Chapter 474 Human Heart
Finally, after Zou Pingbo repeatedly clarified that he was indeed going to be adopted, Zou Dalang and the other heads of the various branches of the Zou family stopped their charade and ceased the performance that everyone already knew about.
"That's the gist of it."
I know that this adoption is a big deal and cannot be accomplished in a day, so I'd like to inform my brothers first.
I'll make it clear that if my wife and I are fortunate enough to have a child in the future, this adopted child will be treated the same as my biological child. Apart from my wife's own savings, all my possessions will be divided equally between the two children.
If I am not favored by Heaven, then this adopted son will be the heir to all my assets.
Not to mention the other branches of the Zou family, even Zou Dalang, the head of the Zou family, felt a momentary stirring in his heart upon hearing Zou Pingbo's words.
"My God, that's all of Lao Qi's businesses!"
After revealing this bombshell, Zou Pingbo served tea to the guests, who naturally followed his lead, bowing and leaving one by one.
They could hold it in on the way, but once everyone returned to their respective courtyards, the couples faced each other with longing in their eyes.
Zou Dalang and Zou Da Niangzi sat down, each with a cup of tea. After drinking half a cup, Zou Da Niangzi asked Zou Dalang, "Seventh Brother, we can't do what you're doing."
Zou Dalang looked at Zou Da Niangzi, pondered for a moment and nodded: "You're right. Just because I have an official position today, Qilang won't choose our branch of the family."
That room of Silang's cannot be one either.
Only Erlang, Sanlang from the second wife, Wulang from the third wife, and Liulang from the fourth wife, who were all working away from home, remained in the family.
As for Hachiro, he married late and only has one son, so he's excluded.
Madam Zou, who managed things at home, knew more than Zou Dalang.
"It can't be Erlang's family. Putting Erlang aside, Erlang's wife is a formidable woman. She never gets involved in anything and is always very polite, but deep down she looks down on us sisters-in-law the most."
If it were adoption, Qilang would never adopt a son born of a concubine, and Erlang's wife would not agree to adopt a legitimate son.
Zou Dalang rarely interacted with his sister-in-laws, so he was unaware of all the details. Upon hearing Zou Da Niangzi's explanation, he couldn't help but frown.
When Madam Zou saw him like this, she sighed and continued, "You don't need to feel that there is any discord. It's just that everyone lives their own life and everyone has their own character."
As long as it's passable on the surface, that's fine.
The tree has grown big and branches out, but now they are all gathered in one house. Isn't it because you and Silang have official positions that the whole family can benefit from being together?
After all, our eldest son is the eldest, and he'll be getting married next year. The children from the other branches are still young, so the matter of dividing the family property won't be discussed until all the sons and daughters are married off.”
As the eldest son of the legitimate branch, Zou Dalang naturally understood that what Zou Da Niangzi said was the truth. If there were no benefits to be gained, who would really want the whole family to live together?
"The sixth son of the fourth branch, he and the seventh son have never gotten along since childhood. When we were young, the two even had a fight on the Lantern Festival one year."
When I went to clean up their mess, I saw that there wasn't a trace of warmth in Qilang's eyes.
Zou Dalang sighed as he recalled the scene.
Meanwhile, Madam Zou, who was sitting to the side, stared wide-eyed, looking completely bewildered.
Although Madam Zou married into the family early and knew that Zou Liulang and Zou Pingbo, the half-brothers from the same household, did not get along well, she never knew that this discord had started when they were young.
The previous husbands of the fourth branch of the Zou family were said to have bad luck and were always said to bring misfortune to their wives.
He married his first wife, but before their child was born, she was taken away by a cold.
His second wife was Zou Liulang's mother.
The current generation only has a vague idea of what happened between the previous generation, and doesn't really understand the specifics.
It is said that Liu Lang's mother, depressed, attempted suicide but was rescued and died of starvation.
Then, his third wife was Zou Pingbo's mother.
Therefore, Zou Liulang was only less than three years older than Zou Pingbo.
But for some reason, when Zou Pingbo was not even five years old, his mother also caught a cold and passed away.
Both were children who lost their mothers at a young age and were related by blood; they should have been licking each other's wounds and offering each other warmth.
However, the two were somewhat incompatible. After Zou Dalang investigated, he discovered that it was the servants left behind by Liu Lang's mother who had been whispering lies in Liu Lang's ear, implying that Liu Lang's mother had committed suicide because of Zou Pingbo's mother.
So how could Liu Lang and Zou Pingbo possibly have a good relationship?
Although Zou Dalang stopped the two at the time, investigated the truth behind the scenes, and beat and sold off the gossipy servant.
But the rift between Liu Lang and Zou Pingbo was far too deep to be mended with just a few kind words.
Madam Zou picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Then only Sanlang and Wulang are left."
If one had to say, the relationship between Sanlang's wife and Qilang's wife would be better.
After all, in our family, apart from Qilang who found his own wife, most of the rest of us had marriages arranged by our elders.
Qilang's wife's father was just a teacher at an academy, and her brother was also a teacher at an academy. In terms of family background, they were indeed not as well off as the other sisters-in-law, whose families all had officials.
Therefore, apart from the fact that Sanlang's wife valued Qilang's abilities and was willing to treat Qilang's wife warmly, the other sisters-in-law were mostly just showing off.
Although none of them openly looked down on each other like Erlang's wife, they all maintained a polite, three-pointed smile when they met.
After analyzing the situation, Zou Dalang and Zou Da Niangzi both concluded that it should be the third branch of the family, and that Zou Pingbo would likely be adopted as the heir from the third branch.
Besides the reasons mentioned above, the third wife was also the most fertile in the Zou family.
The third son's wife gave birth to four legitimate sons alone, not to mention the illegitimate sons; the third branch of the family still has three illegitimate sons.
"No matter what, it's all in the same pot."
However, I'm afraid that if Qilang really chooses the third wife in the end, the other wives will have objections.
After all, even I was tempted by Qilang's share of the business, let alone others.
Sigh, it'll be another lawsuit then.
The conversation between the eldest son and his wife in the Zou family culminated in their concern that the considerable sum of money would cause each branch of the Zou family to want a piece of the pie, leading to infighting and the division of the family.
The other branches of the family, unlike Zou Dalang, did not consider the overall situation and worry about the Zou family. Instead, they were all only thinking about what benefits their own branch could gain from this.
Therefore, it all comes down to different people's hearts.
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