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After two quarters of an hour, the family arrived at the old house. Lu Shoucheng’s wife, Jiang Xiuqin, opened the door for them.
“Third Sister-in-law’s family is here.”
Yun Cuihe smiled as she entered.
“How have you been, Fourth Sister-in-law?”
Jiang Xiuqin smiled. “What’s good or bad? Life just goes on.”
At this time, everyone from the first, second, and fourth families, including children and grandchildren, were standing neatly in the courtyard.
Seeing Yun Cuihe arrive late, Zhao Guqin rolled her eyes and started to speak sarcastically.
“Third Sister-in-law, you really are an important person. You kept Father and Mother waiting for a long time. We thought you weren’t coming.”
Knowing her personality and knowing that she would be unhappy about the family separation, Yun Cuihe didn’t bother arguing with her.
“Second Sister-in-law, you’re exaggerating. I’m not feeling well, so I couldn’t walk too fast. I’m sorry for keeping Father and Mother waiting.”
She said this, looking apologetically at Lu Tiesheng and Wang Xuelan.
Chu Yue bit her lip.
They hadn’t had to be so slow. They had deliberately slowed down because of her foot injury, but it had caused her mother-in-law to be criticized by the second aunt.
She wanted to speak up, but Lu Xinghe grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear, “Grandpa will handle it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Tiesheng waved his hand.
“It’s alright. You’re not feeling well. It’s better to take your time.” He then looked at Zhao Guqin. “Second daughter-in-law, if you want the family separation to go smoothly today, you should say less.”
Zhao Guqin was stifled by her father-in-law’s words and secretly cursed the old man for being biased. But no matter how unhappy she was, in order to have a smooth family separation, she could only suppress her resentment.
Lu Laicai, on the other hand, was glared at several times by Zhao Guqin.
Lu Laicai innocently scratched the back of his head, wondering why his wife was glaring at him after being scolded by his father. What did he have to do with it?
Wang Xuelan looked at Lu Xinghe.
“Xinghe, go inside and get a chair for your mother.”
“Okay.”
Lu Xinghe nodded and went into the house. A short while later, he brought out two chairs, one for Yun Cuihe and one for Chu Yue.
The girl’s foot injury hadn’t healed yet, and she had walked such a long way. She had refused to let him carry her. He wondered if her foot would hurt later.
Because of this act, of all the grandchildren present, only Chu Yue sat down. The others, even those holding children, stood there properly.
The young wives looked at their husbands, then at Lu Xinghe not far away. Compared to Lu Xinghe, their own husbands suddenly seemed less appealing.
Look at Lu Xinghe. Not only was he handsome, but he was also well-educated and cared about his wife.
They were all grandsons of the Lu family, but the difference was so great.
Some of the more irritable young wives even shoved their children into their husbands’ arms, finding themselves more comfortable.
The elder and second aunts, who had originally wanted to say something sarcastic to Chu Yue, kept their mouths shut for the sake of a smooth family separation. But hearing the cries of their grandsons in their sons’ arms, their brows were furrowed in annoyance.
Tian Chunyan looked back and shouted angrily, “Can you be quiet?! Do you still want to separate the families?”
Her shout only startled the little ones in their sons’ arms, causing them to cry even louder.
Zhao Guqin shot Tian Chunyan a glance. “Elder Sister-in-law, why are you making such a fuss? You scared my dear grandson into crying. Don’t you know how loud your voice is?”
She had tolerated Tian Chunyan for many years, and with the family separation finally happening, she didn’t want to hold back anymore.
Tian Chunyan refused to back down, placing her hands on her hips and retorting, “You old hag, why are you yelling at me? This is just how I talk. You should know that by now. If you’re worried I’ll scare your precious grandson, why not have your son and daughter-in-law hold the child a bit further away?”
Lu Tiesheng furrowed his brows and tapped his tobacco pipe forcefully on a stone.
“Day in, day out, arguing and fighting. Aren’t you tired yet? Can’t you just be quiet for a while?” He pointed to Jiang Xiuqin and Yun Cuihe. “Look, you’re all mothers. Can’t you learn from your two sisters-in-law?”
Tian Chunyan was annoyed. She crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair, looking defiant.
“Anyway, Father is biased. He naturally finds Yun Shi and Jiang Shi pleasing to the eye. Unlike us two, no matter what we do, Father doesn’t like us. We’re always wrong. Whether we learn from them or not, it’s the same.”
On this point, Zhao Guqin agreed with Tian Chunyan.
“Exactly, Father’s bias is written all over his face.”
“You…” Lu Tiesheng said halfway, then sighed deeply. “Fine. You each have your own ideas. You say I’m biased, then so be it. Since we’re separating, separate and move out quickly. It’s annoying for you to look at me, and it’s annoying for me to look at you.”
From beginning to end, Jiang Xiuqin and Yun Cuihe remained silent, and the younger generation had no chance to speak.
Chu Yue sat in the corner and saw Lu Tiesheng give Wang Xuelan a wink. Wang Xuelan then took a purse from the house.
Seeing the purse, everyone sat up straight.
“This is sixty taels of silver. Your mother and I are getting old, and we won’t be able to earn much money in the future. We kept some for ourselves, and the rest will be divided among you. Fifteen taels per household. Do you have any objections?”
Since each family received the same amount, the daughters-in-law had no objections, and naturally, neither did the sons.
“Father, we have no objections.”
Lu Tiesheng nodded and signaled Wang Xuelan to distribute the money.
In front of everyone, she clearly divided the money, fifteen taels for each household.
Yun Cuihe held the fifteen taels of silver in her hand, feeling a surge of excitement. With this money, their family’s life would be much easier.
“Next is the land and the mountain.”
Lu Tiesheng took two puffs of his dry pipe and continued, “We have six mu of superior land, twelve mu of medium land, and a mountain of more than twenty mu.”
“Over the years, our family has worked hard, and the medium land is almost as good as the superior land. Your mother and I think we should keep two mu of the superior land near the village entrance for ourselves. As for the remaining four mu of superior land, we’ll divide that among the families. The twelve mu of medium paddy fields will be divided equally among two families, and the mountain of more than twenty mu will be divided among one family.”
The eldest daughter-in-law, Tian Chunyan, spoke up at the right moment.
“Father, there are many trees on that mountain. Those trees were planted by our family together. How do you plan to handle them?”
Lu Tiesheng took a puff of his pipe, his eyes momentarily vacant.
“A few days ago, I counted them. There are about 150 trees. In another two or three years, they’ll be mature and can be sold. Whoever gets the forest gets the trees.”