Chapter 13: Dividing the Family Property

Father Yu looked at Eldest Yu and opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end, he said nothing.
He simply turned to Village Chief Li and said, “Old Li, I’ll be troubling you tomorrow.”

Upon hearing that, Eldest Yu pressed his lips together, glanced at Mother Yu and the child in her arms, and sighed.
Then he dragged his heavy steps and walked out.

Village Chief Li stayed behind to speak with Father Yu.

Sister-in-law Zhao, along with two other women—one being Aunt Zhang, whom they’d seen under the tree in the village yesterday, and the other Aunt Zhao Ju, someone from the original host’s memories—gathered around Mother Yu.

Yu Nuan went into the house and brought out several grass stools for them.
Then she went into the kitchen and ladled out a few bowls of plain water.
She took a bit of white sugar from her space and dissolved it into the water.
After tasting it and finding it just slightly sweet, she poured it into separate bowls and brought them out.

“Uncle Li, thank you all for your trouble. Please have some water first.”

Village Chief Li didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted the bowl, drinking it straight away.
It had taken them a little time to get there, and they’d been standing around for a while—he was indeed thirsty.

The other women didn’t refuse either.
They all took a sip at the same time—the cool mountain spring water was refreshing and sweet, leaving a lingering taste.
There was a faint sweet fragrance in their mouths.
The early morning fatigue from farm work seemed to fade a bit.

Although it wasn’t very sugary, the women could tell—it must be that the girl had added a touch of sugar.
Sister-in-law Zhao gave her a playful, scolding look.
But she didn’t say anything. After all, this was a kind gesture. In the future, they would just try to look after her a bit more.

Everyone had their own farmwork to tend to, so after offering some comfort to the elderly couple, the group took their leave.

“You Niu, what made you think of dividing the family property?”
Father Yu looked at her, puzzled.
He felt that his youngest daughter was acting a bit unusually today, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was odd.

“Dad, Gou Wang and we all need to live.”
Yu Nuan only said this one sentence. Father Yu and Mother Yu were both stunned.

That’s right! They were getting old, and there weren’t many years left for them.
If they just up and died, how would these two young siblings survive without support?

All the older children had already married and started their own families, living comfortably.
You Niu would eventually marry too—but what about Gou Wang?

What Yu Nuan was really thinking was: Cut off ties with those selfish relatives!
She didn’t like entanglements with such people.

It was best to draw clear lines from the very beginning, so they’d have no excuse to come throwing tantrums later.

For now, the matter of her arranged marriage had been temporarily settled.
Even though she had the soul of a 26-year-old, the original host had only just turned sixteen.
Today’s uproar from Zhang Xiufang killed two birds with one stone.

Otherwise, with so many older brothers, if they got rid of one Zhang Xiufang, there’d just be another like Li Xiufen to take her place.

It was best to divide up the farmland and property now while things were clear.
She might not be good at plowing or planting, but whatever rightfully belonged to the original host and her parents should be theirs.

Even if they didn’t have the labor force to work the fields, they could rent them out.
That would still be far better than begging for food right under their relatives’ noses.

According to the memories left by the original host, her five older brothers had “worked together” to take over all the Yu family’s land.
Yet each year, they only handed over 40 catties of rough rice and 15 copper coins to Father and Mother Yu.

That meant each family gave less than 10 catties. And starting from three years ago, it had even decreased to just 35 catties.

No wonder the three of them in the Yu household had long gone hungry year-round. The original host had survived mostly by foraging wild vegetables all over the mountains.

She brought up the matter today because she didn’t want this vague relationship between the families to drag on any longer.

The Yu bloodline had already branched out, and those relatives had no thought of repaying their parents’ care.
If they treated their parents so harshly, then even if it meant severing ties, she’d still insist on dividing things clearly.

She wanted to let them know: When you drink water, don’t forget who dug the well.

Besides, most of the Yu family’s land had been opened up by Father and Mother Yu themselves, together with Village Chief Li, through backbreaking work across the hills.

“Dad, Mom, every child has their own fate.
My eldest brothers are now grandparents—they need to focus on their own households.”

Having said this, Yu Nuan didn’t want to speak further.

