Qin Jiao's eyes were still red, but her voice was calm as she spoke.
"I've thought it all through," she said. "The family has two houses. We won't take either of them. We'll have them pay us the cash value instead, and then we'll go to the county town and rent a place to live. We can buy our own house when we have the money. Mom, Dad, you can find work in the county town. Or if you still want to work out of town, that's fine too. I'll move out of my dorm and stay with Xiao Shi. No matter what, our lives won't be any harder than they are now."
It wasn't just Qin Zhonghui; even Su Yun was stunned.
Qin Zhonghui had never even considered splitting the family, but Su Yun had. She'd only thought about broaching the subject, though, without a plan as detailed as this.
After some serious thought, she said, "I think Little Nine is right. When the time comes to discuss splitting up, we won't ask for the houses either. We'll just make them pay back the five thousand yuan we contributed to building the house back then!"
Because Su Yun had never given birth to a son, Grandpa was very critical of her and had always pressured her to have a third child.
Su Yun knew that if they really did split from the family, they probably wouldn't get much.
But of the ten thousand yuan it cost to build that large, tile-roofed house in the front yard, half had come from their savings after years of working as migrant laborers. Even Grandpa had said at the time that he was just borrowing the money from them.
If her in-laws were the ones living there, she could have let it go, but the ones there now were Third Brother's family. The mere thought of it made Su Yun's stomach turn.
"I... I need more time to think," Qin Zhonghui said. He was a simple, honest man who never assumed the worst of anyone. Even when others did something wrong, he would be the one making excuses for them.
Qin Jiao knew this was her father's weakness, but thankfully, he wasn't completely beyond reason.
She thought for a moment, then said, "Dad, how about this? Let's not bring up splitting the family yet. Tomorrow, you go to the hospital first, get your hand looked at, and get Xiao Shi's school enrollment sorted out. When you get back, just tell them you need a thousand-yuan surgery for your hand and see if they're willing to give you the money. If they are, it'll prove they still have some familial affection for you, and we can hold off on splitting up. If they refuse... Dad, please, for the sake of the three of us—so that Xiao Shi and I can grow up healthy—we have to split from the family."
Su Yun looked like she wanted to say something but held her tongue.
Once Qin Zhonghui had agreed and stepped outside for a smoke, Su Yun lowered her voice and said to her daughter, "Little Nine, what if they actually agree to pay for your dad's treatment? We should have seized the opportunity just now and demanded to split the family!"
Qin Jiao said confidently, "Don't worry, Mom. They'd never part with that kind of money. I'm not worried about that. The only issue is getting Xiao Shi into a school in the county town. We'll probably have to ask my uncle for help with that."
Su Yun had several older brothers, one of whom worked at the County Education Bureau. Although it was late in the year for enrollment, there was surely still a way.
Su Yun nodded. "Alright. Tomorrow, you go with your dad to the doctor. I'll go to your Second Uncle's and get Xiao Shi's school enrollment taken care of."
"Mom, while you're there, ask Second Uncle if he knows of any suitable places to rent. It's good to get a head start so we aren't left scrambling after we split from the family."
Su Yun nodded, then looked at her, a little puzzled. "Little Nine, why do I get the feeling you're... different than you used to be?"
"Maybe it was coming home the other day and seeing Xiao Shi get held down and beaten," Qin Jiao said calmly. "I guess it was a wake-up call."
Su Yun's heart ached. "I'm so sorry, Little Nine, Xiao Shi. Your father and I have failed you. We've made you two suffer."
As she spoke, she pulled both of her daughters into an embrace.
Qin Jiao closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of her mother's embrace, something she hadn't felt in a long, long time.
'It's not your fault, Mom. In my last life, so many things went wrong all at once that it was impossible to know who was really to blame.'
'But in this life, our whole family is going to be okay!'
'I'll make sure of it!'