 122: Chapter 111: Great Sobbing

Keke told her how significant the impact would be.

First of all, it would affect their daily life, as your eldest sister would need a place to stay once she returned home, but your family didn’t have any spare rooms left. Each of your three unmarried brothers had a room, and you’ve been sleeping in a room partitioned off from your parents’. Your sister’s return means your family would need to build an addition.

Secondly, unlike you who hadn’t married yet, your eldest sister was once married. Her return home would have far-reaching effects. Not to mention, out of your family, only your eldest sister-in-law had cohabited with her and shared life experiences. The other two sisters-in-law had not, which could lead to conflicts between sisters-in-law that wouldn’t bode well for family unity.

Lastly, for a family or clan, having a daughter sent back home after divorce would be a tremendous blow to all the female members of both the family and the entire clan. In the future, it wouldn’t just be you who’d be affected — your nieces’ marriages would be influenced as well.

Manbao was stunned.

In the end, Keke told Manbao that in this matter, your family was not in the right and was at an absolute disadvantage.

"Is that so?" Manbao didn’t believe it, pointing at the increasingly growing crowd in the courtyard, "But that doesn’t seem to be the case, does it?"

Keke glanced outside as well and gradually fell silent.

The village chief had arrived, and not just the chief, but some of the village’s elders had come too. They were all older folks, and a number of Zhou Clan relatives with close ties to the Zhou Family had also shown up.

At that moment, they were all in the courtyard, visibly upset.

Ms. Qian did not speak, but Old Zhou did. He told everyone with a dark expression, "A couple of days ago, the Liu Family sent over a message saying that Zhou Xi was still not pregnant, and they told me to come and take her back when I had the time. I was thinking, with the New Year approaching, we could at least wait until after the celebration to discuss it. Even if things really became unbearable, they shouldn’t split up right before the New Year, should they? But who could’ve guessed, just two days after the message, they went and divorced her and sent her back to us. To hurry and drive the child out in such cold weather, do they want to freeze her to death?"

He continued, "Xi has been married over there for eight years. Even if she hasn’t achieved much, she’s still toiled hard for them. You all know our Zhou children — not one of them is weak. They can till the fields, work in the kitchen; isn’t she the one who took care of everything inside and outside their home? They divorced my daughter without even a word to us, the Zhou Family. Are they trying to pick a fight with the Zhou Clan, with the whole of Qili Village?"

Zhou Erlang said, "And there’s the matter of my sister’s dowry too. They only sent her back with a bundle of worn clothes but didn’t return a single item of her dowry. Does this mean they got a daughter-in-law for free, and my sister had to toil for them for eight years, only to lose her dowry as well?"

Zhou Erlang was aware that with the situation having escalated to this point, it was impossible for his sister to continue living with her husband. Now, all he could do was fight for some benefits for his sister.

The village elders, chief, and the Zhou Clan relatives were also furious. The village chief asked Zhou Dalang, "Did you call your uncles over?"

Zhou Dalang replied, "Silang went to call them; they should be back soon."

The village chief nodded and said, "This matter can’t be taken lightly, or it would disturb the order."

All five Zhou brothers wore grim expressions and nodded, and seeing this, the elders knew what to expect. In the end, such matters still depended on the brothers taking the lead — if they backed down first, there was only so much help the clan could offer.

Luckily, the Zhou brothers were numerous and resolute.

Even in rural areas, there were specific rules for divorcing a wife.

Old Zhou’s father was an only child, and going further back, there was just one paternal uncle, whose direct descendants included the village chief — it went back several generations.

But Old Zhou was fertile. He had fathered six sons and one daughter. The names he chose when they were born represented eight wishes for prosperity: "May you be prosperous and wealthy, and your granaries always full."

Zhou Xi was the second child, just over a year younger than Zhou Dalang.

Having married off eight years ago, Zhou Xi had stayed childless. Her married life was tough but not exceedingly so, thanks to her numerous brothers.

Once, when Zhou Xi didn’t return home for the Dragon Boat Festival, Zhou SiLang, leading his two younger brothers, went to check on her. They found their sister with a bruised eye corner. There was no need to go back and call their older brothers — the three nearly grown boys held Liu Dalang down and gave him a beating, with the Liu Family cursing all the while.

The next day, Zhou Dalang led Zhou Er and Zhou San to Liu’s village and beat Liu Dalang up again. The Liu Family dared not even fart after that, and the Zhou Family took Zhou Xi back home for over two months. It was only after the autumn harvest and Liu Dalang begging on his knees that they sent her back to them.

After all that, for the Liu Family to so casually divorce Zhou Xi was truly audacious; they must have mustered the courage of bears and leopards. It wasn’t as if she had no brothers back at her parents’ house.

Even if you were divorcing a wife with no family support, you still had to first notify her family and clan, who would then meet with the husband’s family to discuss the divorce. The discussions would determine whether it was a divorce or a separation, and the exact arrangements for either — everything had to be agreed upon. Sending someone away with just a divorce letter was not just about casting out Zhou Xi; it was dragging the dignity of the Zhou Family, the Zhou Clan, and the entirety of Qili Village through the mud.

Could Old Zhou agree to this?

Could the village chief agree to this? Could the relatives agree to this?

Certainly not.

Forget Manbao; even Keke was astounded, realizing that ancient divorces were subject to so many intricacies. He thought...

Oh, well, it wasn’t yet the era where male dominance was supreme, and women were trampled upon eighteen layers under the ground.

Manbao, clapping her hands excitedly, hugged Zhou Xi, who was lost in thought, "Big sister, don’t be afraid, Dad will decide for you."

Zhou Xi managed a faint smile for her but felt utterly lost inside.

Of course, her father would make decisions for her regarding the divorce, but what about after that?

What was she to do?

Living in her parents’ home,

Even if her brothers didn’t mind her staying, it was unlikely that her sisters-in-law and younger sisters-in-law would agree. It might be manageable for a short period, but for the long term, even the tongue and teeth can clash, let alone her, who had once been married.

Remarry?

Recalling the eight years of her marriage, Zhou Xi shuddered. Looking at her innocent and naïve younger sister, she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by sadness. With a mournful embrace, she cried out, "Why is this so hard? Why is living life so difficult?"

Manbao didn’t find life difficult, but she felt her sister’s heartache. Seeing her cry, she couldn’t help but weep too.

However, unlike Zhou Xi, who had to stifle her tears, Manbao always cried loudly, letting out all her grievances.

So, seeing her big sister in distress and crying, her own tears began to fall plop-plop, and she started to sob loudly.

Their crying startled those outside. Old Zhou nearly stumbled as he rushed back; returning to the room and seeing his two daughters embracing and weeping bitterly but otherwise unharmed, he relaxed but was furious, yelling, "What are you crying for? What’s there to cry about? Look what you’ve done to your little sister; you’re going to make her eyes swell up. Look at me, look at me..."

"Enough," Ms. Qian shot him a sidelong glance. She didn’t want to argue in front of everyone, so she walked over to her eldest daughter and patted her head, sighing, "If you have to cry, cry now. After today, you’re not allowed to cry anymore."

With her lips quivering, Zhou Xi could no longer hold back the injustice she felt. Holding Manbao tightly, she simply also let out a loud cry like her sister.

For a moment in the Zhou home, only their crying could be heard. The elders sighed deeply, hanging their heads silently, feeling a degree of pity in their hearts.

The Zhou brothers’ eyes reddened with anger, their fists clenched tight, filled with hatred towards the Liu Family.