12dz Is that all there is to Chapter 27?
Is that all there is to Chapter 27?
He wanted it so badly!
Shen Qingchuan nodded silently, never expecting the village head to bring up the matter of dividing the family in public.
Kneeling beside her father, Shen Xiaotang looked up and asked through tears, "Grandpa Village Head, my grandparents are still alive. If my father leads us to separate from the family and leave, will people scold my parents for being unfilial and gossip about them behind their backs?"
The village head was slightly taken aback, somewhat puzzled, "Who told you that?"
The little girl looked only five or six years old, yet she knew that if her grandparents were still living together and the family was divided, people would call her unfilial and gossip about her behind her back. It was clear that someone had told her this.
Shen Xiaotang looked at Sun Shi, who was hugging her husband and crying, with fear in her eyes.
Everyone looked at it and understood immediately!
This was definitely something Sun used to manipulate her stepson's family when she was bullying them.
The village head was immediately annoyed. "Hmph, our Guihua Village has indeed had this custom all along, but customs are not ironclad rules. As long as parents are alive, the family can live in harmony. We are afraid that dividing the family will weaken the relationship and hurt the feelings. But..." But the Shen family is using the Lin family's inheritance to torment the eldest son. It is too outrageous.
If we don't split up, they'll eat us alive!
“Little girl, don’t worry. Your family’s situation is special and different from others. Everyone has discerning eyes and won’t speak ill of your parents behind their backs. As long as your father is willing to separate, Grandpa will make the decision for you today.”
When the village head spoke, everyone chimed in, "The village head is right, we all support splitting up the family, don't be afraid!"
Overjoyed, Shen Xiaotang burst into tears and immediately bowed to the village head to express her gratitude.
"Thank you, Grandpa Xie. If you say you won't poke, then you won't poke. That's wonderful." She wiped away her tears and tugged at her father's arm.
"Dad, did you hear that? The village head supports your decision to divide the family property, and everyone else does too. No one will gossip about it. We can move to that dilapidated house at the west end of the village."
what?
Move to the dilapidated house at the west end of the village?
The village headman hurriedly asked, "Little girl, what do you mean by that? Why do you want to move to that dilapidated house at the west end of the village?"
“Last night, Father brought up the matter of dividing the family property with Grandfather. At first, Grandfather disagreed, but later he said that it was okay to divide the family property, so he gave Father the two abandoned houses at the west end of the village, oh... and two hundred catties of grain and a set of kitchen utensils and farm tools.”
Everyone asked in surprise, "Is that all?"
"Gone?"
Shen Xiaotang nodded obediently, "That's all, that's it!"
They swallowed up the land and house left by someone's mother, and then gave them two dilapidated houses. Everyone knows that the houses have been uninhabitable for a long time. They didn't even give them a single copper coin. How could they possibly repair them?
The crowd was furious. "This is bullying! This is absolutely outrageous!"
This was the first time in his life that the village head had been so angry about something that happened to another family. Just as he was about to speak, Old Mr. Shen slowly woke up.
The village head coughed lightly and said, "Mr. Shen, as the village head, I shouldn't interfere in your family's affairs, but what you two have done is really unethical. Since you're going to ask me to write and notarize the family division documents anyway, there's no better time than today. I'll just take the initiative and write the documents for you today."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen's face immediately turned as if he had eaten a pile of excrement.
He had just woken up when the village chief publicly questioned him about dividing the family property. He would have been better off remaining unconscious.
"No, I don't agree to split up the family!"
Of the whole family, the eldest son and his wife are the most obedient and capable. If they separate the family, who will do the housework in the future?
When the village head saw that Mr. Shen refused outright, his face immediately darkened.
How can there be such a father in this world?
Disagreeing with the division of the family property means they want to keep the eldest son and his wife occupied and torment them.
He had already been given enough credit for his status as a scholar and a schoolteacher. He was the eldest son of the Shen family, simple-minded and filial. If the matter of his father eating the offspring of the deceased were brought to the government office, the officials there could decide to award the entire judgment to the eldest son.
What an insatiable person!
The village headman said impatiently, "Mr. Shen, you have several sons. It shouldn't be a big problem for Qingchuan to be separated from you, right? Is it really as everyone says, that all the farm work and heavy work in your family is done by your eldest son and his wife, and that there's no one to do it without them?"
How...how is he supposed to answer that?
