The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 575 - 573: The Reverse Scale

Chapter 575: Chapter 573: The Reverse Scale

"The field was originally sold by the second brother, and it was Yongzhu who earned the money to redeem it. The capital for the business was also money that Yongzhu made, and she even sacrificed her dignity to borrow from Boss Zhang! Even your lives and Eldest Brother’s life were saved because my daughter earned enough money to spare you! Have you all forgotten? And the horse-drawn carriage, too—my girl paid for it with her own money! In this household, every single thing, which one wasn’t acquired through my daughter’s earnings?"

"She has a generous heart and, considering you all blood relatives, didn’t count the cost. I am her birth mother, am I not also your birth mother? You are the flesh that fell from my body, and for the sake of you living a good life, I’ve endured it, swallowed the losses for her. But I didn’t expect, oh, I didn’t expect! Turns out you were still eyeing her private savings! Let me tell you, Wang Laozhu, don’t you daydream! Do you know what a royal reward is? That was exclusively bestowed upon my daughter by the Empress herself! Otherwise, what would you, Wang Laozhu, be worth to deserve a reward from the ladies of the palace?"

"Speaking of the dividends from the dye workshop, how much can it give? Yongzhu has to support me, her elderly mother, and she also needs to set aside money for her dowry. Does that cost nothing? You’re all too heartless, even coveting your own sister’s dowry money!"

"You’ve all married and have wives, living good lives, but have you forgotten where that money came from? Which family divides their assets and doesn’t set aside the dowry for the unmarried daughter? Doesn’t leave the silver for their parents’ elder care?"

"You guys are something else; when the family was initially split, seeing that Yongzhu didn’t mention it, none of you, not a single brother or sister-in-law, not even the father, suggested it. You’re all conscienceless ingrates! Yongzhu has given so much to this family, and in the end, not a single one of you has sincerely thought about her!"

"Now look, even the father is scheming to take his own daughter’s dowry money! Bah! Wang Laozhu, you want money today, don’t you? Let’s divide this house again! My daughter has put so much money into this family; when she gets married, wouldn’t she deserve two hundred taels at least? And what about her elderly mother’s silver for old age? Why should you, Wang Laozhu, get all of that, and I get nothing? Didn’t I give birth and raise you all? If you don’t give me silver for elder care, I will go to the Yamen and sue you for disobedience!"

Old Granny Zhang had completely thrown caution to the winds!

Everyone hung their heads in shame, as Lady Lin quickly tallied the cost in her mind—if they gave the younger sister-in-law two hundred taels of silver, and also left some for the mother-in-law’s elder care, what would be left for the family?

Nothing would be left!

Wang Yongping’s face burned hot with embarrassment. He hadn’t even considered this, he whispered to Liu Xiaoqiao, "Wife, why didn’t you remind me?"

Liu Xiaoqiao blushed. How could she voice such a suggestion? She had seen how generous Wang Yongzhu was and knew she still had quite a bit of private money.

They were thinking, since they weren’t coveting Wang Yongzhu’s private savings, they wouldn’t have to provide her with a dowry. After all, she probably wouldn’t care much for that amount.

She stuttered, "I... I didn’t think of it either..."

Wang Yongping didn’t ponder any further, only blaming himself for his dull wits.

He hastily said, "Mother, you’re right! We can’t divide things this way! We won’t take the household silver, let’s leave it for the little sister. Next spring, when the business starts and we make money, I’ll add to little sister’s dowry!"

Wang Yongfu also hurriedly agreed, "Laosi is right! In the future, when we earn money, we’ll contribute to little sister’s dowry, to ensure she marries off with dignity! We wouldn’t dare touch what the Empress rewarded her with! It’s all rightfully little sister’s! We, as brothers and sisters-in-law, are worthless if we took so much advantage from her only to covet even that, then we’d be worse than animals."

Standing nearby, Wang Laozhu’s face immediately darkened.

Does this eldest son know how to speak, at all?

Does he mean to say that his own father is worse than an animal?

Wang Laozhu wasn’t actually trying to take his little girl’s private savings. Even with his favoritism, he wasn’t confused about right and wrong to this extent.

It was just that he couldn’t stand seeing Old Granny Zhang, his wife of many years, and now in their old age, they had to divide the family assets.

Even if they had to divide, couldn’t they split it so that the old couple were together?

Just because of a trivial matter from years ago, they had to separate.

Especially today, after entering the room, she didn’t even glance at him, not a single word was said.

Wang Laozhu was holding back his breath, he knew exactly where Old Granny Zhang’s Achilles’ heel was, and sure enough, he hit the bullseye with each poke.

As long as it involved Yongzhu, the old lady was like a mother wolf protecting her cubs.

Wang Laozhu couldn’t quite describe the feeling.

Since everyone had expressed their stance, Wang Yonggui felt obliged to make his own, "Mom, little sister, don’t worry! Next year, if our business does even better, I’ll make sure you’ll be the most splendid bride in Qilidun, no, in all of Shiqiao Town."

"Nonsense! Your sister is taking a son-in-law into the house! It’s Chongjin who’s marrying in!" At that moment, Old Granny Zhang would lash out at anyone.

Wang Yonggui felt helpless. Then why did you just say that Dad was scheming over little sister’s dowry? If she’s not getting married, why would she need a dowry?

Maybe Mom was just confused by the anger!

It was then that Wang Yongzhu stepped forward to mediate, "Alright, Mom, let’s just divide things this way! We’re all family, there’s no need to fuss over it so much!"

Wang Laozhu didn’t make a sound and went to sit on the side to smoke.

"As for the business next year, are we going to work together or split up? If we split, let’s divide the silver today." Wang Yongzhu, since she wanted to separate the family, had to cut the Gordian knot, clarifying things first. Once everyone had taken their share, even if Wang Laozhu changed his mind after the new year, it would be too late.

"Naturally, we’ll partner up." This time, everyone agreed unanimously.

Jinhoo had just written up the agreement in five copies, let everyone check that there were no issues, and then they pressed their fingerprints.

After pressing their fingerprints, they divided the possessions, which honestly amounted to the sixty taels of silver.

So, dividing the silver into five shares, each household received twelve taels.

Wang Laozhu was about to take his share when Wang Yonggui reached out, "Dad, from now on, your care will be provided by our third household. You don’t have to worry about the silver."

Wang Laozhu swung his tobacco pipe angrily, "Nonsense! This is your father’s silver; why should I give it to you!"

"Dad, it’s not like that. From now on, all of your expenses, be it food, clothes, sickness, or death, will be covered by our third household. If you take the money now and end up giving it to your eldest daughter, what will our third household do? We have three kids, and I plan to send Jinpan and Jinshao to school. I was hoping you could help us out a bit. After all, I am your son, and Jinpan and Jinshao are your grandsons, aren’t they?" Wang Yonggui said with a cheeky grin.

This statement made Wang Laozhu hesitate for a moment, but given Wang Yonggui’s history of discreditable actions, there was no credibility to his words. Perhaps he was just tricking him out of his retirement silver.

So, after some thought, he decided to part with five taels of silver, "Giving you this much should do. Next year, send Jinpan and Jinshao to the private school! I’ll keep the rest."

Then, turning to Wang Yongzhu, he said, "In the future, I only want half of the money from selling the crops and half of the profit from the business. Give the other half to Laosan, so they can afford to educate their children!"