Chapter 39:

Separation of the Family Seeing that his wife ignored him, Lu Changzheng was a little flustered. He quietly hooked his wife's finger and apologized: "Wife, I'm wrong. Next time I will do it at night, not during the day."

Su Mo endured the sourness between her legs and walked forward with big strides, turning her face away, not wanting to pay attention to Lu Changzheng.

Lu Changzheng quickly moved to the other side, "Wife, I was really wrong. Can you pay attention to me? Otherwise, it will be bad if my parents see me. I will go back and kneel on the washboard again."

Su Mo paused and then spoke: "Is this a matter of day or night? You knew you had to go to my parents in the morning, but you still did that. It's so late now, how will others see me?"

"No one will see it, it's still early, only eight o'clock. We had candles in the wedding night yesterday, they understand." Lu Changzheng comforted.

Su Mo was so angry that she kicked Lu Changzheng.

Lu Changzheng knew that he had upset his wife, so he quickly whispered, "Wife, the later you go, the happier they will be, because it means they will soon be able to hold their grandson."

Su Mo kicked Lu Changzheng again, really not wanting to care about him anymore, and continued to walk forward.

Lu Changzheng chuckled and chased after her, his wife was so cute.

In fact, he didn't want to be so rude, but his wife was white and beautiful, with a petite body and a beautiful voice, like a soul-sucking woman, how could he resist. If his wife couldn't stand it, he probably could have done it all night.

Lu Xiaolan was helping her mother turn over the soil that had been tamped yesterday in the vegetable garden. Seeing Lu Changzheng and Su Mo hurrying over, she smiled and greeted them, "Good morning, Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law."

Su Mo stopped and smiled a little embarrassedly, "Good morning."

Because of the tight schedule, Su Mo didn't braid her hair today. She combed her hair and tucked it behind her ears, then hurried out.

At this time, a gust of wind happened to blow, lifting Su Mo's hair, revealing her fair neck and the red marks on it.

When Lu Xiaolan saw it, she burst out laughing.

Her third brother was quite fierce, and bit her third sister-in-law's neck, leaving mouth marks all over it.

"Xiaolan, what are you laughing at?" Su Mo had a bad feeling in her heart.

"Third sister-in-law, pull up your collar and smooth down your hair." Lu Xiaolan approached Su Mo and squeezed her eyes. "There are mouth marks all over your neck."

Su Mo felt a surge of hot blood rushing up, her face was red and almost dripping blood, she wished there was a crack in the ground for her to crawl into.

Lu Changzheng glared at his stupid sister. Is it okay to talk about such a thing? His wife was already annoyed with him, and now being teased like this, it would probably annoy him even more.

"Wife, it's okay, she works in the supply and marketing cooperative, she has sharp eyes, others can't see it." Lu Changzheng comforted his wife.

If she was really annoyed, he would have no meat to eat tonight, what should he do.

Seeing Su Mo's face that was about to drip blood, Lu Xiaolan knew that her third sister-in-law was shy, so she stopped joking.

"Yes, Third Sister-in-law, in fact, if you don't take it seriously, you can't see it. Just hold your hair down."

There is no other way. After staying in the supply and marketing cooperative for a long time and hearing too much gossip, she has become thick-skinned.

Su Mo was really annoyed. Fortunately, Li Yue'e heard the sound and came out to see and rescued her.

"The third brother and his wife are here? Then sit in the main hall. Xiaolan, don't turn the soil anymore. Ask Jingming to come with you and go to the main hall."

Lu Changzheng quickly dragged his wife to the main hall, and soon everyone was there. As soon as

Lu Guihua arrived in the main hall, she saw Su Mo sitting there with a red face, so she asked: "Dear Third Brother, why is your face so red? Are you sick?"

Her youngest son's face was red every time he had a fever.

"I left in a hurry just now, I'm hot." Su Mo quickly denied. Fortunately, she felt cold today and put on a coat.

Lu Guihua didn't doubt him, and Lu Xiaolan smiled secretly.

Except for the five children, the adults in the family were sitting in the main room, even Lu Boying was sitting under a thin blanket.

He was the secretary of the branch, and the accountant was his eldest son, so Lu Qing'an didn't invite anyone to be a witness and prepared to divide the family by himself.

Lu Qing'an cleared his throat, "When you were young, your family lived in poverty and had no savings. When you grew up, we finally saved some, but the eldest and second oldest got married, and there were three years of natural disasters. It was only after the third oldest joined the army that the family started to save some money."

"The third oldest joined the army in October 1965, and it has been exactly seven years now. Except for the first two years when he sent back 5 yuan a month, he sent 20 yuan a month for the next five years, and has sent a total of 1,320 yuan to the family," said Lu Qing'an, looking at the account in his hand.

