The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 571 - 569: Each with Their Own Plans

Chapter 571: Chapter 569: Each with Their Own Plans

The rest of them said nothing, only watching as Wang Laozhu slowly walked out.

Lady Lin couldn’t help but mutter a sentence, "Father is too partial!"

This sentence voiced what everyone was feeling at that moment.

Wang Yongzhu stepped forward, holding Old Granny Zhang’s hand, "Mother, rest. I’ll pack up your things. From today, you’ll live with me!"

Song Chongjin, who was close by, hurried to help, taking whatever Wang Yongzhu pointed out.

In no time, they had packed everything and were sending it to Wang Yongzhu’s room.

Wang Yongfu and Wang Yonggui looked at each other, bowed their heads, and no one spoke.

Even Lady Lin, at this moment, felt that her mother-in-law was really pitiful and rolled up her sleeves to help.

Jindou saw his father and uncle getting busy quietly and also silently moved forward to pack them up.

With help, Old Granny Zhang’s belongings were quickly and neatly packed, all moved to Wang Yongzhu’s room.

Dinner was served in the third room.

Everyone’s mood was very low; they didn’t speak, merely eating with their heads down.

Wang Laozhu actually wanted to say something, but seeing his wife, daughter, and sons all with stern faces, he felt somewhat guilty and kept quiet.

He only called out a couple of times, telling Sun Mutou to make himself at home and not to be shy, to eat whatever he wanted.

Having been an apprentice for half a year, Sun Mutou had learned to read the room.

Seeing the odd expressions on the faces of his uncle, aunt, and uncles’ wives, he dared not speak, fearing that saying more might mean doing more wrong.

After hearing Wang Laozhu’s words, he merely nodded in agreement; although the meals at the Wang family were much better than at the Sun family or what he had outside, he didn’t dare to eat much. After quickly eating a few bites, he said he needed to go back to his room to check on Wang Yongzhen and hurried away from the table.

Wang Laozhu opened his mouth, then sighed.

Wang Yongping wanted to say something but was kicked by Liu Xiaoqiao, so he too buried his head in his rice without mentioning anything.

The family ate in silence, and then dispersed.

It was only after Wang Laozhu checked on Wang Yongzhen again and saw that she was sleeping soundly and had no fever that he could barely relax.

He also instructed Sun Mutou to call for a doctor if Wang Yongzhen’s fever went up again in the middle of the night.

Sun Mutou promptly agreed.

Wang Laozhu then slowly returned to his room, only to find that the main house was dark and empty.

He paused for a moment, confused. Could his wife have gone to bed angry? Not even leaving a light on?

It was only when he pushed the door open and entered the room that he realized it wasn’t that a light hadn’t been left; it was that no one had stayed at all!

Turning around and coming out to the courtyard, he saw that his daughter’s room was brightly lit, with the silhouettes of mother and daughter reflected on the window.

He didn’t know what they were talking about, but saw his daughter holding Old Granny Zhang’s arm and laughing, Old Granny Zhang appearing to slap Wang Yongzhu’s back, yet it fell so gently...

Wang Laozhu stood in the yard, watched the mother and daughter playfully laugh for a while, and then they blew out the light, plunging the room into darkness, leaving nothing visible or audible.

Only then did he feel the cold seeping through, stomping his feet, he dove back into his own room.

Although the kang was heated and the room was warm, somehow, Wang Laozhu felt the room seemed a bit desolate.

Sitting on the kang for quite a while, it was usually at this time that Old Granny Zhang would bring hot water, urging him to wash his face and feet before climbing onto the kang to rest.

But today, Wang Laozhu simply lay down on the bed, pulled the quilt over himself, and carelessly fell asleep.

On the other side, Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang finished eating and returned to their room. After settling Old Granny Zhang’s belongings, the two of them lay down on the kang.

Wang Yongzhu rolled into Old Granny Zhang’s arms, hugging her arm.

