"Now that the family ties are completely severed, you lot can get out of here. Don't stay here and be an eyesore," Old Mrs. Li said viciously.
"We'll be moving out today, so you don't need to worry about that," Zhao Yan replied immediately. Now that the ties were severed, he didn't even want to call Old Mrs. Li "Grandma" anymore; she didn't deserve it.
It had all been an act anyway, and Zhao Yan couldn't even be bothered to pretend anymore.
"Dad, Mom, Xiaomei, let's go back inside and pack our things," Zhao Yan said, pulling Zhao Gao up. Zhao Gao was still kneeling on the ground in a daze, looking like he had lost his soul.
Zhao Yan could understand. After all, they were his birth parents, and there were still feelings there. He could accept the grief right now, but once they walked out that door, Zhao Yan would refuse to let Zhao Gao keep moping around like this.
Zhao Yan could support the family—he was fully capable of it—but he didn't want to shoulder everything alone.
If a family wanted to live a good life, everyone had to pull together and row in the same direction. Only when everyone contributed their own value could they feel their lives had meaning.
Zhao Gao had already lost some of his fighting spirit because of the severance. If he were left to remain numb like this, in modern times it would be the prelude to depression. Although this dynasty didn't have the term "depression," the truth remained that sickness of the heart was hard to cure.
So Zhao Yan had to reignite Zhao Gao's will to live.
"Dad, let's go back inside," Zhao Yan softened his tone.
Zhao Gao looked up at Zhao Yan. He was still just a child, yet because he, as a father, was useless, his son had ended up comforting him instead.
Zhao Gao felt worthless, yet a sliver of warmth was mixed in with it.
Even if his parents despised him, his son still cared about him. He had to work hard to live up to his son, daughter-in-law, and daughter.
"Sanlang, let's go. Your dad was just thinking the wrong way. Let's go back inside," Zhao Gao turned his hand over and clasped Zhao Yan's. Feeling the warmth of Zhao Yan's hand, Zhao Gao felt a long-lost sense of comfort.
"Ha! What room is there to go back to? That house belongs to the Eldest Branch now, and everything inside belongs to the Eldest Branch too. What, do you lot want to go in there and play thief?" Younger Mrs. Li said triumphantly.
"Don't go too far. We'll only take what belongs to us, and we don't care to take anything that isn't ours," Zhao Yan retorted.
"Dahe, keep your family in line! The document stating the severance of ties clearly says the Second Branch is allowed to take their own belongings—it's only the fields, chickens, pigs, and farm tools that aren't being divided. You pressed your own thumbprint on it. Don't make things too ugly now," the Village Chief said with a dark face.
He had written the contents of the severance document himself, and both parties had agreed and stamped it. They just needed to follow what it said, yet Younger Mrs. Li had to jump out and make trouble. This was tantamount to challenging his authority as Village Chief.
If he didn't put Zhao Dahe in his place now, and everyone in the village started doing this in the future, where would his dignity as Village Chief be?
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with you. The whole Zhao Family is mine—what business is it of yours? If you can't keep your mouth shut, you get out too!" Zhao Dahe cursed.
Normally, to avoid suspicion, Zhao Dahe wouldn't curse Younger Mrs. Li directly; he would leave it to Old Mrs. Li to handle.
But today Younger Mrs. Li was being far too arrogant, and every action of hers was a slap in Zhao Dahe's face. Zhao Dahe had always considered himself the absolute leader of the Zhao Family and couldn't bear anyone disobeying him.
What's more, with so many outsiders present today, Younger Mrs. Li had truly made him lose face completely. Zhao Dahe cared deeply about his reputation, and Younger Mrs. Li had really crossed the line today.
At the same time, Zhao Dahe harbored resentment toward Old Mrs. Li as well. Younger Mrs. Li only dared to be so presumptuous in the Zhao Family because Old Mrs. Li was her aunt, without even considering whether this was the Li Family or the Zhao Family.
She was utterly and completely stupid!
When Old Mrs. Li saw Zhao Dahe glaring at her, she knew things were bad. The old man was angry, and it was all that bitch Younger Mrs. Li's fault for running her mouth.
Old Mrs. Li immediately slapped Younger Mrs. Li across the face. Younger Mrs. Li was stunned by the blow. Having just been cursed out by Zhao Dahe in front of so many people, she already felt she had no face left to show anyone, and now Old Mrs. Li had swung around and given her a tight slap.
