Chapter 79 Chapter 79 1st update
Zhou Mancang didn't expect Zhou Zhaodi to ask this. He looked at the little girl in front of him who had become whiter and not as thin as before because of staying in school, and was speechless for a moment.
That shouldn't be possible.
Separation of the family is something that happens after one gets married and has one's own family. At the very least, one should be an adult and be able to support oneself. But how old is Zhou Zhaodi now? She is only ten years old. Even if the school can help her with tuition and meals now, the school will always have holidays, right?
Where to live was a problem. Was the food distributed by the brigade enough to eat? Moreover, even if food and accommodation could be solved, what about clothes for the four seasons and the daily necessities? She was a ten-year-old child. Where would all these come from?
It is impossible for the brigade to subsidize her, after all, her biological father is still alive. If she had no parents, it would be reasonable for the brigade to subsidize her. However, since she has someone at home, the members of the commune would not agree to the brigade subsidizing her. Then, she would have no money and it would be difficult for her to live.
Besides, the division of the family also needs the consent of the parents and elders. Zhou Xiaoshuan just said that she is old enough to work. When she is older, she can actually work to earn money or even get married. Zhou Xiaoshuan would not agree to the division of the family just for the gift he can get when he marries his daughter in a few years.
Zhou Mancang was a little embarrassed: "Child, I'm afraid this is..."
Zhou Zhaodi interrupted him anxiously: "Captain, as long as the team can give me a place to live and distribute food to me, I can go to the ceramic factory as an apprentice during the winter and summer vacations. Our class teacher said he could introduce me. I will find a way to earn some money on my own and will not ask the team for money."
Zhou Mancang wanted to say that this was not an option, but was interrupted by Shen Moer, who said, "Captain, there are a few empty rooms behind the brigade headquarters. You can lend one to Zhou Zhaodi, so that she can supervise Lin Kaicheng and others nearby. Didn't the Revolutionary Committee say before that our brigade did not supervise the landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements and rightists enough? Arranging someone to supervise nearby is also a measure."
After a pause, Shen Moer continued, "As for Zhou Zhaodi's living problems, she can be an apprentice at the ceramic factory to earn some subsidies. After the embroidery factory opens, she can also help draw embroidery patterns. She has the basics and can help with some work. I won't pay her a salary, but I will convert it into things to subsidize her. Basic living should not be a problem."
Originally, when Zhou Xiaoshuan heard Zhou Zhaodi say that she wanted to split the family business, she just thought that the child was daydreaming. He knew that Zhou Mancang was annoyed by them, so he simply kept silent. It was obvious that Zhou Mancang would never agree to such an outrageous request.
After hearing what Shen Moer said, Zhou Xiaoshuan suddenly realized that the accommodation had been arranged, the living expenses had been solved, and even a child like Zhou Zhaodi seemed to be able to earn money on her own... Zhou Xiaoshuan immediately quit.
"How can such a thing happen in the world? I'm not even dead yet, why should a little girl like her share the family property? I don't agree!"
Since this girl can earn money as an apprentice in a ceramic factory, if she stays at home, wouldn’t the money she earns also be his?
And what about the embroidery patterns from the embroidery factory? No matter whether he takes money or exchanges them for things, won’t they all be his in the end?
Zhou Xiaoshuan thought that he was the wise one. Yang Danniu also said that she wanted to give Zhou Zhaodi away. If she really gave Zhou Zhaodi away, wouldn't it be like giving away a hen that lays golden eggs?
How could Shen Moer not see Zhou Xiaoshuan's thoughts? She said directly: "It's okay if we don't separate the family, but the embroidery job is given to her because she is a little girl who needs to make a living on her own. If we don't separate the family, there will naturally be no such job. After all, it is very difficult for adults to find a job nowadays. We can't let children take up resources."
She looked at Zhou Zhaodi: "I guess the situation is similar in the ceramic factory. It's okay for you to learn the skills from the white workers at your age, but as for subsidies, unless there are special circumstances, their factory probably won't approve it."
Zhou Zhaodi hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Yes, the teacher said so too. There are conditions for getting the subsidy."
In fact, what her head teacher told her was that only if she reached a certain level and was able to produce qualified products would the ceramic factory give her subsidies.
If she were an adult, she would actually be a temporary worker. Since she is so old, we can only get her some apprenticeship subsidy. After all, state-owned factories certainly cannot employ child labor.
In less than a year since she started learning to paint, Zhou Zhaodi has learned a lot, seen a lot, and broadened her horizons. She was already a little precocious due to her life experience, and like a small animal, she has learned to seek benefits and avoid harm. Just like at this moment, she has learned without any instruction the art of speaking without saying anything but causing Zhou Xiaoshuan to misunderstand.
