For a moment, no one spoke in the room, and the situation remained at a standstill.
Seeing this situation, Wang Xiumin realized it was clearly very disadvantageous for her.
She steeled herself, stood up, and said, "Dog Egg must get married. I've already chosen a girl. I'll just give you thirty yuan; we'll take care of the rest ourselves."
"Thirty yuan?" Old Mrs. Xu immediately flew into a rage. Why not just rob them? Thirty yuan!
The others were also quite surprised, but the price is about the same now, so it's okay to give more grain if you have it.
Anyway, I've never heard of anyone getting married without spending money; that's definitely impossible.
"Are you out of your mind? What kind of wife can you get for thirty yuan?" Old Mrs. Xu immediately objected.
She thought that the couple just wanted money, not a wife.
It has to be said that everyone else thought the same as the old lady. After all, Xu Laosan and his wife were both cunning and sly, so how could they possibly arrange for their child to get married?
"Mother, do you disagree?" Wang Xiumin had actually expected this outcome.
But after it actually happened, she felt unbalanced.
Don't think she didn't know that Xu Xiangmin took five yuan every semester, not including food coupons.
They say it's for studying, but who brings five yuan for studying? That adds up to ten yuan a year.
That's not even counting other things. Xu Xiangmin makes two new sets of clothes every year, while Xu Xiangyang doesn't get a single one.
As a mother, she couldn't bear to see such a thing happen.
"What do you mean by agreeing or disagreeing? We're lucky we haven't starved to death these past few years. You've only had enough to eat for two years and you're already causing trouble, aren't you?" Old Mrs. Xu was unhappy and simply disagreed.
Wang Xiumin was determined; she would either get the money today or discuss the matter later.
The family must either split up or separate.
“Mother, if you don’t want Xiangyang to get married, that’s fine. Let’s separate the family and arrange things ourselves in a couple of years.” She sat down, no longer in such a hurry.
Separation?
Everyone's eyes widened when this was mentioned.
Apart from the eldest Xu family, the second Xu family was overjoyed. It was good that the family was divided. Although they all had daughters, they could still support themselves in their old age by keeping some dowry after they got married.
Besides, everyone knows what's going on at home, but no one says anything because the old lady is still healthy and no one can say anything outrageous.
"Don't even think about it. Separating the family? Why don't you separate me from the family?" Old Mrs. Xu stood up and refused to agree no matter what.
The Xu family remained silent, knowing that with the old lady keeping them in check, there was no way they would be able to separate.
It was Old Master Xu, who had been silent until now, who suddenly spoke up.
"Let's split it up. Let the third son's family go, and the rest of us can still live together."
A hint of joy flashed in Wang Xiumin's eyes. Although the old man usually didn't talk much, he definitely had to make the decision on matters like dividing the family property.
Despite the old lady's loud and boisterous manner, the old man still makes the decisions on important matters.
"Are you crazy? The family has split up..." Old Mrs. Xu wanted to ask what would happen to the eldest son's family.
But considering that everyone was there, he stopped talking.
Even if she had stopped, everyone else would have understood what she meant.
See? The old couple only care about Xu Laoda's family; everyone else is just someone who works for Xu Laoda.
The room fell silent. Old Mrs. Xu also stopped talking. Apart from Xu Laoda's family, the rest of the people looked at her with some resentment.
Xu Dazhi coughed, knowing that the children all wanted to separate from the family, but the eldest son's family really couldn't afford to send the children to school.
However, he also disapproved of the third son's family, who were good for nothing and ate everything without leaving a trace.
Rather than continuing like this, it would be better to separate the third son's family.
"Since you want to separate the family, then the third son's family can live separately." With a wave of his hand, he directly separated the Xu family.
A look of joy flashed in Wang Xiumin's eyes; she felt that this was the most pleasing sight the old man had ever shown her today.
"Then give us some grain. When dividing the family property, we should at least get some grain, right?" She hadn't forgotten about these things.
Otherwise, they would separate the family, and the son's monthly income wouldn't be enough to feed three people.
Besides, the original intention was for their son to be successful, not for him to support the family.
"No!" Old Mrs. Xu was already unhappy about dividing the family property, and now she wanted her to give her grain? Dream on!
Wang Xiumin was immediately unhappy. They wanted to divide the family property but didn't even get any grain. Would the three of them starve to death if they went out?
Xu Dazhi knew he couldn't refuse to provide food, so he thought for a moment and said, "Take three hundred catties of corn, that's all."
Three hundred jin looks like a lot, but it's still almost a year until the autumn harvest.
Three hundred pounds isn't enough to eat.
"Dad, how long can 300 jin last? It'll be gone before the New Year." Xu Guangtian knew that if he didn't speak up, he would get a beating from his wife when he got home that night.
Wang Xiumin gave him an approving look, and said, "If you don't say anything, I'll make you cry tonight!"
At first, everyone else thought it was not good to separate Xu Guangtian's family, but then they thought that only one of the three family members worked, and the other was only willing to work sporadically.
The remaining person who walks the cat and plays with the dog is better off being handed over; they don't even earn enough to eat in a day, so keeping them around is really useless.
Although Xu Lao Er's family also wanted to move out, the higher-ups wouldn't allow it, and they didn't dare to say anything.
Both husband and wife were timid and hesitant, and neither dared to mention the matter of dividing the family property.
The remaining children were indignant, but ultimately said nothing. After all, they were all girls, and once they grew up, they would have to get married and leave home; who wanted to dwell on the family's troubles?
Xu Dazhi didn't want to give more grain, but he was also unwilling to help Xu Xiangyang find a wife.
My eldest grandson still needs money to get married, so we can't let others spend it now.
"Give me another hundred pounds of potatoes and fifty pounds of cabbage, and that's it. Take it or leave it." That was his bottom line.
Hearing that so many things had been given away, Grandma Xu almost collapsed on the ground, heartbroken.
She glared fiercely at Wang Xiumin, ready to beat her up if the woman spoke again!
Wang Xiumin knew that if she asked for more things, the family would never be able to separate. She figured that 300 jin of grain would only last until the New Year at most.
Once Xu Xiangyang has a stable job, she'll think of something else; they can't continue being together anyway.
"Okay, but the bowls and chopsticks at home need to be enough for three people, otherwise we won't have anything to eat with." Her request wasn't unreasonable.
Grandma Xu didn't say much. She asked her eldest daughter-in-law to clean up the dishes, and then she took Xu Guangtian and his wife to the cellar.
The cellar is neither cold nor hot, so it's usually used to store vegetables and grains.
"You two wait upstairs, eldest son, come with me to load things." Old Mrs. Xu told them to stay outside and wouldn't let them go down.
Wang Xiumin rolled her eyes but didn't bother to argue. Anyway, she had to take the short weight; otherwise, it wouldn't do.
They didn't give much to begin with, and now they're shortchanging us? Isn't that just bullying us?
We have to keep an eye on her; that old lady is cunning.
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