Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 76 - 074 Divorce

Chapter 76: 074 Divorce

For a while, neither side would budge. The Ge Family didn’t want to divorce, but Li Erfu insisted on it.

Granny Ge absolutely refused to concede, and smacking Ge Sanmei several times did not make the Li Family relent. Finally, Granny Ge’s eyes swiveled and she said, "Since the Li Family insists on divorcing, then pay some money for it, otherwise this will never end!"

Li Erfu chuckled coldly, his smile full of icy shards, "Alright, if it’s about compensation, then Ge Sanmei should take care of herself in her old age, she shouldn’t dream of getting any benefit from the three sons!"

Upon hearing this, Ge Sanmei immediately lost her temper, "Why the hell? Li Erfu, do you have no conscience? Did a dog eat your heart? You won’t let me raise the children I bore and take care of me in old age; why don’t you just die!"

Li Erfu turned his head and looked at her coldly, then surveying everyone around he said, "You all see? This woman wishes for my death every day; why would I still want her?"

Then turning to Ge Sanmei he said, "Originally, I thought after our divorce, you could stay in this yard, live with eldest and second sons, and they would take care of you in your old age. Now you want compensation too? Then just roll back to your parental home and see which of your family will take care of you!"

After finishing, Li Erfu leaned against the Kang (traditional Chinese bed) silently, lit a cigarette, and began smoking fiercely.

Ge Sanmei panicked for a moment, thinking, "If I take the money and go back to my parental home, what then? I might have the support of my mother and oldest brother now, but that’s only because I’m useful. If I return alone, as an old woman, the money will be taken away, and I’d need to exhaust myself serving the whole family."

Realizing this, Ge Sanmei understood she couldn’t resolve this her way today. Perhaps it’s better to go along with what that bastard Li Erfu wants: live with her oldest and second sons. The eldest works well; she would take care of her grandson while her son and daughter-in-law worked the fields, and they would support the second son’s education. Once the second son made something of himself, she could move to the city to live with his family. At this thought, Ge Sanmei suddenly smiled.

"Li Erfu, you can forget about enjoying city life with the second son in the future. I’ll be the esteemed lady in an official’s home, and you, Li Erfu, that bastard, will always be just a muddy farmer!"

But when it came to her youngest son, San’er, Ge Sanmei still couldn’t bear it. San’er was her youngest son, whom she cherished deeply. Although he had grown distant due to the incident with Xiang, San’er was a decent kid, just not great in studies.

With this in mind, Ge Sanmei turned firmly and said, "Alright, I agree to the divorce, but I want one thousand yuan and all the remaining grain at home!"

Her words shocked everyone. Everyone thought, "Is this woman crazy? No wonder Li Erfu desperately wants to divorce her. How venomous! Now with nationwide rationing of grain and peasants barely getting by on their own land, and two more months until grain distribution, she wants to take it all? What would Li Erfu eat then, is she planning to starve him to death?"

Ge Sanmei was no fool. Making such a demand would certainly attract criticism, but she didn’t want to divorce. By making it difficult for Li Erfu, he might not meet the conditions, which could mean they wouldn’t divorce.

Of course, if he insisted on divorcing, she would have to demand more to support herself. The second son was still in school and needed money for everything, and although the eldest was capable, An Cuicui was unreliable. Without money supporting them, how would they manage if they separated?

Li Erfu scoffed, "A toad yawning — what a mighty breath you have! When have you ever earned one thousand yuan for the family? You ’stealthily’ promptly claim 200 out of the six hundred yuan meant for Xiang’s adoption, three hundred catties of grain — I checked yesterday, there’s less than a hundred catties left, where did the other two hundred go? Have the face to even mention it!"

Ge Sanmei suddenly fell silent. Jianwen had taken the money claiming it was for securing a good job for himself, and the grain had also gradually been taken by Jianwen, saying it was for gifts. Usually, it was just San’er coming home to make meals with white flour, and even the provisions he brought were mostly cornmeal, occasionally white flour. Thinking of this, Ge Sanmei felt somewhat guilty.

Granny Ge didn’t miss that her daughter seemed to be easing up, and immediately spoke in a cold tone: "Since the divorce is happening, let’s discuss it properly. Afterward, my daughter will live alone with her two sons. Would all the family’s money have go to one side? Otherwise, how much can a single woman earn? We must consider food and drink, and this grandson Jianwen still needs to go on, find work and get married eventually. We need clarity on all these!"

The moment Ge Sanmei thought about her second son getting married, she hardened her heart immediately. Yes, he had said just days ago there was a girl from a family owning a commune textile factory, they had good conditions, even a bicycle, among other valuable assets, and he wanted to pursue her. Marrying such a well-off girl would clearly not involve a small dowry. She couldn’t go soft — San’er was still young, at worst, once Er Fu succeeded, he could take more care of things.

With this in mind, Ge Sanmei didn’t hold back anymore and stepped forward to start a tug-of-war between herself and the Li Family.

After two hours of noisy disputes, it was finally settled that all the grain at Li Erfu’s house would be left for Ge Sanmei. The original savings of the house belonged to Ge Sanmei. Li Erfu would put in an additional two hundred yuan. The eldest in the family, along with the second son Li Jianwen, would live with Ge Sanmei. Before any division, the eldest lived with Ge Sanmei, and if division happened, the eldest and the second son would be responsible for Ge Sanmei’s eldercare, while the youngest would take care of Li Erfu.

The expenses for the two unmarried children would be somewhat subsidized by Li Erfu.

With that, the matter reached a temporary resolution. Li Dafu handwrote a divorce agreement, and both witnesses and the involved parties stamped and signed it.

However, there was no need to go to the county office for the divorce. The couple hadn’t received an official marriage certificate when they got married, it was all settled with traditional ceremonies and a dinner. Today’s divorce, witnessed by everyone, was deemed reasonable.

Having received the money, people still hadn’t left when Ge Sanmei pulled out a bundle of old clothes from a chest and threw it on the ground, scoffing, "Take it and go, I don’t want to see you for a single day!"

Li Erfu picked up the package from the ground, dusted it off, then supported his mom as they walked out without looking back.

There was a buzz of discussions among people for a while, no wonder Li Erfu was desperate to divorce without wanting anything; Ge Sanmei was too ruthless. After so many years as husband and wife, how could there be absolutely no affection left to handle things so heartlessly!

When everyone had left, Ge Sanmei suddenly sat on the ground and burst into tears, as if trying to cry out a lifetime of bitterness.

Author’s note:

This was supposed to be Chapter 9 from the morning, but due to a system error, I had to make changes to the missing Chapter and replace it with Chapter 74. This way, subscribers won’t miss out. Just refresh to see the new Chapter, but tomorrow morning there will only be one update, and one in the afternoon.

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