RIRW – Chapter 19

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Old Zuo’s family didn’t have much property; their most valuable asset was just a few rooms in the house.

In the entire Zuo family village, the Old Zuo household’s house was considered decent. Although they were made of mud walls, at least the roof had some tiles. In contrast, many houses in the village were still thatched with straw.

There were five rooms in total: one for the elderly lady, one each for Zuo Dacheng and Zuo Hongjun, one shared by the girls Zuo Dan, Zuo Huan and Zuo Qing, and one for Third Uncle Zuo Chengtai and Zuo Cong.

It was already crowded, and now that the family was about to divide, the house became the biggest issue.

Xu Fengxia gritted her teeth and demanded two rooms. “We can’t let two grown daughters live with me and their father. It’s too embarrassing.”

Zuo Hongjun said nothing but thought the same.

Zuo Chengtai retorted, “If you take two rooms, where will Mom live? Should Cong and I go sleep in a haystack?”

Xu Fengxia bit her lip in silence, unwilling to back down.

“What’s the matter? Why are you quiet now? You were the ones insisting on dividing the family; now you’re speechless?” Grandmother Zuo slapped the table in anger.

Zuo Dan coughed lightly and said, “Grandma, don’t be upset. I think the house still belongs to the Old Zuo family. I won’t need any of it in the future, so I can squeeze in anywhere. We can’t make Third Uncle and Cong sleep outside. How will they get wives in the future?”

Although her words were vague, they reminded Grandmother Zuo of a key point: daughters eventually marry out and don’t need extra rooms, but sons who marry need a place to live. No woman would marry into a home without a proper room.

Xu Fengxia’s face darkened. “What’s wrong with daughters? They can also bring husbands into the family.”

“Our Old Zuo family isn’t extinct. Why would we need a son-in-law to marry in?” Grandmother Zuo glared at her.

Because the eldest branch had suggested dividing the family, Grandmother Zuo was particularly displeased with them.

Zuo Dan added, “If we’re dividing the family, it must be fair. There are five rooms in total. Grandma should have one—she can’t sleep outside. Then, one room for Uncle, one for my dad, and one for Third Uncle. We can’t leave Third Uncle without a room; he still needs to find a wife. And in two or three years, Cong will also need a place when he gets married. The room has to be reserved for him.”

“What? How can we live like this?” Zuo Huan’s eyes widened.

She had hoped to get her own room after the division, but this arrangement left her no better off.

“Why not? I think Dandan’s plan is good,” Zuo Chengtai quickly chimed in. He didn’t want to suffer just because he wasn’t married yet. Even if he never got married, he still needed a place to sleep.

Grandmother Zuo, hearing this proposal, couldn’t find any fault with it. Her attitude toward Dandan softened noticeably. For once, the child seemed sensible, knowing to prioritize elders and leave a room for her.

“I think Dandan’s suggestion is quite reasonable. If no one objects, let’s go with it. As for the pots and pans, we’ll leave them as they are for now. There’s only one iron pot, and giving it to one family won’t work. We’ll figure out replacements later. This afternoon, we’ll divide the grain based on each household’s work points. As for me, I’ll live with Third Son. He hasn’t married yet, and I can’t let him go hungry. You don’t need to worry about my rations; the production team provides for me.”

Xu Fengxia felt uneasy hearing all this. How did this division end up disadvantaging her family?

“What about the two grown girls?”

“What about them? They’ll sleep with me. My room is spacious enough for another bed. After all, they’re going to get married and leave.” Grandmother Zuo slapped the table. She was frustrated by the constant objections from the eldest branch, which had insisted on dividing the family in the first place.

As for giving Cong’s room to the two granddaughters, Grandmother Zuo wouldn’t allow it. A clear division of property was essential, and once given away, reclaiming it later would only cause bigger disputes. She didn’t favor the second branch, but Zuo Cong was the family’s only male grandchild, and that fact couldn’t be ignored.