When Zhou Xiaoshuan heard that if she didn't split up the family, she wouldn't get the subsidy and couldn't draw for the embroidery factory, she immediately started to yell angrily: "Why? Why? She can work, why don't you pay her? Why don't you let her help draw? What's wrong with not splitting up the family? Judge for yourself. How can a ten-year-old split up the family? Besides, she's a girl, not a son. Why should she split up the family? How can she be qualified to split up the family?"
Li Xinmei didn't give him any face and said directly, "None of us sells our daughters. The two you mentioned before kept saying that their relatives wanted to raise a daughter. Although we feel strange, we can't say anything without any evidence. This time, it was Yang Danniu who said 80 yuan. Your wife can't be deliberately wronging you, right? You can sell your daughter so easily. Zhou Zhaodi must be scared. In my opinion, it's normal for her to want to live on her own. Otherwise, what if you sell her for nothing one day?"
Wang Qiutong also got to the front and said, "Captain, I report that Zhou Xiaoshuan has serious ideological problems. Listen to what he said. He said that a daughter is not a son and is not eligible to split the family property. This is clearly despising women and favoring sons over daughters. Such parents are not worthy of raising our outstanding socialist successors!"
The women who were learning embroidery all echoed the sentiment. Jiang Lizhen's young wife said, "This has forced our daughter to separate from the family, and the father still has the nerve to ask why she doesn't get paid for her work. It's obvious that he wants to use his daughter to earn money for himself."
Another person named Zhao Xiuxiu immediately chimed in: "It's obvious. They want to use their daughter as a farmhand. They want to make her work for money when she's in her teens. When she's 16 or 17, they'll find a man with missing limbs and ask for a dowry. They won't care about her life or death. This kind of thing doesn't happen. There's a family like that in my mother's family."
Another person named Chen Cailian said: "What a black heart! Even more black than the capitalists of the early days."
They spoke one after another, in unison, and made Zhou Xiaoshuan blush with embarrassment.
Zhou Xiaoshuan is essentially a coward. He doesn't dare to mess with people like Li Xinmei and Jiang Lizhen. Not to mention that these women are very aggressive, and the key is that the men are also not easy to mess with. Take Li Xinmei's man Chen Zhuangzhuang for example, he is really strong. Even if there are two or three of him, they may not be able to beat Chen Zhuangzhuang.
Zhou Xiaoshuan didn't dare to argue with these female comrades, but just kept muttering: "No, this doesn't make sense, no matter how hard you try..."
Zhou Zhaodi pursed her lips and said, "I'll pay you. I'll give you part of the money I make."
Yang Daniu came over at some point and said, "Sure, you pay half of the money to the family every month."
Zhou Xiaoshuan wanted to say no, as he had finally raised her to this age and she would soon be able to get married in exchange for a dowry. He was counting on Zhou Zhaodi's dowry to help his son get married.
Yes, although he doesn’t have a son yet, Zhou Xiaoshuan firmly believes that as long as he keeps having children, he will definitely be able to have a son.
He didn't expect much from this newborn. Even if he didn't give the child away, raising him at home wouldn't be enough to earn him much in the way of dowry.
Zhou Zhaodi is different. She can draw and win awards at such a young age. Moreover, Zhou Mancang also said that the county school is willing to sponsor her to finish high school. Then she will be a high school student and maybe she can even get a job as a worker in a state-owned factory. How can the bride price be low?
Two hundred at least. No, maybe three hundred.
Zhou Xiaoshuan didn't want to agree, but he and Yang Danniu were husband and wife after all. When they exchanged glances, Zhou Xiaoshuan understood what Yang Danniu meant.
If she does not agree to divide the family, Zhou Zhaodi will not be able to go out to earn money. She is only ten years old, and she still has six or seven years before she graduates from high school at the age of sixteen or seventeen. The money she earns in these six or seven years will be lost in vain. This amount will accumulate over time and is not a small sum.
Zhou Xiaoshuan said nothing. He usually didn't want to stick his head out. But since Yang Da Nv came out to stick her head out, he just watched from the sidelines to see what happened.
Zhou Zhaodi opened her mouth. She wanted to leave this home so much. Just like Li Xinmei said, she was afraid every moment in this home, afraid that her father would dislike her one day and "give her away".
She wanted to agree to Yang Danniu's request. Isn't it just giving half of the money she earns to her family? As long as she can leave this home, she is willing to give it any amount.
But Zhou Zhaodi didn’t know how much money she could earn in the future. What if she earned very little and gave half of it to her family, and then she couldn’t survive?
Even though she mustered up the courage to leave home, she was still a child after all. Zhou Zhaodi was actually very nervous inside, feeling a sense of fear and confusion after burning her boats.
She couldn't help but look at Shen Moer. Her life began to change when she started learning painting from Shen Moer. In her heart, Shen Moer was not only a teacher at school, but also her master and the person she trusted the most.
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