"I've kept the remittance slips. If you have any questions, you can take a look at them later."

"Next, let's talk about the second son. He went to work in the commune's timber processing factory two years ago. After he started working, he also paid 20 yuan a month to his family. He paid for 23 months in total, a total of 460 yuan."

"And Xiaolan worked in the commune's supply and marketing cooperative for three years. Before she got married, she also paid 20 yuan a month to her family. She paid for 26 months in total, a total of 520 yuan."

"I officially took over the position of brigade party secretary in 1966. The party secretary receives a monthly subsidy of 7 yuan. So far, I have received it for a total of 5 years and 9 months, a total of 483 yuan."

"Although the eldest son did not pay money to the family, he has been the village accountant since 1962. His work points are calculated on an equal basis with the highest work points in the brigade. He has contributed nearly 2,000 work points to the family every year. Based on the average unit price of 5 cents for the brigade work points in recent years, he has contributed a lot to the family over the years." Lu Qing'an did not forget to praise his eldest son.

Lu Xingjun felt satisfied after hearing this.

"At the end of the year, the brigade distributed 61.75 yuan, excluding the grain and meat. In 1964, the brigade distributed 83.27 yuan; in 1965, it distributed 91 yuan; in 1966, it distributed 98 yuan; in 1968, it distributed 115.5 yuan; in 1969, it distributed 100.3 yuan; in 1970, it distributed 108.43 yuan. The distribution in the last two years was less because the second brother and Xiaolan both went to work, so there were two less laborers and two more people to feed."

"In the past seven years, the brigade distributed dividends, and our family received a total of 658.25 yuan."

"This is the source and amount of our family's income in these years. I have the account book here, and the eldest brother can calculate it later."

"The third child paid 1,320 yuan, the second child paid 460 yuan, Xiaolan paid 520 yuan, the family dividend was 658.25 yuan, and my salary subsidy was 483 yuan, so the total income was 3,441.25 yuan."

"Now that we have talked about income, let's talk about expenditure."

"First, we built a house. The house we live in now cost a total of 986.94 yuan, not counting our own manpower and wood. The family also gave 300 yuan to the third son to build the house. The total cost of building the house was 1,286.94 yuan."

"Then, we bought big items. There are three big items in the family, two bicycles and a sewing machine. The two bicycles cost 280 yuan, and the sewing machine cost 138 yuan. The family spent a total of 418 yuan."

"When Xiaolan got married, we bought her a bicycle and 100 yuan as a dowry. The eldest and second sons were consulted for these ideas. The family spent 258 yuan on Xiaolan's wedding." They also let the daughter-in-law take the bride price back home.

When Lu Xiaolan got married, she also bought a Forever 26 bicycle for 158 yuan.

"When the third child got married, the family gave 200 yuan as a dowry, bought a bicycle for 158 yuan, and the family spent 358 yuan."

"These are the larger expenses in recent years, a total of 2,320.94 yuan."

"The rest is the usual expenses for making clothes, buying things, buying meat, and when you have a headache or a fever. The family doesn't keep a detailed record, but there must be a few hundred yuan. In recent years, the family has basically not bought any grains except for the occasional purchase of white flour."

"Now, there is still 573.61 yuan left in the family account."

"Your mother and I want to divide the money into four parts. One part for our old family and one part for each of you three brothers and three families. Xiaolan won't get any. Do you have any objections?"

Lu Qing'an mainly looked at Lu Changzheng. The third child would suffer the most if the family was divided in this way. But there was no other way. The money sent back was deposited into the public account, so it could only be divided in this way. The family could not be too clear.

Lu Changzheng waved his hand quickly, "I have no objection."

He never thought of taking back the money he sent home.

Lu Xiaolan also quickly expressed that she had no objection. When she got married, she not only brought back the betrothal gifts, but also a very generous dowry, so her in-laws always respected her, and she was also very grateful to her parents.

Lu Xingjun and Lu Weiguo naturally had no objection.

"Okay, then the 573.61 yuan will be divided into four parts. Each of you three brothers will get 143 yuan, and the rest will go to us old couple."

Lu Qingan quickly counted out three parts of 143 yuan, and each of the three brothers gave one part.

"After the money is divided, the house will be easy to divide. Just divide it according to the house you live in now. Each of the three brothers will get three rooms, and the middle row will belong to us three old guys. As for what will happen in the future, you three brothers will discuss it when the time comes."

"For big items, the eldest and second brothers will each get a bicycle, and the third brother also bought a bicycle for his wedding. The sewing machine is here with our old guys, and any of you can use it."

"The third brother's family has prepared new pots, bowls, and pans, and the original ones at home are divided into three parts, and our old guys and the eldest and second brothers' families each get one part."

