Chapter 15: The Family Property Is Finally Divided

“Come on, sign and put your seal! Once you’re done, go home and fetch the supplies—I’ll be waiting right here…”
The courtyard was in complete chaos.

Yu Nuan smiled and found a grass stool to sit next to Mother Yu, teasing little Gou Wang.
Today, his tiny eyes were twitching slightly. She gently stroked his little face—and to her surprise, he opened a sliver of his eyes.

Yu Nuan’s face lit up. He opened his eyes?!
She immediately scooped him up and looked closely. His gaze was still unfocused, his little eyeballs rolling faintly.

“Aiya, he’s opened his eyes already!” Sister-in-law Zhao laughed along.
Opening one’s eyes within three days was a sign the child was well-nourished.

Sister-in-law Zhao even wanted to ask if the baby had managed to drink any breast milk,
but seeing how gaunt Mother Yu looked, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
It must be the child himself fighting to live…

The clouds on Mother Yu’s face finally lifted, and she looked visibly better.

That side of the courtyard was warm and harmonious—
but the other side was a mess of smoke and anger.

“Not signing? What, you haven’t embarrassed yourselves enough in the village, and want to lose face in the county office too?”
Li Daniu stormed over, holding the agreement papers in hand.
Seeing the Yu brothers still dragging their feet, he was clearly getting fired up.

He, too, had raised several children. The elderly in the village were few in number.
Other elders could at least count on a warm bowl of porridge from their children—
but these few? Shameless!

“Brother Li, no need to say things so harshly…”

“Oh, I’ve got even harsher things to say if you want to hear them!”

“You—!!”
A few of the wives tugged on their husbands’ sleeves.
They were still hoping to stall things. Maybe if they made a scene today, the village chief would get fed up and drop the matter.

Then, in private, they’d go sweet-talk the old couple,
offer them a little more grain, and the whole matter might just blow over.

“Turning your elbows outwards now, eh? Not recognizing your own mother anymore? You’re a disgrace to the title of ‘son,’ all of you…”
Li Daniu gave them a sideways glare, raising his brows in fury—clearly about to unleash a scolding.

“Fine, fine! I’ll sign!”
Fourth Brother Yu was thin-skinned.
He and his wife had always been dragged along by the older brothers,
but now, with Li Daniu scolding them like that, he was nearly in tears.

He quickly grabbed a paper and marked it with charcoal.
That was it—deal sealed.

Li Daniu nodded and looked toward the other three.
Though unwilling, they finally stepped forward to sign.

“Alright, the land issue is settled. Now go home and bring the supplies.
Anyone who doesn’t show up in two quarters of an hour will be punished according to village rules!”

The families’ faces turned ashen.

The village’s regulations meant fines in silver.
And seeing that Village Chief Li was dead set on enforcing this,
there was no room left for maneuvering.

Village Chief Li commanded authority not only because he was fair and just—
but also because his family was well-regarded.
His son taught in the county, his daughter had married into a merchant family in town,
and his household was one of the most respectable in the village.

No one dared truly cross him.

The families slinked back home.
After a while, the four Yu brothers returned, trickling back into the courtyard.

Village Chief Li opened each sack of grain and checked with a handful—
coarse and old rice, full of stones and debris.
But he said nothing.
These days, everyone was just scraping by.

He checked the salt and oil—those were fine.
Then he frowned at the two piglets in the bamboo cage.
Pork prices weren’t high, but at least it was still meat.

He went on to inspect five bolts of cloth and three cotton quilts,
then sighed: “Alright. Since the property’s now divided,
from now on, your yearly harvests must first be reviewed by me at my house before being delivered here…”

…

As the Yu brothers left, they cast resentful glances at Father Yu,
then turned away without a word.

Father Yu opened his mouth, watching their departing backs.
His clouded eyes were filled with mixed emotions.

From now on, he feared… they’d no longer acknowledge him as their father.

All that remained was a long sigh.

“It’s done, old Yu. Since it’s all settled now, stop dwelling on it. Just live your life in peace…”
Village Chief Li turned to leave.

“Uncle Li, why don’t you and the others come to our house for a meal tonight?” Yu Nuan offered.

Village Chief Li gave her a pleased look. What a transformation—this girl’s got far better sense than her stiff old dad.

But glancing around at the Yu family’s situation, he shook his head.
“There’ll be time for meals in the future. Right now, everyone’s busy with the fields.”

Yu Nuan looked up at the sun—it was already noon.
“Uncle Li, it won’t take long. Just rest a moment while I cook.”

Without waiting for Sister-in-law Zhao to stop her,
she went to the kitchen, grabbed a wooden basin,
and scooped out two large bowls of old rice from the sacks brought by the Yu brothers.

