Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 655 - 337 Father and Son_1

Old Master Lian looked at Lian Shouren, his gaze deep.

Lian Shouren felt a sense of trepidation in his heart. To him, Old Master Lian’s words seemed like a trap. He tried to guess Old Master Lian’s intentions while considering an appropriate response. He knew better than anyone that Old Master Lian did not wish to divide the family. He wondered how he could articulate his argument without seeming unfilial or unjust, yet still achieve his goal of separating the households.

"Father, about this, I have just donated for a Jiansheng position, and I’m waiting to be appointed to an official post. I don’t know when that will happen. Hailong said it would be soon, but the truth is, no one knows. It could be a year or half a year, or it could be three or four years. Even the Song Family can’t guarantee this." Lian Shouren’s hands were on his thighs, his index and middle fingers subconsciously tapping against his legs. "In the future, there will be expenses, and I’m afraid they won’t be small. I don’t have anyone in my share of the family who can work, and it will still be a burden on Father, Mother, Old Two, and Old Three. This weighs on my conscience."

"Father, even if we were to divide the households, our bond would not change." After saying this, Lian Shouren immediately looked at Old Master Lian with sincerity, swearing an oath. "I will definitely be doubly filial to Father and Mother, and I can’t neglect Old Two and Old Three either. As the eldest brother, I’m fully aware of my responsibilities. You can rest assured, Father."

Old Master Lian, stared at by Lian Shouren, squinted his eyes and felt a chill in his heart. Lian Shouren wanted to separate the households, and he wouldn’t even utter courtesies anymore. Over the past years, Lian Shouren had never spoken of being a burden, and today was the first time. The Lian Shouren of today was not only afraid of burdening his brothers but also of becoming a burden to him and Lady Zhou.

Old Master Lian didn’t answer immediately but turned away and slowly began to fill a pipe with dry tobacco. His hands were trembling, and it took him a while to light it.

Lian Shouren stepped forward to help Old Master Lian light his tobacco pipe.

Old Master Lian grunted and put the pipe in his mouth, puffing away several times, the smoke billowing straight into Lian Shouren’s face, apparently lost in thought and completely unaware.

Lian Shouren quietly moved to the side. Old Master Lian’s pipe shifted slightly, but the smoke continued to envelop Lian Shouren’s face.

Lian Shouren couldn’t help but cough quietly.

Only then did Old Master Lian temporarily put down his tobacco pipe and begin to speak.

"Family doesn’t keep count of who’s a burden. We’ve gotten by all these years—if there were an issue to discuss, we would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?" Old Master Lian said this firmly while staring straight into Lian Shouren’s eyes. "As the eldest, you should have a conscience. A person without a conscience is finished. He will be despised by those around him, and even Heaven will not bless him. Your mother and I are still here..."

Old Master Lian sighed deeply.

Sweat appeared on Lian Shouren’s forehead. Old Master Lian’s words were heavy, even heavier than during the incident with Lian Manman or the usury case. Furthermore, at this critical moment, Lian Shouren could not help but feel shaken.

"Father, don’t misunderstand me..." Lian Shouren hurriedly tried to explain.

"Tell me, eldest, do you want to separate and live on your own, or do you not want to divide the household, and we all live together as one big family?" Old Master Lian didn’t want to hear Lian Shouren’s explanations; he asked directly.

Old Master Lian’s persistent questioning left Lian Shouren with no way out and made it clear to him about Old Master Lian’s determination.

"Father, when have I ever wanted to separate our household? It’s all..."

"So you’re saying you don’t want to divide the household?" Old Master Lian immediately fixed his gaze on Lian Shouren and asked.

"I, I don’t want to. But..."

"Then that’s good. Since nobody wants to separate the household, we shall not divide." Old Master Lian made his decision final.

Lian Shouren’s mouth moved without making a sound, feeling a bitter and astringent taste rising in his throat, leaving him with an urge to cry but no tears.

Old Master Lian then instructed Lian Xiuxiu to call all the members of the various branches of the family to the Upper Room to announce the decision. Naturally, no one had anything to say, each one wearing a smile, but whether those smiles were genuine, only they themselves knew.

The several gift boxes that had been placed on the kang had already been stored away in the cabinet, including Lian Shouren’s Jiansheng license and documents, which Old Master Lian carefully placed inside a red lacquered wooden box and set under a small shrine in the corner of the room.

As a large family living together, it was still Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou at the helm. All the family’s assets were allocated by the elderly couple. Even the brand-new Jiansheng and his wife had no say because, after all, Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou were the Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother.