Chapter 26: Fourth Uncle Ming split up and moved into a thatched hut

“But we’re still your elders, so why can’t we make the decision?” The old lady was speechless. She wanted to argue but had no power—before these elders, she was just a junior.

This worried the old lady deeply, and she finally fixed her gaze on her eldest son, urging him to quickly come up with a solution. Ming Shi was now feeling ashamed and should have kept quiet, but… if the family really split, who would earn work points? Would it just be the remaining Ming family members? They’d probably end up sitting around doing nothing! Besides, if the family were to split, it shouldn’t be now—wait until he becomes team secretary first, then split the family, so he wouldn’t be a burden.

“Great-grandfather, too many things happened in the house today, and everyone is in a bad mood. Maybe we should postpone the family split?”

“Ming Shi, Great-grandfather knows your daughter Yuehe caused such trouble. You may be upset, but life must go on, right? You can’t let your daughter’s mistakes drag down the entire Ming family.”

“………” Great-grandfather knew how to get to the point.

“Great-grandfather, today is my father’s birthday. Talking about splitting the family is bound to spoil the mood.”

“Spoil what? Splitting the family doesn’t mean cutting ties. If the family splits, Ming Li and Ming Zhong will still think about respecting their parents, right, second son?” He turned his gaze to Ming Laoye.

Ming Laoye was in a dilemma—on one side was his wife’s murderous glare, on the other was the uncle’s fierce eyes. He was really torn.

Seeing things stuck here, Ming Leyao quietly whispered a few words to Ming Xiaoxue’s ear. Ming Xiaoxue nodded repeatedly, then collapsed onto Uncle Ming’s chest, crying so hard she was gasping.

“Dad, I miss sister. Let’s bring her back. Even if she wants uncle to become team secretary, even if she’s willing to marry an idiot, please don’t argue with her, okay?”

“What’s going on? Ming Zhong?” Uncle Ming, catching the look from his daughter, quickly explained the whole situation.

This made Great-grandfather so angry he took out his cane and struck Ming Shi’s head.

“You’re quite the schemer, Ming Shi. When you were little, you seemed so honest, but I didn’t expect you to have so many tricks.”

“Great-grandfather, this matter was Ming Xiaojiang’s own wish. What does it have to do with me?”

“Yes, yes, it was my sister’s choice. Great-grandfather, my sister just thought that even if she married an idiot, at least she could eat and dress well. In this family, our fourth branch works the hardest, but in the end, we don’t even have food to eat. We… we don’t want to starve anymore.”

At first, Ming Xiaoxue was partly acting, but now she was genuinely emotional. She really didn’t understand why, despite working just as hard, their fourth branch was always left with nothing.

“I’m just saying Ming Shi and Ming Li’s families always look slick and smooth, while Ming Zhong looks malnourished. This family must split today. If not, I’ll move into your house and watch you sort this out.”

Pang Jianyuan was quick to act. He had his son bring over the work points ledger and immediately began to allocate.

“From the start of the year until now, September, Ming Zhong has 3,240 work points, Ming Shi’s family has 270, Ming Li’s family 130, and Uncle Ming has 1,630. After splitting, work points belong to each family. Each year, a thousand points will be given to Uncle Ming and Aunt Ming when rationing. I’ll automatically transfer them, and for the rest, you handle the money yourselves; I won’t get involved.”

“The family money and ration coupons, Aunt Ming, please distribute them to everyone.”

“I won’t take any.” The old lady twisted away, refusing to look at Pang Jianyuan.

“You won’t take? So you want me to live at your house and eat your food? I have no objections…”

“Then you live there. I just won’t take anything.”

Pang Jianyuan twitched his mouth and looked helplessly at the uncle. The uncle was also helpless and turned his gaze to the other elders.

“Since the second son’s family refuses, you really want to split the fourth branch?”

“Yes, Third Uncle, I definitely want to split.”

“Then, on the grounds of unkind parents, cut ties. But that means you probably won’t get anything.”

“Third Uncle, I can still work. I believe with these hands, I can give my wife and children a stable home.”

“All right, Ming Zhong, since you’ve decided, then so be it.”

“Third Uncle, what about the things in my room? Many were brought by my wife’s family. Can I take them?”

“Yes, you can.”

The old lady still wanted to argue, but things were decided. In the end, Ming Zhong successfully cut ties with the old family house.

When moving, Ming Zhong was a bit troubled. There were no ready houses in the team for him to live in. Even if there were, he had no money to buy or rent.

“Uncle, why don’t you come to my place?”

“Leyao, living alone is already hard for you. How could Uncle Ming be a burden? Don’t worry. About the house, I’ll discuss with the team leader to see if it can be fixed with work points.”

Ming Zhong left the house, stopping Pang Jianyuan at the courtyard gate. The two finalized the living arrangements.

“There’s an empty room near the cattle shed. But the smell there is bad, and some people with bad backgrounds live there. If you want to live there, you’ll need to fix the room well and keep your distance from those people.”

“Fine. As long as it’s a place to shelter from the wind and rain, it’s good enough.”

“All right, come with me to take a look.”

Pang Jianyuan led Ming Zhong away. Ming Leyao thought for a moment and decided to follow them.

Before they reached the cattle shed, a strong stench hit them. The newcomer Ming Leyao had trouble accepting it, but Ming Zhong was already used to it. After all, this smell was often in the fields and grew familiar over time.

The cattle shed was a proper brick-and-mortar building, but the sheds on either side were made of grass. When built, they were meant for those who took care of the livestock and kept watch at night. After the turmoil, it had become a living space.

The grass hut wasn’t big—about eight square meters—and leaked wind everywhere. The roof’s grass had fallen off, so fixing it would be a big project.

“Fixing this… might take two days?”

“If we want to build a kang (heated bed), three days.”

“I’m fine sleeping on the floor, but my wife isn’t well. She’d suffer.”

“Uncle, let Xiaoxue and Aunt Ming sleep with me these days. We’ll move in once the house is fixed.”

Ming Zhong hadn’t wanted to trouble Ming Leyao, but now this seemed the only option. He nodded helplessly and went home to help his wife and children pack.

Before leaving, Ming Leyao glanced at the other grass hut by the cattle shed, lost in thought, then followed Ming Zhong back to the old Ming family residence.