“I don’t mind sleeping with Grandma,” Zuo Dan said with a smile. “An elder in the house is like a treasure. I’ll sleep peacefully knowing Grandma is nearby.”

Her words pleased Grandmother Zuo, who, despite her gruffness, feared being despised by the younger generation.

Xu Fengxia tugged at Zuo Hongjun’s sleeve. “Say something! Are we just going to let this happen?”

“Mom…” Zuo Hongjun looked at Grandmother Zuo with a conflicted expression. It was clear he was unhappy with the arrangement.

Grandmother Zuo sighed. “Hongjun, I don’t have many years left. When I’m gone, this room will go to your family.” She turned to the others. “Any objections?”

Zuo Dacheng and Zuo Chengtai shook their heads vigorously.

Hearing her mention death, Zuo Hongjun felt a pang of guilt. He had pushed too far by bringing up the division of the family.

“Fine, no objections. Let’s go with this arrangement,” Zuo Hongjun said solemnly.

With that, the division was settled.

As for money, Grandmother Zuo brought out the family’s savings—over 200 yuan, a significant amount for the time.

She allocated 50 yuan to each branch of the family, kept 50 yuan for herself, and reserved the remaining 50 yuan for Zuo Chengtai’s future wedding.

When Third Uncle reached for the money, Grandmother Zuo slapped his hand away. “I’ll keep your share for your wedding.”

Zuo Chengtai could only watch as the money disappeared back into her hands.

After the division, the family had a cold lunch, as the food had grown cold during the argument. Even Grandmother Zuo, who ate little, spent the meal sighing heavily. No one else had much of an appetite, either.

Once lunch was over, they began moving rooms.

It didn’t take much effort—Zuo Huan and Zuo Qing’s bedding was moved into Grandmother Zuo’s room.

Zuo Dan was also supposed to move, but after inspecting the crowded room, she decided against it. “I can’t cramp Grandma’s space; she won’t even have room to walk. I’ll share a room with Zuo Cong. We’ll just hang a curtain in the middle.”

Everyone accepted this arrangement, and the family finally settled down after a long day of chaos.

Zuo Chengcai was quite pleased with his niece at this moment and voiced his strong support. “I see no problem with it. Dandan is diligent and can even help Xiao Cong keep the room clean.”

Grandmother Zuo had no objections either. After all, the houses were already divided, and this was the property of the second branch of the family. How they chose to arrange themselves was up to them. Besides, her own room was already cramped with one large bed. If Zuo Dan moved in, it would become too crowded to move around.

Most importantly, she didn’t want to share a room with Zuo Dan.

Lying in the now spacious room, Zuo Dan sighed with contentment. Finally, she had her own space. Now, with the door locked, she could visit the orchard whenever she wanted without sneaking around.

Zuo Dan rolled happily on her bed a couple of times.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Zuo Dan quickly got up, putting on a serious face, and opened it. Outside stood Li Hui, looking worried as she walked in.

“Dandan, tell me—when you made that remark before the division of property, what were you thinking? How could you imply that we were trying to take advantage of your uncle’s family?”

Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng felt they needed to have a conversation with their daughter.

The two of them had never harbored such intentions, and Li Hui felt uneasy, worrying her daughter might turn out to be someone who seeks undue advantage. Since Zuo Dacheng couldn’t come over, Li Hui had taken it upon herself to address the issue.

Zuo Dan answered earnestly, “Mom, I didn’t think that at all. I only said it because I heard Grandma talking about it when you and Dad weren’t home. I thought it was her idea, so I brought it up earlier. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Grandma.”

Li Hui had no intention of confronting Grandmother Zuo. Hearing her daughter’s words, she didn’t doubt her. Her daughter had always been honest and proper; she wouldn’t falsely accuse Grandma.

Besides, although Grandmother Zuo didn’t like her, she had always treated Xiao Cong well. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to ensure Xiao Cong attended school.

“Sigh, your uncle’s family must resent us now,” Li Hui said with a frown.

