Yesterday morning, after breakfast, the four members of the Xu family began loading vats onto a flatbed cart.
They were halfway through when the eldest son, Xu Laisheng, and his wife, Mrs. Mao, showed up.
It was unclear where they had heard the rumor, but they came believing that the strange concoctions Xu Laifu had been messing with had finally found a buyer—a major one, at that—and that he had sold the entire lot!
The couple rushed over to see for themselves. Seeing the vats being loaded onto the cart, how could it be a lie?
Without another word, they held out their hands and demanded money from Xu Laifu.
But what money did the Xu family have left?
When the family property had been divided, the fields, the house, the grain, the livestock—everything that could be split was split. As the eldest branch of the family with two sons, they had received more than their fair share, never less.
