The new house built by the Zhang family in the production brigade is two bungalows next to each other, with four rooms and a main room. The backyard also serves as a kitchen, toilet, bathroom, and pigpen. The blue bricks and large tiles look particularly dazzling under the sunlight.
The tiles on the roof are arranged neatly, and occasionally a few fallen leaves float gently on them, adding a breath of life.
The walls inside the house were painted spotlessly white with white lime. Although there were not many pieces of furniture, each one was polished to a shine as if it were new.
Facing the door is a large square table, surrounded by several bamboo chairs. A portrait of a great man hangs on the wall, adding a touch of cultural atmosphere to this simple home.
When Zhang Qiurui returned to the production brigade, he saw at a glance his new house shining in the sun. It seemed out of place with the houses of other members of the production brigade, which were built with rammed earth and covered with thatch.
"You're back, come in and sit in the house. I've calculated the time for you to come back, and I'll ask Ming Ren to invite the team leader, deputy team leader, and women's team leader to come and witness the division of the family." Zhou Guihua was sweeping the floor in the yard. When she saw her little girl and her son and daughter-in-law come back, a bright smile immediately bloomed on her face, and she unconsciously slowed down the movement of the broom in her hand.
"Mom, the yard is already very clean. Don't sweep it anymore. Come in and rest inside and wait for the team leader and others to arrive." Zhang Qiurui walked quickly forward, took the broom from Zhou Guihua, and gently leaned it against the courtyard wall.
She took Zhou Guihua's arm and walked towards her eldest brother's new house.
Inside the house, Zhang Ercheng sat at the top seat, and her eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, second brother, and second sister-in-law sat on chairs next to them. When the children saw Zhang Qiurui today, they did not come forward to greet her. They all knew that something big was going to happen at home today, so they sat obediently on the stools.
"You three brothers sit together, and the captain and his men sit on the main seats. Qiurui, you and your three sisters-in-law sit together." After entering the house, Zhou Guihua arranged everyone's seats.
"Uncle Ercheng, you asked Mingren to call the three of us to your house. Is there something big going on?" After a while, Xu Qunyi, Zhang Qiushi and Zhou Zhengxiang were invited over by Zhang Mingren. After Xu Qunyi entered the house, he saw that all the Zhang family members were there, and he was immediately confused.
"Captain, deputy captain, and women's captain, please sit down." Zhang Ercheng stood up and quickly asked Xu Qunyi and the other two to sit in the main seats.
"Uncle Ercheng, is your family going to split up?" After the careful Zhou Zhengxiang saw the pots and pans in the main hall of the Zhang family, she had some guesses in her mind.
"Yes, it's because our family is going to split up, so we asked the three of you to be witnesses to avoid any misunderstandings and discord among the brothers when the time comes." Zhang Ercheng nodded.
"Are you sure? Do you three brothers have any objections?" Xu Qunyi looked at the faces of Zhang Ercheng, Zhou Guihua and Zhang Wenguo.
Seeing Zhang Ercheng and Zhou Guihua nodded, Xu Qunyi felt relieved.
Dividing the family in the brigade is a big deal. If not handled properly, it can easily cause family conflicts and even affect the relationship between several generations.
Therefore, in the brigade, families that want to split up will basically invite the brigade leader, deputy leader and women's leader to come and be witnesses.
Ensure fairness, justice and harmony when dividing the property.
"Since your family has already discussed it, you can talk about the specific distribution plan. We are listening." Xu Qunyi cleared his throat and began to preside over the family division meeting.
"Third brother, third brother's wife, mother will ask you two again, our family is dividing up, and you don't want anything in the house, right?" Zhou Guihua stood up and said solemnly to Zhang Wenmin and Yu Yang.
"Mom, we don't want it. We gave it all to our eldest and second brothers." Zhang Wenmin said.
"Wenmin, are you sure? It will be useless to regret it in a few days." Xu Qunyi spoke appropriately to confirm again.
"I'm sure." Zhang Wenmin nodded firmly.
“Two houses have been built, one for the eldest and one for the second son.
I have divided the pots, pans, and utensils in the house into two parts, one for each family. As for the rations, I will distribute them to your two families according to the fixed rations given by the brigade before.
There are still some tickets left, and some of them were distributed evenly.
We don’t have a pig at home this year, so there’s no need to divide the chickens. Two chickens are just enough for one for each of you.
The money has been almost spent on building the house. I believe you all know how much money I have. I still have 80 yuan left. Second son, mom will give you 30 yuan, and the eldest brother will also give 30 yuan. The remaining 20 yuan will be kept by the two of us.
And... If you two have no objections, Big Boss and Second Brother, it's settled.
Later, you two move the things into the room you live in." Zhao Guihua rambled on and on about the things given to Zhang Wenguo and Zhang Wenfu's families, dividing them clearly from goods to tickets, poultry, and money.
"Mom! I have no problem." Zhang Wenfu spoke first.
"I have no problem either." Zhang Wenguo also said in a muffled voice.
“Now that we’ve divided up the things, let’s talk about Uncle Ercheng and Aunt Ercheng’s retirement plans.
Now Uncle Ercheng and his friends are still able to work in the brigade and earn food rations and work points. When they are old and can no longer work, you three sons will be the ones to support them in their old age.
You three brothers have to come up with a plan for how to support them. ” After Xu Qunyi saw that everything had been divided up, he brought up the issue of providing for the elderly.
"As the eldest child, I will take care of my parents when they get old." Zhang Wenguo stood up and said.
"Brother, our parents are also our parents. How can they take care of us in our old age just by leaving us alone?
How about this! My third child and I will give our parents 30 kilograms of rice and flour or three yuan every month to support their retirement and food and drink," Zhang Wenfu suggested.
If Zhang Wenfu had not yet started working at the Agricultural Bureau, he would definitely not have been willing to split up the family business. Now he earns dozens of yuan every month, and his family has enough food and drink, so he has become more open-minded about supporting his parents.
He also understood that brothers should share this responsibility and not let any one person bear it alone. It might be okay in the short term, but over time, conflicts would definitely arise between brothers.
As the saying goes, brothers should settle accounts clearly.
"I have no objection." Zhang Wenmin also nodded.
"Okay, I'll follow your suggestion. From now on, on the first of every month, you will take the initiative to bring 30 kilograms of rice and flour or 3 yuan to Uncle Ercheng and his friends.
Uncle Ercheng, if they haven't given it to you, please tell me and I'll get it for you." Xu Qunyi nodded in satisfaction at the Zhang brothers' proposal to provide for the elderly.
Each of the three brothers contributed 30 kilograms of rice and flour, which is 90 kilograms in total.
Ninety kilograms of rice and flour are enough to feed two elderly people, and there is still some left over.
Xu Qunyi had seen other team members' families split up before. When it came to the issue of supporting the elderly, they either avoided the topic or calculated the monthly rations of rice and flour to fill their stomachs. None of them were as generous as the Zhang brothers.
However, Xu Qunyi felt relieved after thinking about it. Zhang Wenfu and Zhang Wenmin were both employees. They not only received wages but also ticket subsidies. For them, these 30 kilograms of rice and flour or three yuan were not a heavy burden.
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