Chapter 10: Finally, the Family Is Split

The village chief pulled out a small ink pad from his pocket.

“Then let’s sign and press your thumbprints.”

Zhao Sihai nodded and signed his name and pressed his fingerprint on the family separation agreement.

They weren’t asking for any real estate, so there were no further procedures needed.

Next was Zhao Gensheng.

Looking at the paper, he turned to look at Zhao Pozi.

She gritted her teeth and turned her head away.

But inside, she was thinking, Let’s see how I’ll squeeze it all back from them later—double.

Zhao Gensheng had no choice but to follow suit, signing and pressing his fingerprint.

Fang Hanwu wrote a witness statement in the empty section below, also signing and stamping his fingerprint.

Even though he was only the production team leader, being a witness still held some weight.

Finally, the village chief temporarily took charge of the document.

They still needed to go through the official procedure to separate the household registration—only then could they apply for a housing plot.

The village chief turned to look at Zhao Pozi and Zhao Gensheng, who hadn’t moved.

“Which one of you is going to get the money and ration coupons? There’s still work in the fields—hurry up.”

Fang Hanwu also glanced at the crowd, “What are you all still looking at? Don’t want your work points anymore?”

The crowd immediately scattered.

“The old woman manages all the money and coupons,” Zhao Gensheng muttered stiffly as he stood up and walked out.

The village chief turned to Zhao Pozi.

She took a deep breath and went inside.

Not long after, she came out with a large stack of money and ration coupons and slammed them onto the table.

“There, satisfied now?” she growled, eyes glaring at Bai Ruoqiao.

Looking at the mess of bills and coupons on the ground, the village chief’s face darkened.

He wanted to scold her, but seeing Zhao Pozi’s stubborn, pig-headed demeanor, he could only shake his head.

Bai Ruoqiao and Zhao Sihai bent down like bullied children to pick up the money.

The village chief and Fang Hanwu just kept shaking their heads—this incident deepened their understanding of just how unreasonable Zhao Pozi was.

Once the money and coupons were all counted,

Bai Ruoqiao suddenly pulled out a small floral handkerchief-wrapped item from her pants pocket.

“Mom, this is some clam oil I bought in town yesterday. I heard you mention your hands were cracking. The supply store clerk said it’ll heal in three days if you use it.”

Zhao Pozi stared at the little bundle and was momentarily tempted. She immediately snatched it.

She even tried to scratch Bai Ruoqiao while doing so.

Fortunately, Bai Ruoqiao anticipated it and pulled her hand back in time.

Both the village chief and Fang Hanwu saw it.

They couldn’t help but glare at Zhao Pozi.

“Pack up and get lost already!” Zhao Pozi shouted even more irritably, rolling her eyes dramatically before storming back into the house.

The village chief and Fang Hanwu were also exasperated. This old woman…

With such a good daughter-in-law and son, she didn’t cherish them. Instead, she coddled a worthless son like a treasure—who knows what she was thinking?

The village chief asked Zhao Sihai, “What are your plans? Do you have a place to stay?”

Zhao Sihai naturally shook his head.

Fang Hanwu suddenly said, “There’s an old abandoned house at the edge of the village. It’s run-down, but if you don’t mind, you can stay there for now.”

The moment Bai Ruoqiao heard that, her expression briefly changed.

Thankfully, she was bending down packing things, so no one saw it.

That old house at the end of the village was where they had lived in her previous life.

It held too many painful memories.

But she didn’t plan to refuse.

Where she fell, that’s where she’d rise again.

She wouldn’t let negative emotions control her entire life.

“All right. Thank you, Village Chief and Team Leader,” Zhao Sihai replied with a smile.

They didn’t have much, so packing up didn’t take long.

Fang Hanwu stayed to help guide them to the old house and lend a hand.

Zhao Sihai pushed his bicycle, Zhao An’an bundled in clothes sitting on the front bar.

The back seat was loaded with quite a few belongings.

Most of what they had were just dismantled beds and stools.

Bai Ruoqiao and Fang Hanwu carried some loose items in their hands.

