Chapter 32 Distribution of Grain and Division of Households

However, Ning Xuan also knew that, based on Yun Xi's previous habits, she probably wouldn't come to her for a trade so soon, so after a moment of excitement, Ning Xuan put the matter out of her mind.

The brigade has already delivered the assigned grain to the grain station, and now it's time to distribute the grain to the team members.

These newly arrived educated youths actually didn't receive much grain based on their work points; it wasn't enough for their daily rations.

However, the policy also required that the educated youth be able to "eat their fill," so the production brigade would also combine the policy and allocate a basic food ration to the newly arrived educated youth each month.

Other former educated youth received their grain and money according to population and work points, just like the team members.

The day of distributing grain was quite lively. Everyone's work points were read out, and people would marvel at which family had high work points, praising them for being capable. If someone had too few work points, they would secretly mock them as lazy.

Except for a few families who were really too lazy and dissatisfied with the amount of money and grain they received, making a fuss and demanding that the scorekeeper and accountant check it, everyone else was in high spirits, after all, this was the time they looked forward to all year round.

After the grain was distributed, the threshing ground gradually quieted down. The team members and educated youth carried the grain home, while some children played around there.

Ning Xuan and the others didn't have enough work points this time, so being able to get food was already a policy benefit. However, they didn't rely on work points to support themselves, so it was alright.

However, Ning Xuan and the others did not plan to eat the coarse grains they were given. They intended to exchange them for fine grains with their teammates later, or take them to the black market.

Ning Xuan suggested, "How about we have hot pot tonight to celebrate?"

Everyone else agreed, and Lu Xun said, "Then Ning Xuan and Jia Jia, you two stay home and prepare. Zhi Peng and I will go get some fresh meat."

Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia nodded, cooked the rice first, and then went to the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables. It was getting cold, and the vegetable gardens were going to be closed soon. All that was left were cabbages and radishes, which they planned to harvest and put in the cellar in the next couple of days.

Next, we'll basically have to rely on the vegetables stored in the cellar to get through the winter, as there won't be any freshly picked ones.

In order to save time, Lu Xun borrowed a bicycle from the brigade leader. He didn't borrow it for nothing; he exchanged it for some coarse grains.

Although the captain said it wasn't necessary, Lu Xun didn't want to take advantage of the situation. After all, the captain himself was usually reluctant to ride the bicycle and took good care of it when he did. Every time he used the bicycle, he would wipe it clean afterward.

With bicycles, Lu Xun and his group were able to travel back and forth much faster. A little over an hour later, Ning Xuan saw Lu Xun and his group returning with quite a few things.

There was a chicken, several pounds of ribs and pork belly, and even a small half-section of mutton.

"We probably can't finish all the mutton, but luckily the weather is cold now, so we'll store it and eat it over the next few days."

Because there were so many dishes to prepare, they didn't care who was in charge of cooking, and everyone got busy.

Zhou Zhipeng killed the chicken, Lu Xun chopped the mutton, and Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia helped the two of them while watching the fire, bringing them plates and bowls here and there.

It only took about half an hour to prepare all the dishes.

The bone broth was almost ready, and Ning Xuan and the others started to eat while cooking their food around the hot pot.

While Ning Xuan and her friends were enjoying their hot pot, the atmosphere at Zhou Weimin's house was quite tense.

Looking at his three daughters-in-law, who were on the verge of conflict, and his son, whose face also showed resentment, Zhou Mancang was utterly exhausted. He and his wife exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's thoughts, and then Zhou Mancang slammed his fist on the table:

"Stop arguing! You all think I'm biased towards your other brothers. Instead of scheming against each other all day long and ruining our brotherhood, let's divide up the family property right now that the grain has been distributed."

Zhou Weimin and his brothers stared at Zhou Mancang in shock, while their daughters-in-law showed a hint of joy, since dividing the family property meant they could now be in charge of their own affairs.

"Weimin, go and call over a few of your uncles and the brigade leader. As for the eldest son, never mind. Wife, go and prepare some sweet soup."

Mancang's family also looked exhausted. They nodded and went to the kitchen to get a bowl.

Not long after, Zhou Weimin's uncle and the brigade leader arrived together.

"Weimin got married, and I was worried that the young couple might not know how to manage their lives, so I didn't want them to separate their households yet. But it's true that a big tree has many branches. Since we're distributing grain today, let's let the brothers live separately."

Zhou Mancang continued, "Let's talk about the money coupons first. Take out the portion of cloth coupons that we promised to provide for the wives of the eldest and second eldest sons. The rest can be divided equally among you brothers. You brothers can discuss what kind of coupons to use and how to divide them."

As for money, Weimin incurred a debt of over 100 yuan for your wedding. We agreed that you would pay it back yourself, so now the family's money is divided into four parts: one for the two of us, and one for each of you three brothers. The same goes for the grain.

Then, the room you live in will be allocated to you. The kitchen is closer to the eldest son's place, so it will be allocated to you, but you have to compensate the second and third sons. The iron pot and other utensils that we only have one of will be left to the two of us. You can figure out how to make them yourselves. You can take turns borrowing them for cooking.

Finally, there's the issue of retirement. We're both still able to work and don't need your support. But after we turn 60, each of you will need to contribute 300 jin of grain per year. As for the money, let's say 50 jin for now, but this amount isn't fixed. Nobody knows what the future holds. The retirement allowance will be adjusted based on the circumstances. Do you all agree?

As for giving gifts during holidays, that's up to you.

Actually, the daughters-in-law had objections, but their sons held them back.

The eldest and second sons' families wanted a larger share of the inheritance. He Yuting never expected it to escalate to the point of dividing the family property. She worried that she would have to keep working after the division and that Zhou Weimin wouldn't be able to support the family on his own. He Yuting had already begun to regret marrying Zhou Weimin.

Zhou Weimin felt that the family was in such a mess because he had spent so much money on his wife's wedding. Moreover, with the family divided, his wife would no longer have to constantly put up with her two sisters-in-law. Therefore, although he didn't want to divide the family, he still agreed to it.

He thought He Yuting also felt the division was unfair, but he thought that he was the youngest and that he had spent the most money on his wife's wedding among his brothers, so it wouldn't matter if he suffered a little loss. The two were not on the same page. Because of this, He Yuting and Zhou Weimin argued several times after the division of the family property.

The Zhou family split up very quickly. The next day, Zhou Mancang started looking for people to divide up the courtyards of his brothers. Since their houses were a row of single-story houses, it was easy to divide them up, but each family's courtyard would be much smaller after the division.

Zhou Mancang also stated that if they need to build another house in the future, he will give each family a subsidy of 50 yuan, and the subsidy will be given whenever the house is built.

However, since they had just separated, none of the sons were willing to spend money to build houses right away. The eldest and second eldest sons' children were still young and could live together for a few more years. The third son had just gotten married and one room was enough for him.

Moreover, they haven't even bought an iron pot yet; they have to wait until they get tickets to buy one.

In short, the Zhou family divided their assets so quickly that Ning Xuan only heard about it from Zhao Yulian the next day.