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Xie Youshun knew he wasn't wrong about his parents when he saw them. His heart sank even more as he said, "Since my parents are unwilling to let my two sons eat and drink well, and unwilling to provide for the injured Daughter-in-law from the public funds, then let's split the family. From now on, all expenses will be borne by us, and we won't burden my parents anymore. I will also give them my filial piety money. This is how it will be; I will call someone tomorrow. Let's go, wife."
Xiao Lihua was taken aback by how decisively Xie Youshun had decided to split the family. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Was it really that easy? It seemed this Husband was not a pushover at all!
"Fourth Son! Come back here!"
Wang Clan was furious when she saw her son leaving without asking for her consent. She sat up from the kang and yelled, but Xie Youshun only paused for a moment before lifting the curtain and walking out.
Xiao Lihua followed behind, feeling quite pleased. She never expected this man to be so decisive; he was completely different from the men she had read about in farming novels. It seemed she was truly lucky. He was tolerant of his wife, good to his children, capable, opinionated, and filial to his parents without being foolishly obedient. Aside from not having money, he seemed to have no shortcomings at all. Xie Youshun's image in her mind immediately rose significantly.
Wang Clan continued to scold from inside the house. The news of Xie Youshun's decision to split the family quickly spread among the family members. Everyone had different thoughts; some stayed in Wang Clan's room to persuade her, while others came to Xie Youshun's room to convince him not to proceed with the split. Their reasoning was to avoid upsetting the parents and that splitting should at least wait until Ruyi got married.
Xiao Lihua sat quietly on the side with her two children huddled behind her as they heard Wang Clan's shouting.
Xie Youshun looked at his two timid and frail sons and was determined to split the family. No matter who tried to persuade him, it was useless. Xie Youtai only said a few words before falling silent, while Xie Youkang put on an elder brother's airs for a long time, and Xie Youhe made sarcastic remarks but failed to convince Xie Youshun. Eventually, they stopped trying.
Xiao Lihua observed from the side and began to understand that these three actually didn't care too much about whether Xie Youshun would split from the family. Xie Youtai was merely fulfilling a duty of persuasion; Xie Youkang and Xie Youhe didn't want Xie Youshun to leave not out of brotherly affection but rather for face-saving reasons and to prevent him from taking too much of the family assets.
"Fourth Brother, Parents want you all to come over."
At that moment, Ruyi's voice rang out from outside. She was a pretty girl who looked quite charming in the countryside; under the light of the lanterns and moonlight, she appeared even more beautiful than during the day. She glanced at Xiao Lihua but quickly shifted her gaze away.
Xie Youshun instructed Xiao Lihua to watch over Stone and Wood as he walked out with them.
Xiao Lihua now understood that this man had plans in mind, so she felt reassured staying inside with her two sons.
It seemed like it wasn't long before Xie Youshun returned with a calm expression.
Xiao Lihua asked, "Did they agree to the split?"
Xie Youshun closed the door securely and sat down on the edge of the kang, saying, "They agreed, but there are conditions. Don't be upset when you hear them."
Xiao Lihua nodded. She thought it would be strange if there were no conditions. Now she just hoped to separate quickly; even if it meant suffering a bit, she didn't mind. With hands, feet, and a brain, how could she fear not having enough to eat or clothes to wear?
"First, we need to say that this separation is initiated by us, that we don't want to burden the family anymore. Second, when Ruyi gets married, I will have to give ten taels of silver. By then, we probably won't get much from the separation. If we want to build another house, it will either be of poor quality or we'll have to borrow money. If you are unwilling, then we'll wait until Ruyi is married before separating, and you must not cause any trouble before that. So, do you still want to separate? If you do, then let's go ahead."
"I will work hard to earn money and won't let you go hungry, as long as you don't mind."
Xie Youshun saw Xiao Lihua deep in thought and said again. He looked at the two children; he wanted the separation. In the past, he couldn't rely on Xiao Lihua. He thought having family help take care of the children would be good, but his family treated his son this way, which made him angry. Xiao Lihua understood and thought that separating might be better than not separating at all. However, he was still worried that Xiao Lihua would suffer and might regret it later.
Xiao Lihua smiled at what Xie Youshun said. She had indeed hesitated earlier; she had never been out on her own and didn't know how to make money. She worried about making her children suffer. Now that Xie Youshun said this, her heart felt at ease.
"Let's separate; even if I go hungry, I won't let the children go hungry."
"Mom, are we really going to separate?"
Shitou asked. He understood what separation meant: not living with Grandpa and Grandma anymore but living independently like the Copper Coin family.
Xiao Lihua smiled and nodded, holding Shitou with one hand and hugging Mudu with the other. "Once we separate and your parents earn money, I'll make delicious food for you."
Upon hearing this, Shitou and Mudu's eyes lit up; Mudu even drooled a little, making Xiao Lihua's eyes smile like crescent moons.
Seeing them so happy, Xie Youshun thought that separating would allow them to live well.
The next day, several people from the Xie family came over: the village chief and four respected elders from the village. Since Xie Shengcai was an outsider and didn't have any relatives to preside over the separation, they could only ask outsiders for help.
