Chapter 173 Let's Go



After everyone left, Master Jiu gathered all the family members together immediately.

The room was packed with people, some of whom couldn't find a place to sit and had to squat on the ground. Their grandchildren's wives were holding their babbling great-grandchildren in their pockets.

Four generations living under one roof makes the old man feel relieved. But it's a pity that they all live a hard life.

His wife gave birth to nine children for him, but she only managed to raise three sons. The eldest son got married and had three sons and one daughter, the second son had three daughters and one son, and the youngest son got married late because he was young, but he also had four sons and one daughter.

The eldest and second sons are now grandfathers. Four or five great-grandchildren have been born, but his family’s courtyard was expanded once when the eldest and second sons got married, and no new house has been built since then.

With such a large family living together, trivial matters and quarrels are inevitable every day, and my old wife has long been exhausted.

It's time to change this kind of life.

Seeing that everyone was present, Master Jiu said, "You all heard about today's meeting, right? I don't care what little thoughts you have on a daily basis. Now with the help provided by the Qiao family, I hope you can be more diligent and seize the opportunity to live a better life!

Third boy, your father is not here, so I, as your father-in-law, will make a decision for you. You are a dumb kid, and you can never please people wherever you go. Instead of going to the docks where people come and go, it is better for you to learn a skill in the Qiao family workshop. That is the right way. In other words, if you want to do something, do it well and don’t bring trouble to the family. "

The same goes for you, the third brother. As for the others, you are either fathers or grandfathers already. Make your own decisions. Each of you has his or her own unique abilities.

The second thing is to split up the family!

I'm sure you've all been unhappy about the pressure I've put on you. I'm old enough to not have the energy to care about you.

A big tree has branches, a big family has divisions. This is a truth that has been passed down since ancient times. "

The eldest son was confused and unwilling to divide the family: "Dad, what are you doing? Why are you dividing the family? Just tell me what your son did wrong."

"Why, can't I just enjoy a few days of peace and quiet? Look at your mother, she's been worrying about you all her life, can't she take a break now that she's old?

Your wife has been with you all her life, but she has never been the head of the household or the boss for a single day. You should at least think about her!"

The eldest brother glanced at his wife who was sitting silently below him, knowing that his father's words had touched her heart. His wife had complained behind her back that she was a grandmother but still couldn't make decisions, so what was there to look forward to in her life?

The eldest brother struggled in his heart for a while, but he realized that this was the trend of the times and the will of the people, so he was no longer so strongly opposed to the separation.

The Ninth Master was very efficient. The clan leader, the head of the village, and several elders of the clan, who had just returned home and hadn't even sat down yet, were called over as witnesses.

The house was divided up neatly.

From then on, the old couple received 20 kilograms of food and 10 cents of pension from their son every month, and lived out their retirement life in the old house.

After everyone left, Grandma Jiu was unable to get used to this coldness and sat there in despair.

Master Jiu came over and said, "What are you doing? Don't you think their noise is annoying enough? Why don't we two old men enjoy a few days of peace and quiet?"

"It's not bad, it's just that there's no one around me all of a sudden, and I don't know what to do!"

Master Jiu waved his hand and said, "What are you doing? There are many things you can do!"

My wife came over in a hurry, and asked anxiously, "What can we do with our old bones? Don't bother with the lawsuit. I know you won't suddenly split up the family without any reason."

"Do you still remember the seal we gave to Butler Cao last time?"

"Remember, why not? You just made that thing casually, how much can it be worth?"

Yes, he also thought it was not worth much, but Cao Guanjia asked him to carve the words. He also let him do whatever he wanted, and it didn't have to be too big, just a palm-sized wooden board or stone, as long as he could carve it, they would take it all.

"What? Take it all in? How much money will that cost, and how long will it take? After all, these guys have learned from you, so why not let them help? Why did you divide the family?"

My wife was also shocked. Why did the Qiao family need so many wood carvings and stone carvings?

Her old man learned this craft when he was young by following his master to carve tombstones for others. As for carving on bamboo, that was a family skill passed down by her brothers from her mother's side.

"It is because we have taken over the business that we have hope for the future that we want to split up. Otherwise, neither you nor I will get anything.

I think I have figured it out. These children are a debt. We have planned for them for most of our lives. Now that you are sick, you want some money for medical treatment and you are rejected? Usually, we give our heart and soul to our children and grandchildren, isn't it just to have someone to rely on when we are old?

But look at the expressions on their faces those days. Don’t you understand? Without money, even the dearest son cannot be relied upon.

We can just live our own lives from now on, and we can take on some work, such as peeling tree bark, and we can always get some seeds!"

Even though the family business was divided, he asked his son to help with some work, and he still dared to rebel?

"But you are old after all. How can you bear this?"

The Ninth Master pulled out a small package from the kang, handed it to his wife, and said in a low voice, "What's so hard to bear? Look, it's just a hundred or so characters. Just carve them on bamboo boards. The Qiao family will pay one tael of silver for each board. Butler Cao has already reserved ten pieces and paid five taels of silver as a deposit. You should keep them well and don't let those guys know about it."

This was the first time in Grandma Jiu's life that she had touched so much silver. She couldn't believe that her husband could still bring so much silver into the house even when he was old.

""You have so little confidence in our son? People always say that brothers fight tigers together and fathers and sons fight together in battle. How can you treat your son like a thief?"

"Look at you, what are you talking about? How can I guard against them? We have taught people how to carve stone tablets, but except for the children of the second brother who have learned it for a few years, the others are unwilling to do it, right?

Besides, we don’t know what the Qiao family is doing with the stone tablet. If the Qiao family is like the previous master and knows that everyone in our village knows this skill, they might ask us to build a tomb passage. I’ll be dead, so why should I sacrifice my children? No matter who asks, they will say they don’t know how to do it.”

"Isn't it said that the Qiao family treats their servants very well? They can't be like those wealthy families who build tombs and then have people buried alive with them, right?"

"The Qiao family seems to be doing fine at the moment, but who knows what will happen in the future? You should not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others.

My craft is to carve tombstones for the dead all my life. I really can't figure out what else it is used for. It's also my fault that I didn't put away the stone slab in the yard, so people saw it.

But we can't ignore the noble man's words. We can't bear it. Now that this family has lost all the money, and the children haven't learned our craft, the Qiao family can't use them even if they want to."

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