Chapter 13: Proceeding with the Separation

"In total, our family has 20 mu of prime farmland, 10 mu of mediocre farmland, 10 mu of dry land, 10 mu of sandy land, one shop, and 60 taels of silver. I propose we divide these into six parts: one part for each of you four brothers, one for your mother and myself, and one part for Yuzhu's dowry, which is yet to be prepared. The grocery store in the town has always been managed by your eldest brother, and Wen'er also continues to study incurring increased costs, thus the grocery store goes to the main family, leaving no farmland to them. Each of your three brothers will receive 4 mu of prime farmland, 2 mu of mediocre farmland, 2 mu of dry land, 2 mu of sandy land, and 10 taels of silver. Yuzhu's portion is the same. The portion belonging to your mother and I is also the same, and we will live with your eldest brother. Apart from this, you should provide us with an additional 2 taels of silver for living expenses every year, and the expenses for clothes and etiquette for all seasons will be calculated separately."

Mr. Shen then took a sip of water and continued, "As for the house, keep it divided as it currently is, with the vegetable garden divided into four parts, one for each family. Since there is only one chicken coop and pigsty, those will belong solely to your mother and me. All the chickens, ducks and cows in the family will also belong to your mother and me. The pigs will be divided when they are butchered during the New Year festival. As for the farming tools, each of your three brothers' families will have two sets."

Upon hearing that the shop was given solely to the main family, Mrs. Li objected, and she was even more upset when the younger aunt and her brothers received the exact same division of assets. Furthermore, the fact that Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen received the same amount of farmland and silver, as well as an additional 2 taels of silver for living expenses each year, plus the cost for clothes and etiquette - which added up to at least one tael of silver per year, drove her to unparalleled fury. She swept everything off the table, an act she hadn't done in many years, sat on the ground and started banging the floor with her hands shouting, "This is not fair! The main family takes a shop worth 150 taels, which makes a few taels of monthly income. My younger aunt's dowry equals her brother's share, and my parents-in-law get just as much as we do, but we still have to give them two taels per year! What's worse, the expense for clothes and etiquette will at least cost one tael a year. The money my husband earns from working all year round cannot even afford the two taels. Heavens, please just take us, we are either starved to death by not farming or don't have money to support my husband's parents after farming. Have you all lost your hearts? Are you just trying to fatten others up? Jinghua, Jingye, Jingzhi, are you not descendants of the Shen family? Nobody will care about you."

Seeing Mrs. Li's unexpected outrage, Shen Xiao'er was once again taken aback. She had never seen such a shameless person in her two lifetimes.

"Oh my children, why weren't you born as the first sons of the main family? Then you could eat other people's food and drink other people's blood. You can't even think about getting married now, we might as well not have any descendants."

The faces of Mr. Shen, Mrs. Shen, the younger aunt, and the main family darkened at her words.

"Second brother, check your wife, she is out of line!" Mr. Shen shouted angrily.

"You wicked woman, do you not want to support your parents-in-law? I will report this to the government and have you thrown in jail." Mrs. Shen's harsh words were accompanied by a threatening tone. She was truly upset. Last night, Mr. Shen initially wanted just one tael of living expenses, but that was too little for her. She pushed for two taels after some argument, only accepting it on the condition that the daughters-in-law didn't object. Now Mrs. Li had caused more trouble, if three taels were deducted every year, that was like asking for her life.

"Heavens, who will decide what's just? For the two taels, I also need a life to give it. If my whole family starves to death, how can we support you two!" Mrs. Li ignored her, brushing off Shen Chengzong's pretense of calming her down and pulling her hand. She couldn't stop now, she knew she couldn't count on the third and fourth branches of the family, who stupidly agreed with whatever their parents said.

"My three sons and Hua'er will be arranged marriages in a few years, and this two taels of silver every year for expenses will leave us nothing to use for betrothal! You might as well not divide the property. I won't have to worry about the money for my sons' marriages or my daughters' dowries." Upon saying this, Mrs. Li suddenly thought since the younger aunt could receive a dowry just like her brothers, why couldn't her sons and daughters do the same? She wailed, "Since the younger aunt can receive a share of the family property as a dowry, why can't my sons and daughters get a share for their betrothal gifts and dowries? Everything has to be divided again."

