Ideals and Youth: I Too Had a Youth (Part 3)...

Living under the same roof, the Zhou family knew Bao Xiangqiao very well, and no one thought that Bao Xiangqiao really wanted a divorce; they were all waiting for a twist of fate.

Now that Ye Xiqing was asking for land, she realized: Something's not right!

Zhou Wenyan, who had just received her divorce certificate, was filled with mixed emotions. Hearing this, she was somewhat incredulous: "What did you say?"

Seeing that the Zhou family didn't seem likely to honestly return her property, Ye Xiqing didn't hesitate and immediately picked up Bao Xiangqiao's child and ran away.

Clear your throat, gather your breath from your diaphragm, and use standard abdominal breathing to produce a deep, resonant voice like a soprano—

"The Zhou family is trying to renege on their debt! The state allocated land to me! They won't return it to me even after their divorce! They want to take it all for themselves!"

"Is there no justice left?! They're greedy for divorced women's property! They're taking advantage of public funds!"

system:……

No, host, how come you're even more like a shrew than Bao Xiangqiao!

Rural areas are very busy during the busy farming season, but these days there isn't much work, and most people stay at home doing handicrafts.

The villagers lived side by side, so they knew everything that happened in each other's homes. As soon as they heard about the commotion, they immediately gathered around to watch.

Zhou Wenyan rushed out in a fit of rage, trying to pull her back: "What are you doing! Aren't you ashamed!"

Ye Xiqing was not about to be pulled away by him. She quickly stepped back, stood among the crowd, and looked at him with a righteous and awe-inspiring expression while holding the child.

"What are you doing? You resort to violence because you can't explain yourself? The whole village is watching."

“Let’s get this straight here. Why should your Zhou family still have to farm the two acres of land I was given after I married into your family, even though we’re divorced?”

“These lands were allocated by the state to support the people, according to the number of people. Your Zhou family is not only trying to take advantage of me, but also of the state.”

"Even landlords don't have your abilities. By marrying into your family, all the public land will become yours."

"What, you only want to leave my people, but not my land?"

Bao Xiangqiao had a bad reputation in the village, and people often looked down on her behind her back.

But interpersonal relationships in rural areas are inherently quite delicate.

Because of the harsh conditions, every household helped each other out when something happened.

Today you help me, tomorrow I'll help you. When any family encounters a major event, no matter how small, everyone will chip in to contribute as a token of their support. The whole family is very united.

But people are people after all, and they are complex. Even when they are at home, they will have selfish desires and feel resentment towards those who have things and laughter towards those who don't.

The Zhou family had a huge courtyard with several rooms, and they were able to support a scholar. They weren't exactly poor; they were considered wealthy farmers, which made the villagers a little envious.

If someone from the Zhou family were to become a college student, or if someone were to fall seriously ill, the villagers would offer some assistance. But this kind of internal squabbling wouldn't happen.

In those days, there was no television in the village, so people could only watch the lively gossip of this neighbor and that neighbor.

If you don't grab a handful of sunflower seeds and eat them while watching, it's because people are poor these days and can't afford sunflower seeds.

While watching the spectacle, his mouth stretched from ear to ear.

The Zhou family: ...

Ye Xiqing was used to being shameless, and besides, it wasn't her face that was being used now, so what was she afraid of?

Zhou Wenyan, the intellectual, blushed and angrily retorted, "Who said you can't take it! Take it if you want!"

The Zhou family rushed after them but couldn't stop them. They watched as the two acres of land disappeared in an instant: Hmm?

The fact that Zhou Wenyan was able to read and write in this era shows how much his family doted on him, to the point that he was spoiled and didn't know the value of money, and easily gave away his land.

The Zhou family was anxious!

Ye Xiqing watched as the Zhou family members, who were urgently trying to pull Zhou Wenyan away, did not argue with them, but instead argued with the righteous and awe-inspiring male protagonist.

"There's still a hundred yuan left. Don't try to deny it. If you don't give me the money, I'm not getting a divorce!"

Zhou Wenyan was initially very angry, but now he suddenly realized: Sure enough, Bao Xiangqiao still didn't want a divorce; she just wanted to take him away!

Zhou Wenyan's disgust for Bao Xiangqiao reached its peak, but money still managed to calm him down. He angrily retorted, "I'll give you the land, why should I give you money?"

"You eat at my house and live in my house. We've raised you for so many years for nothing. We're already being generous by not asking you for money, but you want to ask us for money instead?"

