Chapter 56: The Banquet of Separation

  Add more, two chapters combined into one chapter. All votes are counted.

  A group of people walked in from outside, the first one was a tall and thin old man with a purple face, wearing a green robe, holding his hands together, walking towards the inside with big strides. A woman with a white complexion, about forty years old, was supported by a wife with a bun and a young girl walking behind her. Then the gate opened wide, a man who looked similar to the old man in front, about 70 or 80 percent alike, drove the horse carriage from outside into the courtyard.

  Lian Lao Ye Zi, Lian Shou Xin and others all came out of the house in a hurry to welcome them.

  "Close relatives!"

  "Older brother."

  Lian Lao Ye Zi and that old man saluted each other, and Lian Shou Xin also hurried forward to give the old man a deep bow.

  "Father-in-law!"

  It turned out that this was Zhang's father, Zhang Qingshan. Behind him were Zhang's mother, Li, his elder sister-in-law, Wang, and his niece, Zhang Caiyun. The driver was Zhang's older brother, Zhang Qingnian.

  Zhang's hometown is about 50 miles away from Sanshilipu, it is a village in the depths of the mountain, called Shaoguo Village. The Zhang family also planted dozens of acres of land, and there were dozens of acres of orchards in the mountains, which was considered a wealthy household. The old couple had only two sons and two daughters, both sons were married, and the eldest daughter was Lian Man'er's mother who married to Sanshilipu.

  Lian Wan'er, Lian Zhi'er, Wu Lang and Xiao Qi all called out to Grandfather, Grandmother, Big Uncle, Big Aunt, and Cousin Sister. Lao Yezi led Zhang Qing Shan into the main room, while Li Shi took her daughter-in-law and granddaughter to the west wing to see Zhang Shi. Lian Shou Xin took Wu Lang to help Zhang Qing Nian unload the livestock, feed them hay and water, and move things into the house.

  Several people invited into the upper house saw that they were Zhang's relatives and knew that the division of the family property might be delayed, or even changed, so they all took their leave first.

  "...brought a jar of burning knife liquor. Let's have a good drink together, brothers." Zhang Qing Mountain blocked the way.

  Li Zheng and others were called "old brothers" by some and "uncles" by others, but no one was willing to stay behind, so they bid farewell and left.

  Lao Lao Yezi had Zhang Qing Shan let him sit on the kang, Zhang Qing Shan took out his tobacco pouch, filled a bag with tobacco, and slowly started smoking.

  "Older brother, our two families aren't separated by mountains and seas, something's happened. You should send me a letter." Zhang Qing Shan said slowly.

  Lian Shouzheng was just coming in from outside and hurriedly acknowledged that it was all his fault.

  Zhang Qingshan glanced at Lian Shouxin, but didn't say anything. Lian's old face turned slightly red. He knew that Zhang Qingshan had probably heard about the Lian family's affairs.

  "It was I who lost my manners. Autumn is too busy, no good..." Lao Yezi tried to explain.

  "Old brother, how did we get to know each other... do you still remember?" Zhang Qing Shan cut off Lian Lao Ye's words and started talking about their past.

  Zhang Qing-shan was young, went out to run a single help, did many livelihoods, including going to the northern grasslands to sell horses, going south of the Yangtze River to sell silk and cloth, and even doing private salt business. At that time, Lao Ye Zi was still in the county running a shop. One came and went, and the two became acquainted.

  "We are a family who values relationships. Elder brother is an honest and trustworthy person, when he was in charge, he was indeed fair to both young and old. Elder brother, I admire your integrity, our family is a decent and proper one, if my daughter marries you as her husband, it will surely be a good match..."

  Zhang Qing Shan didn't mention anything about the Zhang family, but instead chatted with Lian Lao Ye about their youthful days. Lian Lao Ye felt both ashamed and grateful, and as they talked, their conversation became more and more dense.

  The scene in the western wing of the house was quite different.

  Li and Zhang's mother burst into tears as soon as they met, while Wang and Zhang Caiyun tried to comfort them. But when they heard that Lian had been unconscious for three days and almost died, Zhang's mother, who had lost her child, also wiped away tears, grateful to have narrowly escaped death.

  "You silly child, how could you not send a message back home? If your brother hadn't run into someone from our village at the Kualiangshan market, I wouldn't have even known about this. You're going to worry me to death, you know that?" Li scolded Zhang, her heart aching with concern.

