Small items like needles and thread don't cost much, so Old Mrs. Xia had about six hundred yuan in savings. Seeing Old Mr. Xia's firm attitude, Old Mrs. Xia could only grumble and go inside to get the money. Xia Youshun turned to Xia Dahe's family and asked, "You don't have any objections, right?" Xia Rong was about to step forward when Xia Liang grabbed his sleeve. Xia Liang shook her head at her brother, signaling him not to speak. Although Xia Rong was puzzled, he obeyed his sister's wishes and remained silent. Xia Dahe and Zhao Danxiang exchanged a glance and nodded, saying, "We have no objections."
The fourth great-grandfather, who was sitting to the side, finally spoke his first words since entering the door: "Alright, since everything has been allocated, I'll help you make the arrangements." He then took the paper and pen that had been prepared in advance and handed them to the village chief, Xia Youshun. Xia Youshun took the paper and pen and began to write the family division certificate. After writing it, he handed it to the three Xia brothers to sign and put their fingerprints on. There were three copies, one for the old man's family, and the remaining two copies for the second brother and the village chief.
At this moment, Old Lady Xia slowly walked out of the house, reluctantly handing the money to Xia Dahe, and even giving him a disapproving look. Xia Youshun folded the signed and sealed paper and put it in his pocket, saying, "Alright, the family is divided up, there's nothing else to do. Dahe, come with me to the west end of the village later to clean up and then we can move in. As for the household registration, I'll go to town tomorrow to separate you. Let's go, Dahe." He then headed towards the gate, and Xia Dahe quickly followed. Old Man Xia said, "Eat here before you go." "Never mind, never mind, Dajun's mother is waiting at home." After saying that, he went out with Fourth Great-Grandfather and Xia Dahe.
Back in her room, Xia Rong pulled her younger sister aside and said, "Why didn't you let me speak just now? That's not fair." Xia Liang then told her about her job situation, which she had conspired with her aunt to tell the family. "What if they find out that someone else is going to arrange a job for me and takes my spot?" Xia Liang said, pretending to be scared. Xia Rong excitedly replied, "Yes, yes, yes, my sister is so thoughtful."
After the brother and sister packed their belongings, they went to their parents' room. The "packing" was actually quite simple; besides what they were wearing, each only had one set of patched-up, faded clothes left. About an hour later, Xia Dahe returned home. Seeing his wife helping with cooking in the kitchen, he hurried over and asked, "Are you all packed?" Zhao Danxiang nodded and said, "All packed." Receiving this reply, Xia Dahe went into the main room.
Xia Liang was already clearing the table, and soon the three sisters-in-law brought out the dishes. There was a pot of stewed chicken, chopped into small pieces and with plenty of potatoes; a plate of blanched wild vegetables with cornmeal pancakes; and a cold radish salad. This was the most sumptuous meal Xia Liang had eaten since transmigrating. While eating, Old Man Xia spoke up: "Today's meal is considered the division of the family property. I see you've all packed your things, and the grain has been distributed to you. I'll have Afu and his two brothers deliver it to you later. Starting tomorrow, you'll each live your own lives." Xia Dahe ate in silence, without replying.
After eating, they started moving things. Apart from their own clothes, they only had three tattered bed sheets, Xia Dahe's carpentry tools, and the only large item was a big trunk that Zhao Danxiang had just brought home. Several strong young men carried the trunk and all the grain over in one trip to the west end of the village.
Xia Liang surveyed the thatched-roof house before her: three main rooms, two side rooms, and a makeshift kitchen built with a wooden frame. There was a well in the yard, and the walls were constructed of a mixture of mud and straw. Xia Liang placed the bundle containing old clothes and bed sheets on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) and went out with her older brother to gather straw. After setting up the kang, they discovered that the house contained only grain and a large chest; nothing else. The whole family was dumbfounded. Xia Liang said, "I'll figure something out," and then went straight to the village chief's house.
After knocking on the door, they explained their purpose to the village chief. Knowing they were penniless, the chief wrote them a letter of introduction and provided them with industrial coupons. Xia Youshun also gave Xia Liang some grain coupons. Although Xia Liang was puzzled, he didn't refuse. Xia Liang said, "Second Grandfather, do you have any wood to make tables and chairs? We have nothing at home, so I need to get my dad to prepare something quickly." Xia Youshun pondered for a moment and said, "Just have your dad and brother go to the mountains and cut down a tree to make them."
Dahe Village is nestled against the mountains. While it may not have any rare trees, it is abundant with pine trees. Xia Liang thanked him and clutched the industrial coupons in his hand before heading home.
