"If there's suspicion, why are you fixated on my mother?" Old Mrs. Xia retorted angrily, "You brat, who else could it be but your mother? Don't I know what kind of person your aunt is? Your third aunt isn't some ignorant, shallow person." She still insisted that Zhao Danxiang had stolen it.
Aunt Wang Chunhua, who was standing nearby, spoke up at this moment: "It seems that the two children of the second son's family have a lot of opinions about me and his third aunt. Father-in-law just said that we are all family, and it's embarrassing to keep arguing like this. Why don't we just divide the family?" Xia Liang, who was about to retort, stopped talking. If this could lead to a division of the family, it wouldn't be a bad thing. Old Man Xia then said: "No, your mother and I are not dead yet, what's the point of dividing the family?" Wang Chunhua tugged at her mother-in-law's sleeve and whispered something. Old Mrs. Xia's face lit up with joy and said: "I think it's a good idea. A big tree has many branches, so let's divide the family today. Agui, go and invite your second grandfather and your fourth great-grandfather over." Xia Gui, who was sitting in front of his house, ran off in a flash.
Before Old Man Xia could stop his grandson, he had vanished. He exclaimed anxiously, "Old woman, isn't this too hasty?" Old Woman Xia glared at him and said, "Haste what? Isn't this something that was bound to happen sooner or later? While we can still make decisions, let's divide the family property quickly. Why wait until we're too old to move?" Old Woman Xia thought to herself, she really needed to get rid of the second wife's burden as soon as possible. She remembered what her eldest son's wife had told her earlier: after the division, she and her husband would live with their eldest son, and their grandson could marry the girl whose father worked at the meat processing plant. Then she and her husband could live a life of luxury. Thinking of this, Old Woman Xia's mouth watered.
Wiping non-existent drool from the corner of his mouth, he coughed and said, "Stop nagging and hurry up and get the stored grain to figure out how to divide it." Seeing that he couldn't persuade his wife, Old Man Xia helplessly called his sons to the cellar to move the grain. Before they had finished, the village chief, Xia Youshun, and an even older man came in. This must be Fourth Great-Grandfather, Xia Liang thought. Actually, Fourth Great-Grandfather wasn't Xia Liang's great-grandfather's biological brother, but a cousin from another branch of the family. However, Fourth Great-Grandfather was the oldest and most senior member of the clan in the village, so everyone respected him and liked to ask him to be a witness in any matter.
Xia Youshun asked with a puzzled look, "Third Sister-in-law, what are you doing?" Although Xia Youshun was the village chief, there were still many older brothers in the clan who were older than him. This old man Xia was one of them. When he saw the village chief and the others arrive, he hurriedly led them into the main room, instructed his grandson to serve them tea, and then began to explain the situation.
Xia Youshun pondered for a moment before saying, "Since you've made up your minds, I won't say any more. Have you thought about how to distribute the grain? Who will you live with? How will the grain be divided?" Village Chief Xia Youshun asked several questions in a row. Old Mrs. Xia already had a plan in mind. As soon as the village chief finished asking, she continued, "My wife and I will stay with the eldest son's family. The second son's family will be separated, and the third son will stay with us. They have a heavy burden. My dear grandson, Ah Xing, isn't able to work yet and can't be separated." So, it turned out they were going to separate Xia Liang's family. Wang Chunhua didn't want to take the fourth son's family with her, but fearing something might go wrong, she remained silent. Xia Youshun looked at Old Mr. Xia and asked, "Third Brother, do you think so too?" Old Man Xia took a puff of his pipe and said heavily, "Over the years, it has been unfair to the eldest son's family to work and eat together. The eldest son has three sons and himself, making a total of four able-bodied men. The eldest son's family counts as half. The second son's family only has himself and his son as able-bodied men. The second son's wife does work hard, but she is in poor health and needs to take medicine all year round. According to their family's work points, it is indeed not enough to cover their expenses. Even close brothers have to keep clear accounts. If this continues, the eldest son's family will be dragged down. After all, the eldest son's family still has three young men to marry. The dowry, furniture, and so on will also cost money."
As for the third son's family, he's the only adult male in their family, and his wife is considered one and a half able-bodied members. However, their children are still too young to eat much food, so we've decided to let them stay with the eldest son's family for the time being. While my wife and I are still able to help them, we'll also be raising my grandson, Ah Xing, to adulthood.
Xia Youshun understood Old Man Xia's meaning and said, "Alright, let's see how much grain and houses we have left to divide." Xia Dafu and his three sons found a scale and weighed the grain. There were over 600 jin of corn, over 100 jin of rice, and over 800 jin of sweet potatoes. Old Man Xia decided, "Give 200 jin of corn to the second son's family. The old lady isn't well, so we'll keep the rice for her. As for the sweet potatoes, we'll give them 400 jin. We have two chickens, a rooster and a hen. We'll keep the hen to lay eggs. Giving the rooster to you wouldn't be fair to your brothers, so we'll kill it later. Your great-grandfather and your second uncle are here too, so we'll stew it today." After saying that, he looked at Xia Dahe and asked, "You don't have any objections to this division, do you?"
Xia Dahe was an honest and filial man. Even if he received less than he deserved today's fair distribution, he wouldn't object. Xia Dahe said with a long face, "I'll do whatever you say, Dad." "How about the houses?" Xia Youshun asked. Old Man Xia thought for a moment and asked, "Youshun, is the house in the west of the village that the educated youth lived in before vacant?" "Yes, the thatched roof of the house in the educated youth settlement collapsed, so I had them move to the west of the village. It's been repaired now, and they've moved back. What's wrong?" Xia Youshun asked疑惑地问道. Old Man Xia continued, "The eldest son's three children are all of marriageable age. It's impossible for them to squeeze into one room. I plan to lend the house in the west of the village to the second son's family. We'll give them an extra hundred yuan. They can move there after they build their own house." He then gestured for Old Lady Xia to go inside and get the money for Xia Dahe. "As for the harvest from the fields, they can keep the grain they received according to their work points this year. We don't want their filial piety money this year either. Starting next year, the second son's family will give me and his mother fifty catties of fine grain and two hundred catties of coarse grain every year." As she spoke, she pushed the old lady Xia, who was still trying to argue, and pushed her. Although the family's money was all with the old lady, as the head of the family, how could she not know how much savings the family had? Every year, the village would distribute about fifty or sixty catties of grain. In addition, the three sons would occasionally go to the county town to do odd jobs through their sons-in-law's introductions. All the money they earned would be given to the old lady. In addition, the second son knew a little carpentry and would occasionally get jobs making boxes and cabinets for people. He would earn a few cents, which would also be given to the old lady. There were no major expenses in the family.
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