The heavy silence did not last long.
Lu Lingmei was the first to break it.
"What do you mean by filial support money?" she demanded sharply. "Why should Li Jianhua be the one to pay her filial money? And to quit school for that purpose? This is daylight robbery!"
Grand-Aunt Li struck the ground lightly with her cane. "Wang Chunhua, you did not even raise Li Guoqiang's children. On what grounds do you demand filial payment from them?"
Widow He, who had been simmering for some time, could no longer remain quiet.
"Raise them?" she scoffed. "She did not even offer help in times of need. Just yesterday, when little Shuying burned with a high fever, Chen Meilan went to the main Li household to ask for assistance. Wang Chunhua and her daughter Li Yulan cursed the child and slammed the door in her face! In the end, it was Grand-Aunt Li who lent the money, and her grandson who ran to fetch the village barefoot doctor. And now this old hag dares to ask for filial support from Chen Meilan's children?"
A wave of indignation rippled through the crowd.
Another villager added, "Li Jianhua is one of the brightest boys in our village. When he topped the high school entrance examination in the entire county, he brought honor not just to his family, but to all of Shitou Village. How can Old Li's wife ask him to drop out?"
Accountant Hu, the daughter-in-law of Brigade Leader Liu, leaned closer to her father-in-law and spoke in a low but urgent voice.
"Father, this is extreme behavior. Li Jianhua is the pride of our village. When he ranked first in the county, even the mayor commended our brigade. If he becomes a university student in the future, imagine the benefits it could bring. How many from the entire county ever make it to university?"
Brigade Leader Liu's face grew stern. He turned sharply toward Li Changfu.
"Old Li," he barked, "is this your decision as well? To force your own grandson to drop out of school?"
Li Changfu, still breathing heavily from his earlier outburst, felt irritation rise in his chest. A few more blows and the matter might have been buried, he thought. Yet this granddaughter of his had intervened, fanning the flames deliberately.
By now, he understood clearly—she was doing this on purpose.
The truth was, he had been present the previous day when Zhao Hongmei suggested the idea to Wang Chunhua. At first, he had paid little attention. But when Zhao Hongmei mentioned that Li Jianhua, once employed in the county, could provide regular filial support money, temptation had stirred within him. He had instructed his wife to pursue the matter.
Yes, it was somewhat shameful. But who would know, so long as it remained within the family walls?
Now that it had been dragged into the open by this unfilial granddaughter, he felt both anger and unease.
Suppressing his irritation, Li Changfu forced a smile.
"Old Liu," he said with a dry chuckle, "this is merely a family matter. We can discuss it privately at home. There is no need to waste everyone's time. The villagers have worked all day in the fields—they should all start eating."
For a brief moment, Zhao Hongmei exhaled in relief.
But the relief was short-lived.
Widow He stepped forward immediately. "Your household separated long ago. This is no longer merely your family's matter. Li Jianhua is the pride of our entire village. We will not sit quietly and watch you ruin his future."
"Yes!" several villagers echoed.
Brigade Leader Liu nodded firmly. "Old Li, this is no longer confined to your household. If you want someone to quit school, why not let Li Guofu quit instead? He is hardly known for academic promise. He loiters about the village and has been caught stealing more than once. It is time he begins earning work points properly."
The words were like salt rubbed into an open wound.
Wang Chunhua, who had been writhing in pain on the ground, suddenly pushed herself upright in fury.
"Why should my Guofu quit school?" she snapped. "I can afford to send him! It is Chen Meilan who lives in misery and yet insists on sending all four of her children to school!"
Under tear-bright lashes, Li Shuying's eyes gleamed.
Perfect.
She stepped forward, her small frame straightening.
"Grandpa," she said with quiet determination, "I know my mother suffers. It is truly difficult for her to send all four of us to school. But she is trying. She alone has shouldered the responsibility."
Her voice grew steadier.
"This year, she exchanged half her work points for cash through the brigade. She even exchanged our last chicken in the county to pay our tuition fees. My parents have always dreamed that we might one day become university students. How can we abandon that dream? No—we will not quit school."
Her words sounded simple, sincere.
Yet several sharp-eared villagers caught the subtle implication.
She alone?
Accountant Hu was the first to voice it.
