Chapter 107
Wu Zhengrong remained quite calm about his grandfather wanting to divide the property, and even told Ye Manzhi that she didn't need to go.
"Since we've been notified, why don't we go and take a look?"
He didn't even show up for such a big matter as the division of the inheritance. That's really disrespectful to him!
Ye Manzhi felt that no matter how much he could get, he should at least show up.
Moreover, Wu Zhengrong's uncle's cousin and his aunt who represented his uncle had all rushed back from other places. If they, who originally lived in Binjiang, did not attend the family meeting, it would seem so unsociable!
Wu Zhengrong used a dropper to feed his daughter two sips of water. Seeing her tongue move a few times before she drank it all, he put the dropper down with satisfaction and said, "He had a condition for sharing the inheritance."
"What's the premise?"
In order to encourage the new father to interact more with his child, Ye Manzhi did not stop him from performing a farce and feeding his daughter water with a dropper.
She turned her face away, out of sight, out of mind.
Just bear with it.
"Didn't you hear what Mom said? He decided to divide up his property after hearing about the city's planned private housing renovations. From what I know about him, the most he'll do is divide up the two-story house we're currently living in. Besides, we don't have a share of that house. You'll just be there to watch them divide up the houses."
“…”
Ye Manzhi is a worldly person, but he still hopes that Grandpa Wu can leave something for Wu Zhengrong.
Although the grandfather and grandson often disagree, Grandpa Wu treats the only grandson he has ever raised a little differently. What if he could leave the small villa to Wu Zhengrong?
Wu Zhengrong calmly dispelled her fantasy, "For Dean Wu, the most valuable possessions in his life were his academic achievements and the books he collected in his study, possibly some antique calligraphy and paintings. He might leave the contents of his study to me, but he certainly wouldn't give me the house."
Although he grew up with his grandparents, the family property was usually divided among the children.
The old man would not give the house to his grandson without going through his son.
Moreover, his biological father, Wu Huainian, is not the eldest son.
Wu Zhengrong said with little interest, "There are only two possible outcomes for the house: either it will go to my uncle or my aunt, and the possibility of it going to my aunt is higher."
My uncle was the eldest son. Although he died young, he still had two sons.
My aunt stayed with the two elders all her life. When her three brothers went out to join the revolution, she stayed in her hometown to fulfill her filial duties. After getting married, she lived in the old house with her husband and children.
In order to prevent her from having to argue with her nephew who inherited the old house when she is old, and moving away from her familiar home at such an old age, Dean Wu is likely to leave the house directly to his daughter.
Ye Manzhi understood after listening to his explanation.
But I still want to go to the family meeting.
"My mom told me to take advantage of the summer vacation to have a double confinement. Oh my god, it's so hot, I really don't want to sit for even a single day. Forty days is almost enough, right?" Ye Manzhi urged. "Go explain to mom that your grandfather wants to divide up the property, and we must attend together. As long as I leave home, I won't have to sit for the confinement this time."
"Are you really okay?"
In this regard, Wu Zhengrong trusts his mother-in-law very much. After all, she has served several women in labor.
"It's really no problem. My two sisters and two sisters-in-law all had 30-day confinement. Only I was arranged to have a double confinement because I don't have to go to work."
*
Because Ye Manzhi was clamoring to be released from confinement after her birth, the couple took the new member of the Wu family - baby Wu Yuzhuo - to the Wu family's old house for a family meeting.
Wu Yuzhuo's arrival was warmly welcomed by Grandpa Wu and Grandma Wu.
She is the only girl among the great-grandchildren, and the other great-grandchildren are not around. Such a young child has not been seen in the Wu family's old house for more than ten years.
Grandma Wu held her great-granddaughter in her arms, while Dean Wu took out a fancy rattle he had made himself and used it to amuse the child with its ding-dong sounds.
A group of people gathered around the baby to see the novelty, leaving the biological parents aside.
Ye Manzhi whispered, "Look how popular our daughter is."
Wu Zhengrong chuckled: "In Old Wu's family, daughters have an easier life than sons."
Ye Manzhi thought about it carefully and it seemed to be true.
Aunt Wu and her two aunts all live a good life.
