GBP Chapter 23: Proposal to Divide House Rejected
Chapter 23: Proposal to Divide House Rejected
Tang'er is right. All along, their eldest son's family has always thought of the whole family and has taken on almost all the farm work. The family eats the food that the two of them have worked hard to grow from dawn till dusk. In the end, they didn't get any credit and were suppressed at every turn. They can hardly even make decisions for their own daughter anymore.
Once the relationship between father and son or brothers reaches this point, they can only separate the family. There is no need to force themselves to maintain a harmonious relationship between father and son or brothers.
When Mr. Shen saw that his son had a serious expression on his face, he immediately became furious.
"Want to split up the family? Just wait, until I'm dead!"
When Sun heard her husband's stern refusal, she clicked her tongue in surprise.
It seems the old man doesn't want to separate the family either, so there's no need for her to waste her breath; she can continue to be a virtuous wife and loving mother.
“Dad, Qingchuan was just saying that in anger. Don’t take it to heart. Xiaotang is all grown up and can help the eldest son’s family with some chores. Xiaoyu is still too young to be separated from her mother, and the second son only has Yinxiu as his daughter. Let’s just drop the adoption thing. You two should calm down.”
Seeing that things were escalating to the point of dividing the family property, the third son and his wife dared not bring up the matter of adoption again. They did not want their eldest brother and sister-in-law to be separated and have to work in the fields themselves in the future.
They won't do anything that's not worth the effort!
His wife offered him a way out, and Mr. Shen softened his tone slightly.
"Alright, let's forget about the adoption. And don't bring up the family division again. What grudges or grievances do we have to insist on dividing the family? Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about? I still have to go out and face people."
He looked up and glanced around. The whole family, young and old, were gathered in a circle. He immediately frowned and said, "Have you all finished your own work? Have you kids finished your homework? Disperse now!"
The third brother and his wife's plan failed, so they left first and went back to their house. The second brother and his wife, seeing that there was no more excitement to see, turned around and left as well. When the fourth and youngest brothers heard about their homework, they immediately led their nephews and slunk back to the small house in the west to study.
Only the elderly couple and the eldest son's family remained in the courtyard.
"They've all left, what are you guys still standing there for?"
Mr. Shen already looked down on his eldest son, and now he was in a bad mood and felt increasingly annoyed by him.
Shen Qingchuan stood with his back to the light and his head down, making it impossible to see the expression in his eyes. He stood there blankly, both wooden and stubborn.
"Father, your son wants to separate from the family!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen jumped up from the stone stool and started yelling at his eldest son.
"You scoundrel, you've been making a fuss all along and you still want to separate from the family. I thought you were just acting on impulse, but it turns out you'd planned this all along. Fine, your mother and I worked so hard to raise you brothers and sisters, and now that you're married and have grown up, you're all grown up and want to separate from the family, and you don't even want your parents anymore?"
Shen Qingchuan kept a blank face, his lips opening and closing repeatedly, not wanting to make things too ugly.
Upon hearing that her father-in-law refused to divide the family property, Liu's eyes immediately reddened with anger, and she could only wipe away her tears with her sleeve.
There's nothing I can do; she's slow-witted and doesn't speak well.
Her father-in-law was a scholar and very knowledgeable, and her mother-in-law was also sharp-tongued. When the two of them raised their voices, she didn't even have the courage to speak up for her husband.
Little Yu, who was holding her mother's hand, was terrified by her father's sudden outburst of anger. Her face turned pale and she trembled all over. She shrank back behind her mother and began to cry softly.
Shen Xiaotang quietly comforted her younger sister for a couple of minutes before speaking up for her father.
“Grandpa, Dad’s desire to separate the family isn’t just a spur-of-the-moment decision. As you know, our family only has six brick and tile houses. You and Grandma will have one, Dad and Uncles will each have one, and there are two left. One will be given to Uncles, and the westernmost small room will be used as a study for our uncles and brothers. Uncles are getting on in years and will be looking for marriage partners. By then, the house won’t be big enough. Right now, all the family members are crammed into one room, and even when they get older, it still won’t be big enough. If Dad and Mom take us out to separate, we can free up one room, right?”
The stepmother is easily swayed. If she brings up the issue of not having enough rooms, she will definitely think to herself that it would be best if she could persuade the master to agree to the division of the family property.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun was immediately tempted again.
If the eldest son's family moves out, his room isn't small. When the fourth son gets married, he can move in first, and the youngest son will have his own room in the future. Even if he gets married in the future, he won't have to take up the study. It couldn't be more comfortable.
Thinking of her twenty acres of land, she suddenly frowned again.
No way, no way!
This cannot be divided!
If they were to separate from the eldest son now, their whole family would have to work in the fields every day, cut pig feed to feed the pigs and chickens, and more importantly, someone would have to grind tofu and arrange for someone to carry it to town every day.
Won't this interfere with her sons' studies and exams?
Madam Sun immediately changed her attitude, transforming into a virtuous stepmother, "Tang'er, what are you saying? We are all family. Even if your fifth uncle and youngest uncle get married in the future, they can't take over your eldest son's house. If it really becomes too crowded in the future, your grandma and grandpa can find a solution later."
She looked up at her big, simple-minded stepson and said with a forced smile, "Qingchuan, dividing the family property isn't as easy as you think. Even if your father agrees, there will be gossip in the village, and people will talk behind your backs. Aren't you afraid of being bombarded with spittle? You have to think about Feng'er and the two girls. The two girls will have to get married when they grow up. If their future in-laws find out, you and Feng'er will be branded as unfilial. Won't that delay the two girls from finding a husband?"
Shen Qingchuan was stunned for a moment; he really hadn't considered that far ahead.
Yes, he and Feng'er are not afraid of being called unfilial, but they cannot affect the future marriages of their two daughters!
Liu, who was wiping away tears, paused, her rough little hands moving slightly. She looked up at her husband, her expression uncertain.
Does this company still have branches?
When Shen Xiaotang saw that her stepmother was using her and her sister's marriage to manipulate her parents, she was immediately furious.
Her father was simple-minded and her mother was slow-witted, but she was not stupid!
"Grandma, you can't say that. My sister and I are still young. How can separating from the family affect our future marriages? Besides, our parents moved out early to make room for our fifth and youngest uncles. How is that unfilial?"
“I won’t ask how my father was from childhood to adulthood, but ever since my mother married into the family, whether they were working in the fields, grinding tofu, cutting pig feed, or carrying loads on shoulder poles for dozens of miles every day, how have they ever been unfilial?”
If her grandparents could name even one thing, she could write her surname backwards!
Sun's face turned pale and then red, and she couldn't really list a single bad thing about the eldest son and his wife.
Mr. Shen's face was stern, and after a long while he coldly snorted, "There's no rush to vacate the house. My wife and I are still alive, and we can't separate the family property!"
The eldest son has always been timid and works silently all day long. Unexpectedly, he has caused a big problem by demanding a division of the family property. The eldest son, who is the most honest and obedient to him, has suddenly become out of control, which makes Mr. Shen feel a little uneasy.