"Little Shuying," she asked carefully, "what do you mean your mother alone supports your education? Isn't your father in the army? Does he not send a monthly allowance? As a squad leader, he should earn at least twenty-five yuan a month, plus fifteen yuan in coupons."
Color drained from Li Changfu's and Wang Chunhua's face.
Behind Sun Guifeng, Zhao Hongmei's fingers curled into fists. She understood at once. If the allowance passbook were reclaimed, many of her future plans would crumble.
No. That must not happen.
But before she could speak, Li Shuying had already moved.
"Aunt Hu," she said softly, lowering her gaze, "my father does send money every month. Twenty yuan."
She paused, allowing the number to settle in the air.
"But it is all kept by Step-Grandmother and Grandpa as filial support. My family has never even seen what the allowance passbook looks like. We do not receive a single penny."
Her voice trembled faintly.
"The only money we ever have is what my mother earns in the fields… and what my father secretly presses into her hand when he comes home on leave."
A collective gasp swept through the courtyard.
Twenty yuan a month.
In these times, such a sum was no small matter. It amounted to more than two hundred yuan a year—enough to build a modest house. Yet the old couple kept it all under the name of filial support.
In every household of the brigade, when a son began to earn, he would offer filial money to his parents. It was the natural order of things, to raise a son for one's old age. But it was usually one or two yuan a month at most. For rural families, cash was rarely necessary. Grain was distributed according to work points. The land belonged to the state. Seeds, tools, fertilizer—all were issued by the brigade. Money was needed only for hospital fees or the occasional miscellaneous expense.
To pocket twenty yuan every month while ignoring the wife and children of a soldier—it was not merely harsh.
It was venomous.
Grand Aunt Li's brows knit tightly together, her voice slow and weighted with memory.
"When the army came recruiting," she said, "Wang Chunhua refused to let Li Guoqiang enlist. Later, he promised that his allowance would be given to her as filial support. At that time, the household had not yet separated, and Chen Meilan was pregnant with Jianhua, so it did not seem to matter."
She paused, glancing toward the old woman.
"But it has been ten years since the household division. Ten years. Why is Wang Chunhua still holding Li Guoqiang's money?"
Even Brigade Leader Liu, who had been listening in grim silence, could not remain detached.
"Old Li," he said sternly, "is what your granddaughter says true? Are you still keeping the allowance money sent by Li Guoqiang?"
Li Changfu's hands trembled inside his sleeves. His teeth ground together audibly. Anger surged within him—not only toward Li Shuying, but toward his wife. Why had she allowed this matter to explode in front of the entire brigade? Could it not have been dealt with behind closed doors?
But now the villagers were watching. He had no choice but to steady himself.
Forcing a thin, ingratiating smile, he said, "Old Liu, it is not as though I wish to keep the money for myself. We are already old. What would two people with one foot in the grave do with so much money? I am merely safeguarding my eldest son's allowance. If one day he returns and asks for it, I will naturally hand it back to him."
The explanation sounded smooth—but too smooth.
Li Shuying stepped forward at once, seizing the moment like a skilled chess player capturing an exposed piece.
"Oh, so that is the case, Grandpa?" she asked softly. "Then why have we never seen a single cent of it in all these years?"
Her eyes were bright, though her tone remained respectful.
"Please look at what Step Sister, Aunt Yulan, and Uncle Guofu usually wares. Then look at our clothes. This New Year, I heard that everyone in main household received new cloth. We received none. Before my mother sold our chicken, she came to ask for money to pay our tuition. Step Grandmother scolded her for wasting money on education and drove us away."
A faint tremor entered her voice.
"So when you say you are merely keeping the money safe for us, I truly do not understand. In times of need, why are we never allowed to use it?"
A hush settled over the gathering.
The villagers were not fools. They understood perfectly well what the old couple had been doing. One by one, their gazes shifted—sharp, probing—toward Li Changfu and Wang Chunhua.
Under that scrutiny, Li Changfu felt as though ants were crawling beneath his skin. He shot Li Shuying a dark, warning glance, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles twitched.
"Granddaughter," he said coldly, struggling to maintain composure, "you are still young. You do not understand the affairs of adults. We will speak of this matter when your father returns on leave."
It was a dismissal.
But how could Li Shuying allow the matter to end there?
She shrank back as though truly frightened, her thin shoulders trembling. Fresh tears welled in her eyes, clinging to her lashes before spilling down her pale cheeks.