  Zhang cried, "Mother, I'm just afraid you'll worry..."

  Zhang loved to save face, in front of her natal family she only talked about how good her life was, never mentioning anything bad, also partly because she didn't want Zhang Qing Shan and Li Shi to worry about her.

  "Sister, you're in trouble and didn't tell mom and dad, but you should think of a way to let me and your brother know." Wang Shi was loud, "A girl from the Zhang family can't be bullied like this, if it gets out, I, Wang Yufeng, will lose face. Sister, speak up, with just one word, I can help you get revenge."

  Wang rolled up his sleeves.

  Zhang said hastily that it was not necessary.

  "I'm fine now, I admit defeat. Not looking at others, and his father's, if it gets noisy, he's stuck in the middle and can't do anything." Zhang said, "Today we were discussing dividing the family property, and living separately would be better."

  "You're still the same as when you were at home." Wang said, "When you meet good people, it's harmonious and beautiful, but when you meet bad ones, aren't you at a loss?"

  "It's all your mother's fault. She always taught you to be gentle and obedient, to repay kindness with kindness, thinking that they were good people. As a result, you ended up suffering losses." Li said self-reproachingly.

  "Daughter, don't say that. It's me who didn't know how to be flexible, I understand now, and it will be fine from now on." Zhang said hurriedly.

  After chatting for a while, Li held Lianmeng in her arms and cried again for the little grandson she had never met. When mentioning that child, Zhang also cried.

  "Mother, sister is taking care of her child now, let's show her what we brought." Wang intervened in a hurry.

  "There are two hens in that basket, and these eggs, they're all for you to nourish your body, don't be stingy about eating them." said Li to Zhang.

  Mr. Li asked Mr. Wang to bring over the things he had brought, and one by one told them to Mr. Zhang. In addition to two hens, a basket of eggs, there was also a bag of rice and a bag of flour, a piece of five-layered pork, two large strings of dried mushrooms, a big package of dried wood ears, a basket of autumn pears, a basket of duck pears, two packages of brown sugar, two packages of pastries, and a piece of blue cloth.

  "Mother, the land and fruit trees at home should also be harvested. It's a busy time, and so many people have come for me. And bringing these things..." Zhang felt a bit uneasy.

  "The harvest in the fields is almost done, but we still have to wait two more days for the fruits on the mountain. My second brother and his wife are at home with a few kids, nothing much to worry about...and not many things either." said Wang.

  "Knowing that the good things at home are not for you to eat, I'm afraid you'll suffer a loss." said Mrs. Li.

  Zhang Caiyun saw the chicken on the beam of the outer room, and also the glutinous rice and white flour in the corner of the house. There were two eggs in the bamboo basket on the cabinet, so she let Li Shi and Wang Shi see them.

  The girls' faces looked a bit better.

  "This time she was in the wrong and felt guilty, yet she actually agreed to give you these things..."

  "Thanks to the kids..." Zhang said how Lian Mian'er had invited Dr. Shi to save her life, and later helped her get a small stove. "The kids are all sensible, Zhi'er and Wu Lang go down to the fields every day to help their father with work, I just lie on the bed, eating and drinking are all taken care of by Mian'er. And little Qi keeps me company..."

  "Can Man Er cook now?"

  "I watched my mother do it before. I just learned from her." said Lian Man Er.

  "I was worried at first, but unexpectedly, her cooking turned out to be quite delicious." Zhang said with some pride.

  "Qiao Niang didn't give birth to a foolish daughter like you. When you were at home, you knew everything, and if Cai Yun was even half as good as her aunt, it would be great." said Wang Shi.

  At this time, it was heard from upstairs that even the old master asked Mrs. Zhou to prepare food.

  "Mother is going to cook upstairs, Father asked me to bring the meat over." Zhang Qingnian said as he came in.

  "Take it away." Mr. Li nodded and said, "I'll go too, I have to find the mother of the bride's family to talk about something."

  Everyone went upstairs. Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Li met each other. They couldn't help but exchange a few polite words.

  "Look at me still having to cook, come on in and sit down. I'll get my daughter-in-law to keep you company." said Madame Zhou.

  Lian Wan'er thought that Li Shi had something to say to Zhou Shi, so she said to Zhou Shi, "Mother, you and my grandmother go inside the house to talk, I'll cook with my sister."

  "That's it." Zhou said, she was actually a bit nervous and didn't want to face Li and those people.

