Old Man Xiao hadn't expected Xiao Zhengde to reprimand him so harshly in front of so many people. He felt a little embarrassed, but Xiao Zhengde was of a higher generation and was the clan leader. Even if he didn't want to, there was nothing he could do.
In the past, he could rely on Xiao Yuanhang being a scholar and pin his hopes on a bright future, so he dared to challenge the clan's bottom line time and time again. Now that Xiao Yuanhang is ruined and Xiao Yi is almost ruined as well, the Xiao Dayong family, whom he had the least regard for, is doing relatively well.
At least he was better off than most in the village, but the one who was doing well for him ended up disloyal to him.
Then there's Xiao Yan, who's also a source of worry for him. Ever since he was divorced and returned home, no good families have come to propose marriage to him.
They were either lame, crippled, deaf, mute, or old widowers. Xiao Yan was also proud and arrogant, preferring to stay at home with Liu Shi rather than marry one of these men.
So, on the surface, Old Man Xiao and Widow Liu seemed to be getting along quite well, but in reality, he was very insecure and afraid of being laughed at and gossiped about. He was just putting on a show of a sweet daily life as an old man and a young wife, desperately trying to save face.
If you really asked him to leave his clan and live alone, he really wouldn't have the guts.
The thought that without the protection of his clan, anyone could trample on him, terrified Old Man Xiao, kept silent.
Old Man Xiao remained silent, and the matter of dividing the family property was left to Xiao Zhengde and several clan elders to decide.
Since the family is being divided again, the land deeds must be brought out and redistributed.
Xie Yujiao and Liu Shi hesitated and refused to hand it over, so Xiao Zhengde directly threatened to send people to search if they didn't bring it over within fifteen minutes. Only then did the two of them grit their teeth and hand it over.
Since the family had already separated several years ago, it would be difficult to divide the money, so this time they only divided the land.
Old Mrs. Xiao sold ten mu in Beijing, and now the Xiao family still has a total of thirty-five mu.
Xiao Yi and his wife had worked hard and made great contributions, so they were directly allocated fifteen mu of land.
Secondly, there's Xiao Yi, who earned ten acres of land, and they simply gave him those ten acres.
Of the remaining ten mu, six mu were given to Xie Yujiao, and four mu were given to Widow Liu's child, who was an illegitimate son.
Then there's the issue of old age. Old Man Xiao voluntarily agreed to live with Widow Liu, and each of the three families gives Old Man Xiao 150 catties of grain every year.
Grandma Xiao and Xiao Yan also lived in the old house, but they lived separately. Each family received 300 catties of grain a year.
We have enough to eat and wear, nothing more.
After distributing the land deeds, Xiao Zhengde immediately handed them over and left with several clan elders without lingering for a moment.
He finds them too noisy and bothersome.
Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Zhengde and several clan elders left, Widow Liu and Xie Yujiao became furious, pointing their fingers at Xiao Dayong and Xiao Yi and cursing them for being inhuman and driving their brothers to their deaths.
They wanted to drag them to their ancestors to have a talk, and then they threw a tantrum and grabbed Li, threatening to jump into the well.
He was kicked away by Li.
Having obtained the land deed, Li and the others were too lazy to stay any longer, so they all went home.
Widow Liu and Xie Yujiao suddenly went from being well-off to being poor peasants, and it would be difficult for them to imagine living a life without worrying about food and clothing again.
After Xiao Yi and Xiao Dayong left, the two men grew angrier the more they thought about it. The two, who had never gotten along, started to huddle together and whisper among themselves from time to time.
Finally, the two of them simply started going to Xiao Dayong and Xiao Yi's house every day to freeload.
That's right, it's similar to what Old Mrs. Xiao did at first, only she put it a little more subtly. Every mealtime, she would bring the child to their door and complain that there was less land and the child had no food to eat. She would also make excuses like how her uncles couldn't just watch the child go hungry.
Even though Madam Li and Granny Zhu didn't like these people, they couldn't just turn on them and throw them out, especially since there were children in the middle.
Therefore, even if Xiao Zhengde publicly upheld justice, shameless people still have a hundred shameless excuses to take advantage of others.
The sisters-in-law were constantly at odds, making their lives a complete mess!
However, Xie Yujiao and Liu Shi had probably witnessed Xiao Dayong and Li Shi's outbursts, so they were somewhat wary of the couple. They also had some sense of propriety towards Li Shi. When they saw Xiao Dayong's face darken, they knew to restrain themselves.
Xiao Yi went far too far than he did with the Li family; he would take whatever he fancied without hesitation, even while laughing and talking.
If Granny Zhu and her daughter tried to stop them, they would say that the child liked it, which made Granny Zhu and her daughter so angry that they couldn't eat several times and kept sighing.
Xiao Yi stared blankly at everything before him, a far cry from the peaceful and warm life he had imagined. It turned out that finding an ordinary woman didn't guarantee a normal life.
He felt like he was stuck in a quagmire. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't see any signs of his life getting better. He had tried so hard, so why was his fate still like this?
It turns out that in his home, the kind of life that ordinary people lead—working from sunrise to sunset, living a simple yet warm life—does not exist. Warmth and happiness seem to have nothing to do with his life.
Granny Zhu was furious that Xiao Yi was useless, watching his wife and children being bullied without doing anything about it.
Xiao Yi clenched his fists repeatedly, but he couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on the woman and child, especially since the child was related to him by blood.
So no matter what Granny Zhu said, he always said the same thing.
"I shouldn't interfere in your women's affairs. Why don't you just hide the things to avoid trouble?"
Granny Zhu was furious. These were clearly her things, yet she had to use them secretly. She was living her life like a thief!
What kind of mess is this?!
Granny Zhu cursed Liu Shi and Xie Yujiao all day long, calling them shameless, scoundrels, and bandits. She felt that having such sisters-in-law and concubines was the worst luck imaginable.
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