Chapter 23

After living in hardship for so long, suddenly having so much money left Old Master Song at a loss—he didn’t know what to do with it or where to put it. Just holding it made him anxious.

Fortunately, the family was large. Even if someone had bad intentions, there was strength in numbers to resist. So Old Master Song and Old Lady Zhou discussed and decided to hide the silver notes in a wooden box beneath the wall in the main room.

“Old man,” Old Lady Zhou said at night after the lights were out, “back when we had no money, I was uneasy. But now that we have money, I’m still uneasy. It just doesn’t feel real.”

Old Master Song felt the same. The amount of silver they now had was overwhelming. Even just a few hundred taels was a fortune to a peasant family like theirs.

“There are always some ruffians in the surrounding villages,” said Old Master Song. “If they find out we’ve earned a fortune, they might get ideas. I’m worried they’ll cause trouble when the whole family is out working in the fields.”

“Our sweet granddaughter is still so young,” said Old Lady Zhou. “We can’t let her be frightened. What should we do? I say we split the family. We’ll have to eventually anyway. Now that we have money, let’s build each household a brick-and-tile house. Everyone will see we’ve earned money, but once we divide it among all the sons, it won’t seem like we have that much left. Outsiders won’t envy us as much.”

Old Master Song stayed silent for a while. As the head of the family, he liked having his children and grandchildren around, everyone living together lively and close.

But now, even if outsiders didn’t know exactly how much they had made, they’d know it was a lot. If all that silver remained in one household, it would draw too much attention.

However, if they built five brick houses and then split the remaining money six ways, people might think they’d already spent most of it, and envy would lessen.

“But I worry,” Old Master Song said, “that once we split the household, the brothers won’t be as close. Right now, we work together and live in harmony. But if we separate, each will mind their own household. If one runs into trouble, the others might not care anymore.”

He was concerned both about family closeness and the common desire of elders to keep their children close.

Old Lady Zhou sighed. “Ah, sons always start their own households eventually. That’s how it is. Don’t forget, back when we lived with your parents, we also wanted to split off—it was just inconvenient. But once we did, we still visited often, didn’t we?”

No matter how unwilling parents were, they couldn’t stop it. Most peasant families were like this—sons grow up and start their own households, and the elders let go.

Back when the Song family was poor, they couldn’t afford to split up. But now that they had silver, things were different.

Old Master Song nodded. “Yes, the children are growing up. In a few years, even their children will be getting married. It’s time. But even if we split, the houses should be built close together. We shouldn’t grow distant.”

“Of course,” said Old Lady Zhou. “We live on the east edge of the village. Let’s go further east and build five brick houses side by side. That way, the children are still neighbors. How about that?”

The land to the east was unused. They could buy it with silver and build five identical houses with equal size and materials.

“We’ll build a few extra rooms too,” said Old Master Song. “So when the grandsons marry, there’ll already be rooms for their wives.”

Old Lady Zhou nodded. “Yes. But I wonder, once we split the family, will little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao’s blessings only go to Fourth Son’s household, or will we all still share in her luck? Still, it doesn’t matter. We’ve already enjoyed so many blessings from our lucky little girl.”

“Yes, that’s enough,” said Old Master Song. “Even if only Fourth Son’s family continues to receive her blessings, that’s their fate. We can’t cling to her just because she brings fortune.”

“It’s already autumn,” said Old Lady Zhou. “We won’t finish the houses in time. Let’s buy the land and gather materials this year. Then we’ll build next year. After the houses are done, we’ll split the silver and the household. We’ll spend this New Year together one last time.”

Old Master Song nodded. The plan was solid. Buying that land would signal to others they intended to split the household.

“We’re old,” he added. “Let’s not build a new house for ourselves. We’ll stay here—we’re used to this one.”

Old Lady Zhou chuckled. “Yes, a golden nest or a silver nest still isn’t as good as your own doghouse.”

The couple laughed again, but there was still a touch of sadness in their hearts. The children had grown up—there was no avoiding this.

Thankfully, the houses would be close by—just neighboring yards. They would still feel like family. They didn’t care which son got which house, as long as Fourth Son lived next door.

They had to see their precious granddaughter every day.

—–

The next day, everyone got up early. They were too excited to sleep—now that they had silver.

After breakfast, Old Master Song gathered everyone. Since they had made the decision, they needed to tell the family.

“Don’t leave yet. Your mother and I have something to say.”

Everyone stopped and sat down, curious what their father wanted to announce.

Third Son, Song Fugui, joked, “Oh, is the old man about to hand out money now that he’s gotten rich?”

Old Lady Zhou rolled her eyes. “You’re obsessed with money. But you’re not wrong. Your father and I talked it over. I did promise you before—we’re going to build houses. I have five sons, so we’ll build five brick and tile houses.”

Everyone beamed with joy. This kind of thing had been unthinkable before. But now, with money, it was no big deal.

Eldest Son, Song Fusheng, asked, “Father, Mother, what does this mean?”

Old Master Song tapped the ashes out of his pipe. “In peasant families, sons eventually start their own households. Your children are growing up—it’s time. Thanks to Little Sweet Treasure’s blessings, we’ve earned a lot of silver. But if we keep it all in one place, people will envy us. If we build houses and divide it up, they won’t know how much each of you has, and it won’t draw as much attention.”

“That’s the first reason. The second is, we’d have to split anyway. The grandchildren are getting older and will need wedding houses. Might as well take this chance to do everything at once. After that, each household lives its own life.”

“But one thing must not change,” he added firmly. “Even after splitting, your brotherhood must remain. If anyone becomes distant and refuses to help his siblings, then don’t call me your father anymore.”

His words were resolute and left no room for argument.

No one spoke. The sons were honest men—when their parents were around, they listened to them. When the parents weren’t around, they listened to their wives.

In the past, the daughters-in-law might have wanted to split up for more freedom.

But now that Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao was with them, they didn’t want to split. Life had become so smooth and prosperous.