  "What's wrong with that, and there are no outsiders, the children do whatever they want to eat, who can still pick a reason." The old men in the east house were talking, it was inconvenient, so Wangshi half-supported and half-held Zhou Shi to let her go to the west house. Lian Xiuer and Jiangshi were also afraid that Zhou Shi would be at a disadvantage, and they quickly followed suit.

  Lian Man'er and Lian Zhi'er discussed what dishes to make together.

  "Grandma and grandpa are coming to see their daughter, this is a big deal, we should make the dishes as rich as possible." said Lian Man Er.

  First, there were cold dishes. A garlic mashed cucumber was prepared, and a mixed three-silk dish: dried tofu silk, carrot silk, and green radish silk, seasoned with sour and spicy flavors. The big la pi bought earlier was also mixed with garlic and autumn oil. Additionally, Wu Lang was asked to go upstairs to fetch a bunch of peanuts, which were then peeled and fried in oil, sprinkled with salt. There were four cold dishes in total.

  Then it's the hot dishes, a leek stir-fried with egg, meat strips stir-fried with yellow cucumber and mushrooms, green pepper stir-fried with dried tofu and meat strips. Then make a fried eggplant box, which is to chop the meat into minced meat, use flour, salt, and Sichuan pepper to season as filling, choose big and tender eggplants to make eggplant boxes, put them in a pot of oil to fry until cooked, then stir-fry a sour bean corner, finally use potatoes and five-flower pork to make a braised pork in brown sauce.

  Four cold dishes and six hot dishes, Lian Man felt that it was almost enough, and asked Lian Ye to help with cooking, while Lian Man and Lian Zhi prepared stir-fries.

  In the east house, even Lao Yezi didn't know how to talk with Zhang Qingshan, and he sent out Lian Shouli again. He then invited several people back in, saying that there wasn't much to do this time for the family division, so they might as well take advantage of the time before dinner to divide the family property clearly.

  Wu Yuchang brought two carp when he came.

  Lian Man'er thought for a moment, this meal's standard needs to be raised a bit more, the dishes ordered earlier were almost enough, just need to increase the quantity, and add these two fish, fry some more things, should be sufficient. In a rural household, having fish, meat, and fried food on the table is considered a top-notch spread.

  The men were in the east house discussing the division of property, and seeing Lian Man'er and several others busy inside and outside, they thought it was just a few children helping Zhou Shi. On the other side, Zhou Shi's women didn't know that someone would be invited again so soon, so only Zhang Caiyun came out to take a look, wanting to help, but Lian Man'er saw her wearing new clothes and pushed her back into the house.

  So everyone didn't know that the dishes for lunch were only handled by Lian Man Er and Lian Zhi Er.

  "Man Er, just the two of us cooking, will it work?" Lian Zhi Er still had some doubts.

  "What's wrong, sis? Your cooking isn't worse than mom and grandma's."

  "These eggplant box, Japanese pumpkin cake and potato pancake, I've never made them before, can they be delicious?"

  "Don't worry, it's definitely delicious," said Lian Man Er.

  "Man Er, how did you think of that?"

  "These two days I've been cooking for Mother. Nothing else to think about." said Lian Man Er.

  "With so much oil used, I don't know how to pity the milk." Lian Man'er and Lian Xiu'er first fried peanuts. Then they fried eggplant boxes.

  "It doesn't matter if we use a lot of oil, as long as the host and guests at the dinner table all have enough to eat and can praise us." said Lian Man Er.

  Lian Zhi'er nodded, in rural families, they are frugal with their own meals, but when it comes to treating guests, the food must be impeccable.

  Xī wū lǐ, zhōu shì tīng jiàn wài miàn yóu zhā guō de shēng yīn, wén zhe xiāng pēn pēn de qì wèi. xīn li hěn yǒu jǐ huǎng, dàn shì què tuō bù kāi shēn.

  Li held onto Zhou, wiping away tears as she spoke to her.

  "...the betrothal gifts you gave, all brought back. Including the dowry, it's a full box and cabinet, not inferior to anyone. Now, my daughter's cabinet is empty, her head is bald, the last two hairpins were even pawned for the child's medical treatment, isn't the child also a member of our family..."

  "Man'er's medical expenses were not that much, and those two silver hairpins weren't both used to buy what was it, Rongyuan pills for Eldest Aunt?" Wang Shi said with a fake smile.

