Chapter 6

“Yes, we’re talking about splitting the family. Since you won’t let Daya and Erya eat at the table, we’ll have to split up. After we split, you can manage your affairs, and I’ll make sure my daughters eat at the table. Isn’t that a perfect solution?” Having made her point, Shuiqing decided to proceed with a ‘force first, reason later’ approach.

Negotiation was always her forte.

Upon hearing about splitting the family, Daya, Erya, and the boys, Jiang, He, and Hu, had their eyes shining brightly.

Sun Jinhua started calculating in her mind.

Her brother-in-law earned fifty-three wen a day, an unprecedented amount in Shan Shui Village. Their family could afford to eat better during the off-season not because of their twenty or thirty mu of good land, but thanks to her brother-in-law’s earnings. Moreover, Hu Shi and her five children were hard-working, taking care of all the dirty, hard, and tiring work, and ate little but worked a lot, making them very cost-effective to keep around.

In the past, she certainly wouldn’t have wanted to see her brother-in-law’s family split off.

But now… she glanced at Mother Fan.

Her mother-in-law had quite a bit of silver, all thanks to her youngest son’s contributions. If they split now, Mother Fan would definitely not go with her younger son’s family.

She could benefit from this.

Mother Fan felt a bit uncertain. All her money came from her youngest son’s earnings. If his family split off, how would she get any money in the future…

Dazhu quietly tugged at Sun Jinhua’s sleeve, suggesting in a low voice, “Mom, let them split! The house, land, and grain won’t be theirs!”

“Right, since it’s already a big mess and we can’t sell Daya and Erya, we still need to rely on Grandma,” ErZhu added.

They had to side with Grandma.

Sun Jinhua glanced at her mother-in-law and also wanted to experience being the matriarch.

She sighed. With four sons, it was great, but marrying off sons was too exhausting.

Forget it. Once she got the money from her mother-in-law, she could become the true head of the household.

“Fine, but remember, if Hu Shi’s family splits off, you’ll have more work to do and no more slacking off.”

“No worries, we still have Zhao Di. She’s seven years old and can wash clothes and cook,” Dazhu said offhandedly.

Sun Jinhua wanted to retort, but remembering she’d rely on Dazhu for her old age, she kept silent.

Women were always expected to wash clothes and cook; it was the same in every household.

With the eldest branch in agreement, Sun Jinhua stepped forward, cleared her throat, and said, “We can split the family. But remember, only the public assets like land, forest, and other properties will be divided. Private belongings of each household stay with their owners.”

Mother Fan was shocked and asked in disbelief, “Eldest daughter-in-law, how can you agree to this split?”

“Mother, look at sister-in-law. Is there any other choice? Her antics at noon have brought shame to our family. If we don’t split and let her continue, where will our reputation go? And as Dazhu and the others grow, how will we arrange good marriages without a reputation?” Sun Jinhua wiped away non-existent tears, looking pitiable as if she was thinking of the bigger picture.

Mother Fan gritted her teeth. “I raised the second son; his life is mine to give. Why should he get any property? Fine, we’ll split, but only take your clothes and bedding and get out! Don’t think of taking anything from the Fan family!”

Sun Jinhua was secretly pleased, thinking Shuiqing’s poor social skills would leave her with nothing.

Shuiqing twirled the knife, its blade gleaming in the dim hall.

Mother Fan recoiled in fear.

Dazhu spoke boldly, “Stop scaring us with that knife! If you know what’s good for you, back off. If you make us angry, the four of us brothers will throw you out. What can you do then?”

“Sister-in-law, I have sons to support me. The public assets and properties are not yours to claim if Mother doesn’t want to give you a share. If you have any pride, you shouldn’t want it!” Sun Jinhua, backed by her sons, also spoke boldly.

“Are you joking? Do you even know what splitting the family means? If the public assets and properties don’t include my share, we’ll ask the village head and the head of the household if my husband’s entitled to a share!” Shuiqing retorted sharply.

Pride?

Taking what she was entitled to was not a matter of pride.

Land was fundamental for establishing a household. It provided for building a house and ensuring food security. Should she give it all to the eldest branch?

“Sister-in-law, are you relying on your sons to throw me out? Fine, who’s first? When the house is covered in blood, we won’t need to split the family; we can all end up in the grave together.”

Despite the tense atmosphere, Daya and her siblings found their mother’s words amusing.

Daya and Erya, stifling their laughter, stood on either side of their mother, shouting, “Count us in! We’ll stand with Mom!”

“We’ll stand with Mom too!” chorused Jiang, He, and Hu.

But Dazhu and his brothers didn’t find it funny. None of them wanted to be the first to step forward, and they didn’t want any bloodshed in their old but respectable three-room brick house.

Sun Jinhua tried to smooth things over, “Sister-in-law, let’s be serious. Dazhu is just a child; you can’t hold him accountable. Of course, we’ll divide the property.”

Shuiqing, with a calm expression, thought: A child? A sixteen-year-old child ready for marriage?

Hearing Hu Shuiqing’s threats and seeing all five children siding with her, Mother Fan knew she had to split this troublesome daughter-in-law off.

But, “We’ll wait until the eldest son returns to divide the property. With him here, he can help you move your things, right?”

The main reason was that with an adult man present, the division of assets could be better managed, and Hu Shuiqing, being just a woman, wouldn’t notice any discrepancies.

“If we’re waiting, we might as well wait for the children’s father to return too. We can divide everything then,” Shuiqing generously suggested.

Mother Fan and Sun Jinhua froze.

The second son was a scholar and knew the exact details of the family’s land and forest. Dividing assets with him around wouldn’t be advantageous.

“No, the eldest will be back tonight, and we don’t know when the second son will return! The eldest has studied and can write the contract; we don’t need the second son,” Mother Fan decided firmly.

“The family assets are just those things; someone who can write a contract is enough. Why does the second son’s presence matter? Are you suggesting the second son’s family doesn’t trust us?” Sun Jinhua added sternly.

“Mother and sister-in-law believe that as long as there’s someone literate to write the contract, it’s fine?” A deep, steady voice came through, warm and clear as water.