Sigh, this is truly a male protagonist produced by a training program; he spouts classic "white-collar raising" nonsense the moment he opens his mouth.

Unfortunately, Ye Xiqing wasn't like Bao Xiangqiao, who was brainwashed by such rhetoric: "Explain to me why I raised you for nothing."

"Who did I give the work points I earned during the collective work period? Did your family ever let me stay at home while I was working?"

"Putting everything else aside, just look at the two acres of land that Xiaoya and I have cultivated. Your family has been farming it for three years, and I haven't received a single penny of the money."

“If we calculate based on 800 catties of grain per mu, 200 catties are paid to the public grain, I eat 300 catties, and I also give 300 catties to Xiaoya for a year. In three years, we can sell it to the grain station for 180 yuan. All of it goes to your Zhou family, not even counting the work I do.”

"I'm asking you for a hundred yuan because I'm worried that your Zhou family has spent all the money you have on your education, and you don't have much cash left. I don't want you to have to sell everything you own to pay for it."

"When you think about it carefully, your Zhou family has even less face."

Zhou Wenyan:......

How come Bao Xiangqiao, an illiterate woman who can't read a single character, is so good at accounting?

People in this day and age don't regard women's labor as labor. Isn't it a woman's duty to do some housework? Otherwise, do you expect her to eat and live for free?

But the harvest from those two acres was noticeably cheap. Rural people value land the most and don't think that having two more or less acres is a big deal.

So, when you calculate it this way, the Zhou family does indeed have the advantage. Moreover, a four-year-old child can't possibly eat three hundred catties of grain.

The Zhou family's irrigated land yielded more grain, and they gained even more benefits.

People in the village used to look down on Bao Xiangqiao, but this is about the issue, not the person; the Zhou family is in the wrong here.

Seeing the drastic change in the villagers' attitudes, Zhou Wenyan's face turned bright red. He wanted to refute them but couldn't come up with anything. In the end, he could only stammer out, "You planned this all along?"

With the support of the crowd, Ye Xiqing immediately pressed her advantage and interrupted him: "Who's scheming? It's your Zhou family who's scheming. You've been using my labor, making me work on my land for three years for nothing, and now you're pretending nothing happened after the divorce, trying to leave me with nothing."

"Your Zhou family has taken all the good things in the world. You only take in and don't give out. And if you do give out, you'll skin you alive."

"An intellectual, indeed! With such poor character, he doesn't even understand the basic etiquette of a hundred-yuan gift!"

In rural areas, there is no more serious accusation than "not knowing etiquette," a lesson Ye Xiqing learned from her aunt's observations of others in her first life.

To say that someone "doesn't understand any manners" is to completely negate that person's character, conduct, and competence.

One hundred yuan was not a small amount in those days. Ordinary families would not give it even if it meant risking being scorned.

But Zhou Wenyan is different. The male protagonist always considers himself a scholar and is very concerned about his image.

Being subjected to the most humiliating and contemptuous treatment by his disliked ex-wife in front of everyone in the village was unbearable, hence the outburst.

"Fine, I'll give it to you! But let me tell you, this money isn't given because of you, it's given because of Xiaoya!"

"From now on, our Zhou family will sever all ties with you! We won't even care if you die in the street!"

And because of what Xiaoya gave her, one sentence made all her previous hundred sentences go to waste.

But Ye Xiqing knew when to stop. Getting 100 yuan was good enough, so she stretched out her hand, tilted her chin up, and looked at him: "Here, cash."

The Zhou family was completely confused by Ye Xiqing. They didn't know if she really wanted a divorce or if she was going to escalate the situation and coerce the third son.

Both directions are somewhat similar, mainly because the old impressions left by Bao Xiangqiao have not been erased. No one thinks she really wants a divorce, and there is no reference point for someone's sudden change of temperament in this era, so they are all in a state of uncertainty.

But when it comes to actual land and money, even if it's just a joke, it can't be promised lightly. Everyone tried to stop Zhou Wenyan, but Zhou Wenyan got carried away.

He immediately patted himself down and slapped all the money on his person, handing it to Ye Xiqing: "Here you go!"

While holding the child, Ye Xiqing counted the money without delay, glancing sideways at him: "Is this all you have? You still don't want a proper divorce?"

The Zhou family rushed to stop Zhou Wenyan, urging him to stop making a scene, not to divorce, and to come home and live a good life.

Zhou Wenyan was determined, looking at his brother and sister-in-law: "Give it to her! Consider it a loan! From now on, I will have nothing to do with this woman!"