As they passed through the fields, everyone turned to look curiously.

It was clear at a glance what little they had brought.

Just a moment ago, some had been envious of that few hundred yuan, but now they felt the family was quite pitiful.

They had almost nothing—surely they’d have to buy more essentials.

And they’d likely have to build a new house, which would cost a lot too.

The educated youth girl looked so frail, she probably couldn’t earn many work points.

Plus, there was a constantly sick infant to take care of at home.

The entire burden would fall on Zhao Sihai.

They heard he had retired due to an injury—no one knew exactly what kind of injury.

He looked fine on the surface. Hopefully it wasn’t some internal issue.

“Sigh, Zhao Pozi is really cruel-hearted. I just don’t get it—how could she not value a son like Sihai?”

“Actually, I think it’s better for them to move out. At least they won’t have to deal with that old hag every day.”

“Ha! I don’t think it’ll make a difference. With Zhao Jinshan’s temper, they won’t have peace even if they’ve split. Just wait and see.”

“I also think they shouldn’t have split. Who’s going to watch the kid now? Is the educated youth woman really not going to work in the fields?”

“Tch, as if anyone helped with the child when they were still with the Zhao family. Besides, back there, Sihai probably had to feed a few extra mouths too.”

The villagers chattered on all at once.

By now, the group had arrived at the abandoned house.

The old house at the end of the village had been empty for over a dozen years.

The family who originally lived there had either left during the famine or died—none were left.

So the house had reverted to village property.

Because the scene of the elderly passing there had been so tragic, no one ever wanted to buy it afterward.

Some thought it unlucky, and for the older generation, it carried too much psychological weight. So it just sat there, empty.

The house wasn’t large. It had a main room with side rooms and a kitchen, with a small courtyard in the middle.

A simple square layout, probably around 50 square meters in total.

The courtyard gate was in terrible shape—rotten and dilapidated. Even the two iron rings on the door were rusted and pitted.

The courtyard wall, made of mud and straw bricks, had mostly collapsed, with numerous holes.

Inside and outside the yard, waist-high weeds had overgrown everything.

Step in, and swarms of insects flew up. Occasionally, a toad or two would hop out.

The house itself was also made from compacted mud and straw bricks, covered in a layer of straw-mud plaster that had mostly peeled off.

The exposed bricks underneath were uneven and crooked.

Now and then, a centipede would dart through the cracks.

Bai Ruoqiao’s face turned pale at the sight.

In her previous life, she and her husband had stayed two days in Qingyang County Hospital before returning.

By the time they came back, some kind-hearted folks had already helped clean the place a bit—it hadn’t looked this bad then.

Fang Hanwu said, “The house is run-down, but with some cleaning and patching, it can still be livable.

It’ll take some time to apply for a housing plot, so you can start gathering building materials in the meantime.”

“Thank you, Team Leader. When the time comes, we’ll treat everyone to a meal,” Bai Ruoqiao said gratefully.

“No worries, no worries. I’ll head off now.”

As the production team leader, he couldn’t actually help them do the work—people might gossip.

Zhao Sihai saw him off, then rolled up his sleeves.

“Qiaoqiao, you and An’an wait outside for a bit. I’ll tidy up inside, then you can come in.”

Though Bai Ruoqiao was scared, she definitely couldn’t let Zhao Sihai do it alone.

“Haige, I’ll drop An’an off at Aunt Fang’s first, then come help.”

“No need. You two stay with Auntie for now. I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

From inside the house came the sound of Zhao Sihai’s voice, along with bang bang and crash noises.

Bai Ruoqiao didn’t respond—she just said, “I’ll be right back.”

Then she wheeled the bicycle into the courtyard and carried An’an off to Aunt Fang’s.

On the road, she ran into Aunt Fang’s youngest daughter, Fang Meizi, and her eldest grandson, Fang Jingguo.

Seeing Bai Ruoqiao, the two looked a little surprised and immediately hurried over.

“Qiaoqiao, what brings you here? We were just about to go look for you.”