"So tell me, if we really were to bring up the matter of dividing the family property, what should we give to the third son and his wife?"
The thought of having a portion of the money she had painstakingly saved up and kept in her pocket about to be taken away made Qian Danu feel like she had a lump of cotton stuck in her heart, and she couldn't be more unhappy than that.
With a heavy frown and a serious expression, he asked, "How much do you actually have left? Stop giving me that nonsense!"
His voice was deep and powerful, and he asked seriously.
Qian Daniu's eyes darted away involuntarily, and she stammered, "Where...where could we possibly have so much money? There are so many people in our family, and every day we need to spend money on food, drink, shelter, and transportation."
As she spoke, she secretly observed the heavy reaction.
However, being in the dark, even if her face looked extremely grim, Qian Danu couldn't see it, so she spoke with even less restraint.
"Alright, alright, I don't want to argue with you about this useless stuff! You know perfectly well how our family's expenses are, and so do I!"
His heavy tone clearly carried a hint of anger as he spoke, barely suppressing his rage.
Hearing this, Qian Danu knew she couldn't fool them anymore, so she reluctantly muttered, "It adds up to more than 1,200 yuan in total, plus the 200 yuan I just received today, so it's about 1,400 yuan."
"This money is basically the salary that San'er pays every month, and a small part is what the family saved up in the years before he got married."
After listening to Qian Daniu's words, Shen Yong fell into deep thought.
After a while, he slowly said, "To avoid our three children turning against each other over the family property in the future, I think it's best to divide this family as soon as possible!"
“We still have more than 1,400 yuan at home. When dealing with outsiders, just say that we only have 1,000 yuan. We’ll keep the remaining 400 yuan for a rainy day.”
He paused heavily at this point, then continued, "As for the 1,000 yuan, we'll divide it into four equal parts. Each of the three families will take one part, and then the two of us will split the last part equally."
That way, even if these kids don't want to take care of us in our old age, we won't end up homeless with this little money we have.
"Besides, you see, we're not actually that old, and we're still quite healthy. We're perfectly capable of continuing to go out and work to earn money. As long as we can make sure we have enough to eat and drink, and we have some spare cash, our lives will definitely be fine."
"When the time comes, whoever is truly good to us will naturally own this money when we are old and frail and can no longer walk."
It has to be said that Shen Zhong is a person who always puts himself first. He always thinks of himself first and then the children.
“We’ll definitely have to live with the eldest brother in our old age. The 1,000 yuan is supposed to be split equally among the brothers, but won’t he have any thoughts or opinions about it?” Qian Danu said worriedly.
After listening to her words, he frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.
After a long while, he slowly spoke: "In my opinion, this is a good solution! Since the eldest son is responsible for taking care of us in our old age, let his family live in this house, and we, the two of us, can continue to live here."
As for the second and third sons, they can go out and build their own new houses. The construction costs will be covered by taking a portion of the 250 yuan we have on hand, 50 yuan each.
Then, he paused slightly, as if he was carefully considering things in his mind again.
Then he continued, "They each already have their own homesteads, so buying building materials and building houses should only cost around 100 or 200 yuan."
"What's left are just some grains and the like, so let's treat everyone equally and divide them into four equal parts."
After saying all this, he let out a long sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He had finally managed to properly distribute all the household items and property.
"Go to sleep. Tomorrow at noon, we'll call the brigade leader and the village chief to oversee the division of the family property."
He spoke in a heavy, drowsy voice, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, as if he were about to drift into a sweet dream at any moment.
However, just as he was about to fall asleep completely, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind like lightning, instantly waking him up.
"By the way! Did you return the 170 yuan you took from the team?"
He asked the question while trying to open his heavy eyes to look at Qian Danu beside him.
Qian Danu was lost in her own thoughts when her husband's sudden question startled her so much that she almost jumped out of bed.
She stammered, "No... I haven't paid it back yet."
Upon hearing this answer, a heavy feeling tightened in my heart, and a sense of unease welled up inside me.
He sat up and said seriously, "No, old woman. You have to take this money and pay it back by tomorrow morning."
"If the brigade leader and village chief come to oversee the division of the family property tomorrow and discover that we still have so much money but still owe the brigade money, that would be a huge problem. If they make things difficult for us because of this, our lives will be hard from now on!"
Upon hearing this, Qian Daniu's face turned deathly pale, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on her forehead. She nodded repeatedly, her voice trembling as she said, "Okay, I will definitely make time to return it tomorrow morning, and I promise I won't delay anything."
After saying that, he gradually fell asleep.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Qian Danu got up quietly, washed up quickly, and went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family.
Not long after, Lin Meimei, the eldest sister-in-law, also walked into the kitchen, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and took the initiative to help.
After a flurry of activity, a pot of steaming hot porridge, emitting a delicate aroma of rice, was finally cooked.
The porridge was so thin you could see your reflection in it, but for this not-so-wealthy family, it was a rare delicacy.
The family sat around the table, quietly enjoying their breakfast, which was then brought to their room by Shen Zishan.
After finishing their meal, the men and women who were supposed to go to work hurriedly carried their farm tools out the door, while Qian Daniu was busy with her housework.
Ma Aning also helped tidy up the table.
As Qian Daniu wiped the stove, she thought to herself, "We're about to separate the family. Everyone will live their own lives from now on. There's no need to argue with Ma Aning anymore." With that thought, she couldn't help but sigh softly.
Meanwhile, Ma Aning was full of suspicion, wondering to herself, "What's going on today? Usually, my mother can't stand the sight of me and always has to nag me, but today she's not saying a word!"
She glanced at Qian Danu a few times, but seeing that the other party had no reaction, she decided not to think too much about it. After finishing her work quickly, she went straight back to her room.
"What's wrong?" Shen Zishan frowned slightly, staring intently at his wife.
He keenly noticed that Ma Aning's expression was somewhat unusual, as if she was hiding something.
When Shen Zishan asked Ma Aning this question, Ma Aning suddenly came to her senses.
She hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "It's nothing, it's just that...Mom is acting strangely today. Usually, if I don't get up to help make breakfast in the morning, she'll start yelling at me. She's so fierce!"
As she spoke, Ma Aning couldn't help but shiver, as if she had recalled the scene of being scolded by her mother-in-law.
"But today is completely different. I'm one of those people who wake up to food as soon as I wake up, and my mother washes the dishes perfectly clean. She didn't let me help at all, and she didn't scold me at all."
"This is so unusual. I'm really worried that they might be plotting something behind our backs," Ma Aning said anxiously, her hands unconsciously twisting together.
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