Chapter 7: Grandpa, you better be thoughtful!
"nonsense!"
The old man said angrily: "Even if I die, there is no way I can split the family!"
What the aristocratic families fear most is discord among their descendants and their separation.
If the family property was really divided, he would have no face to see the ancestors of the Xu family after his death!
The old lady also said with a cold face: "He is really a bastard who is not worthy of being on the stage. How dare he talk nonsense about dividing the family!"
"I am a concubine's son, and I am not presentable."
Sang Zhixia laughed at her disdainful tone, "But Grandma, please open your eyes and take a look. Is there anything in this house that the eldest wife's family can stand up to?"
Not to mention the stage, the eldest family is almost squeezed out to the point that they have no place to stay!
Xu Wenxiu wanted to stop her but couldn't utter a word amidst her sobs. Sang Zhixia hugged Xu Jinxi, whose face was red from crying, and looked very calm.
"Grandfather, this is the situation. This is the only place we can stay."
"Second Aunt keeps saying that this is the eldest branch's fault, but don't forget that it's also the eldest branch's blessing that we have this shabby place to temporarily take shelter from the storm."
"I'm new here, a junior. I can't say much about the justice and right and wrong of my elders, but Grandfather is the head of the family. At a time like this, you should come out and speak a fair word for the orphans and widows of the eldest house."
It is not right to pick other people's fruits and then kick off the branches that bear the fruits.
The old man also had some resentment towards his eldest son, so he just let the people from the second and third rooms make a fuss without saying a word.
But Sang Zhixia was forcing him openly.
She had to force the old man to express his opinion before entering the door.
This attitude determines how much rice the eldest son's family can get from the pot in the future, and also determines where they can live.
Sang Zhixia faced several people alone, but he did not retreat at all.
The old man looked at her deeply for a long time, and then said after a long time: "You are not old, but you are strong-willed."
Sang Zhixia sighed slightly in shame and said slowly, "What am I doing?"
"It's been over three months since we left Kyoto, from the summer to the autumnal equinox. Xu Yu himself hid from people and vomited blood every day, but he carried you all the way, and he didn't let Second Uncle and Third Uncle get tired at all. His bones are really strong."
Xu Yu just carried you here, and you really have the heart to force his widowed mother and his two younger siblings to live in the cowshed?
You better be kind, old man!
At this point, it's no longer a hint.
The old man, who had lived through two dynasties, snorted in an ambiguous tone, closed his eyes, and said, "As the eldest grandson's wife of the Xu family, since you are dissatisfied with your second aunt's distribution, do you have a better way to distribute it?"
Sang Zhixia paused and said, "My mother-in-law must occupy a separate room. She wants to live in the east room with Mingxu and Jinxi."
There are too few rooms and too many people.
In this situation, there is limited room for improvement.
But we must always take care of the old and the young first.
The old man was a little surprised after hearing this, and said solemnly: "What about you and Yu'er?"
"I live in the shed on the west side."
Xu Yu didn't know when he came back, nor did he know how long he had been listening at the door.
But he stepped in and the first thing he said was, "She lives in the same room with my mother, and I'm going to live in that shed."
The shed on the west side was built outside the courtyard wall, half of which was an earthen wall, and was surrounded by wind on three sides.
The previous owner probably used it to feed livestock, so he only built a simple roof, and the hay on top was blown away and there was little left.
It is no exaggeration to say that there was only an empty wooden frame left there, not much different from a tent with a mat on the ground.
Xu Wenxiu was heartbroken, but Xu Yu held her and said, "Mom, if she lives with you, she can also help you look after Mingxu and Jinxi, so you can take care of each other."
In his words, he automatically put Sang Zhixia in the role of helping to take care of the children, but he never mentioned what the shed he was going to live in looked like.
Sang Zhixia pursed her lips and didn't respond.
Xu Yu had already looked at the other people in the courtyard: "So, do you have any opinions?"
Aunt Xu wanted to interrupt, but her words were stopped by Uncle Xu.
Quit while you're ahead.
In this way, the second and third branches each occupied two rooms. According to the Xu family's previous order of seniority, they had the upper hand.
The issue of dividing the house has come to an end for the time being, but what happens next is even more worrying.
