Chapter 2: Separation
"The head of the household just had a few words with my mother-in-law and then divided the family property. Will others think I'm a troublemaker?"
Zhang Jing looked at Zhao Yi with some concern and said.
She had just been married for three days and she was already trying to separate her husband from the family. She would definitely be gossiped about by the women in the village.
"They can say what they want. It's more important for us to live a good life."
Zhao Yi responded.
In his previous life, Zhao Yi was a man of few words. He would do whatever his family asked him to do. In the second half of the year, the city was going to build a steel mill, and there happened to be a coal mine near the commune, so the steel mill planned to mine nearby and supply the city's steel mill.
We need a lot of miners, with a monthly salary of 26 yuan, and we recruit workers from nearby communities.
Zhao's mother signed up for Zhao Yi to work in a coal mine next to the commune. Even though she knew that coal mines were dangerous, she never worried that Zhao Yi would have an accident. She spent all her monthly salary on her younger brothers and sisters, and did not spend a penny on Zhang Jing or her own children.
Once a coal mine collapsed suddenly, and Zhao Yi was buried in the mine for several days. When Zhao's mother received the news, the first thing she asked was not how long it would take to rescue him, but how much subsidy he could give her.
Zhang Jing wanted to go to the mine with them, but Zhao's mother refused to let her go, saying that there was no one to take care of the farm work at home. She was afraid that Zhang Jing would make a fuss if she knew how much money she would have to pay.
Taking all these things into consideration, Zhao Yi was able to take out five kilograms of food every month to support them because he had raised them for so many years and did not want to sever the relationship all at once.
But apart from the food that should be given every month, Zhao Yi would never let them take a penny more, especially those ungrateful people.
After hearing what Zhao Yi said, Zhang Jing stopped worrying about this issue. Her life would revolve around the man in front of her anyway.
The two soon arrived at the team headquarters and began to receive farm tools.
Zhang Jing took a sickle, put a headscarf on her head, and followed Zhao Yi to the field. Zhao Yi and his group of strong laborers were responsible for transporting the grain back to the team's threshing ground.
It was soon time for lunch.
Everyone gathered in a shady place to prepare for dinner, and then continued to harvest after dinner.
After handing the meals to Zhao Yi, Zhao's mother looked gloomy and said nothing. She looked at Zhao Yi and his wife, not knowing what she was thinking.
The rush to harvest lasted until dark, and you could not see anyone still harvesting with torches.
I’m worried that the grain will be ripe and get moldy after a heavy rain. It’s okay for the team to keep it for eating, but the grain bureau will not accept moldy grain when handing it over.
In the Zhao family's yard, the captain looked at Zhao Yi with great confusion in his heart. Zhao Yi, who had been very honest and obedient since childhood, was a little abnormal today. And the captain naturally knew Zhang Jing, a child who was honest and hardworking. Why did they have to split up the family?
However, since the members have put forward their opinions, he as the team leader can only mediate. If mediation is not possible, he can only ask the commune leaders to come and preside over the matter.
"It's normal to have some bumps and bruises when you first start a family. There's no need to separate. When you have children in the future, the elderly can help take care of them."
Captain Li Dequan looked at Zhao Yi and said with a smile.
"Captain, we don't have any problems. We just want to live separately. Living together is always a bit troublesome."
Zhao Yi shook his head and said.
"Every family has its own problems. Since you insist on dividing the family, what do you think, Zhao Dahai?"
Li Dequan looked at Zhao Yi's father Zhao Dahai. After all, Zhao Dahai was the head of the family.
“When a tree grows up, it branches out; when a son grows up, he branches out.”
Zhao Dahai lowered his head and took a puff of welding smoke before speaking.
He didn't know what his eldest brother was doing today. The family was harmonious except for a few words. The eldest brother cared too much about his wife. However, it was better for them to separate so that they wouldn't have to quarrel when they were together.
Although Zhang Jing looks gentle and honest, who knows what kind of person she is after a long time. The idea of dividing the family must have been thought up by this girl, otherwise Zhao Dahai would know clearly what kind of person his son is.
“Should we give some pots and pans to the young people? Otherwise, it will be troublesome for them to cook.”
Li Dequan knew that Zhao Yi was going to the old house of the Zhao family. The so-called old house was actually two adobe houses. No one had lived in it for two or three years and the roof was leaking, so he had to renovate the roof himself.
Not to mention pots and pans.
"No need, I'll just take our blanket over, and I'll only be responsible for my parents' five kilograms of food every month."
Zhao Yi waved his hand and said.
Li Dequan immediately understood what Zhao Yi meant. Zhao Yi now has two younger brothers and a younger sister, all of whom are studying in the brigade primary school and are about to enter junior high school.
The cost of attending junior high school for one semester is not low. There is no side income in Wangou Village. The main source of income for a family is basically eggs laid by hens, or they go to the mountains to do other side jobs. For example, those who have skills and can collect paint can earn some income in their spare time to supplement the family, or craftsmen who can make furniture can also earn some side income.
Or after the harvest, you can sign up to help with odd jobs at the forest farm, earning two or three cents a day. In the second half of every year, many people from Wangou Village will sign up to go to the forest farm to dig tree stumps.
Zhao Yi and Zhang Jing were two strong laborers, and their monthly food rations were 70 to 80 kilograms. Zhao Dahai and Li Daju were only two strong laborers. Although they also had so much food rations, there were so many young boys in the family who could not do much work, but they ate no less than the strong laborers.
Zhao Yi was afraid that he would suffer losses.
Li Dequan thought to himself.
"A son is no longer under the control of his mother. He can do whatever he wants. Anyway, I can't control him now."
Li Daju glanced at Zhao Yi and felt helpless. The originally very obedient Zhao Yi now seemed like a different person. In the past, whenever she made a fuss, Zhao Yi would kneel in front of her and say that he would support her well in the future and work hard to earn work points to reduce the burden on the family.
But today, Zhao Yi acted as if he didn't see anything. He dragged Zhang Jing out to work. When he finally got off work late at night, he dragged the team leader to his house to divide the family property. Li Daju even suspected that Zhao Yi was possessed by evil spirits.
Judging from Zhao Yi's current attitude, if the family is not divided, the situation will probably get even more chaotic.
Li Daju could only blame all these abnormal things on Zhang Jing. It was only the third day after their marriage, and her honest and never-talkative son disappeared. It must be her daughter-in-law who instigated it.
Although Li Daju was extremely unhappy about it, the family had to be divided. It didn't matter whether she agreed or not. If she disagreed, Zhao Yi could still go to the commune to report it and sever ties with her.
Aren’t those people in the cowshed an example of people who were forced to sever ties with their families? Some advanced elements in the village did the same.
Li Daju knew that Zhao Yi was determined to separate and live alone.
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