"There are about 200 catties of corn grits, 70 to 80 catties of cornmeal, 10 catties of flour, and about 200 catties of sweet potatoes left. There are not many things left, and they are not worth much. I have mentioned this to the third child before, and the food will not be shared with him. Now these are divided into three parts, one for us and one for the eldest and second children."

When counting the food after setting up the table, Li Yue'e mentioned the food issue to Lu Changzheng. Lu Changzheng saw that there was not much food left, and it was all coarse food, and he had already prepared rice and flour for his wife, so he didn't want any.

"The vegetable plot at the door has a total of five mu of land. The eldest and second children will each get two mu of land, and our old family will get one mu of land."

"Do you have any objections to this division?"

Lu Changzheng said he had no objection, and Lu Xingjun and Lu Weiguo also said no.

"Okay, if you have no objection, I will write a document in five copies, and you will all sign it. Each of our four families will have one copy, and the brigade will keep one copy."

"Dad, there is still the issue of support for the elderly." Lu Xingjun reminded him quickly.

"Your mother and I are still able to work now, so we don't need you to support us for the time being. When we can't work anymore, you three brothers can give us food according to the market conditions at that time." Lu Qingan said.

"How can that be possible?" Lu Xingjun disagreed. It is natural to support the elderly.

Lu Qingan smiled, feeling a little comforted. Although the eldest brother looks the most useless, he is actually a good person and is kind to his brothers and sisters.

"Okay, your children are still young now, and your mother and I are still able to work, so we won't bother you anymore. Just take care of your own little family. We'll talk about supporting the elderly when the time comes."

"If you are really filial, just bring us a bowl of delicious food when you have it."

"Okay, I'll write if you don't have any objections." Lu Qingan picked up the pen and started writing.

Lu Guihua calculated and calculated, and always felt that her family was at a loss. Her husband paid 460 yuan, but in the end he only got 143 yuan, which was too little.

Moreover, she always felt that each family should not have only 143 yuan, which was so little. In her imagination, each family should have at least 200 or 300 yuan. It must be the income that was shortchanged.

Lu Guihua counted and counted, and when she looked up, she saw Lu Boming. An idea flashed in her mind, and she said what was missing.

"Dad, wait, you missed the income, you missed our grandfather's." The old man does receive disability subsidies, which started a few years ago and is 18 yuan per month.

The atmosphere in the main hall stagnated instantly, and everyone looked at Lu Guihua in disbelief.

What kind of person is this? Not only does she not respect the elderly, but she also wants to dig out the elderly's money and divide it up?

Lu Weiguo's face first turned red and then turned blue. He was really embarrassed and angry. Does this woman have no sense of shame?

"Shut up." Lu Weiguo yelled, "You've set your sights on our grandfather, are you still a human being?"

Lu Guihua was puzzled and a little aggrieved, "What's wrong with me? Isn't our grandfather also a member of our family?"

"The money our grandfather received was subsidized by the state. If you dare to set your sights on him again, go back to your mother's house." Seeing Lu Guihua's matter-of-fact look, Lu Weiguo was also very angry.

"Dad, don't worry about her, just keep writing, we have no objection."

Li Yue'e sneered, but everyone seemed to know Lu Guihua's character and ignored her. After Lu Qing'an finished writing, the three brothers came forward to sign.

Lu Qing'an stamped all five documents and gave each of the three brothers one copy.

"Then the family has been divided up. You two will share the food and kitchen items with your mother later."

Then he gave more instructions.

"In half a month, the brigade will also settle accounts. This year, the brigade will settle accounts, and each of you will go and collect the money yourself."

"Only the second wife of the second family works, so there is definitely not enough food. We can go to the production team to buy food. After the family is divided, the two boys should also be used to grow pig grass and other things to earn some work points."

"The third family... the third family, remember to buy food from the production team." The third family's work points may not be enough to feed the famine.

Several families agreed, and just as everyone was about to leave, Lu Boming spoke.

"Wait a minute. As your grandfather, I don't have anything to give you. Since we have separated, just live your own lives well."

Lu Boming took out a wad of money from his pocket, "Here are 400 yuan, 100 yuan for each of you four brothers and sisters, as your support for your small family construction."

Lu Weiguo wanted to find a hole to crawl into, "Grandpa, don't listen to that bitch, how can we take your money."

His grandfather was sick, and it cost a lot of money to see a doctor and take medicine. It's okay that they, the young people, didn't show any filial piety, but how could they ask the old man for money again.

Lu Boming stuffed the money into Lu Qing'an's hands, "Give it to the brothers and sisters."

Everyone refused to take it.

Finally, Lu Qingan spoke up: "Your grandfather's kindness, please accept it. I will buy more things to honor your grandfather in the future."

Then he handed the money to them.