In contrast, Wu Zhengrong is a bit like a cabbage in the wind and rain.
While the couple was chattering, Grandpa Wu finally spoke and talked about the business of the day.
He and his wife had four children and raised a grandson.
Now representatives of the four children and grandson Wu Zhengrong are all around.
He wants to divide the property.
However, the premise of dividing the property is that it is only given to the four biological children!
Apart from the two sons of the old family and Wu Zhengrong, whom he raised personally, he would not share anything with other grandchildren or great-grandchildren.
After the property is divided among the children, how they distribute it to their children is the business of each family.
Dean Wu has been autocratic all his life. He divided the inheritance according to his own wishes without discussing it with his children and grandchildren.
Ye Manzhi listened carefully to Grandpa Wu's arrangements.
As Wu Zhengrong said, the main thing was to divide this house.
"According to the old rules, the ancestral home should be inherited by the eldest son, but the Wu family's ancestral home is not ours. This house was bought by me when I was young. It is my private property and I can give it to whoever I want. The youngest daughter has lived in this house all her life and has always stayed by our side to take care of us. I plan to leave this house to her after we are a hundred years old."
Aunt Wu didn't expect that her father, who had always been a stickler for rules, would actually be willing to give her the house. She widened her eyes in astonishment and asked, "Dad, are you crazy? Are you really going to give me the house?"
Although she lives with her parents, she actually has a house as a dowry.
Even if she leaves the old house, she still has a place to live.
"Yes, when your mother and I were alive, the house was still mine. After we're gone, it will belong to you. Anyway, your second and third brothers are not developing in Binjiang, so leaving the house to them will just be idle."
Aunt Wu glanced at her two nephews.
She was mainly afraid that her nephew would have objections, as such a private house would not be cheap on the market.
Wu Zhengrong was prepared for this and accepted it calmly.
But he did not express his opinion directly. It depends on what the Wu Chongshan brothers think.
The uncle only left behind these two sons. If the two brothers were determined to fight for the inheritance, the old man might have other arrangements.
However, he gave Wu Chongshan time to fight for it on his own.
However, Wu Chongshan took this silence as dissatisfaction with the arrangement.
He also followed suit and kept silent.
The hall on the first floor fell eerily quiet.
Ye Manzhi looked at his cousin and then at Wu Zhengrong, wondering what the two brothers were doing.
Especially Wu Zhengrong, he has known for a long time that he has no share in the house, so why didn’t he express his opinion?
Wu Zhengrong was secretly complaining at this time. He would rather fight with a smart person than say a word to a stupid one. He was kind enough to give Wu Chongshan a chance, but this man actually wanted to use him to charge into battle.
He glanced over there and broke the silence, saying, "I have no objection. It's good for my aunt to stay here forever."
He didn't have many happy memories in the old house, and even if the house was given to him, he didn't want to come back to live there.
Wu Chongshan: “???”
Wasn't he raised by his grandfather? How could he agree so easily to give such a big house to his aunt?
As the biggest beneficiary, Aunt Wu felt a little embarrassed. She took the initiative to ask, "Dad, you called Chongshan and my third sister-in-law back to Binjiang. Isn't it just to give them a house? Do you have any other arrangements for Songshan, Chongshan, and Zhengrong?"
Songshan is the eldest son of the eldest brother. Although he is nearly forty years old, she always has to settle down for her eldest brother.
Grandpa Wu observed everyone's expressions and said in a deep voice, "My eldest son is the son I carefully raised. Although he sacrificed his life, I still need to take extra care of the children he left behind. Youngest son, when you got married, I gave you a house as a dowry. Since you will inherit the old house, there is no point in you keeping the dowry house. Just transfer it to Songshan."
Wu Xiaogu had no objection at all and agreed immediately.
Just as her father had said before, according to the old rules, the old house should be inherited by the eldest brother, and after the eldest brother passed away, his son.
However, the two nephews have already settled down and lived and worked in other places, so it is obviously impossible to ask them to return to Binjiang to take care of the elderly.
Wu Chongshan listened to his grandfather's arrangements in silence and did not say anything for the time being.
He came back to Binjiang this time to represent their family. His brother's matter has been settled, and it is his turn next.