“Why would they? Xiao Cong and I will make sure to be filial to Uncle and Aunt in the future. Besides, if you didn’t agree to divide the family property, they’d resent us even more.”

Li Hui thought about it and realized her daughter was right. For years, her eldest brother-in-law’s family had resented them over past incidents and barely spoke to them. Her sister-in-law often complained openly.

Thinking this way, Li Hui felt relieved instead.

Originally, she had come to lecture her daughter, but she ended up being reassured. She left to discuss buying an iron pot with Zuo Dacheng. After all, they had claimed an extra room and couldn’t in good conscience fight over the pot with the eldest branch of the family.

As soon as Li Hui left, the sound of crying came from the room where Xu Fengxia and Zuo Hongjun were. “How are we supposed to live like this? How can we go on?”

Grandmother Zuo glanced in their direction from the courtyard, her face wrinkling in annoyance. “What are you crying about? Aren’t we going to divide the grain?”

The crying stopped abruptly.

The family gathered their cloth sacks and headed to the granary. Grandmother Zuo and the two daughters-in-law each carried a bowl for the pork distribution.

When they arrived at the granary, Zuo Shuisheng had already begun beating the gong. The clanging echoed across the village, and soon, families arrived with various containers, gathering in the small square outside the storage room.

Grain was divided based on labor contributions, calculated as six labor points for adults and four for children. First, they distributed based on headcount, and then according to labor points.

Looking at the piles of grain in the warehouse, everyone’s faces lit up with joy.

Aunt Ma quietly pulled Li Hui aside and asked, “I heard your family divided the property?”

Although the division had been swift, neighbors could always pick up on the commotion. In this village, no secret could be kept for long—it was already a hot topic on the way there.

Li Hui nodded.

“It’s for the best. You and Dacheng are hardworking people; even with the division, you’ll manage to stay fed,” Aunt Ma said cheerfully.

She was well aware of Li Hui’s situation in the Zuo family.

Meanwhile, the grain had been quickly distributed. Based on the labor points, Zuo Dacheng’s branch ended up with slightly more.

Although Xu Fengxia had taken her youngest daughter to work in the fields during the autumn harvest, their labor points were still lower overall.

Looking at the grain distributed to her family, Xu Fengxia’s face turned dark.

Zuo Dan wasn’t interested in the grain. Most of it was coarse grains, which, while sufficient to stave off hunger, didn’t excite her.

What she was truly eager for was the pork. It had been a while since she arrived, and apart from some smoked meat from the orchard, she hadn’t had any fresh pork.

“Uncle Mugeng, when will the pork be distributed?” Zuo Dan approached Zuo Mugeng, eyeing the large wooden basin covered with a cloth beside him. The basin held the pork to be distributed.

Zuo Mugeng, a butcher and Zuo Shuisheng’s cousin, was the one who slaughtered the pigs in the village. He had also driven the cart to fetch the educated youth last time, so Zuo Dan was familiar with him.

Seeing Zuo Dan looking at him expectantly, Zuo Mugeng took a drag from his pipe, and with a conspiratorial smile, lifted the cloth. “Take a look first, niece. It’s quite fatty.”

Zuo Dan peeked inside. Upon seeing the pork, her scalp tingled.

“Uncle, why does this pork have…?” It looked like it had spots, almost resembling tiny insects.

Zuo Mugeng explained, “It’s from a sick pig. Otherwise, why would we be slaughtering it now? Normally, pigs are only slaughtered before the New Year. If a pig falls ill at the farm, it’s slaughtered immediately, so we can enjoy some meat ahead of time.”

Zuo Dan: “…”

Once the grain was distributed, they moved on to the pork. Seeing the fatty pork in the basin, everyone’s faces turned red with excitement.

After a year of no meat, being able to enjoy a pork meal now felt better than celebrating the New Year.

Zuo Dan stood by, observing. She realized no one seemed to notice the spots on the pork. Their gazes were filled with reverence, as if the pork was the most precious delicacy in the world.

Poverty—it was simply crushing poverty. Zuo Dan sighed deeply.