Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 88 Dividing the Family Agreement (Part 8)

Chapter 88: Chapter 88 Dividing the Family Agreement (Part 8)

Tian Xiaoju, upon hearing this, sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Yet before she could even speak, Xie Changgen stood up with red eyes and growled at her in a low voice, "Mom."

Instantly deflated like a pierced ball, Tian Xiaoju sat down and fell completely silent.

The main portions of the fields and the house had already been clearly allocated—it was time to focus on another major issue: the grain.

Setting aside the grain stored at home for the moment, the discussion moved to the crops still in the fields. It was agreed that, before the harvest was brought in, all farm work would continue together, the grain would be collected collectively, and then distributed according to the shares that had just been agreed upon.

The agreed upon shares were such that Xie’s fourth son and Tian Xiaoju would each count as one share, the eldest son and his wife as one share, the second son and his wife as one share, and Xie Jiabao would count as an additional share on his own.

This meant that from now on, everything in the household would be divided into five shares. Once personal belongings were excluded, the second branch of the family, in splitting off, could only claim two-fifths of the remaining assets.

The distribution began with the grain stored in the house, including unprocessed rice, milled rice, flour, and condiments such as oil, salt, vinegar, etc. After that was the division of livestock, followed by essential daily utensils such as bowls, jars, buckets, tables, chairs, and farm tools.

All the small, miscellaneous items that could be clearly divided were divided as precisely as possible. Those that could not be clearly apportioned ultimately left the second branch at a disadvantage.

Once everything was satisfactorily distributed, Xie Jianye and Xie Dahhu, as witnesses, took their task seriously, patiently and responsibly making sure every item was recorded in black and white, meticulously and clearly. Only then did they proceed to divide the household’s current cash and various Food Coupons, Cloth Coupons, Sugar Coupons, and Oil Coupons.

For many years, Tian Xiaoju alone had managed the household finances.

This time, Tian Xiaoju produced a collection of coins amounting to eight yuan fifty-six cents, along with five kilograms two liang (units of weight) of Food Coupons, before announcing that this was all the family wealth they had. She declared that all the other coupons, Oil Coupons, Sugar Coupons, and Cloth Coupons, had been used up.

Upon seeing the coins scattered in front of Tian Xiaoju, everyone was taken aback. Their first thought was disbelief.

Surely even the truly impoverished families in the village wouldn’t only have this amount? Although Xie’s fourth son’s family had never lived well, according to how frugally they usually conducted themselves, their financial situation shouldn’t be like this, right?

Even Xie Jianye, the top authority of the village and usually very composed, almost lost his composure and was about to abandon his typically neutral stance to interject.

He and Xie Dahhu had witnessed many family divisions, but they had never seen anything like this. Noticing the two men were about to speak, Uncle Lu swiftly and discreetly stopped them.

Gazing at those dismal figures, Xie’s fourth son’s face turned ashen. His eyes, bloodshot, were fixed on Tian Xiaoju. Though he had never closely inquired about the household finances, he was not completely oblivious after all these years.

Furthermore, most of the money was earned through his own hard-earned efforts. Despite his crippled leg over the years, he hadn’t lost his ability to make money to support the family. He knew how to identify medicinal herbs and would occasionally sneak up the mountain to find some, bringing back money through significant speculative risks, all of which he handed over to his wife.

He had never let even their two sons catch a hint of this, leading them to always believe their family was extremely poor.

As for the money, he had seen how pinching his wife could be. He had brought it up occasionally when it seemed excessive, and she would improve briefly, but then quickly revert to her old ways. Eventually, he grew impatient with mentioning it often, and considering that her parental home only had a few male cousins left, he wasn’t worried she would take things there. Besides, everyone lived in similar circumstances. Therefore, he ended up letting her be.

He had guessed that even if he and his younger brother, along with the brother’s wife, were to receive a bit less, they would still have at least one thousand yuan. He had never planned to fight for the house, so he had given up on it quite readily. He had it all figured out; with that money, he could build a house with his brother and sister-in-law. One thousand yuan would almost be enough to cover half the cost...

But he had never imagined his wife could be so ruthless, leaving no way out for him and the second branch of the family.

"Are you sure about this? I’ll ask you one more time, how much money is really there?" Xie Lao Si clenched his teeth, his expression turning fierce.

"You, you can’t hit me anymore. We’ve already separated," Tian Xiaoju’s face flashed with fear, but she staunchly shouted, trying to overcome her guilt, "Our family has many people, and everyone knows how many years we’ve been poor. This is all we have; there’s nothing left."

"Good, very good!"

Xie Lao Si was breathing heavily, almost dazed by anger. His forehead pulsed. He had truly underestimated his wife’s greed. He thought that at most, she would hide ten to twenty, maybe thirty percent of their assets, but the reality...

Xie Lao Si took a deep breath, trying hard to control his emotions, and said to Tian Xiaoju, word by word, "As long as you have no regrets."

The anger in Xie Lao Si’s voice was evident to anyone, even though they didn’t know the specifics; everyone could infer that Tian Xiaoju was definitely hiding something, and probably a substantial amount, otherwise, Xie Lao Si wouldn’t have lost his composure like this.

A hush fell over the place.

"I have nothing to regret," Tian Xiaoju muttered under her breath, her voice all the more conspicuous in the silence, prompting varied thoughts in the minds of the onlookers.

A hint of joy flickered in Lin Meizhu’s eyes. Xie Changgen’s mouth opened and closed, his face showing hesitation, but after glancing over his wife and children, he chose to remain silent.

Lu Aimei’s expression showed little change, but Xie Changgen looked at his own parents with an extremely complicated expression on his face.

In the end, Xie Lao Si gave up on pursuing the matter further. Gazing at the division agreement, which stated that the second branch would receive three yuan and forty-two cents, along with a kilogram of Food Coupons, his face alternated between a semblance of laughter and tears, and finally, he let out a long sigh.

All parties placed their fingerprints on the agreement; four copies were made, with the first and second branch each keeping one, and the remaining two were given to Xie Jianye and Xie Dahhu to keep safe.

Thus, the division of the family was settled.

Xie Lao Si then asked Xie Jianye and Xie Dahhu to lend him a house; the two agreed readily, saying he could stay as long as he wanted and suggesting a symbolic yearly rent of two yuan. They also promised on the spot to allot a piece of land for him to build a new house...

After that, an agreement was reached that the two branches would give the second branch three days to move out.

Now that the family was divided, during these three days, the two branches naturally started cooking their meals separately.

After everything was completely divided, and the possessions were moved to their respective houses, the time was approaching five o’clock.