Chapter 30 030 Separation of the Family
After getting married, the fourth son of the Su family had two sons. The two sons were the same age as him and were not married yet, but they both had partners. They were living in the same room with him now, and they would probably get married after the New Year. At that time, he would be the only one left in the room.
But the house is already full, there are no spare rooms. Where will my two younger brothers stay when they get married?
Build another house?
Even if they build a house, there won't be enough space. If they don't separate their households, their marriage will have to be postponed. Would the woman be willing to do that?
This family will have to be divided up, whether Grandpa likes it or not, and it will definitely be divided up by the end of the year at the latest.
After lying down for a while, he heard Wan Guihua calling people to eat in the yard. Su Lu didn't want to eat, but he didn't want the meat he bought to benefit others, so he had no choice but to get up and eat.
Upon entering the main room and seeing the room full of heads, Su Lu felt another headache coming on.
With so many people, we can't even eat at one table; we have to eat at four separate tables, and even then, it's still crowded.
There was no other way; the main room was small, so the table couldn't be too big, otherwise it wouldn't fit.
After sitting down, Su Lu was given a rice cake and a bowl of cornmeal porridge, with a side dish of stewed bok choy and meat. When it came to his portion, there were only three thin slices of meat. This was only because he had brought the meat back, so he got an extra slice. His older brothers and two younger brothers only got two slices each.
Su Lu quickly stuffed three slices of meat into his mouth, poured cornmeal paste into his mouth, and then left the table with the cornbread.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I've finished eating. I'm going to go to my room to take a nap. You two eat."
Grandpa Su looked up at Su Lu but didn't say anything. Grandma Su waved her hand with concern, "Go on, get some sleep. Don't go to the fields this afternoon."
Anyway, I won't earn many work points. If I hurt my face while working in the fields, what will I do if I can't get a wife in the future?
Old Mrs. Su's hair turned another white from worry, and she chased Su Lu away.
As soon as Su Lu left, the eight sisters-in-law exchanged glances, pouted, and lowered their heads to continue eating.
Grandpa Su took in everyone's facial expressions and made a decision.
This company can't be combined.
Everyone in the family, from the brothers to the sisters-in-law, had a problem with Xiao Jiu, thinking he was just freeloading. If things continued like this, all the brotherly affection would be gone.
Furthermore, Xiao Shi and Xiao Shi Yi are supposed to get married next year, but they still don't have a house. They can't keep living together, can they? What would that look like?
Grandpa Su glanced at his wife, then at Su the eldest and Su Zhiyuan, and said in a deep voice, "Let's have a meeting at home after dinner tonight to discuss the division of the family property."
Grandma Su was surprised that her husband had come to his senses so quickly and looked at Grandpa Su in astonishment.
Grandpa Su patted his wife's hand, "I was wrong before. Once we distribute them all, we can save ourselves some trouble."
If I live a few more years, I might still see my children and grandchildren succeed. If this family keeps causing trouble, everyone's hearts will fall apart.
Grandma Su's eyes reddened, and she squeezed her husband's hand back, "It will be alright, it will get better."
She was a little reluctant to part with it.
It sounds nice, but it's hard to do. Which of her children wasn't her own flesh and blood? Which of her grandchildren wasn't raised by her?
Once the family separates, they're no longer one family.
Su Lu had just returned to the room when Wan Guihua called him urgently.
"Get up quickly, your grandfather is going to divide the family property."
Wan Guihua couldn't hide her excitement, and her face showed obvious happiness.
Su Lu was stunned. "They separated? Grandpa agreed to the separation?"
Wan Guihua nodded. "This time it should be for real. I don't know how your grandfather came to his senses."
Su Lu narrowed his eyes and murmured, "That's really good news."
His branch of the family had a large household to support, and they lived a difficult life. They should have been living well, but they struggled to even eat meat. If they were to separate this time, he could bring meat home more often so that his parents could have some nourishment.
Su Lu didn't go to work in the afternoon. After dinner, the whole Su family gathered together, with Qin Feng and Luo Hongxing as witnesses.
Qin Feng looked at Old Master Su, "Are you really going to split it up?"
Grandpa Su nodded. "Divide it."
Qin Feng didn't try to persuade him, and turned to look at Su Zhiyuan.
His good brother has finally made it through.
Even for the sake of his brother, he wouldn't try to persuade him further. So Qin Feng glanced at Luo Hongxing, and the two of them tacitly remained silent.
The Su family's division of property was simple. Since there was no money, the money wasn't divided. Grain was distributed according to the number of people, and no one objected to this. After all, they couldn't possibly have enough to eat after the family split up.
The remaining farm tools, bowls, and chopsticks were easy to divide, and the furniture in each house belonged to their own family and they could dispose of it as they pleased.
The biggest expense is the house. The houses that each family lives in now belong to them, while the house that Su Lu and his two younger brothers live in belongs to the eldest family.
The two elderly people lived with Su Laoda. The remaining three sons who did not want to live at home went out and found ways to build their own houses. Those who continued to live there had to give some money to the brothers who went out, which was considered as buying their houses.
Everyone receives the same amount of retirement money: 100 jin of grain and 20 yuan per year.
The family division agreement was quickly written, and none of the brothers had any objections, because they all knew that there was no money to divide in the family. If there was no money, what was the point of arguing?
The signatures and fingerprints were affixed in six copies: one copy for the village committee, one copy for each of the remaining five houses, and one copy for the two elderly members of the Su family.
After the family division was completed, everyone returned to their own homes. Su Zhiyuan called his four sons back to their own rooms.
Su Zhiyuan got married late, and there was no room for him in the front yard, so he lived in the back yard.
In the backyard, he occupied one room in the main house, Su Lao Si occupied another, the two rooms in the east wing were occupied by his eldest son Su Ming and his wife, and his second son Su Qi and his wife, the west wing was occupied by his third son Su Guo, and the other room was occupied by Su Lu and the two sons of Lao Si.
The grandchildren all live with their parents. Since there are no more houses available, they can only make do for now.
Su Zhiyuan glanced at his four sons and three daughters-in-law, and seeing the excitement in their eyes, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"That's all for today. We'll continue dividing the family property tomorrow."
Wan Guihua seemed to have known this would happen all along, and calmly sat next to her husband, watching her son and daughter-in-law.
“You’ve always managed your own money in our family. As your mother-in-law, I’ve never taken a single penny from you. The work points you earn belong to the Su family, and the money you receive doesn’t go to me. It doesn’t matter whether the family is divided or not.”
While seemingly comforting, Wan Guihua's words were more like a slap in the face, causing all three couples—Su Ming, Su Guo, and Su Qi—to blush, except for Su Lu.
On the surface, they didn't have any money, but the dowry brought by their wives belonged to them. In addition, the Su family never took any of the mountain produce they collected every winter; they kept all the money from selling it.
Besides that, Wan Guihua always earned ten or eight yuan a year from building houses, digging wells, running errands, and so on. But she never mentioned or asked for any of this money.
In the countryside, people never truly own their own money unless they separate from their family. Before that, the money is managed by the mother. But in their case, the money has always been in their own hands, and they are much wealthier than other people their age in the village.
(End of this chapter)
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