Younger Mrs. Li could already imagine how the people in the village would mock her.
With her eyes red with anger, Younger Mrs. Li covered her face, turned around, and ran back into the house.
Zhao Yan: "......"
He hadn't even had to exert any effort yet, and he already got to witness the prime spectacle of dogs biting dogs.
Truly, bad people were dealt with by other bad people.
"Many thanks to the Village Chief for speaking out of a sense of justice. Zhao Yan is deeply grateful," Zhao Yan said gratefully to the Village Chief. He then bowed to the Village Chief and led Zhao Gao, Zhao Yun, and Madam Chen back to their room.
He pushed the door open.
*Creeak*
The door still made its familiar sound.
Once inside the room, Zhao Yan let out a breath. Not having to face that crowd made the air feel fresh.
"Dad, Mom, let's hurry up and pack. Once we're done, let's leave early and go to our real home." Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was a bit gloomy, Zhao Yan cheered them up.
The Village Chief had just assigned them a thatched cottage at the edge of the village near the foot of the mountain. Originally, this cottage belonged to a household in the village where only an old grandfather had lived; he had passed away from illness two years ago, and the cottage had been left vacant ever since.
When the Village Chief saw that they had severed ties and hadn't been assigned a house, and that the whole family had nowhere to go, he took it upon himself to assign this thatched cottage to them. Admittedly, the house was already very dilapidated, and its location at the foot of the mountain wasn't good either.
The villagers considered the house unlucky and wouldn't go anywhere near it, so no one in the village would have any objections to it being given to Zhao Yan.
"Alright, good. Sanlang, sit down and rest. Your illness has only just cleared up, don't overexert yourself. Your mother will do the work," Madam Chen said happily.
Now that they had severed ties, there was a glimmer of light in Madam Chen's eyes; she wasn't as numb as before, even though she had no idea how they were going to get by in the future.
But she couldn't bear to live in the same house as people who harmed her children—that would drive her crazy. It was better for the whole family to pack up together and live their own lives. As long as they had hands and feet, they would always manage to survive.
This was something she had hoped for over a dozen years, and it had finally come true.
Zhao Yun was very happy too. She could finally escape this family. Aside from her parents and third brother, not a single person in this family cared whether she lived or died.
Unless she died or was married off, every day was filled with endless chores. Zhao Yun had long since had enough.
Thanks to the bias of Zhao Dahe and Old Mrs. Li, the combined belongings of their family of four were pitifully small. The largest share actually consisted of Zhao Yan's books, and they finished packing in no time at all.
The villagers who had been gathered at the doorway to watch the excitement saw that the severance was complete and went home to do their chores.
Watching the excitement couldn't make them forget their own housework, or their homes would be turned upside down.
With the onlookers gone from the doorway, Zhao Yan's family left very smoothly, with no one asking questions.
The Village Chief and the clan elders had also come out. The clan elders disdained Zhao Yan's family and didn't even spare them a glance before turning and walking away.
The Village Chief watched the family of four, carrying their bundles and holding their books, yet with spirited looks on their faces. He was happy for them.
"Since your family is all packed, come with me now and I'll show you the way," the Village Chief said to Zhao Yan's family.
"Village Chief, please lead the way," Zhao Yan said to him.
Walking along the village paths, this was the first time Zhao Yan had gone outside since transmigrating. The Zhao Family's house was close to the head of the village, and because the location was good, there were many houses over there.
The further west they walked, the fewer houses there were, and the more dilapidated they became. The weeds along the roadside grew increasingly dense.
Zhao Yan had thought he was mentally prepared, but he hadn't expected the house they were assigned to be this dilapidated!
Some of the thatch on the roof had been blown away by the wind, exposing the bare wooden beams underneath.
There were no other houses nearby. If not for the extreme desolation surrounding this cottage, one might have mistaken it for some sort of utopia.
The thatched cottage had three rooms. Although they were all quite run-down, it suited their current situation and was just enough for a family of four to live in.
Zhao Yan couldn't understand why other transmigrators had golden fingers opening up wide for them, while his turn looked so desolate.
Still, life had to go on. He had already transmigrated, so what else could Zhao Yan do? They would just have to live day by day.
The thatched cottage was run-down, but the Village Chief had said it could still be lived in after some repairs. Zhao Yan had no choice but to accept it.