Chapter 55: Lian Man Er Does Her Job

  With Lian Shouxin's statement and Lao Yezi's words, everyone started to move, quickly finishing off the hard buns. Er Lang and San Lang went to push carts, and those who were supposed to carry things did so. Even He Shi, under Lao Yezi's gloomy gaze, couldn't help but feel a little happy, although she was still somewhat reluctant, also followed suit and went down to work.

  Watching a group of people go down to work, Lian Man returned to the west wing.

  Zhang sat on the kang, saw Lian Muer come in, and hurriedly asked, "Muer, how's it going?"

  Lian Man'er sat down beside Zhang Shi.

  "Father wants me to tell you, the division of the family property has been decided." Lian Man Er said to Zhang Shi, "Second Uncle and his wife are not going to work, Second Aunt said to divide the family property, let our family split up. Father and Grandfather discussed it, our family will live separately. Grandfather agreed, saying first harvest all the crops, then talk about how to divide."

  Zhang was stunned for a moment, "Divorce is just divorce, after all, it has come to this."

  "Mother, don't think too much, you only need to focus on one thing now, take care of your body. In these days, mother, you don't have to worry about anything, just pretend you didn't hear what others say." Lian Man'er said.

  "I'm sorry to have dragged you all down."

  Zhang sighed, then nodded solemnly. From now on, the adult labor force in this family would be her and Lian Shouxin, so as not to drag down Lian Shouxin or the children, she also had to fight for breath and take care of herself.

  "Man Er, mom isn't stupid, I know what's important. Don't worry, mom has let go of everything now. Once mom recovers from her illness, I won't believe it if we can't live a good life!"

  Lian Man'er saw Zhang Shi thinking this way and was very happy in her heart. This kind of spirit is exactly what's needed to get through life.

  "Yes, mom, we will definitely live a good life from now on."

  Now that it's been decided to divide the family property, Lian Panna wants to understand some things first. After dinner that evening, she asks her parents, "Dad, Mom, what will our family get from this division?"

  Zhang looked at Lian Shouxin.

  "What's the point of dividing or not dividing? Your mother's health has improved, and your father started from scratch. They rented some land to farm and were able to support you all."

  Lian Shouxin nodded in agreement.

  Zhang and Lian Shouxin are people of great virtue, instilled with the beauty of humility from a young age, and always have the word "filial piety" in their hearts. They are not good at, nor do they understand how to fight for benefits that originally belong to them.

  "Father and mother, our family also needs to eat. Moreover, why shouldn't we get a share?" Lian Man'er said to Zhang Shi, "All these years, father and mother have been working hard from dawn till dusk, not shirking any work. We are also sons and daughters-in-law, grandsons and granddaughters, just like others. Unless... unless Father and Mother no longer recognize us as their children."

  "Man Er shouldn't talk nonsense." Zhang Shi hastily said.

  "Even if we don't get anything after separation, we still have to show filial piety to the old man." Lian Shou said.

  Lian Man Er had long known they would say this.

  "Let's just say that, let's not talk about whether they are willing to give it or not. Let's just say if we divide it fairly, what can our family get?"

  Listening to Lian Mian'er say this, even Lian Shu Xin and Zhang Shi began to think.

  "First of all. This house, we still have to live here. The house should be divided among us." said Zhang.

  The Lian family's large compound was very symmetrical, with Mr. Zhou living in the east wing of the main house, the west wing belonging to the eldest son, and the east and west wings being occupied by the two families of Lian Shouli and others. At that time, the Lian family had already started selling land and couldn't afford to build new houses, so they let the two families live together in a cramped space.

  The layout of the west wing and the upper house is similar. As soon as you enter, there is an outer room with a stove on both sides. Lian Shouxin's family lives in two rooms on the south side, while Lian Shourong's family lives in one room on the north side. Originally, Lian Shouxin also lived in one room, but after Zhangshi gave birth to several children in a row, it was really too crowded to live in, and there was no money at home to build a new house, so during the agricultural off-season, they asked someone for help and added another room.

  "The beams and wooden windows of this house were all given by your grandfather. The cost of the mud and lime for building the house was several dollars, but no labor costs were incurred, as fellow villagers came to help with the work and were provided with food." said Zhang Shi.

  Divided house and land is a big head.

  "How much should we divide it then?" asked Lian Man Er again.

  "Now we have thirty mu of land, your grandfather has one share, and the four houses each have one share. We should divide six mu of land." Zhang Shi calculated this according to the usual rules for dividing property in rural areas.

  "With these six mu of land..." Zhang started planning, she and Lian Shouxin carefully tended to it, opened up more wasteland, and every year they could harvest 2,000 jin of grain, enough for them to eat. "The front half of the courtyard can be divided among us, on top we can build a chicken coop to raise chickens, in the middle there's some land to plant vegetables, and below we can build a pigpen, raising three or four pigs a year. We can exchange eggs for money, and have enough small change, during the New Year we'll have chicken meat and pork to eat, and selling three pigs a year will add more silver to buy several more mu of land..."

  At first, when it came to separation, Zhang still felt a bit uneasy. Now that they were planning and planning, a hopeful smile appeared on Zhang's face. He and Lian Shouxin could endure hardship, the children were sensible and diligent, and could help with many things. How could their days not be good? Not only would they be good, but they would also be very comfortable.

  The two words "comfortable" suddenly popped out, and Zhang was stunned for a moment. Before, she hadn't thought about dividing the family, nor had she dared to think about it, thinking that dividing the family was not virtuous or filial. Now that she's been forced to divide, there's no psychological burden anymore. Thinking back on her past days, she finally understood that even though she smiled every day, she wasn't living comfortably after all.

