Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 71 - 71 72 Dividing the Family_1

?Chapter 71: Chapter 72: Dividing the Family_1 Chapter 71: Chapter 72: Dividing the Family_1 “Anyway, this family must be divided today! Our family has already fallen apart. Why are you, father, still clinging onto it? If it doesn’t go our way, we will make a big fuss today! We’re not afraid of losing face, but when the time comes, we won’t care about what the people in the village say about you!”

Mrs. Ji directly issued a harsh threat—this was a blatant intimidation. Who doesn’t know that Qiao Dazhi fears most for the Qiao family’s reputation? If such a matter were to get out, and this couple uttered nonsense, it’s possible the whole village would curse him for being mean to his own son and daughter-in-law.

Qiao Dazhi almost fainted from anger, “I should have thrown you, this shrew, out of the house long ago. Now it’s not your place to climb on my neck! The family’s misfortune!”

Qiao Yuanshan was now focused on splitting the family property, not caring about anything else, clamoring, “The third brother also wants to split, none of us brothers have objections, and even the fourth brother has always been complaining that we disturb his studies, hasn’t he? If we split, this family will finally be peaceful. Father, just give us a clear answer, will the family be divided or not?”

Qiao Dazhi glanced at Qiao Yuanzhen, who indeed had said nothing. It seemed that he wasn’t averse to the idea of dividing the family. Now that Qinghe had silver to fund his studies, staying in this family didn’t matter to him; perhaps, as Muniang had said, Yuanzhen inherently possessed a cold heart.

“Enough! If you want to split, then hurry up and leave! In the Qiao family, we’ll consider feeding you ungrateful wretches a total loss!” Qiao Dazhi cursed them.

The first room couple, however, was overjoyed. Qiao Dazhi, annoyed at the sight, bellowed, “What are you waiting for? Go ask the village chief to come! Let’s divide the family!”

Madam Liu’s heart was throbbing with excitement, like a bird imprisoned for years finally seeing the sunlight. Looking at Qiao Yuanming, her eyes filled with an uncommon tenderness. Initially hesitant about whether his actions were excessive, Yuanming’s heart softened under Madam Liu’s gaze. Seeing the joyful smiles on their children’s faces, his wavering heart instantly became resolute. Indeed, he might be foolishly filial, but he was also a good father and husband.

Madam Zhao felt a sharp pang in her heart—splitting the family would mean she would have to take on the household chores herself. After years of comfort, was she really going back to labor? But with the decision already made by the head of the family, she naturally couldn’t change anything now. In her mind, she became even more resentful towards the first room couple.

In the entire family, aside from Qiao Dazhi and Madam Zhao, nearly everyone’s heart fluttered with joy. Once the village chief arrived, they would begin the formal division of the family.

“Your family has a total of ten acres of fertile land and five acres of dry land. Just dividing the land evenly, each household would get about three or four acres. As for the silver coins, we’ve totaled twenty-three taels of silver. So each household would get about five or six taels of silver, how does that sound?” the village chief said.

“Unacceptable!” Mrs. Ji was the first to shout out, sharply glancing at Madam Zhao, “How come there are only thirty taels of silver in the house? Over these years, we’ve hardly had any money in hand, it’s all been with you two old folks. Now you tell us there’s only this little money?”

Indeed, Madam Zhao still had money, but she wouldn’t let go of it easily. She had to keep some as a safety net. Her eyes bulging, she retorted, “I said that’s all there is. Am I supposed to deceive you? Would I, as a mother, be stingy with my own sons?”

The village chief frowned, being a father himself; he of course understood a parent’s feelings for their children. He reproached Mrs. Ji, “As a daughter-in-law, you should at least have some basic manners. Is this how you speak to your own mother-in-law?”

That comment stung Mrs. Ji. The village chief continued, “Parents always have their children’s best interests in mind; why would they be stingy with you? If you now think your mother-in-law has hidden money and hasn’t taken it out, are you also thinking about searching the house?”

Mrs. Ji indeed had that in mind, but seeing the village chief’s piercing gaze, she had to crush the thought and swallow her anger bitterly.

Qiao Yuanshan had originally planned to support Mrs. Ji, but seeing the scene before him, he was relieved he had spoken up—otherwise, wouldn’t he have been tagged as unfilial?

Madam Zhao snorted coldly, ready to fight her!

“Since it’s been decided to divide equally, how come the fourth room’s extra hundred and more silvers aren’t being brought out?” Qiao Yuanshan said, his mind had, in fact, been lingering on that silver coin.

Li Qinghe scoffed, “You want to include the dowry silver in the property division? This is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. Has big brother become so silver-crazed that he’s lost his senses?”

“What about the dowry silver? When we sisters-in-law married into the family, didn’t we contribute our dowry silver to the common fund? So why is it that when it comes to you, there needs to be a new rule?” Mrs. Ji shrilled.

Madam Liu chuckled derisively, “Did big sister actually bring dowry silver back then? Wasn’t it just a cotton quilt and a set of basin ware? Uninformed people might think you were sold into the family. And today, you have the cheek to mention your dowry from back then.”

“You!” Mrs. Ji was instantly at a loss for words, as she truly hadn’t brought much for a dowry, primarily because her family had been embarrassed when their dowry was looted. In fact, only Madam Liu and the ousted Mrs. Lin had lost their dowries, but with Madam Liu’s current stance, it was clear she was siding with Li Qinghe, leaving Mrs. Ji no choice but to silently curse Madam Liu for her foolishness.

Li Qinghe smiled gratefully at Madam Liu before saying, “We are people from Tupo Village, so naturally, we should follow the customs of Tupo Village. I’ve only asked the village head to judge—this dowry silver, to whom does it truly belong?”

The village head spoke firmly, “Although you are now part of the Qiao family, this is, after all, your personal property, so naturally, it is yours.”

Li Qinghe lifted her head proudly—thinking they could benefit from her, not a chance!

“Our family plans to move out and build our own house, so the silver needed for construction must be given to us. Plus, the fourth brother is a scholar—he wouldn’t know how to farm the land. It would only be wasted on him,” Mrs. Ji persisted, determined to make a big gain from this division.

Qiao Yuanzhen pondered for a moment before finally saying, “We really don’t need the land, so don’t consider us.”

The village head sighed quietly, shaking his head. This kid, too full of youthful vigor—although scholars may not farm, who can tell whether he’d pass his exams in the future? If he doesn’t, and the family doesn’t have their own slice of land, how will they live?

It took a good part of the morning, but the family finally settled the division—The eldest room haggled over every bit, while the third and fourth rooms didn’t have many demands. In the end, the eldest room got fifteen silver coins, six acres of land, the third room got four silver coins, five acres of land along with the west wing of the house, and the fourth room got eight silver coins and the east wing of the house, with the remainder going to the elderly couple.

With the substantial amount of silver the eldest room received intended for building their own house, the thought of not having to live under the same roof and control of those two old ones invigorated the couple as if they’d had an energy boost.