Grandfather continued to make arrangements: "We still have some savings, but I won't be dividing them for now. After a hundred years, whatever is left will be divided among you. At that time, the inheritance will be divided equally into four parts between the second and third sons, Chongshan, and Zhengrong."
"Also, even though that bastard Wu Zhengrong often irritates me, I'll give my most important things to whichever of my descendants has a promising future. Right now, it seems that the most academically promising person in the entire Wu family is that bastard Wu Zhengrong. Xiu Lan's research areas don't overlap with mine, so giving her the things is useless. So, after I die, everything in my study, including the books, academic output, and the few paintings and calligraphy displayed there, will belong to Wu Zhengrong. Don't be greedy, and don't fight over it. There's only one study, so consider it an extra gift from me to him."
Others: “…”
Don't worry, as long as you treasure those things, no one will compete with him.
Grandpa Wu looked around and felt that his division was fair. He calmly asked, "Do you have any objections to this distribution method? If not, let's put it on paper."
As representatives of their respective families, Sun Ruzhen and Third Aunt both expressed no objection.
Both families have lived in other places for a long time, have wages, allowances and housing, and do not expect to rely on the things they get from their hometown to make a living.
The two elders here agreed readily, but Wu Chongshan had a different opinion.
"Grandpa, logically speaking, we are the younger generation, so we should accept whatever you give us. But my eldest brother didn't come back this time, and I attended the family meeting on his behalf. I have to help him check his share. My brother doesn't live in Binjiang all year round, so even if he takes my aunt's house, it won't be of any practical use." Wu Chongshan looked at Wu Zhengrong and asked with a smile, "Zhengrong seems to be taking root in Binjiang. How about exchanging my eldest brother's house for Zhengrong's share?"
The market value of the house that my sister-in-law came with as a dowry is at most four or five thousand yuan.
But the old man comes from a scholarly family and is engaged in scientific research. Not to mention how high his salary is, the royalties from publishing books alone are tens of thousands of yuan.
Even if it is divided equally among the four families, each family can get at least 5,000 yuan, right?
Helping his brother to save money is definitely more cost-effective than buying that house.
Especially now that private houses are being renovated, it will not only be difficult to sell them on the market, but it will also be difficult to get a good price.
Ye Manzhi had been silently observing the reactions of everyone in the living room. As soon as she heard Wu Chongshan take the initiative to ask for a property exchange, she instinctively felt that there was something fishy going on.
Thinking about how generous the old man and woman were when giving her the New Year's money, it was estimated that the old couple's savings were not a small amount.
Otherwise, Wu Chongshan would not have jumped out and shown himself at this time.
She felt that her cousin Wu Zhengrong was a little unkind and took things for granted.
Why should we change just because you want to?
Ye Manzhi turned his head to look at Wu Zhengrong. After all, this was the distribution of the Wu family's property, and he had to listen to Wu Zhengrong.
Like her, Grandpa Wu also wanted to hear Wu Zhengrong's thoughts, so he asked, "What do you think?"
Wu Zhengrong seemed to be having a hard time deciding. He frowned and pondered for a long time before hesitantly asking, "Should I call Big Brother and ask for his opinion?"
"No need, my elder brother let me represent him with full authority." Wu Chongshan answered firmly.
"Are you really sure you want to move? My aunt's house is actually quite nice."
"Let's change it. My eldest brother doesn't come back to Binjiang all year round. Leaving him a house here would be a burden."
After confirming again and again that he could make the decision on behalf of his elder brother, Wu Zhengrong frowned and pondered for a while, and finally nodded in agreement reluctantly.
Grandpa Wu wanted to write his will down in person and told Wu Zhengrong and Aunt Wu to go to the housing authority as soon as possible to handle the transfer procedures.
The sooner you finish it, the sooner you will feel at ease.
When the family meeting officially ended, it was already very late, and Ye Manzhi took the children back to the room on the second floor.
After closing the door, he whispered, "Did you suffer a loss by switching rooms with him?"
"It's OK. Dean Wu does have some savings, and he receives a good amount of royalties every year. However, the school's funding for scientific research is limited. As the dean of the School of Engineering, he has to support the research work. Therefore, most of the royalties from his book publications have been spent on research, so he probably doesn't have much savings left."
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