The mother and daughter, rarely sleeping together, both thoroughly enjoyed this time of mutual warmth and reliance.

After a while, Old Granny Zhang finally said, "Zhuzhu, what are your plans regarding the family division?"

Wang Yongzhu thought for a moment, "Currently, besides this new house and the old house, and aside from the land, there isn’t much else to divide in our family."

"As for the houses, one house per courtyard, if Dad refuses to move out of our courtyard, then it’s not a big deal for us to move next door to Brother Song’s place."

"I’m thinking it’s definitely better for us to run the business together rather than separately. At Boss Zhang’s, the yellow pine mushrooms will still be supplied by me; I won’t interfere with the rest. Of course, if Eldest Brother and the others aren’t happy and want to split, then we can divide the capital and give them their share too."

"As for the family’s land, it’s all in Mom’s name anyway. Let Eldest Brother and the others farm it first, giving Mom some grain each year, and based on their performance later, we can decide whether to divide it among them."

Indeed, although the Wang Family had turned their fortunes around, they had not been well-off for long, and all the money earned this year was spent on building the house. If there were truly a division, these were the only assets available.

Old Granny Zhang sighed deeply, "Had I known today would come, I should have insisted on dividing the property a long time ago! Now that the houses are built and the business is underway, splitting up like this, your brothers will have gained an advantage, but it’s you who will lose out. It’s all my fault for thinking of letting Eldest Brother earn more money and then giving you a bigger share later to prevent any loss on your part. I never thought it would end up harming you!"

After saying this, she suddenly turned over, "No, it can’t be divided like this; it would be too favorable for them! Why should you end up with nothing in the division? Why should we move if your father refuses to leave this courtyard? It belongs to you! If Dad wants to live in the new house, he can go stay with one of his sons! If he misses his eldest daughter so much, he can go live in the old house with her!"

The more she thought about it, the less she could accept it. This new house, one way or another, should include a courtyard of her own daughter’s.

Eldest Brother and even Laosan had their own, so why shouldn’t Yongzhu?

Now that Wang Yongzhu had money on hand, she really didn’t care much about this courtyard or the Wang Family’s assets.

But since Old Granny Zhang wanted to fight for it, she might as well let her. She was holding back anger in her heart, and without fighting for something to come into her hands, she probably couldn’t swallow this indignation.

Moreover, things that belong to oneself, even if not wanted or given away to others, should be decided by oneself!

Thus, she immediately nodded in agreement, "Mom’s right! Let’s do it as Mom suggests!"

After the mother and daughter reached their agreement, they finally settled down to sleep.

The main house.

Lady Lin nearly shrieked in surprise.

"Husband, are you serious? Little sister says she wants to divide the household?"

Wang Yongfu nodded irritably.

"Why?" Lady Lin didn’t understand. Life was good now; why would anyone have the ludicrous idea to divide the household?

After Wang Yongfu recounted everything from beginning to end, Lady Lin slapped the edge of the kang, "It’s all Eldest Sister’s fault, that troublemaker! Anything related to her never ends well! We used to say Mom was biased, but now it seems, although Mom shows favoritism towards the little sister, she’s been rather fair to all you brothers."

"And to be fair, who do we owe our good days to if not the little sister? So it’s only right that she eats and dresses well, as it’s what she deserves. Not to mention, she has really done a lot for Jindou and the others in our family. It’s understandable that Mom would favor little sister."

"But has Dad become senile? Or has his previous wife given him some love potion? Why is he so set on favoring Eldest Sister? When Eldest Sister got married, she even hid the dowry silver from Mom, keeping it a secret for over twenty years! And now, he even wants to divide the household for her sake?"

"And all of you just watched and agreed to it?"

Wang Yongfu grimaced, "What else could we do? Little sister has been unyielding about that condition, and Dad, feeling sorry for Eldest Sister, would rather divide the household than not have Eldest Sister come back. What could we possibly do?"