Chapter 16: Establishing a Female Household

There were no women in ancient times who didn't get married. This logic left Chen Afu without a rebuttal. So she voiced out what she had been thinking these past couple of days, "Father, mother, Dabao must be my son. I think my sudden recovery is due to him bringing me luck. Do any other fools in our village recover from their illness?" Seeing that Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang nodded in agreement, she continued, "That's it. When Dabao became my son, my illness was cured; he is the noble benefactor of my life. The master at Lingyin Temple said that I am fortunate; maybe he's referring to the fact that I would meet such a benefactor. If Dabao stops being my son, what if my illness returns?"

Despite Chen Afu slowly stuttering, she was reasonable, and both Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang took it all in. They have always been very superstitious about the concept of bringing luck, as Mrs. Wang married into the Chens when Chen Ming was on his deathbed. At that time, the doctor had told the Chens to prepare for Chen Ming's funeral, but not only did his condition improve when Wang entered the family, they also added a son a few years later.

They believed Afu's statement that Dabao could indeed be her benefactor who cured her dementia.

Moreover, Mrs. Wang has been pondering a concern. Though Afu is not Chen Ming's biological offspring, she was accepted by the family because she had clarified her status with her mother-in-law and uncle before marrying Chen Ming. But since Dabao came home, they have shown their discontent. It especially intensified when Alu's leg became crippled, they stopped showing the least bit of courtesy or sympathy. If her husband were to accept Dabao as his son, they would definitely be even more unsatisfied. They would think that the Chen family property is going to be given not only to Afu but also to Dabao, and Alu would be at a further disadvantage.

If the mother-in-law and the uncle dislike Dabao, and Mrs. Hu, has always been discontent with the second house of the Chens' and hates Afu and Dabao, what if she really allows her brother Hu Laowu to secretly sell Dabao, what can they do then?

Mrs. Wang knew that someone willing to spend ten taels of silver to buy a four or five-year-old boy would be someone from the dressing troupe or the opera troupe. If Dabao was sold to such a place, how could she bear it in her heart?

Seeing that Mrs. Wang was deep in thought, Chen Afu seized the opportunity to persuade further, "Not every man who wishes to become a son-in-law is despicable, there are also good ones. Besides Afu is good-looking and her dementia is cured, she will definitely find a good man willing to truly live his life with her. If the man is truly good to me, he will not dislike Dabao. If the man is inherently insincere, even if I don't have a son, he would still find my past dementia repugnant. Moreover, Dabao's worry is also reasonable. Father doesn't lack a son, and my mother might even feel that if Dabao becomes my father's son, he must inevitably divide my younger brother's property, and she will dislike him even more."

Chen Afu's words hit right on Mrs. Wang's concerns, and she voiced her worries.

Mrs. Hu's younger brother, Hu Laowu, is a known troublemaker in the nearby area who creates all kinds of problems. The more honest villagers are even afraid to provoke him. Seeing that he made such a statement in front of Dabao, he might actually have such intentions. It's only because Mrs. Hu fears Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye, that she doesn't let Hu Laowu do it. If they had criticisms towards them, Hu Laowu wouldn't have so many considerations. After all, the second house of the Chens is weak and Dabao is just a picked-up child.

After hearing this, Chen Ming became extremely worried. Chen Afu was even more frightened; Mrs. Hu's family was still as evil as they used to be.

Mrs. Wang looked at Chen Ming and said, "Why don't we just do as Afu said? We don't know how clever Afu can be. Let her live in the village and look for a son-in-law to be closer and reassure us."

Chen Afu hugged Chen Ming and coaxed him, "Father, please listen to mother. You surely do not want Dabao and me to leave the village, right?" Her voice was far more pleasant compared to her first few days here. Even if it wasn't as clear and pleasant as it could be but it was still low and mellow, quite appealing.

Chen Ming had never been appealed to by a daughter before. Being continuously cajoled and sweet-talked to by her made him extremely pleased, and his eyes were filled with brightness.

Seeing the father and daughter like this, Mrs. Wang was overjoyed. Deep down, she hoped her daughter could get closer to her husband.

Chen Ming laughed and said, "Oh, my head is spinning from Afu's coaxing." He then hesitated and said, "Afu, getting registered as a household is not quite the same as a son splitting the property with his parents. After the son has split from the family, if he has no money to build a house, he can still live with his parents. But if a daughter decides to register, there needs to be a complete split from the parents' house. Originally, we planned that when Dabao is older and capable of working, we would sell an acre of farmland, buy a small piece of land next to us to build a three-room hut for you to live in. Although there would be a wall in between, the doors will be close to each other, and it'd be convenient for us to take care of each other."

So getting registered as a household was such a hassle.

Chen Afu initially planned to continue living together like this until they have enough money to buy a larger piece of land and build a big compound for everyone to live in. But apparently, if you register as a separate household, you have to live separately.

But for now, this arrangement will do as a transition. In the future, when there is enough money, they can build two large compounds next to each other. One side can be occupied by herself and Dabao, and the other side by her father, mother, and brother.

In her previous life, she was a career woman and quite capable. Although she studied advertising in university, she also took an additional professional design course. After graduating, she not only did advertising design but also worked her way up to the marketing manager position where she was adept at dealing with people. Although she couldn't become a fashion or jewelry designer, she could still do something small. At the very least, she could sell cooking recipes or snacks. She was, indeed, a great cook. What's more, she seemed to have an unopened space and spiritual object.

She was rather confident about being a small landlord in this world.

So she said, "Father, Mother, let's do it this way."

Chen Ming pondered for a moment and then said, "Registering a household is not just a piece of paper; it also has to be established based on property, such as a house, or land holdings. Currently, our family only has this small compound and four acres of land. It's not practical to transfer the house to you. The wheat in the field is ready to be harvested. We can only sell the land after the wheat is harvested. First, I will go and borrow 1,000 cents from my elder brother to buy the piece of land next to our house to register for you."

He then called Chen Dabao and Chen Alu over to discuss the next steps.

He said to Alu, "Alu, your older sister is a girl, and her health isn't good. Dabao is small, and your father thinks of splitting an acre of land for them to build a house and establish a household. What do you think?" He originally wanted to split two acres of land for Afu, one to sell for a house, and the other for their livelihood. But thinking of his mother and elder brother, he could only afford to split one acre. He decided in his heart to secretly make up for Alu's loss in the future.

Alu readily said, "Father, give sister three acres. Alu is a man; I can earn a family property when I grow up."

Mrs. Wang quickly interjected, "No, one acre is enough."

Mrs. Wang knew the thoughts of her mother-in-law and uncle-in-law, so she didn't dare let Afu and Dabao ask for more.

Chen Afu felt extremely moved in her heart. Chen Ming and Alu were really kind. Farmland was the basis of a farmer's livelihood, and they could be so generous. In ancient times, people were usually reluctant to give farmland to their biological daughters, let alone her, who was an additional burden.

She hurriedly said, "Thank you, father. Thank you, second brother. Dabao and I don't need the Chen family's property. The acre of land that needs to be sold to build a house, we borrowed it."

............

Thank you for your support, and thank you to keppra for your recommendation tickets and red envelopes, and thank you! During the process of working on the contract for the work, I encountered some hitches. Unable to wait any longer, I asked the editor yesterday, and she was still waiting for the contract I sent by express delivery. Good heavens, I stood waiting for the news too. I hurriedly sent the express delivery yesterday afternoon, but the status wouldn't change until next week.