  "After all, even if we have to eat coarse grains and swallow vegetables, life will be comfortable." Madam Zhang spoke her mind.

  On this day, everyone went down to work again. Lian'er made a small stove for Zhang Shi and then came up to the upper house. This family is divided, and even Lao Yezi has an idea in his heart. At that time of division, they should not be treated unfairly. But there is also a Zhou Shi, if Lian Shou Xin takes the initiative to divide the family, Zhou Shi will definitely be able to drive them out of the house with nothing. Even now, Zhou Shi is afraid and unwilling to divide things for them.

  I need to talk to Zhou first. How to put it, should I be more tactful? Lian Man'er thought for a moment and vetoed the idea herself. When dealing with Zhou, being direct would probably be more effective.

  "Mum, I want to tell you something." Lian Man'er walked into the house and said to Zhou Shi.

  "What's up?" Zhou raised her eyelids and took a glance at Lian Miao, then lowered her eyes to continue with her work.

  "It's time to divide the family property, Grandma, what can our family get?" asked Lian Man Er.

  "This is what your grandfather said." Zhou Shi said. As for the division of the family, Zhou Shi's performance was a bit strange, not as excited as Lian Man'er had expected, but rather a little listless.

  "Who doesn't know, at our house Grandpa can only be half the master, while Grandma is more than half the master. If Grandma insists on something, Grandpa can't outdo her." said Lian Man Er

  Zhou thought Lian Meng was flattering her and snorted in response.

  "My mother almost died from childbirth, and nearly lost her life. In the future when things get tough, it's all because of Grandma's doing, so at that time, Grandma should speak up for my father. This time, my mother almost lost her life, and outsiders are all talking about this, some people asked my brother and sister why my mother had a difficult childbirth, and why we didn't hurry to invite a good doctor, but my brother and sister didn't say anything." said Lian Man Er.

  Zhou put down the needle and thread in her hand.

  "Man Er, what exactly do you want to say?"

  "I just want to talk to my aunt and ask her to speak up for our family when the property is divided, so that we can get a fair share. We can't let them take everything," said Lian Man Er. "Besides, there's also the 70 taels of silver as a gift, it would be better if we return it before the division of property, otherwise, it will become our family's debt."

  "Do you still want me to take out those seventy taels of silver?" Zhou Shi glared at Lian Mian'er.

  Lian Man Er didn't retreat in the slightest.

  “……My eldest uncle and his wife wanted to sell me for money, it had spread around a few days ago. My father and grandfather had to intervene, and only then was the matter barely suppressed. This kind of thing is not easy to suppress, but it's not hard to bring up again. When the time comes, my uncle's reputation will be ruined, and he won't be able to become an official. And there's also the matter with my mother, if everyone finds out the truth, I'm afraid it will be even harder for my elder sister to marry into a good family in the future.”

  "You little girl, how dare you try to scare me?"

  "Mother, I'm not trying to scare you. What I'm asking for isn't excessive, it's what we deserve and even less than that. I've said my piece, mother, think about it yourself." Lian Man'er was very calm.

  "Are these words spoken by your father or your mother?"

  "It's not, I just thought of it myself." Lian Man'er said, "Mom, I'm not like my dad and mom, anyone can bully me. Whoever treats me well, I'll treat them well. Whoever makes my family unhappy, I'll make her even more miserable."

  "You, you dare?" Zhou was somewhat intimidated by Lian Mian'er's momentum.

  "What's there to be afraid of, we can't live like this anyway." Lian Man'er actually laughed, "Right, mom, I think you should take my aunt to the temple to burn some incense and whatnot. These past two days, I've been dreaming about that little kid wandering around our house..."

  Zhou's eyes widened in shock as she sucked in a breath of cold air.

  Lian Man'er lifted the curtain and came out of the house, only to see a small black head pressed against the door, ears perked up and eavesdropping.

  "Xiao Qi." Lian Man'er's face suddenly changed.

  Xiao Qi saw Lian Man Er had discovered him and rubbed his head in embarrassment, then chuckled and leaned over.

  "Second sister, I'm afraid you'll be at a disadvantage if you come over."

  "Did you all hear that?"

  Xiao Qi nodded slightly.

  "Don't tell Mom and Dad." Lian Mian'er reminded Xiao Qi.

  "I know, Second Sister is doing it for our family's good." Little Seven said.

  Lian's family finally brought in the last load of crops, the sky was gloomy but it didn't rain. However, due to the overcast weather, the humidity was high, so they had to postpone the work of drying and threshing the grains. Lian invited Li Zheng, Wang Lao Han, the father of neighbor Chunzhu, and Wu Yuchang, the eldest son of Zhou Shi's sister, to sit down and formally discuss the division of the family property.

  Lian Jia's division of the family is quite strange, not all separated, but only the youngest son, Lao Si Lian Shou Xin's family was separated. Lian Shou Xin's family now has a wife who is ill in bed, and several children will have to wait a few more years to grow up. Everyone in the same village knows about the big and small things of the Lian family recently, they are clear in their hearts, so they all guessed the reason for this division of the family.

  "A big tree splits into branches..." The old man puffed on his dry pipe a few more times before finally speaking. He hadn't even finished his sentence when the sound of horse carriage stopping outside the gate was heard, and then the gate opened, with a group of people walking in from outside.

  "Oh dear, the in-laws have arrived."

  Voting in progress.