Rather than fight over a steamed bun, Zhou Wenyan was so stubborn that his family had no choice but to go back to his room and find a hundred yuan to give to Ye Xiqing.

His sister-in-law slapped her thigh in frustration, but there was nothing she could do. What a tragedy! What a tragedy!

Ye Xiqing counted every single penny before he was satisfied. Luckily, he was the male protagonist in a novel and still had some sense of shame. In the real world, it would definitely not be so easy to ask for money.

Put the money in your inner pocket. At this time, it was still very chaotic, with many pickpockets. To hide the money, the pockets were sewn very deep inside.

The four-year-old child was already being blamed by Lao Shen. Ye Xiqing got tired after carrying him with one hand for a while, so she switched arms and turned to leave.

Although there was quite a commotion, the child didn't cry because he was in his mother's arms. He just stared wide-eyed at what was happening, not knowing what had happened.

The crowd looked at this woman who had divorced so gloriously, their eyes filled with mockery. They had countless things to say, but because Bao Xiangqiao was there, they dared not say them directly.

Watching her departing figure, everyone thought she was going back to her parents' home, but someone suddenly remembered that Bao Xiangqiao's parents' home wasn't there.

Realizing what was happening, everyone became curious and followed Bao Xiangqiao to see what she was up to.

Ye Xiqing skillfully arrived at the village office, put down the child, and looked at everyone in the village office.

“I’m divorced from the Zhou family now. I have nowhere to live and I can’t support my child. The village collective’s responsibility is to take care of everyone’s situation. Now I want a plot of land to build a house to live on.”

The people in the village are talking about Bao Xiangqiao's divorce. After all, divorce is a big topic these days. Even if people from the next village hear about it, they'll talk about how a woman from the next village got divorced.

They were laughing and chatting away when, unexpectedly, the fire started burning them.

When everyone saw Bao Xiangqiao, a woman who was also divorced, running to the village office to ask for a homestead, they were all stunned: Is this Chinese?

The village chief quickly put on his clothes and glasses, coughed, and looked sternly at Bao Xiangqiao.

"Comrade Bao! The village's residential land is limited! How could a divorced woman like you possibly get any land?"

Ye Xiqing was prepared. She sat on the stool, held the child in her arms, and pushed the household registration page in front of the village chief: "Why can't we separate them? I registered my household in Dayushu Village six years ago. My household registration and the child's household registration are both here."

“I’ve worked for the brigade and delivered grain to the government. Every time the village delivered grain to the higher authorities, during the major campaign, I was always the one who delivered less grain.”

"When I was made to work and pay grain taxes, I was a member of the production brigade, but when the land was distributed, I wasn't?"

"How can you treat yourselves like this, discarding them after they've served their purpose? I'm going to report this to the central government!"

village head:……

"But you're divorced! How can you still be considered a resident of my village if you're divorced!"

The village chief felt he was stating a matter of course, but Ye Xiqing also felt it was perfectly reasonable: "Why can't we divide it?"

"The divorce didn't remove my household registration. The state-issued household registration clearly states your village's name. How can family law be greater than national law?"

“When the land was distributed, my land was allocated to you. I didn’t have any land back in my hometown. You didn’t care about anything and just kicked me out.”

"What? You think I'd run ten miles from my parents' home to your village to farm? You'd be satisfied if you let my mother and me starve to death!"

"You muddle-headed official, why don't they fire you yet!"

village head:……

In an instant, the village chief's cerebral cortex seemed to unfold.

Although the village chief is the village chief, most village chiefs in this era do not have much level of knowledge.

They manage the village affairs step by step, but when they encounter some complicated problems, they don't know what to do.

This issue is now far too complicated; there has never been a precedent of a divorced woman demanding a homestead.

In fact, there had never been a divorced woman in this village before.

The village chief looked at Ye Xiqing as if she were an alien: "Didn't you two discuss this before you got divorced?"

"Divorce is a matter between you two as a couple. Why didn't you make arrangements for it beforehand?"

Ye Xiqing replied without hesitation, "That's right, we've agreed. The child is mine, the land is mine, and the village will provide the homestead. That's why I'm asking you for it."

village head:……

When it comes to village matters, you have to discuss them with the villagers!

Did we agree? Then you agreed!

I no longer agree to your divorce!

Ye Xiqing chuckled and said, "If you don't agree, then you don't agree."

Guess why I rushed to get the divorce certificate?