After Mo Xiaoman finished speaking, the entire courtyard fell silent. It likely wasn't out of surprise, but in anticipation of what Grandpa would do next.
Grandpa coughed, then gently asked Granny Mo, "Is what this girl said all true?"
Granny Mo lifted her tear-streaked face. Her eyes were unfocused but turned toward Grandpa. "It's true! I ate the egg-fried rice; the bowl is still right here! If you're going to say Xiao Man stole something, then I'm just as guilty. I stole it too!"
"Nonsense!" Grandpa turned to face the crowd in the courtyard and boomed, "Without us, this old couple, those two brothers would have starved to death long ago! How could they have possibly sired this den of brats? If they made egg-fried rice, they should have brought it to you themselves!"
A faint smile appeared on Granny Mo's face. To Mo Xiaoman, her expression looked coldly beautiful. "Old man, do you really think they would do that? I've always known what's on your mind. You've never wanted to live separately, partly because you value family ties, and partly because you're worried there'll be no one to prepare our bodies and bury us when we die. You're even more afraid that every Qingming Festival, the weeds on our graves will go uncut and no incense will be burned before our tombstones. I also know you're afraid of dying before me, leaving no one to care for me. That's why you insist on living with them! Well, old man, let me tell you the truth today. When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. What does it matter if there are offerings or not? Would we even know? And have you forgotten what I told you? We couldn't be born on the same day of the same month in the same year, but we can seek to die on the same day of the same month in the same year! Because we are to be buried together! If you live, I live. If you die, what reason do I have to go on living?"
Listening to Granny Mo's words, Mo Xiaoman's face was streaked with tears as she sobbed uncontrollably. Grandpa's hands trembled and his eyes turned red. "Old woman, tell me. Who has wronged you?"
Granny Mo continued, "Wronged? I've been wronged more times than I can count! You want a peaceful and prosperous family, old man, so I just endured it and said nothing!"
"Old woman!" Grandpa's heart ached even more.
"Today, Boss Mo's family made egg-fried rice. They've made other tasty things before, but they've never offered me a single bite. It poured today, so Mo Er's family was home too. She made pan-fried meat pies that smelled even better than the egg-fried rice! She's had good food on other days, but she's never let me have a taste! Even the taro and sweet potatoes roasted in the stove embers... they'd rather throw the leftovers to the pigs than give any to this old woman! When you're home, old man, I can at least get a bowl of thick porridge. But as soon as you head up the mountain, all I get is rice water! For the last three days, Mo Er's wife has brought me just one bowl of rice water each day. Once I drank it, that was it. One bowl to last me from morning to night! So you tell me, old man. Is it because you have no work points? Is it because you can no longer support me?"
"Who says I don't have work points?" Grandpa Mo roared, stomping his foot. "I guard the reservoir, earning a steady seven work points every single day! For the self-reserved plot, each person gets a share. The two of us have two shares of land, and we can grow plenty of corn and sweet potatoes. Is that not enough for a full meal?"
He spun around, pointed at Mo Guoqiang and Mo Laoer, and began to curse. "You ungrateful dogs! Have you forgotten how we raised you, huh? Boss Mo was only three, and Mo Er was barely one year old! We fed you with our own hands, spoonful by spoonful! When you were little, you'd call out for your 'Mama' and 'Papa,' begging to be held and carried. For your sakes, your mother couldn't eat or sleep in peace... But once you hit your teens, you listened to some gossip from outsiders and stopped calling us 'Mom' and 'Dad'! Now that you're grown men with your own families, you dare abuse your elders! So this is how you've been treating her whenever I'm not here to see it. I leave for a few days, so you starve her for a few days! You ungrateful bastards, you deserve death by a thousand cuts! I'll kill you!"
The more Grandpa Mo cursed, the more agitated he became. He bent down, pulled a log as thick as his arm from a pile of straw, and charged forward, swinging it wildly.
The courtyard erupted in chaos. The two families scattered in an instant, adults and children fleeing in all directions. As she ran, Second Aunt Mo shrieked, "You blind old coot! When did I ever not bring you your meals? After all the care I've shown you, you dare to spew such lies! You... you have no conscience!"
Granny Mo snorted. "Heaven knows who really has no conscience!"
Grandpa Mo chased Mo Guoqiang and Mo Laoer around the courtyard, swinging the log as he ran. THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! Each swing hit nothing but air. A man in his fifties, despite his strength, was no match for able-bodied men in their thirties. The two brothers were incredibly nimble as they dodged and fled.
After a few laps, all three men were exhausted. Finally, Mo Guoqiang tripped over Grandpa Mo's herb basket. Thinking fast in his desperation, he reached into the basket, grabbed the hatchet inside, and mimicked Grandpa Mo's posture, threatening to throw it. "Uncle," he yelled, "if you come any closer, I won't hold back!"