When Xia Liang said he was going to town to buy cooking utensils, his father gave him ten yuan. After a long day of running around, everyone was exhausted. The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xia Liang and her older brother went to the village entrance to catch an oxcart. Old Liu saw the siblings and greeted them with a smile, "What are you two doing in town?" Xia Liang replied with a smile, "Grandpa Liu, my brother and I are going to town to buy cooking utensils." Before Old Liu could speak, an auntie who had been sitting on the oxcart chimed in, "Buying cooking utensils? Why do you need cooking utensils? Did your pot break?" She then burst into laughter, and two other aunties beside her joined in the laughter. Xia Liang replied, "My pot isn't broken. We separated our family yesterday, and now we live in the west end of the village. We don't have any cooking utensils here, so last night I borrowed some industrial vouchers from my second grandfather. That's why my brother and I are going to town to buy some today." The aunties, displaying their gossipy nature, inquired about their family's separation. There wasn't much entertainment in the village all year round, only trivial matters from neighbors to pass the time. Xia Liang then told them everything, emphasizing that only their family had been separated. One of the aunts said, "I think your grandma is biased. If the family is going to be separated, why not separate them completely? Why separate your family? I think she just wants to take over your three rooms so that your cousin can get a wife, one room for each of you." She finished speaking with an air of certainty that everything was as I had predicted.
Xia Liang wouldn't stop them from doing whatever they wanted. The more the story spread, the better. Let everyone know how Old Lady Xia treated their family. In the future, if Old Lady Xia and her family wanted to cling to them, the villagers would drown them in their spittle.
A few more aunties arrived, and the oxcart set off. The newer aunties quickly joined the conversation, discussing animatedly. Some said that Old Mrs. Xia was biased, while others said that their family did indeed have a heavy burden. Of course, these were all families with several sons, and favoring the youngest son in the division of the family property wasn't fair. Amidst this lively discussion, they finally arrived in town.
After bidding farewell to everyone, Xia Liang headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative. After seeing the supply and marketing cooperative of this era, Xia Liang finally realized the importance of coupons. Without coupons, no matter how much money you have, you can't buy anything.
After preparing the pots and pans, Xia Liang dragged Xia Rong to the state-run restaurant. Xia Rong was intimidated by the large characters "state-run restaurant" and hesitated to go in, pulling Xia Liang away. Xia Liang quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't worry, I have tickets and money," and pulled Xia Rong inside. It wasn't lunchtime yet, as the restaurant was nearly empty. Xia Liang went to the window and ordered twenty large meat buns, paying one yuan per jin (500g) of grain coupons. The aroma wafted out as the lids were lifted, and Xia Rong swallowed hard, saying, "Why did you buy so many? You won't be able to finish them." Xia Liang took the buns from the clerk in a brown paper bag and said, "Why..." "How could we not finish it? There's still Mom and Dad. We don't have any cooking utensils at home, they'll definitely go hungry this morning." Saying this, she handed Xia Rong a large meat bun. Xia Rong thought that made sense and didn't argue. She took a big bite of the bun her sister handed her, burning her tongue but not wanting to spit it out. It was so fragrant, it really tasted like pork foreleg meat with three parts fat and seven parts lean mixed with the aroma of chives. It was simply the best food Xia Rong had ever eaten. Xia Liang took a bite of the bun and understood why her grandparents said that food nowadays wasn't as good as it used to be. In the future, in an era where frozen and pre-cooked meals were common, it wasn't easy to eat something so delicious.
The two ate three large meat buns each and then stopped eating. They carried their things and hurried to where Old Liu had parked his oxcart. After waiting for more than an hour, the aunties who had come today had finished shopping and were now driving their oxcarts back home, swaying precariously.
Back home, Xia Liang saw Xia Dahe sitting under the eaves doing carpentry. "Dad, what are you doing? Take a break, I'll heat up some buns." Saying this, she grabbed the pot she'd just bought and headed to the makeshift kitchen. Seeing a wooden bucket and some firewood piled beside the stove, she guessed her father had borrowed it. Xia Liang washed the iron pot, added some water, and started steaming the buns. When she came out, she saw her father still working. She fetched some water for him to wash his hands. Soon the buns were steamed, and her father stopped, washed his hands, and went to get some buns to eat. Xia Liang returned... Xia Liang hadn't seen her mother and assumed she'd gone visiting. Seeing that she hadn't returned for a while, Xia Liang asked, "Dad, where did Mom go? Why isn't she home?" Her father replied, "Your mother went to your maternal grandmother's house." Xia Liang responded but didn't say anything more. That afternoon, Xia Liang's mother returned, carrying a basket containing ten eggs and five feet of cloth. These were gifts from Xia Liang's maternal grandmother, who, feeling sorry for her daughter's family being separated from the family, gave all the eggs she had saved. As for the cloth, it was originally intended for her grandson's future marriage, but due to the special circumstances, Grandma Zhao had given it to her daughter ahead of time.
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