Chapter 15: Separation
"In that case, let's divide the family. Boss, Wen Yong, you go and invite the elders over right now. Wen Zhi, you go to the village head's house and invite him over. We'll divide the family tonight." Old Man Liang spoke.
"Dad, it's getting late today. Isn't it a bit too hasty to divide the family?" Liang Lao Er asked as he saw that it was getting dark.
Qianhuan looked at the foolish Liang Laoer and felt a bit amused. Old Liang was a person who valued his reputation the most, and he was also most afraid that it would affect Wenzhi's studies. Now that Wenzhi couldn't go to the private school, how could Old Liang not be anxious? I'm afraid he can't wait to separate their family.
"Since we have decided to split up, the sooner the better. You three should go quickly and don't waste time." Old Man Liang urged the three of them.
So, Liang Lao Da and Liang Wenyong went straight to the homes of the elders to invite people, while Liang Wenzhi went to the home of the village head, Old Man Hu, to invite people.
After a while, several clan elders and village heads were invited over.
"Brother Dongcai, what's going on? Why do you want to split up the family for no reason?"
On the way, several clan leaders had heard Boss Liang and Wen Yong talk about splitting up the family. Everyone was puzzled. As the head of the family, Brother Dongcai had always been good at managing the family, so why did he suddenly want to split up the family?
One of the elders couldn't help but ask the question that everyone was wondering.
"When a tree grows big, it branches out; when a branch grows big, it branches out. My wife and I are old, and it's too tiring to take care of a large family. We want to split up the family so that the younger generations can live their own lives and we can have some free time." Old Man Liang explained in a casual manner.
The clan leaders couldn't say anything more, after all, it was someone else's family affair.
"Today, my Liang family is officially splitting up. I would like to invite all the clan leaders and village heads to come and be witnesses. Sorry to bother you all." Old man Liang bowed to everyone.
Then he continued, "This is the courtyard of our home. According to custom, the house belongs to the eldest and youngest, and the second oldest will leave home to start his own business. Second oldest, do you have any objections?"
"Dad, I have no objection." Liang Laoer was mentally prepared.
This has always been the case in the Dayuan Kingdom. When the family split up in the north, the houses went to the eldest brother and the middle brother, while the youngest went out to start their own families.
But in the South, the eldest and youngest brothers get their own house, and the middle brother goes out to start his own business. Of course, for the son who leaves home to start his own business, the other brothers have to help build the house.
As expected, Old Man Liang continued, "Among the houses in our family, the main house belongs to me and my wife, the east house belongs to the eldest brother's family, and the west house belongs to the third brother's family. If my wife and I are gone in the future, the main house will also belong to the eldest brother's family. The third brother is now serving in the military and the second brother has difficulty walking. Shifu, you are the eldest brother, you have to help the second brother's family build the house."
Boss Liang nodded repeatedly in agreement. He knew that this was what he should do without his father telling him.
"We originally had 5 taels of silver left from selling grain. Three taels were spent on medicine for Qianhuan falling into the water, and now we have 5 taels left. No one is allowed to touch this silver. Keep it for Wenzhi to study. There are 120 dan of food rations left at home (a dan in this book is about 100 kilograms). My wife and I will keep 250 kilograms. The eldest brother's family will have the most, so they will get 150 kilograms. Second brother, your family will get 100 kilograms, and Chen and Wenjie will get kilograms. Do you have any objections to this division?" Old Man Liang looked at the eldest and second brother.
The two brothers and Chen waved their hands and said they had no objection.
The clan leader and the village head also stroked their beards and nodded, thinking that Old Man Liang was quite fair.
"There are a total of 13 acres of land in our family. These lands were accumulated bit by bit by my wife and I through many land transactions. Now your mother and I are old and can no longer farm, so we will not divide the land and will give it all to you three brothers. We have to divide the land according to the number of male adults. The eldest family has the most male adults, so they will get the 6 acres near the east, and the third family will get the 4 acres near the north. Second brother, your family will get the 3 acres at the foot of the mountain in the west." Old man Liang divided the land while smoking a pipe.
Qianhuan sneered in her heart. No wonder the old saying goes, "The eldest is loved, the youngest is pampered, and the one in the middle is the one who gets punched."
Her father, Liang Laoer, is stuck in the middle, isn't it just that his father doesn't love him and his mother doesn't care about him.
The three acres of land near the foot of the mountain on the west side of our home was far away, and people rarely used manure to fertilize the fields. Those plots of land were very barren and were considered poor fields, so they were all distributed to their family.
The land that Liang Lao Da and Liang Lao San's families were allocated not only had sufficient water, but also was full of fertile soil and high yields. They didn't even get a single piece of fertile land. Don't you think that's biased?
Although old man Liang seems fair, he actually favors the families of Liang Lao Da and Liang Lao San more, because they both have sons.
His father had no sons, only him as a daughter, so it's no wonder that old man Liang divided the family this way.
Oh, forget it. Originally, when the Dayuan Dynasty was divided, the old family had to take more than half of the family property. This was already very good for Old Man Liang. Fortunately, there was a stream next to the fields over there, which would be convenient for irrigating the fields in the future.
Liang Laoer and Liu felt very unhappy. They had no objection to dividing the land according to the number of male adults, but they did not expect that their father, who was always fair, would give all the worst 3 acres of land to their family.
Liang Laoer was a filial son. Although he felt disappointed, he did not speak out to refute his father. It was even more difficult for his daughter-in-law Liu to stand up and express her opinion.
"Dad, all the elders and the village chief are here. The land has been divided up. Let's sign the deed first."
Zhu knew that the 6 acres of land allocated to her family were all fertile fields, while the land allocated to her second brother's family were all poor fields. She was afraid that her second brother's family would have objections, so she just wanted to urge her father-in-law to sign the land deed first.
Old Man Liang asked the head of the village to write a deed and asked the eldest and second sons to put their fingerprints on it. Since the third son Liang was not at home, he asked the third son's son Wenjie to put his fingerprints on it.
He went on to say, "The big family property has been basically divided up. We still have some poultry at home, and we just caught a pig not long ago. It's still a piglet. My wife and I are not farming now, so we will raise the pig. After fattening the pig, we will kill it and give each of you brothers a few pounds of meat. We can sell the rest of the meat to supplement my and my daily household expenses. As for the chickens and ducks at home, my wife, you can give some to Chen and Wenjie, and when the second brother's family moves away, you can give some to them."
Old Mrs. Liang didn't want to share the chickens and ducks with the second son's family. Given the second son's personality, most of the money she gave to him would end up being eaten by Qianhuan and Liu. It would be better to leave it to her three grandsons.
But she still said, "Old man, I saved it." As for whether to give it or not, and how much to give, that was up to her.
"As for the issue of supporting me and your mother, you brothers can give us two dan of grain every year. If there is no grain, you can give us two taels of silver. If we are sick, you brothers will share the cost of diagnosis and medicine."
Liang Lao Da and Liang Lao Er both agreed.
On behalf of Liang Laosan, Chen also expressed his willingness to provide pension funds and share the medical expenses for his illness.