With Shu Yan's donation and Shu Jianyang's help, the road in the village will definitely be completed.
The villagers, including the village secretary and the village head, suddenly had a different impression of Shu Yan. Before, they had just watched how Shu Youfu and Lin Zixiang treated Shu Yan, since it was their family matter. Now that Shu Yan had done the village such a big favor, they naturally wanted to reciprocate.
Shu Jianyang took out the agreement that Shu Yan had mentioned earlier, and the village secretary read it aloud in front of Shu Youfu and the others.
"Did you all understand?" The village secretary thought that Shu Yan was a really good girl. As a daughter with so many brothers in the family, it was really not her place to take care of her in her old age.
"What does she mean? She won't take care of us in our old age?" Lin Zixiang was a little confused.
"What do you mean she won't support you in your old age? It's clearly written here that she will support you in your old age just like your other three sons. Let Jianyang discuss with your three sons how much food rations they will provide each year and how much money they will give them. She will treat them all the same. If you are sick and hospitalized in the future, she will also contribute to the expenses. It's already very commendable that your daughter has done this much. Ask around in the surrounding villages, which family has a daughter who supports you in your old age just like her sons?"
"That's different." Other women don't have that much money.
"How is it different?" The village secretary glared. "If you ask me, Shu Yan has no obligation to support you in your old age. She got married and left when she was 17. You took all the bride price and didn't give her any dowry. Does she have a share in your land and houses? Why should she support you in your old age like your son? If you keep arguing, you can forget about this pension money."
At that time, the village party secretary wielded extraordinary power in the village, and few villagers dared to resist him. Shu Youfu, being a coward, dared not say anything.
"Call my second brother over. Let's discuss the retirement arrangements today and write it into the agreement. Shuyan will then give you the money through me." The second brother is Shu Youfu's eldest son.
When Shu Jianyang and his siblings were born, the family had not yet divided the household, so they were already ranked by generation. His eldest brother was the eldest, Shu Youfu's eldest son was the second eldest, and he was the third eldest. After the family was divided, they were ranked according to their respective family members' seniority. However, they had gotten used to calling each other by their names and never changed it. Therefore, Shu Yan always called Shu Jianyang "Third Brother".
The eldest brother and his wife were on the mountain. When they were called back, they were still in a daze. Compared to the two brothers below, they were more honest and had no objections after reading the agreement.
Originally, it was the duty of the three brothers, but now that there's an extra person to share the burden, what's there to be unhappy about?
Of course, Shu Jianxiang and Shu Jianbin both had strong opinions. In their minds, Shu Yan's money was their money, and even if they didn't give it all to them, several hundred thousand each wouldn't be unreasonable. However, with Shu Jianyang present and the village officials also there, they didn't dare to say much.
"Hurry up, I have to go back to the city after we're done," Shu Jianyang urged Shu Youfu and the others impatiently.
The couple whispered to each other for a long time. Shu Youfu coughed and said, "We've agreed. Each of us will receive 1,000 jin of wheat and 1,000 jin of millet, and 10,000 yuan a year."
The village officials and Shu Jianyang looked at them with a lack of confidence.
This wasn't directed at the three brothers; they clearly wanted Shu Yan to give them so much money and so much food.
Shu Jianyang slammed his hand on the table. “Don’t go too far. 1,000 jin of millet and 1,000 jin of wheat per person, that’s 4,000 jin of millet and 4,000 jin of wheat in total. Do you have 10 stomachs? You want to eat so much? And you want 10,000 yuan? Are you out of your mind? A family in the village can’t even earn 10,000 yuan a year. If you want Shu Yan to support you in your old age, then say it properly, don’t say such unrealistic things.”
They really dare to say that. Government employees only earn four or five hundred yuan a month, and don't even earn 10,000 yuan a year. Yet they dare to ask for 10,000 yuan each for living expenses. Of course, the other three definitely can't afford it. This is specifically targeting Shu Yan.
The village secretary stared at them and said sternly, "You better speak properly, or I'll take matters into my own hands on Shuyan's behalf."
Grandpa Shu tapped his pipe and said, “Everyone’s here today, including the old Party Secretary and the village chief. Talk to each other properly. I didn’t say anything out of line to you brothers. Eat as much as your stomach can handle, don’t overeat.”
Shu Youfu and Lin Zixiang looked at each other, realizing that the price seemed a bit too high.
"Then... then halve it?"
"Even halving it is impossible. Putting aside everything else, can your three sons come up with 5,000 yuan?" It's too ugly to be so eager to please.
“It’s my sister who gave the money, not you. How do you know my sister doesn’t want it? Call her and ask her what she means.” Shu Jianbin felt that if he let Shu Jianyang continue talking, he would end up giving money like everyone else in the village, and then what would be the point of them getting anything out of it?
Shu Jianyang glared at them, then called Shu Yan and explained what had just happened, asking her to make a decision.
"It's as they initially said, but not by one person, but by four people splitting the cost, which is 2,500 yuan per person, 250 jin of wheat, and 250 jin of millet. As for other holidays, the amount given is up to each person. If someone gets sick and goes to the hospital, the cost will be split among the four of us. Third Brother, you tell them to be honest and not to cause any more trouble. I'll give them more during holidays, otherwise, besides these, there's nothing else."