Because it would be really difficult to live in this hut if it is not cleaned.
There was no well in the yard, so one had to fetch water from the well at the entrance of the village or the river. Xu Yu did the job of fetching water, but what was left was also a basket of chores.
The old lady had lived a life of luxury all her life, and the three months of exile had not changed her habit of ordering people around, let alone the old man. The rest of the work had to be done by other people.
The only thing to be thankful for is that after everyone has cleaned up the main house, the people in the east and west houses and the back room can clean up their own rooms.
Xu Wenxiu was too busy coaxing the frightened Xu Mingxu and Xu Jinxi to sleep, so Sang Zhixia had no choice but to take on the work in the east room.
She tore off a torn coat of Xu Yu as a rag, changed several basins of water and managed to clean it up. Then another problem came into view.
Who will cook?
The man who arranged for them to stay here was thoughtful. In addition to piling up some necessary bedding and coarse linen clothes in the yard, he also prepared enough rice, grain, oil and noodles in the kitchen for the Xu family to eat for several months.
You won’t be hungry for the time being, but who will do it?
Xu Yu carried water for more than ten trips in a row and was still on his way back to fill the water tank.
It's impossible for this person to cook if his hands are idle.
As for the others...
Sang Zhixia threw the rag in her hand with a speechless look and sighed with exhaustion.
It seems like she is the only one left...
Although she had no choice, Sang Zhixia still held back and did not move.
For an orphan with perfect survival skills, cooking is indeed not difficult.
But the Xu family's situation is special. If they meet once, they must meet every day. If she is not careful, she will end up like a housemaid on the stove. Such a prominent figure cannot be explored first.
She was patient and didn't move, but soon someone couldn't help it.
"Sister-in-law, it's already past my parents' dinner time, why hasn't anyone gone to cook yet?"
Aunt Xu swept her face full of dust and shouted with a gloomy face, "You're only sweeping one room, why are you taking so long?"
"Mom's spleen and stomach are not in good condition. What if she gets hungry?"
Xu Wenxiu was a little panicked when she heard this: "I'll do it right away!"
Sang Zhixia said in surprise: "Mother-in-law, you..."
"I'll make some."
Xu Wenxiu misunderstood that Sang Zhixia was worried that she wouldn't, so she suppressed her sadness and explained, "When your father-in-law was still alive, I would occasionally cook for him, but..."
She went out choking with sobs. Sang Zhixia turned around and looked at the two little ones sleeping on the bed, smiling bitterly with a headache.
What the hell is this...
A quarter of an hour later, thick smoke suddenly filled the yard.
Xu Yu threw down the bucket and rushed in: "Mom!"
He stopped and faced Xu Wenxiu's panicked face.
"I... I didn't expect this fire to be so difficult to light..."
She burned it for a long time, but it just wouldn't light.
After finally seeing sparks, what came out of the stove was thick smoke.
Xu Yu nervously checked her to make sure she wasn't injured, then said helplessly, "Leave it there, I'll do it."
Xu Wenxiu said anxiously, "The sage said a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. How could you be doing such kitchen work?"
Xu Yu said self-deprecatingly, "Have I ever acted like a gentleman for a single moment?"
He looked like a sloppy scoundrel on his way to exile, and was a notorious playboy before he was exiled.
What does the word "gentleman" have to do with him?
Without saying anything, he helped Xu Wenxiu inside and said, "Mom, go inside and rest. Leave the rest to me."
When Sang Zhixia came over from the west shed, the smoke in the yard was obviously thicker.
She said in a cryptic way, "Do you want to order this?"
Xu Yu's back stiffened and he turned his head expressionlessly, revealing a large clown face that had been stained with black and gray at some point in time.
Sang Zhixia was suddenly amused and burst out in laughter.
A trace of helplessness appeared on Xu Yu's wooden face, and he said awkwardly, "I used hay, but it won't burn."
He spoke to Xu Wenxiu with confidence, but he had no practical experience.
Sang Zhixia couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so she walked over and said, "Of course it won't work if you throw the firewood in in a round shape."
Xu Yu raised his eyebrows: "Can you?"
Sang Zhixia imitated him and raised her eyebrows: "Guess?"
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