The village chief's surname was Li; his name was Li Gao. He was Zhang Shuitao's father-in-law, in his forties but not particularly old-looking; he had a bit of the village chief's demeanor. After sitting down and saying a few words, he let Xie Shengcai preside over the separation while they served as witnesses.
Everyone from the Xie family was present today; the adults stood inside the house while the children stood outside.
The Wang Clan glared at Xiao Lihua and looked at Xie Youshun. However, since Xie Youshun ignored her, she could only continue glaring at Xiao Lihua. Xiao Lihua remained unfazed; if she wanted to glare, let her glare—after all, they were about to separate.
Xie Shengcai coughed twice and said, "Fourth Son is a good one. He feels like a burden to the family, so he wants to separate early to spare the family some trouble. As his father, I can only agree. Today, we will divide the family. There isn't much to divide; let's start with the land. The family has a total of five acres of Paddy Field, six acres of dry land, and four acres of sandy land. We'll give the Fourth Family one acre of Paddy Field, one acre of dry land, and one acre of sandy land. Additionally, there are thirty-two taels of Silver in the house. The eldest son will take these houses in the future, so they won't be divided. We Old Couple will keep two taels. The remaining thirty taels will be divided among you three, ten taels each. Fourth Son, you will get ten taels."
When Xiao Lihua heard this, she was pleased; those ten taels would all go towards Ruyi's dowry, meaning they wouldn't receive any Silver, but at least they wouldn't owe anything.
Of course, Xie Shengcai didn't mention where those ten taels of Silver would go and continued to distribute the household items and the chickens and pigs they raised.
"Everything in Fourth Son's house can be taken away; those who farm will also get their share. There are ten chickens in the house—one rooster and nine hens—so we'll give you two hens. As for the pigs, since you won't be feeding them, you won't get a share of those either. How does this division sound to you?"
Xie Shengcai said with a sigh.
Xiao Lihua felt that aside from losing those ten taels of Silver, everything else was acceptable; it was much better than leaving with nothing.
Xie Youshun nodded in agreement.
Xie Shengcai then discussed the money for their old age, food supplies, and seasonal gifts and clothing.
Xie Youshun had no objections, and Xiao Lihua was just there as an observer; she only wanted to finalize the separation.
They invited a literate villager to write up the separation document; those who could write signed it while those who couldn't pressed their thumbprints. The family division was completed smoothly.
After sending off the village chief and four elders, the family gathered back in the Hall. Xie Shengcai spoke to Xie Youshun about how they would now be separated but still remain a family and urged him to live well. As he spoke, tears streamed down his face; he did have feelings for this son but had to consider his other children and elderly wife as well.
As they left the Hall, the Li Family sarcastically remarked, "Well now, this is great! Finally free to live alone; remember to invite us over for meat every day! If you don't invite us, don't forget about Parents and your nieces and nephews."
Xiao Lihua glanced at her and said, "Sister-in-law, why are you in such a hurry? Just wait until Ruyi gets married; then you won’t have to envy me anymore. Besides, you got an extra ten taels of Silver; we can't compare to that. We’ll probably have to borrow money to build our house. If Sister-in-law is thinking about us, why not borrow some money from your family for us? We’ll definitely cook meat to thank you later."
"Borrow money? My family is poor! You should go back to your family to borrow some! I'm not in a hurry; I won't chat with you any longer!"
Seeing Ruyi come out from the Hall, the Li Family quickly left; she didn’t want anyone hearing her wishing for a separation from her family.
The Fang Family smiled and said, "Sister Four, are you reluctant to part with those ten taels of Silver? That was what you were willing to give Ruyi for her wedding attire. Just make sure you don't go around saying anything later."
Ruyi also stared at Xiao Lihua.
Xiao Lihua thought to herself that they wanted both money and face; what kind of people were they? It was better to leave early; arguing with them was harmful to her health and a waste of precious time.
"Children, let's go back inside and see how we can deal with this."
Xiao Lihua led Stone and Wood back into the house, leaving the ignored Fang Family and Ruyi with gloomy faces. When Xie Youshun came out, they immediately began to complain about Xiao Lihua.
"Compared to before, she is much better," Xie Youshun said before walking away.
Ruyi pressed her lips together and turned to go inside. Seeing Ruyi leave, the Fang Family also returned home. She needed to ask the men in her family how the remaining land would be divided; as the First Wife, she had to secure a larger share.
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua discussed where they should move. At that moment, Xie Youtai and Zi Clan entered, saying they had something to discuss. Zi Clan mentioned that they needed Silver to build a house and could help borrow some from her family.
"The Zhao Family at the West End of the Village is selling their house. Although it's not big, there is space next to it. If you want, you could buy that place and later expand it when you have more money. I heard that house only costs fifteen taels of Silver; if you negotiate, it might be even less. Think about it."
Xie Youtai said that Xie Youshun had been away from the village these days and didn't know about it, but he had heard about it. He had his eye on the empty land in front of that house, thinking about building a new home there in the future. If it was close to Fourth Brother's place, it would be easier to look after each other.
As soon as Xie Youshun heard this, he knew where it was and felt quite tempted. He thought he would inquire further; if everything looked good, he would borrow money to buy that house.
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