Continuing to refuse to separate the family property is tantamount to admitting that he mistreated his eldest son and made the eldest son and his wife do all the work.
Left with no other choice, he reluctantly agreed through gritted teeth, his face falling, "Let's split up the family!"
The village head's expression softened slightly.
"Since you've agreed to separate the family, how do you think it should be divided?"
In front of so many villagers, Mr. Shen dared not mention how to divide the spoils. He was reluctant to give too much, and he would be criticized for giving too little. Now he could only complain and play the victim.
“Village head, listen to me. It’s not that I don’t know that the land and house were left to Qingchuan by his biological mother. Back then, both of our elders passed away, and after his mother left, it was just the two of us. As a grown man, I couldn’t take good care of him, so we had to find him a new mother. Who knew we would have so many sons later? Now our whole family is about to lose the land and house. How are we going to live? Qingchuan can’t bear to drive his parents, brothers, and nephews out, right?”
Shen Qingchuan leaned against the woodpile. He knew that his father was asking him this to see how he would answer. If he was determined to take back the brick house and the sixteen acres of fertile land, it would mean that he was cruelly driving his parents, younger brother, and nephews out, which would be unfilial.
But his father was always biased. Even if he didn't want anything, his father would take it all for granted and would never say that he was filial, let alone give him any credit.
Today is the day, and he only has one chance; he can't afford to make another foolish mistake.
"I can ask for... hiss... the abandoned house at the west end of the village, but Father has to give me money to repair it. Is Father willing?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately thought that the old man of the Shen family was too stupid and foolish. The village head had already spoken, yet he actually gave up the property left to him by his own mother.
You should know that in the entire Guihua Village, only a few families could afford to build brick and tile houses. More than 20 years ago, the Lin family was one of the wealthiest families in the village. Unexpectedly, Mr. Shen got a bargain and ate his family into extinction.
Just thinking about it makes me feel indignant for the eldest son of the Shen family, who has been suppressed by his elders for many years.
Upon hearing that his eldest son had conceded and the brick house could be saved, Mr. Shen immediately nodded in agreement. "Of course, I can give money to repair the house. I had already considered this matter. I just briefly mentioned it to you yesterday." He then took the opportunity to make amends.
The village head nodded, thinking that this was more in line with the rules.
“Mr. Shen, that abandoned house at the west end of the village has been uninhabited for more than 20 years. Repairing it alone may not be enough. Let’s just demolish it and rebuild it to avoid the dangerous building collapsing and injuring people.”
puff--
Mr. Shen felt like he was about to vomit blood, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.
Subsequently, Shen Qingchuan proposed to reclaim the sixteen mu of fertile land, which made the old man so angry that his eyes turned bloodshot.
He stood up and walked to his eldest son, threatening him in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You want back your sixteen acres of fertile land? Do you want your father and your brothers to starve? How can you be so heartless? I'll only give you four acres of dry land. If you don't agree, I'll smash my head against this ground and die. Even if everyone supports your decision to divide the family property, if I die here, you'll still be branded as an unfilial son!"
For the sake of his second wife and other sons, his father relentlessly pushed him to the brink of death, even going so far as to kill himself to force him to agree.
Shen Qingchuan was immediately extremely disappointed in his father, and all the respect he had for him as an elder vanished!
He has two hands, and he would work himself to the bone rather than let his wife and daughters go hungry. Moreover, he could no longer lead his wife and daughters to live in the wolf's den, where they would be devoured every day.
Now, his only hope is to quickly separate from the family and never have anything to do with this heartless family again!
Hatred welled up in his heart, and he finally nodded, "Four mu of dry land, four mu of dry land it is!"
Mr. Shen immediately whispered to the village head that his eldest son should be given an abandoned house at the west end of the village, four mu of dry land, six hundred jin of grain, a pig, two chickens, and an additional five taels of silver.
The village head had a complicated look in his eyes. Seeing that Shen Qingchuan had no objection, he could only sigh and nod.
Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. The most difficult thing to reason with in this world is "filial piety," a single word that can oppress a person for a lifetime.
The eldest son and his wife are still young. As long as they separate from the family, their lives will definitely get better and better. If they don't separate, they will be tormented and will never be able to stand on their own two feet in their entire lives.
Shen Xiaotang had long anticipated this outcome. With her grandfather and stepmother in such a terrible state, there was no way they could get back their sixteen acres of fertile land!