"Bah, why should I pay your children's betrothal gifts and dowries? You're dreaming! You're eating from the bowl but looking at the pot!" Mrs. Shen could not sit still any longer and stood up, hands on her hips, and spat at Mrs. Li.

"Enough! Everyone shut up!" Mr. Shen suddenly yelled, smashing his teacup on the ground, "500 coins, every family should give 500 coins as living expenses every year."

The world went silent for a moment, and Xiao'er couldn't help but rub her buzzing ears.

Mrs. Shen and Mrs. Li were about to continue the fight when Mr. Shen hurriedly yelled, "Enough! That's settled. Anyone who is unsatisfied can go back to their maternal home. The Shen family does not need any unfilial daughters-in-law!" He then turned to Shen Jingwen, "Jingwen, go invite the village chief, the town mayor, our granddads, Mr. Guo, Mr. Lin..." Mr. Shen named a few of the older and more reputable figures in the village. Then he waved his hand, signalling Shen Jingwen to invite them over.

Shen Chengzong tugged at Mrs. Li's hand, signaling her to stop talking. He held the reins over Shen Chengguang, unfazed about extracting silver from him in the future.

Mr. Shen took a moment to catch his breath before speaking again, "Does anyone else have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads, indicating they had none.

"Since no one objects, let's quickly tidy up the room. We don't want to be caught off guard when people arrive," said Mr. Shen. Originally, he planned to divide the family assets after the autumn harvest, but Mrs. Li's stir over things urged him to act quickly. The unnecessary complications would only prolong with time. He was aware that Mrs. Shen had concealed 100 taels of silver, and the main family certainly possessed a considerable amount of private wealth. His fairness might be questionable, but this decision was for the greater good of the family, for the flourishing and perpetuation of their lineage. Was their future not bright with Shen Jingwen potentially becoming a government official soon? Ignorance and short-sightedness of some women.

Thinking of the meal he had to prepare for the village chief and others post the division of the family assets, Shen Chengguang said to Mr. Shen, "Father, we need to prepare dinner once it's done."

"Yes, yes, almost forgot. Chengzong, quickly go to your father-in-law's shop in town and buy some meat. Also, check what vegetables they have and bring some back. We can't afford to make any mistake during dinner," responded Mr. Shen, slapping his thigh. He nearly forgot this critical task, and he was glad his eldest son had reminded him.

Mrs. Shen also summoned a few daughters-in-law to assist with the dinner preparations. Even though the meat and vegetables hadn't arrived yet, the greens still needed to be cleaned.

"Mother, you are still in confinement. Go back to your room to prevent catching a chill," Xiao'er suggested that Mrs. Liu retire to her room.

This comment displeased Mrs. Shen, "This is a farmer's family, we don't follow such strict customs. Since we have guests coming over tonight and we're short on hands in the kitchen, you can help prepare the meals."

"If the guests see Mother preparing their meal, they might not feel comfortable eating it. That's precisely the reason I suggested Mother go inside," Xiao'er retorted bluntly.

Mr. Shen couldn't ignore this, as it would reflect poorly if someone saw it: "Third daughter-in-law, please go back to your room and stay there." It seemed like he was displeased with them for not helping in the kitchen, and couldn't express it properly.

The truth was, Mr. Shen couldn't care less if Mrs. Liu was helping with the meal preparations or not. He simply disliked Shen Xiao'er contradicting Mrs. Shen. Everyone from the third branch had always been completely subservient to the older generation. He didn't like anyone challenging his control. Unfortunately, he'd soon be disappointed to learn that after the division of assets, everyone would be beyond his control, taking charge of their respective branches.

After Xiao'er guided Mrs. Liu back to her room, she remembered that she had promised Shen Zixuan to have dinner at his house that day. Realizing she now couldn't go, she summoned Jinghao, asking him to convey the message to Shen Zixuan.

She, herself, stayed back at home to assist with picking and washing the vegetables.