Chapter 764 Separate Households
Brother Li entered Changshou Ward just before the gates closed. He was supposed to be on night duty today, but because of the letter written by Sun Hongniang that Guo Sanlang had brought over these past few days, Brother Li asked a colleague to help him switch shifts tonight.
As the daylight faded, Brother Li, walking along the road, felt the still slightly warm evening breeze, and his restlessness intensified, along with his intense thirst.
Brother Li had long legs and walked fast. In less than fifteen minutes, he entered the street where the Li family lived. Brother Li, who was looking down and not knowing what he was thinking, suddenly heard someone greet him.
Looking up, he saw Old Man Yu, who ran a general store on the front street. "Oh, is Li's eldest son off duty?"
Brother Li bowed to Old Man Yu and said, "Yes, I was just about to go home. What brings you here, Old Man Yu?"
"Hey, too lazy to cook, I'll just buy some vegetarian firewood to burn at home." After saying this, Old Man Yu, who was holding an oil paper package in his right hand, turned to the side to make way for Brother Li and urged him, "Hurry up, I think I saw your mother at the door when I passed by your clinic."
After bowing to Old Man Yu in thanks, Brother Li strode quickly back to the Li family home, calling out, "Third Sister!"
"Big brother is back? We've been waiting for you."
"I just ran into Old Man Yu, who said his mother was waiting for me at the door. I never expected it to be you."
Li San Niang stepped aside and watched as Li Da Xiong deftly put the door back on before the two of them returned to the courtyard.
“Just now, Mother was indeed waiting for you at the door with Dewdrop. Dewdrop said she wanted to be the first person you saw when you came home.”
But when Tiger Head went home, he brought Xiang Gui Ji's candies, and she was attracted by the candies.
That's how I got the lucky break; I was the first person my elder brother saw when he got home.
Brother Li hadn't expected this turn of events. He looked at Li San Niang, who was only up to his shoulder like she had been when she was young, raised his hand to touch her hair, and smiled slightly: "You're still as mischievous as you were when you were a child."
Brother Li wasn't too surprised that Li San Niang had returned home. After all, with such a big event happening in the family, how could Li's parents not want Li San Niang, a member of the family, to come home and participate?
Tonight's dinner was quite uneventful because the Guo brothers weren't there.
Guo Silang came specifically to explain before the meal that he and Guo Sanlang had eaten out and would not be eating with everyone.
Wang Dadan and Gao Haiping were also very perceptive. After the meal, they not only helped clean up the dishes, but also went to the kitchen to help Wu Qiaolan and Baoya start a fire and boil water.
Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi were playing in the yard with Lu Zhu'er, Xiao Wu Lang, Xiao Liu Lang, and Xiao Ping An. Occasionally, you could hear Da Huang's barking.
Thus, only the Li family members remained in the main hall, and they spoke without restraint.
Mr. and Mrs. Li sat at the head of the table, and to their left and below them were Mr. Li's eldest brother and his family, including Mr. Li's eldest brother, his eldest sister-in-law, and their two sons, Li Dalang and Li Erlang.
To the right of Li's father and mother is Li's second brother's family, including Li's second brother, Li's second sister-in-law, Li's third son, and Li's fourth son.
Li San Niang was sitting next to Li Da Sao, and she was the only one there.
After looking around, Li's father said directly, "Everyone in our family is here, and you all know about what happened to your eldest brother."
"Tell me your thoughts, everyone!"
Li Erxiong was the first to lose his temper. He blurted out the method that Li Sanniang had told them privately the other afternoon.
"Sun Hongniang is dreaming!"
Tiger Head is a member of the Sun family, but he is also a member of our Li family. How can we allow Sun Hongniang to say whatever she wants?
If you ask me, Third Sister's method is quite good; it's the best of both worlds. We might as well listen to Third Sister.
Brother Li raised his head and looked at Brother Li Er sitting opposite him, who was standing up for him. He was a little curious about what method Sister Li San had suggested that made Brother Li Er so supportive.
After watching his eldest brother look at his second brother, Li's father looked at Li's third sister and then pointed at her in the air: "Third sister, repeat the method that the boss told us this afternoon to your eldest brother and see what he thinks."
Facing the gazes of her entire family, Li San Niang nodded and, without hesitation, began to speak:
It's very simple.
"Separate households but not separate family units is fine."
Li's father, Li's second brother, and Li's sister-in-law, who had heard about Li San Niang's method before, were not surprised at all, but the rest of the Li family, including Li Er Lang, were really surprised that it could be done in this way.
As mentioned before, after Emperor Wu ascended the throne, he encouraged the separation of households and families. This helped to collect taxes and curb the accumulation of wealthy and powerful families, thus slowing down the land annexation.
However, it must be said that for small families, if their sons get married and separate from the family, they will have to pay more taxes, which is naturally a losing proposition.
Therefore, in small households, as long as the ancestors are alive, there is basically no separation of households or families.
But actually, for Brother Li's family, who are facing this situation now, it is a particularly good time to separate their households.
"Sun Hongniang's demands are, firstly, that her elder brother return her to the Sun family, both in terms of human sentiment and legal principles."
Since my elder brother has never changed his name, we only need to look at his household registration.
Father separated the eldest brother, and the eldest brother became the head of the Sun family household.
Secondly, she wanted to be recognized as the eldest sister-in-law of the Sun family, and she wanted to interfere in Hu Tou's marriage. She even coveted Hu Tou himself.
On this point, we certainly cannot accept it.
However, the threat hidden in her letter was indeed real: Guo, as a legion commander under General Shi, was indeed of higher rank than our Tiger Head.
Tiger Head will inevitably have to make his way in the military, so we have to consider that.
Li San Niang wanted to continue speaking, but when she saw Li Da Lang looking at her, she stopped and gestured for Hu Tou to speak if he had something to say.
"Aunt, I know you're right!"
But how old am I?
The matter of marriage is still undecided. Even if I were to get married, I would like to find a woman I like.
Yes, I am in Shi's army, but the branch of the army I belong to is completely different from that of Commander Guo. I can't tell you more, but to be honest, Commander Guo really has no authority over me.
Therefore, there's really no need to worry about me too much, really.
Li San Niang had some guesses about Li Da Lang's situation, but she didn't show it on her face. She simply nodded and said, "That's even better. In that case, it depends on what you think, elder brother."
Personally, I think it's really unnecessary to fall out with Sun Hongniang. They're thousands of miles apart, so why bother?
Besides, Sun Hongniang is indeed the elder brother's half-sister, meaning they are relatives from the same lineage, so it's not appropriate to go too far.
"As long as things look good on the surface, that's fine, elder brother, mother. Try to think more positively."
Brother Li frowned and looked up at his parents. His father, with a solemn face, slowly said, "Whether you are my biological son or not, I will always consider you my son."
The bond between father and son has lasted for thirty years; how can it be changed by separating households or not?
"Brother, don't worry about me. Your mother and I only hope that you and your siblings live well."
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