No matter how the land was divided, he felt it was inappropriate, so no matter how it was divided, a proper plan could not be reached.
"It's really difficult. What can I do? This is a thankless task. Why don't you just hand it over to Gouzi?"
Yu Jiu jokingly encouraged Xu Zijiang.
“How can that be? This is something I will do when I am in power. How can I leave it to Gouzi to do? Besides, I can’t even think of a solution, so what solution could he possibly come up with?”
Xu Zi chuckled. Did his wife think Gouzi was a little too clever? He'd asked Gouzi about it, and Gouzi said he didn't have a good solution either. If he were to divide the spoils, everyone would probably scold him.
Anyway, this is Xu Zi's last year as captain, so let him do the annoying things. Then no one will be able to criticize him anymore. If Gouzi does it, everyone will complain about him every day, and it will be harder for him to carry out his work in the future.
"This is indeed quite difficult to handle. If you ask me, we should count how many people are in each household and categorize them. For example, put households with more than 10 people together, households with 6 to 10 people together, and households with 1 to 5 people together."
Then you combine fertile and infertile land to make five, ten, or fifteen mu of land. Have each person draw lots to determine the missing mu. If someone is short two mu or more, you add more land. If they are only short one mu, you use the remaining land to draw lots. Whether they draw fertile land or barren hillside land, it's all down to luck, and nobody can say anything about it.
Yu Jiu said there was no other way, but actually he still came up with a solution for Xu Zijiang: divide the land into sections. First, draw the land into sections, and then let everyone draw lots. This would be much fairer and easier, and it would be better than him distributing it to each household one by one, so that no one would feel ungrateful.
“There are quite a few families in our team with fewer than eight people. Didn’t you say that all of them would be allocated eight mu of land? In that case, we can draw out three-mu plots, or you can just make it eight mu in total. Whichever is more convenient for you, it’s easier than before.”
Yu Jiu was seriously analyzing the situation with Xu Zijiang. All she could do was offer suggestions, since she didn't know which plots of land were fertile and which were barren. That was something Xu Zijiang had to figure out.
"I think I've found the key! Honey, you're my lucky star!"
Xu Zi hugged Yu Jiu and kissed him hard. Then he ran to the next room to carefully distribute the wine. Since everyone would draw lots to choose their own wine, which would make it fairer, he didn't need to be so meticulous when distributing the wine. He just needed to make sure the distribution was roughly correct.
Xu Zijiang was extremely busy and racking his brains over this matter. These past few days, little An'an has been staying obediently in Yu Jiu's room after school, not bothering Xu Zijiang in the next room. When Yu Jiu goes to eat or use the restroom, she can also help watch over little Yuanyuan, mainly keeping an eye on him. If he cries or fusses, he can call out to Yu Jiu. Yu Jiu doesn't have to keep a constant eye on him, which is a bit easier than before.
Dog's mother did come to help Yu Jiu and Xu Zijiang take care of the child, but she was busy on her own, so she mainly came to change little Yuanyuan's diapers and occasionally to relieve Yu Jiu, staying for an hour or two. She couldn't stay that long, but that was enough for Yu Jiu and Xu Zijiang, so they didn't hire anyone else to help them. They planned to find someone else to help them when they went to S City and couldn't spare the time, at which point they could find someone to take care of the child long-term.
Xu Zijiang meticulously divided the land into 3 mu, 5 mu, 8 mu, 10 mu, and 15 mu, and the remaining land was scattered. If any household didn't have enough land, they would draw lots to make up the difference.
After the land was divided, Xu Zijiang felt that he had done an excellent job and was very satisfied. Yu Jiu also thought it was good, so he convened a meeting the next day.
"I've already divided the land. It's basically a mix of good and bad land, so they're about the same size. I've divided the land into plots. For example, the cornfield in the east will be combined with the fertile rice paddy in the west, and there will also be two acres of wasteland on the hillside. It's definitely quite scattered."
First, you all draw lots. Those whose names I call, come over and draw lots from each box. Whichever slip of paper you draw, that plot of land is yours. Then you can exchange it with other people. As long as you're willing, even if it's a better plot for a worse one, I have no objection.
Xu Zijiang made it clear from the outset that in order to be fair, the land allocated to them could not be arranged in contiguous plots. This was unavoidable, and it would only require everyone to make more trips to the fields when they were working.
Although everyone felt this method was inconvenient, it was indeed the fairest way to divide the property. Therefore, no one said anything and waited for Xu Zijiang to call out names so that their families could send representatives to draw lots.
This lottery was a rather complicated process. Families with small populations only needed to draw once, while larger families might have to draw several times, round after round. But it must be said that Xu Zijiang's method of allocating the land was indeed very fair. After drawing their lots, everyone would check which land they had been allocated, and then they would check what land others had been allocated.
Of course, comparisons are made between those with larger populations and those with smaller populations. It turns out that everyone's allocated land is roughly the same, except some land is closer together and some is farther apart—that's just how it is. People are mainly concerned with how fertile their own land is, and whether other people's land is more fertile; other issues can be ignored.
Two hours later.
"Alright, the bulk of the land has been distributed. What's left are some small plots. Those who haven't received enough land, come and draw lots. If you're one acre short, draw a small paper ball; if you're two acres short, draw two small paper balls. Some of the land here is good, and some isn't. It all depends on luck."
Xu Zijiang would let everyone look at each other's lots after they drew lots, giving them time to discuss before moving on to the next step. That's why it had taken more than two hours. Now, they were finally about to move on to the final step.
"Whether it's luck or not, I think I've always been pretty lucky, maybe I'll be able to draw a good plot of land."
"My luck is just not good. I want to send my little one up. He's only three years old, and he's incredibly lucky. Who knows, he might get the best spot!"
Everyone was eager to participate. Some went themselves, some sent their youngest sons, and some even sent their elders—each displaying their unique abilities. The final results were, of course, quite varied. Some drew two good plots, while others drew two bad ones. Even regret was useless in the end.
The draw has been completed, and this matter is now over. This is the last step. If anyone has any objections, Xu Zijiang will disagree.
"That concludes the land allocation process. Everyone, please have Gouzi register which plots of land your family owns. Also, hand the slips of paper to Gouzi so he can verify them."
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