Old Fan’s family squatted to eat—the dining table had been chopped in half by Shuiqing.

It was the only table in the house.

Everyone held their bowls and found a place to squat under the eaves.

Except for the seven-year-old Fan Zhaodi, who was used to it, the others, accustomed to eating while sitting, felt very uncomfortable.

At first, they blamed Shuiqing—why did she have to chop the table for no reason? Now no one had a place to sit.

Then they blamed Granny—not letting her two granddaughters sit at the table to eat. Now there wasn’t a table, so it didn’t matter anymore.

Fan Jiaoda, the eldest of the Fan family, hurried home before dark. Holding his bowl, he complained to his wife, “Look at what you’ve done.”

He had left to avoid trouble, thinking that by the time he got back, she would have persuaded the second brother’s family to sell their two daughters, so he wouldn’t have to worry about it, and everything would be settled.

But when he returned, the second brother had already taken his family and split off.

Big Sister had been taken away. Sun Jinhua, who had prepared dinner, was already furious and argued stubbornly, “What do you mean? We got three brick houses for our family; only five sacks of grain went to them, and one of those was wheat bran; they didn’t get a penny of money. Didn’t I do a good job? Go ask around the village, how many wives are as smart and capable as I am!”

But just thinking about the two pounds of brown sugar and six old hens that were taken made her heart ache. Why couldn’t they choke on it, that greedy second brother’s family!

Fan Jiaoda frowned, took a couple of bites of mushroom and wild vegetable porridge, and mumbled, “Supporting the second brother’s family wouldn’t have been a loss for us. Why did you have to split them off?”

Sun Jinhua was displeased, “Why not a loss? The second brother might not eat at home often, but Hu Shuiqing and their five kids eat at home every meal!”

“Big Sister and Second Sister don’t eat much, and the three younger ones don’t eat much either, but they do all the work inside and outside the house, and the second brother brings money home; I’m the eldest brother, and even if the three brick houses weren’t split, our family would still be living here. The second brother’s family wouldn’t be able to take that away.” Fan Jiaoda sighed, analyzing the situation.

Sun Jinhua felt a bit guilty. They did have that plan before, but wasn’t it Hu Shuiqing who revealed that their mother had money?

Thinking of the money in her mother-in-law’s hands, she quickly shared this with her husband.

Fan Jiaoda’s frown relaxed, and he leaned in to ask quietly, “Are you sure?”

His mother had never managed the household well; while other families thrived, the Fan family had to sell fields and land, struggling to marry off their grandchildren. Could she have hidden money?

“There’s no mistake. Just think, the Fan family used to have much more land than now. All the money the second brother earned went to Mother. How could she not have any?” Sun Jinhua leaned in, confident.

Fan Jiaoda pondered for a while and then agreed, “You did well.”

Sun Jinhua beamed, proudly saying, “Just wait, when the second brother’s family runs out of grain, they’ll have to sell their fields and land sooner or later!”

Fan Jiaoda still felt the loss of the five sacks of grain, “Five sacks are too much; three sacks would’ve been enough. The hills shouldn’t have been let for the second brother to choose first; we should’ve given them three non-adjacent ones. For good fields, we could’ve set aside Mother’s share first, then divided the rest between the first and second houses by headcount…”

Fan Dazhu and Fan Erzhu overheard and approached, flattering, “Father, you’re so thorough!”

“We didn’t know what to do; seeing Little Uncle smiling and being polite, we thought we weren’t losing out, so we agreed.”

“If Father had been home, Little Uncle’s family wouldn’t have taken so much!”

Sun Jinhua was now also regretting, regretting having sent her husband away, which allowed the second brother to take more.

Fan Sanzhu and Fan Sizhu listened, secretly alarmed. Their father showed no consideration for his younger brother, and the Fan family was half their Little Uncle’s. Yet their eldest and second brothers seemed to agree with their father. They looked up at the roof. Would they have a share of the brick house in the future?

Fan Jiaoda thought for a moment, then added, “Avoid the second brother’s family, and if you see them, don’t give them any food, understand?”

Fan Dazhu and the others immediately protected their bowls of wild vegetable and mushroom porridge, responding, “Don’t worry, Father!”

“We finally have six fewer mouths to feed. I won’t give them a bite.”

“You don’t know, Aunt scolded Granny at noon for giving Big Sister and Second Sister thin porridge. Their family is probably eating husks and greens now~”

Fan Jiaoda snorted through his nose, disdainful, “They have more hardship ahead.”

“Father is right!”

“Hey, the mushrooms in the porridge are good. Let’s have mushroom porridge again tomorrow.” Fan Jiaoda smacked his lips, commenting.

Sun Jinhua remained silent.

Squatting in a corner, sipping her porridge, Fan Zhaodi timidly said, “Dad, Little Uncle got the bamboo hill, and the mushrooms were picked by Big Sister and Second Sister.”

Big Sister and Second Sister didn’t belong to their family anymore.

Sun Jinhua glared at her daughter, snapping, “If you don’t speak, no one will take you for a mute!”

Fan Zhaodi shrank back, not daring to speak.

Fan Jiaoda always believed that cooking was women’s work, so he casually said, “Only the bamboo hill has them? If other places have them too, you and your mother and Granny can go pick some tomorrow.”

Granny, who had been angrily sipping her porridge, was furious upon hearing this from her eldest son, “Why should I? I raised you all, went through so much hardship, and now you want me to pick mushrooms? You should be thinking about how to honor me, not making me work!”

Fan Jiaoda’s face darkened. It was just picking mushrooms, how hard could it be? His mother wasn’t that old but already wanted to enjoy life. However, thinking of the money in her hands, he suppressed his displeasure and told Sun Jinhua, “Then you take Zhaodi to pick mushrooms tomorrow.”

Granny was satisfied, but Sun Jinhua was unhappy and dared not speak out. She thought, mushrooms are everywhere; we’ll pick some and mix in some greens to cook. It’s still better than the second brother’s family, who don’t have a garden and only eat mushrooms!

Shuiqing didn’t give her family mushrooms. Even though they picked over ten more pounds later. She couldn’t bear to. A pound of mushrooms made a small pot of soup, not enough for two people, but selling them could buy a lot of rice.

Anyone could do that math, even without formal education.

After dinner, everyone was full.

Once full, their energy visibly improved.

With just a bit of light left in the sky, Yanqiu washed the dishes and pots by the spring.

Xinghui chopped a basin of wild grass, mixed in three handfuls of wheat bran, stirred it evenly, and took it to feed the chickens.

Fan Jin and Jiang Hehu tied bundles of thatch, preparing to make a roof to protect the grain from dew.

“Dahu, you’re not strong enough; just arrange the thatch neatly, no need to tie.”

“Dahe, you need to tie it tighter, or the thatch will be loose, and rain will get in.”

“Da Jiang, you did well, as expected of the eldest brother.”

Shuiqing watched Fan Jin, who was patiently instructing his three sons while tying the thatch. The speed was slower, but he was teaching them skills.

Fan Jin looked up and saw Shuiqing staring at him. He blinked his clear eyes, puzzled, “What is it?”

“Come with me, I need to talk to you.”