Looking at all the tiny stones mixed in with the rice, Yu Nuan sighed to herself:
“A handful of rice, a handful of gravel.”
She spent quite a while picking through it, then hurried to get the fire going and start cooking.

With eight people in the yard including their family, the portions had to be decent.
They couldn’t afford to eat dry rice, but it also couldn’t be too stingy—
after all, they’d just collected over 200 jin of grain.

She decided to cook a thick pot of congee.

She glanced at the oils sent over by the families—four jars of lard and one of vegetable oil.
Her expression lit up as she opened a jar of lard to smell it—
Ugh—yue…
A strong, gamey, rancid odor hit her.

She had a weak stomach and nearly gagged at the smell.
No wonder they were so willing to give it away.

Helpless, she had to take out some of the “golden finger” space-gifted lard.
She scooped a small spoonful into the congee—it would be delicious with lard.

Then she went to the spring to retrieve the leftover purslane from the past couple of days.
The spring was cool and covered with stone slabs, so though the greens weren’t freshly picked, they weren’t spoiled either.

The cooking pot had a chip, so she had to cook two full pots to make enough.
Right before the congee finished, she added a pinch of salt to bring out the lard’s aroma.
Soon, the whole kitchen was filled with the scent of steamy congee and fragrant oil.

She quickly cracked three eggs and added the leftover yolks from yesterday to stir-fry a large dish of purslane and egg.
She also added a splash of soy sauce from her space.

Sigh, she realized, once the visible eggs were gone, they wouldn’t have any more.
She needed to find a way to raise two hens so she could keep “cheating” a bit like this.

Meanwhile, Li Daniu and the other two witnesses had set up a table in the yard—eight people couldn’t squeeze around it.
So Yu Nuan, Mother Yu, and Sister-in-law Zhao each filled a big bowl and sat by the kitchen door to eat.

Sister-in-law Zhao’s bowl was heaped to the brim.
Yu Nuan pressed the rice down to make it firm, then added two extra chopsticks of purslane stir-fry on top.

When Sister-in-law Zhao saw the thick, white congee—so rich it was almost hard to stir—she was taken aback.
The scent was rich and fragrant—clearly cooked with lard.

But even the best-rendered lard usually had a smell…
She glanced at Yu Nuan. This girl! So bold!

Though they’d just received several big sacks of grain, times were still hard—
and spending like this wasn’t sustainable.

Seeing her hesitation, Yu Nuan scoffed, “Sister Zhao, not enough food for you?”

“You little imp, how could I dislike it? I just meant, a little plain congee would’ve filled our bellies just fine.
But here you are—rice, oil, and eggs too! Are we celebrating the New Year early?”

“It’s fine—it’s not like we eat like this every day. Go on, have a taste.”

Over on the other side, Village Chief Li and the others were also surprised.
Even his family, well-off by village standards, wouldn’t cook congee with oil.
But it smelled amazing.

He picked up his chopsticks and tasted the purslane stir-fried with egg—
the egg and veggie flavor danced on his tongue, the greens crisp, the egg fragrant.

So this dish could be made this way? Delicious!
He made a mental note to send his grandsons to forage some purslane at the field’s edge.
Frying it with an egg now and then would be a treat.

By the end of the meal, everyone was well fed and happy.

Afterward, Sister-in-law Zhao helped clean up the dishes.
She gave Yu Nuan a few reminders and told her to come to the village if she needed anything.
Then, Village Chief Li and his group rubbed their bellies and leisurely headed home.

After they left—

Yu Nuan carefully wiped off the dried egg mixture from her forehead and sprayed some medicine on the scar.
Then she tidied up the bowls and stashed the grain and oil under the old couple’s bed, tying them securely.

The kitchen was too run-down to store much, and she didn’t trust the storage room.
These large sacks of grain were the family’s supply for the whole year.

She then looked at the five bolts of fabric brought by the Yu brothers.
Three were coarsely made.
The other two—one dark, one light—were lighter and smoother to the touch.

In the modern day, linen had become trendy again.
Many understated wealthy people favored “simple” outfits—natural, eco-friendly, and genuine.

But in this era, people at the bottom prioritized warmth, so cotton was more sought after.

These two bolts, though not up to modern standards, were already quite good.
Linen was cool and comfortable in summer.

She measured with her hand:
One bolt could make four adult-sized outfits, or eight for children.

She planned to use the lighter one for Gou Wang’s clothes,
and the dark one plus the coarse ones for adult garments.

Still had to make shoes too…
Sigh, she thought, we still need silver, lots of it…