She picked up Gou Wang and took him for a walk around the land they had cleared yesterday.

“We’re getting old…” Mother Yu said bitterly.

Thirteen years ago, the Yu family was still eating from the same communal pot.
Back then, she and her husband endured it all just to avoid upsetting their daughters-in-law.
Her husband had gone out to collect firewood and fallen from a steep slope, breaking a leg.

Their sons had passed the responsibility back and forth, and in the end, missed the best window for treatment…
She toiled in the fields during the day, and at night still had to do needlework to earn a few extra coins—sometimes working late into the night.

After splitting from the family, her eyesight started failing a few years ago.
But not a single son stepped up to get her treatment.

Thinking back on all these years, she felt that she and her husband had done right by their children.
If there was a lack of conscience, it certainly wasn’t theirs.

“If we take back the land all at once, the Yu family will fall into chaos…”
Father Yu said, full of worry.

They had endured for so many years. If they now went to fight over the farmland, their sons might stop acknowledging them as parents altogether.

The two of them remained silent for a long time. A few tears trickled down their aged faces,
Soaking into the deep creases at the corners of their eyes…

The Next Morning

Yu Nuan woke early and carried little Gou Wang over to her room to feed him.
His cheeks were rosy and full after eating—he looked just like a little apple.

The sky was already bright.

Under Village Chief Li’s repeated urging, the four Yu brothers finally climbed the slope at a slow pace.

Eldest Yu and his wife kept their heads down the whole time.
Apparently, several households had rushed over to the Eldest Yu’s place yesterday upon hearing about what happened with his wife,
Trying to come up with a solution—but things had ended in a complete mess.

Of course, Yu Nuan didn’t witness the commotion herself. She only heard about it just now from Sister-in-law Zhao.

“Uncle Li,” Yu Nuan greeted respectfully.

She looked at the four brothers standing in the courtyard, and the sons and daughters-in-law waiting outside the yard.
Each household had sent both husband and wife to discuss the matter.

To avoid chaos and bickering, Village Chief Li hadn’t let the younger generation into the yard.

He also brought along several respected villagers to act as witnesses.

One of them was his eldest son, nicknamed Li Daniu, who was Sister-in-law Zhao’s husband.
He had a stern, judge-like face, and just standing there he radiated an intimidating presence.

“Dad, why are you suddenly talking about dividing the property again? Didn’t we already split everything?
Are you trying to cut off our livelihood…?”

“Yeah! If you think we’ve been giving too little grain, we can give more—why go through all this trouble?”

“And how are we supposed to divide the land? That newborn hasn’t lifted a finger!
All that land was fattened up by our hard work over the years. This makes no sense…”

Yu Nuan observed the four Yu brothers, all silent like quails, while it was their wives taking the lead in the confrontation.

These women were not easy to deal with. They were the type skilled in causing scenes—crying, yelling, and threatening to hang themselves.

Father Yu and Village Chief Li sat silently on straw stools.

“All right, we’re not here to argue today. Keep those twisted arguments to yourselves,”
Village Chief Li shot a sharp glance at the women.

“Village Chief Li, Father says he’s right, Mother says she’s right—
But don’t we, as sons and daughters-in-law, have any right to speak?

Those barren plots of land—they only became fertile because we worked to improve them!
Now that the soil is good, the two elders suddenly want to take it back?”

Second Yu’s wife slapped her thigh and started counting with her fingers.

Zhang Xiufang was much quieter today. From the moment she entered, she hadn’t said a word—just threw a few dirty looks at Yu Nuan.

Seeing that made Yu Nuan want to laugh. Clearly, it takes a scoundrel to handle a scoundrel.

People always said Zhang Xiufang was a shrew, but really, she was just loud and sharp-tongued.
Compared to the two cunning wives from the second and third households, Zhang Xiufang was just a paper tiger.

“If it weren’t for your father- and mother-in-law sweating and bleeding to open up that land back then,
What would you brothers even have to farm today?
Why don’t you go bury your heads in your own yards and fatten yourselves up there instead?”
Li Daniu snapped coldly.

Pfft—hahaha…

Brother Daniu really had a… way with words.
Blunt truths may be harsh, but they hit where it hurts.