The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 573 - 571 Family Property

Chapter 573: Chapter 571 Family Property

Wang Yonggui, already awake, simply leaned against the door frame and watched.

Doctor Liu entered, first taking a look at Wang Yongzhen’s complexion and was startled.

After taking her pulse and checking her tongue coating, he pondered for a while before saying, "Originally, it was a case of cold invading the body, leading to a high fever that wouldn’t subside. Now that the fever has receded, naturally there’s nothing to worry about."

He then asked, "Did she have a fever last night?"

Sun Mutou hurriedly shook his head, "No, she slept through the night without a fever."

"In that case, there’s no problem. She’s just a bit weak now. For the next few days, she should only drink plain congee and avoid meat and fish. Once she’s stronger, she can have some tonics. Just make sure not to catch cold in the future!" Doctor Liu instructed.

"Do we need to get any medicine?" Sun Mutou quickly asked.

"Take a few prescriptions to disperse the cold and fully clear it from the body will suffice," he said, getting up to leave.

Sun Mutou was momentarily stunned.

It was Wang Yongping who asked, "Doctor Liu, how much will it all cost? Should we get the medicine from you?"

Doctor Liu nodded, "Just follow the usual practice, and come to my place later to pick up the medicine." With that, he walked straight out.

The Wang family’s eldest daughter had become the laughingstock of Qilidun ever since the Wang family built their new house; everyone recognized her.

Judging by the situation, it seemed she had been badly treated by her husband’s family and the Wangs had brought her back home.

He had seen plenty of these private affairs and didn’t want to inquire further.

In his heart, though, he felt the Wang family was being too kind.

Sun Mutou waited until Doctor Liu was far away before realizing his own rudeness; he should have been the one to pay, how could he let the Wang family take care of it?

On the other side, Wang Yonggui snorted coldly, thinking that since his sister was fine, their father could finally be at ease.

He looked at Mutou, who was still standing foolishly inside the house, then turned and went to the back yard.

Wang Laozhu, perhaps due to the absence of Old Granny Zhang, tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep well.

He woke up before dawn and forced himself to stay until it was barely light, then got up and ordered Laosi to invite a doctor to check on his daughter. She had been tormented by the Sun family for so long, he wasn’t sure if her health would be compromised.

Now hearing that his eldest daughter would recover by eating light foods and taking a few medicinal decoctions, he felt relieved.

He hastily ordered, "Cook some congee for your sister these next few days, make it soft, so she can digest it easily."

Lady Lin, Lady Jiang, and Liu Xiaoqiao looked at each other.

It was Liu Xiaoqiao who reluctantly agreed.

As soon as Wang Laozhu left, Lady Lin huffed disapprovingly, "It’s like we’ve taken in an ancestor, isn’t it?"

Even though she was reluctant, Lady Jiang still grabbed a handful of rice to make porridge.

Lady Lin added two more handfuls of rice to the pot, lecturing in frustration, "Are you stupid? Are you really going to cook congee for every meal? Cook a large pot; if she doesn’t finish it in the morning, just reheat it for noon and dinner. Does she really think she’s a noble lady? We do not have the time to cater to her every need!"

Lady Jiang silently went to wash the rice and make the congee.

After breakfast, Mutou carried the freshly made porridge to Wang Yongzhen.

Only the Wang Family remained in the house.

Song Chongjin had come over from the main gate early in the morning to check the side gate, and had already told Wang Yongzhu that he was going to the town to run some errands, so he had the carriage taken away as well.

Seeing that everyone had gathered and the children were all present without a single one missing,

Wang Yongzhu cleared his throat, "As we agreed yesterday, now that we’re going to divide the family, let’s first sort out the charters. Let’s divide everything up, and after the New Year, we can invite the Clan Leader to witness and draft a partition document."

While speaking, he pulled out a sheet of paper, "This is a list I made up early this morning, including all the household items, so that we all have a clear inventory of our possessions."

Wang Laozhu had thought that Old Granny Zhang was just angry on the spur of the moment. Although she moved to her daughter’s room yesterday, the New Year was almost upon them. After the New Year, everyone would be together again, a happy, united family, and by then, his wife’s anger would surely subside.

Would there really be a need to divide the family after that?

He had been confident in his plan, but he hadn’t expected Wang Yongzhu to be so impatient. Things discussed yesterday were already being sorted out today.

Suddenly his face turned ashen. He wanted to back out but couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth and could only glare at Wang Yongzhu resentfully.

Wang Yongzhu pretended not to notice and read from the list, "Our family currently has one four-entry courtyard, one old house, eight mu of paddy fields, ten mu of dry land, a mountain goods business capital of one hundred and forty silver, sixty-seven silver left for household use, one carriage, plus some amount of grain."

After he finished, he added, "The personal items in each family member’s room are their own and are not counted as part of the public assets. Does anyone have any objections to this list?"

Everyone shook their heads; they all kept a mental tally of what the household owned.

Except for not knowing exactly how much household silver remained, everything else was in plain sight. It had all been announced to everyone before the house construction started.

Everyone had expected the household silver to be less, but to their surprise, it was actually more than they had estimated.

"Alright, the charter for dividing the family assets—I’ve thought of one. Everyone, take a listen. If you have any suggestions, feel free to bring them up. After we discuss it, we’ll aim for maximum fairness, ensuring no one is at a disadvantage!"

As soon as Wang Yongzhu said this, Liu Xiaoqiao looked at her and felt a thump in her heart. Was her sister-in-law planning to separate the family?

Wang Yongzhu’s next words confirmed her suspicions.

"Now, combining the new and old houses, we have a five-entry courtyard. The eldest brother counts as one family, the third brother as another, and the fourth brother as another. As for Mom, she will stay with me. As for Dad, it’s up to him whether he wants to live with any of his sons or on his own."

"These courtyards are now divided. For now, we’ll live as is. However, if Dad decides to live with one of my brothers, then the old house will belong to that brother. The eight mu of paddy fields will be divided into five parts. Mom and I don’t want the paddy fields, but the rest of you will get two mu of paddy fields and two mu of dry land each. However, each year you must contribute one hundred catties of grain from your share for Mom and me. Dad’s share will be the same as the old house."

"As for the capital of the mountain goods business, if everyone wishes to continue conducting the business together, we’ll keep the capital pooled. When we make a profit, we’ll divide it then. If everyone wants to split up, we’ll divide it into five parts."

"As for the grain and such, we’ll weigh it and divide it according to the number of people. And as for the household silver, it will also be divided into five parts. Oh, and regarding the carriage—"

At this point, Wang Yongzhu faltered; the carriage couldn’t be divided.

"We’ll just take turns using the carriage then, since the mule is still young and, if well cared for, can be used for many more years. The carriage is essential for our family business. That’s the general idea for the division. You all don’t have any objections, do you?" Wang Yongzhu asked finally.

In the beginning, everyone was reluctant to divide the family.

But upon hearing Wang Yongzhu’s method of division, particularly how Wang Laozhu was counted as a separate share—if he lived with one of them, they could get the old house, the capital, the land, and the household silver on top of that.

By these calculations, if Wang Laozhu stayed with them, they would indeed gain quite an advantage.