"G–Grandpa…" she stammered, her voice quivering like a reed in the wind. "You look so frightening. Please don't glare at me. I am only asking because I truly do not understand."
She lowered her head, twisting the hem of her faded sleeve.
"I only wish to wear unpatched clothes like Step Sister and Aunt Yulan. At your house, there are two chickens—one allotted to each family. You eat eggs every day. But at the communal canteen, the five of us cannot even receive sufficient portions because we earn so few work points. In school, meals are provided, yes—but they require payment. We can barely manage tuition fees. How could we possibly afford meal allowances? Meanwhile, I see Step Sister enjoying every meal at the school canteen."
Her voice broke.
With that, she burst into sobs, the sound raw and unguarded, echoing painfully.
The villagers shifted uneasily. Even the hardest among them felt a tightening in their chests.
Chen Meilan's eyes turned red.
She had long known that life was difficult. Yet her children had never openly complained in front of her. Between the endless fieldwork, washing, and tending to the younger ones, she had forced herself to endure silently. Perhaps she had been blind; perhaps she had simply been too exhausted to see.
But today, hearing her daughter's words laid bare before the entire brigade, she could endure no longer.
She stepped forward, her voice soft but steady as bamboo rooted deep in the earth.
"Father," she said, addressing her father-in-law with restrained respect, "I did not ask in the past. At that time, the children were small. But now my eldest is already seventeen, and the youngest thirteen. Our household has been separated for more than ten years."
Her hands trembled, but her gaze did not waver.
"Please… return Guoqiang's passbook to us. For the past decade, I have managed somehow. I swallowed bitterness and tightened my belt. But times are hard for everyone now. Show some mercy. These are your grandchildren as well—your own flesh and blood."
At last, her composure broke. She pulled Li Shuying into her arms and wept quietly.
Widow He, who had been watching with teary eyes, could hold her tongue no longer.
"They say that when a stepmother enters the door, even the father's heart turns," she snapped sharply. "Look at Uncle Li—letting his own grandchildren go hungry while feeding those with no blood relation. Since the household has been divided, what right do you have to keep Li Guoqiang's allowance?"
Her voice rose, slicing through the murmurs of the crowd.
"It was you who drove their family out, claiming that five mouths were an extra burden, while keeping your stepson's family under your roof. By rights, you should be holding Zhao Depeng's allowance passbook. But I have seen it with my own eyes—Sun Guifeng goes to the county post office to withdraw that money. So tell us—why are you still holding Li Guoqiang's allowance?"
A ripple of shock passed through the villagers.
Sun Guifeng's face drained of color. She cursed under her breath and instinctively tried to retreat deeper into the crowd, as though hoping to dissolve into it.
Wang Chunhua, who had been sitting on the ground clutching her side in exaggerated distress, suddenly sprang up as if her pain had vanished.
"Why are you meddling in my family's affairs?" she screeched, pointing a trembling finger at Widow He. "Widow He! You have already sollowed your husband, and now you dare to meddle in the Li family? What is it? Do you fancy a Li family man? Is that why you are inserting yourself here?"
Her words were vicious, steeped in the cruel sharpness of village gossip.
"You—!" Widow He's face flushed crimson. She surged forward, ready to strike the old woman.
Before she could, Lu Lingmei stepped between them and held her back.
"Do not waste your strength on this old hag, Aunt He," Lu Lingmei said coldly. "She is merely trying to shift the topic and use you as a scapegoat."
Then she turned her piercing gaze upon Wang Chunhua.
"What is it? You do not wish to return the money? You cannot control your own daughter-in-law, so now you try to suppress your stepdaughter-in-law instead? Is this what you call righteousness?"
Wang Chunhua's scheme to redirect the crowd's attention had failed. Cornered, she lashed out wildly.
"Why do you all care about my family's matters?" she shouted. "That money is our filial support! Do you not understand the word filial? Xiao is the root of virtue!"
Widow He laughed harshly.
"Twenty yuan a month—and you call that filial support? What are you planning? To buy a whole mountain for your burial grounds? Even the ancestors would not dare accept such extravagance!"
Gasps broke out among the onlookers.
Wang Chunhua's face twisted with fury.
"You cursed woman!" she shrieked. "How dare you curse us to our deaths?"