Male Lead's Canon Fodder Wife
Chapter 1483 - 1483: Disappointment

After hearing Li Chenze's words, Zhang Sanlang's wife said, "Eldest brother-in-law, even if your wife is my husband's eldest sister, a married daughter is the same as poured-out water."

"Even when your wife returned to the Zhang family, she was treated as a guest instead of a family member. From this point alone, not to mention you, even your wife has no qualification to voice any objection in the Zhang family's matter."

Raising his eyebrows, Li Chenze asked his third brother-in-law, "Are you also having the same thought as your wife, Sanlang?"

When he heard the warning in his eldest brother-in-law's voice, Zhang Sanlang hesitated. But after he glanced at his brothers and saw the encouragement in their eyes, he steeled his heart and said, "That's right!"

Li Chenze nodded, turned to his parents-in-law, and asked, "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, what do you think?"

Mother Zhang was timid by nature, and unlike others, she never suppressed her daughters-in-law. Instead, she was the one being suppressed by them.

Fortunately, her husband was stern, and the right to manage the family's money was still in her hands. Otherwise, she might have been thrown out of the house a long time ago.

Therefore, when she was asked like this, she could only glance at her husband and say, "I will follow my husband's decision."

Father Zhang looked at his timid wife. He wasn't unaware of what his sons and daughters-in-law had been planning all this time. He also knew that due to his own selfishness in trying to keep the family together, his wife sometimes cried in silence at night.

He had hoped he could change his sons' ways, but unexpectedly, they became even more undependable. Now, when he was still able to work, they already treated him and his wife like this.

What if one day he was no longer around? Wouldn't his wife be bullied by her own children?

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Father Zhang looked at his sons and asked, "Dalang, Erlang, Sanlang, Silang, have you all made up your minds?"

Hearing this, the Zhang brothers hesitated, but with their wives nudging them, they finally nodded and replied, "Father, we have made up our minds."

Disappointed, Father Zhang took a deep breath to calm down. After a moment, he said, "Go invite the team leader and the village elders as witnesses. Today, we will split the family."

The moment he said this, Zhang Dalang's wife quickly said, "Father, I will go invite them."

As if worried that her father-in-law would change his mind, she left the house as though being chased by ghosts.

When Mother Zhang saw this, part of her felt disappointed, but another part felt relieved. Her heart had long been chilled by her sons' treatment, and she no longer held any hope for them.

It would be a lie to say she didn't feel disappointed. But rather than living together and ending up in enmity, she would choose to separate the family and live on their own.

She glanced at her eldest son-in-law, and when she saw him smile and nod at her, Mother Zhang felt more reassured.

Out of all her children, her eldest daughter was the most filial. Even after marrying more than a decade ago, she still remembered her parents and often sent money and food back for them.

At first, she and her husband were worried that their eldest daughter was doing this behind her husband's and in-laws' backs and advised her not to send anything back home.

Until one day, their eldest daughter returned home with her husband, and the things they brought were more than usual.

Only then did they understand that Li Chenze and the Li family had known all along and supported her decision.

Now, thinking about her second daughter—after marrying a man from the town—she never sent a letter back, let alone visited or sent money to support her parents.

When she compared her children, Mother Zhang thought, 'I can't be greedy. It's enough to have one filial child.'

An hour later, Zhang Dalang's wife returned with the team leader of the 10th production team and the village elders.

After everyone took their seats, the Zhang daughters-in-law served each of them a cup of warm tea. Seeing their respectful behavior, the village elders formed a good impression of them.

Sitting beside his parents-in-law, Li Chenze watched them coldly as he noticed their hidden intentions.

After the guests drank their tea, one of the village elders finally asked, "Old Zhang, why did you invite us over so suddenly?"

"Old Wen, I feel ashamed to bring out my family's dirty laundry, but I have no other choice," Father Zhang began with a sigh.

Curious, another elder asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen in your family?"

This time, Father Zhang didn't hide the matter and replied, "My children want to separate the family. Now that I'm old, no one wants to take care of me and my wife. They see us as a burden. Rather than end up being hated, I've decided to fulfill their wish."

The moment they heard this, everyone was taken aback. Usually, no family would separate the household while both parents were still alive.

Even if one of them had passed away, the children would still take care of the remaining parent. Only after both parents were gone would the family divide.

Separating while both parents were still alive was considered extremely unfilial, and such children would be labeled as unfilial for the rest of their lives. Even their future generations could be affected by that stigma.

Everyone had a good impression of the Zhang family and never expected the children to be so bold in private. Recalling their respectful behavior just now, some of the elders frowned.

"Old Zhang, is there any misunderstanding? We can see that your children and daughters-in-law are very respectful toward elders. Even if they had a disagreement with you, they wouldn't demand that you divide the family," one of the elders said with doubt.