  Zhou's face was burning, and her buttocks were uncomfortably shifting on the kang. Lian Xiuer and Jiang Shi could only awkwardly accompany her by her side.

  "Elder sister, over the years, we haven't owed you anything. When my daughter had her first child, you also sat for a month, and no one took care of you. It was I who brought my old daughter to serve you, and my daughter even put aside her own needs to take care of you first. Elder sister, it was I who served you during that month. We are of the same generation, I don't owe you anything, and I served you for what reason? Wasn't it so that you could remember this kindness and treat my honest daughter well? I washed your underwear and your bloody pants after giving birth to Xiao Hua... My daughter is too kind-hearted, she abandoned her own interests for the sake of raising Xiao Hua. We treated you with such sincerity, elder sister, people's hearts are made of flesh, how could you bear to mistreat my daughter to death..."

  Mr. Li said it was all true, and Mr. Zhou couldn't tell them apart.

  "Who made you serve us?" Lian Xiuer said with a red face.

  "What's wrong with you?!" Wang's eyes widened in anger.

  Jiang Shi hastily pulled Lian Xiu'er away, not letting her speak, and Jiang Shi herself also refused to open her mouth, only accompanying with a smile.

  "Xiu'er, you were breastfed by your fourth aunt until you were over a year old. Your mother forced you to wean, and then you also forced your aunt to wean Chu'er. Your aunt treats you even better than Chu'er. Every time she returns to her maternal home, she always talks about you, saying how tall and chubby you've become. Xiu'er, how could you bring yourself to do that? Don't you feel guilty?"

  Zhou was speechless, his face burning with shame, and he suddenly clapped his hands and burst into loud sobs.

  "I don't have a mother's family..."

  This is not reasoning with you, starting to be unreasonable. Also don't know what connection she has with bullying Zhang's family since she doesn't have a maternal family.

  "Mother, Father has invited someone home and is discussing the division of the family property." Lian Shouyi said to Zhou Shi as he came over from the east house and lifted the curtain.

  Zhou immediately stopped crying, got down from the kang and came to the east house. Li's several also followed in a hurry, because they all remembered the division of the family in their hearts. In the outer room, they saw Lian Man'er and Lian Zhier stir-frying dishes, and no one felt anything wrong.

  In the east house, even Old Master asked Zhang Qing-shan about his opinion on dividing the family property.

  "Old brother, your family affairs, I won't interfere." Zhang Qing Shan took a puff of smoke and said, then rushed to Li Shi, "Your wife is not allowed to interfere either, listen to old brother's words."

  Li didn't say a word, but Zhou's face changed several times beside her. She felt that Zhang Qing Shan's words meant she shouldn't interrupt randomly either.

  The family property of Lian's family was not much, all placed on the surface, and only divided into one family of Lian Shouxin, so it was quickly divided clearly.

  The house where Lian Shouxiang now lives, all the furniture and decorations in the house, as well as half of the courtyard on the west side, belong to Lian Shouxiang. In addition, six mu of land at the foot of South Mountain will also be allocated to Lian Shouxiang.

  "These pots, bowls and basins are also given to them for use. The farm work is also divided into two sets for them. This year's crops have all been harvested, and when threshing the grain, they still work together. After the grain is threshed, according to the number of people, each person gets one catty, which is their annual ration." said Old Master Lian.

  Everyone nodded.

  "These years, the family has only these expenses and no savings. As for silver money, I won't give it to them." Lao Yezi continued, "This time, the cost of inviting Dr. Tai, is a debt of gratitude that our whole family owes, in the next two days, I'll take Old Fourth to town, to visit Jisheng Hall and also pay respects to Shi Taishi."

  That's what Lao Yezi meant. The 70 two human feelings were revealed in the public. Lian Man'er was busy and stole a leisurely moment, leaning against the door to listen, and let out a soft sigh of relief.

  Zhou's lips were pursed tightly, seventy-two silver coins, which almost emptied the remaining money in her hands. She was unwilling, but thinking of what Lian Man'er had said to her, and looking at Zhang Qingshan, Li Shi, and Wang Shi's attitude today, she finally endured it without speaking.

  "And then there's the pigs and chickens at home..." Old Master continued.

  They've already spent seventy taels of silver, and if they were to divide the chicken and pig with Old Fourth's family as well, how could that be feasible? Madame Zhou felt a pang in her heart, but merely coughed.