Shu Jianyang had the phone on speakerphone, so everyone around him could hear him, including Shu Youfu and Lin Zixiang.
To be honest, 2,500 a year is a lot now, plus wheat and millet, enough for the two of them to eat. It's like the three brothers don't need to support them in their old age; Shuyan supports them all by herself.
The eldest son's family had no objections, the second and third sons had objections but dared not voice them, and what about Shu Youfu and Lin Zixiang? Actually, they thought it was too little, but with the village secretary sitting there, they didn't dare to say a word.
"Shu Yan has put in a lot of effort, so let's leave it at that," said Old Master Shu from the side.
Since he had said that, Shu Youfu had no objections, and the agreement was signed.
"Thank you both for today, Secretary Xie and the village chief. There are still many things I need to know about the village roads. Why don't you come to my house for dinner and we can chat while we eat?" Shu Jianyang put away the agreement and invited them to his home for dinner.
"Okay, then I'll come over to your place for a visit." This is the most important thing right now, and it can't be delayed.
For a moment, only Shu Youfu's family remained in the house.
"Mom, 50,000 yuan, that's 50,000 yuan! My little sister just donated it like that?" Shu Jianxiang said with a mournful face. "If only we had that, we could have bought a shop in town."
"What's the point of saying all this now? Why didn't you say it earlier?" Shu Jianbin asked sarcastically.
"Why didn't you say anything just now?" We're both equally guilty, so neither of us should criticize the other.
"Alright, what's all the fuss about? You all heard what I just said. From now on, you three brothers will each receive 250 jin of wheat, 250 jin of millet, and 2,500 yuan a year." Shu Youfu's words were like a thunderclap among the brothers.
“Dad, are you kidding me? We have no problem with the wheat and millet, but 2,500 yuan? You couldn’t get that much money even if you sold me.” Shu Jianbin thought his dad was really joking.
"Exactly, that was just to get money from the little sister, and you're talking about this with the three of us brothers too?" Shu Jianxiang rolled his eyes, thinking the old man was overacting.
"You've already signed the agreement, are you not going to give it to me?" Shu Youfu took a puff of his pipe and glanced at them.
"No, Dad, you're telling us to take care of us in our old age right now?" Shu Jianbin looked at Shu Youfu in disbelief.
There's no such thing as retirement in the village. Many people work until they're 70 or 80, and some even work until they die. Everyone waits for their children to take care of them when they're too old to move around. Shu Youfu is only 60 this year, and I already told them that it's too early to think about retirement.
Shu Youfu glanced at them. "What? You're not planning to support us in our old age? The Party Secretary and the Village Chief just left. Should I call them back?"
When the three brothers saw that Shu Youfu was serious, they were at a loss. It was strange. Why did the old man who had always helped them with their work suddenly want them to take care of him in his old age?
"Dad, that's not what I meant, it's just...it was too sudden," Shu Jianxiang stammered.
"Of course, I know you can't come up with that much money, so I'll give each of you 300 jin of wheat and 300 jin of millet, plus 150 yuan. That's not an unreasonable request, is it?" Shu Youfu knew they couldn't come up with that much money, so he offered a reasonable amount.
Having compared it to the previous one, the three brothers found this acceptable and all agreed. Shu Youfu took out paper and pen, signed a new agreement, and then sent the three brothers away.
"Old man, what are you doing? We're both healthy now, why do we need them to support us in our old age?" Lin Zixiang didn't object earlier because she didn't want to embarrass her husband in front of her sons, but now the two of them could talk about it privately.
"What do you mean 'early'? Those few days at the hospital, when I was out walking around, I saw a lot of old men and women lying there, with their children rarely by their side. If they have money, it's fine, but if they don't... hmph, most of them are taken home to wait to die. So we still need to have our own money. Take last time, for example, when I fell off the roof, do you think it was the eldest son's family that couldn't come up with two thousand yuan, or the second and third sons' families? Calculating over that little bit of money, it chills my heart. Keep the 2,500 yuan that Shuyan gave you safe, don't let Jianbin fool you again. We need to have some money in our own hands so they can be filial to us."
Shu Youfu had previously planned for his third son to be filial, but after his fall last time, he noticed many problems. This time, while bored in the hospital, he chatted with the old men and women outside and discovered even more issues.
It's better to have what others have than to have it yourself; you have to save up some yourself.
Shu Yan had no idea about the intricacies of her family's affairs. She transferred 60,000 yuan to Shu Jianyang, of which 50,000 was for road repairs, and of the remaining 10,000, 2,500 was for Shu Youfu and his family's retirement money this year, as well as money to buy wheat and millet. The rest was to be kept with Shu Jianyang for the time being, and he would help deliver money during holidays.
"Have you been having trouble at work lately?" Shu Jianyang turned his head and glanced at Shu Yan, who looked slightly tired, and asked.
"No, it's a family matter. I asked my cousin to help me sign an agreement with the family." Shu Yan recounted the whole story and sighed, "If I hadn't donated that 50,000 yuan, things definitely wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Spending money to avoid trouble is a good deed and a way to accumulate some good karma for myself."
Shu Yan's motivation was primarily for the original owner of the body. Since a soul exists, there's a possibility of reincarnation. Not only now, but she would also do charity work in the future to accumulate good karma for both the original owner and herself.
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