  "Your aunt's throat isn't good, she hasn't had this problem all morning." Wang said, "Caiyun, bring a ladle of cool water for your grandma."

  "No need, no need." said Zhou hastily.

  "These pigs and chickens, Old Fourth's wife and several children have not been taken care of. It's only a few months before the New Year, so... let's not divide them up yet. During the New Year, we'll slaughter the pig and give them some pork." said Lao Yezi.

  "Alright, father, I'll listen to you. Our family doesn't have much money either, apart from food, we're also relying on these few pigs for the New Year's gift money when we go back to town. If we sell them after killing them during the New Year, we can make some of it back." Lian Shouxin said. He didn't mention the chickens. In his heart, he knew that those were Zhou Shi's, and Zhang Shi had already eaten two, he thought that was enough and shouldn't take any more.

  "Fourth brother is a kind-hearted person." Wu Yuchang smiled and said.

  Li Zheng and Wang Lao Tou both nodded in agreement, and the matter of dividing the family property was settled. Without needing anyone else, even the old master himself took up his pen to write the document. After finishing writing it, he first showed it to Zhang Qing Shan, then had several other people take a look before calling over several sons, everyone pressed their handprints onto the division of property document.

  "I have one more thing to say, all these years in order to support the eldest son taking the imperial examination, our family has been tightening our belts. The fourth child's family hasn't contributed less either. Now although we've split up, he is still my son, the eldest son's brother. If one day the eldest son makes a name for himself, he can't forget about the fourth child. I want everyone to bear witness to this. Eldest son, what do you think?" Suddenly, Lao Ye said, putting away the document.

  "Dad, you can rest assured now, Lao Si and I will be brothers forever." said Lian Shouren.

  "One stroke cannot write two connected characters."

  "Although we have separated households, we are still one family and should support each other."

  So, with a smile, the matter of separation is settled. Lian Man'er heard it outside and she's not a petty person, being able to separate is good enough, and being able to separate like this can be considered a satisfactory result.

  After finishing their conversation, Lao Laiye asked if the dishes were ready. Only then did he notice that Zhou Shi, Lian Xiuer and Jiang Shi were all sitting in the room.

  "Who cooked it?" asked Lao Yezi.

  Zhou suddenly woke up with a start and hastily got out of bed to take a look.

  Lian Man'er came in with a door curtain, "Dad, the dishes are all ready, shall we set the table now?"

  Lian Lao Ye Zi only then knew that it was Lian Man Er who had been cooking outside, and he felt a bit resentful towards Zhou Shi. However, things had already come to this point, and it wasn't good to say anything more, so he just said that the meal could be served.

  The dinner table was set, and Lian Mian'er and Lian Zhi'er brought out the dishes. There were four cold dishes in the middle of the table, a large deep plate with a whole sweet and sour carp, five hot dishes, and a large platter of fried fruit, half of which were yellow pancakes and the other half white pancakes. The staple food was rice and white steamed buns. The presentation of the dishes was very beautiful, and even Lao Ye's heart was slightly put at ease. After tasting all the dishes, not only did his heart feel more at ease, but a smile also crept onto the corners of his eyes.

  "We're all just eating vegetables, there's nothing prepared at home, don't laugh." Even Lao Yezi said so.

  The meal was still divided into two tables. Lao Yezi, Zhang Qing Shan, Zhang Qing Nian, Li Zheng, Wang Lao Han, Wu Yu Chang, and four sons and a grandson, Lian Ji Zu, sat at one table. The other table entertained the female guests, Li Shi, Wang Shi, and Zhang Cai Yun, Zhou Shi, Lian Xiu Er and Jiang Shi accompanied them. Zhang Qing Shan and Li Shi wanted to show off their own grandchildren, a boy called Wu Lang was invited to sit at the table, and a girl, Xiao Qi, was held in her arms. After Lian Zhi Er and Lian Man Er finished serving the dishes, they were also called over by Li Shi to eat together.

  Lian Wan'er took two mouthfuls and then took another bowl and plate, scooping out some of each dish to send over for Zhang Shi to eat.

  Everyone present had a taste of various dishes and couldn't help but repeatedly praise how well the meal was prepared.

  "It's just that we invited a great chef from the town's wine house, and the dishes made are about the same as this."

  "Is this table made by your elder sister?" Li Zheng asked.

  Everyone at the table next door turned their heads to look at Zhou Shi.