Chapter 82: I Just Won

Villagers hurriedly sent someone forward to check; Yuan Xushi claimed her leg was fine, but the pain kept her from walking.

Yuan Lao Han was pressed unconscious, and among the villagers who pressed him, the pain oddly woke him up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he pointed at the four in‑laws, "You, you did it on purpose."

"We didn't do it on purpose, and we don't know who pushed us; sorry, in‑laws."

Yuan Lao Han knew that if he kept being stubborn, the two elders might survive, but they'd surely break an arm or a leg or something.

This group came over just to divide the family assets for the daughter.

The onlookers all knew that Yuan Lao Han's family was unpopular, and no one sided with them.

When the Village Head asked them again, "Will this family split?"

Yuan Lao Han closed his eyes, could only clench his teeth and force out a word, "Split!"

The head of the Yuan Family's First Branch said, "The silver the fifth gave you, you support the elders; we won't split. Just divide the silver we've handed over to the public over the years, and the land, and that's it."

"On what grounds? This money is ours."

"That money was earned by a few of our brothers; when a child in the family falls ill, none of you take a single coin out. We eat the scraps, you eat the good stuff; we never spent a single wen from the public fund, so this money must be divided."

"I just won't split; what can you do to me?"

She truly forgot the lingering scar pain; the leg pain hadn't even subsided, yet Yuan Xushi still failed to grasp the situation.

Someone else came again, and the surrounding people immediately pounced on Yuan Xushi, once more pinning the two down.

This time the two let out a wretched cry, clutching their arms and howling, and Yuan Lao Han and Yuan Xushi clearly felt someone smash them with something.

Now the two were thoroughly terrified; they looked at the four sons, whose eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Split, split, the silver is split,"

They hurriedly responded, and stopped shouting.

The Village Head sent people to follow them into the house's heated cupboard, retrieving the silver saved for years.

Aside from the hundred taels of silver Yuan Jiaqi gave, the two had actually saved nearly six hundred taels of silver.

The land deed covered fifty mu; the Village Head licked his lips at this fortune, thinking to himself, these two old folks are really something, having amassed so much wealth over the years.

"Fifty mu of land, divided into five portions, each family gets ten mu, six hundred taels of silver, the four sons each get a hundred taels, the remainder goes to the elders; thereafter each family gives a hundred wen per month, and at New Year provides the elders with a set of clothes plus three hundred wen as festival money. For daily meals, the four families will take turns sending food, never letting the elders go hungry."

"We eat what they eat, we won't mistreat them, but we also won't feast on big fish and meat all day."

"That's natural."

"The Village Head's division is fair; we have no objections, let's split it this way."

"Alright, then that's how we'll split."

The Village Head gave the final decision, and the Yuan elderly couple didn't resist; watching the silver they'd hoarded for years being divided, their hearts felt like they were bleeding.

Today the four sons were determined to split the family; they even appealed to the Town Head and the Yamen, assuming the sons also wanted a split. They saw through it: if the old couple lacked the power to doom their sons, they themselves might be the ones to die.

At least they weren't foolish enough to risk life for money; finally, the family was split.

Once the family is split, the two Yuan elders lose any further drive to cause trouble, like a deflated rubber ball.

They have five sons; all five have become estranged and resentful, they are ruthless, and the sons have learned to be even more ruthless than them.

With the division documents, the sons each month provide a fixed pension silver and regular meals for them; they can no longer stir up trouble.

Yuan Jiaqi doesn't know; even if he did, he'd just clap and cheer.

Fortunately, the two elders aren't very old, their bodies are robust, they have over two hundred taels of silver and ten mu of land; even if they don't farm it themselves, they can rent it out.

Food and drink aren't a worry; if they want to improve their life, they can spend their own money, and for now nothing serious will happen.

With these families no longer causing trouble in Tianshui Town, the villagers' lives are very peaceful.

At the Zhennan Paifang, ground was broken on the 26th day of the first lunar month, and Yahang set off several firecrackers for the occasion.

They first enclosed the entire 35 mu of residential land, and the remaining 65 mu, Qiao Mai also plans to lease out.

She asked the Village Head to find three honest tenant farmers, leasing out sixty mu of wheat field for five years; the five‑mu strip near the back wall of the residence was kept, intended for winter greenhouse cultivation and summer rare fruits and vegetables, so this five mu was also enclosed within the courtyard.

With two harvests a year, each mu yields three hundred jin of grain, including a hundred‑jin grain tax per mu; whatever remains is theirs as net income.

The rent is slightly lower than market rates, so the three tenants are delighted; if a mu yields an extra 150 jin, twenty mu would be 3,000 jin, two seasons 6,000 jin—enough for a family's yearly consumption.

If they are well tended, they can harvest even more; Qiao's sixty mu are near a water source, sparing the tenants major troubles.

Whenever she has time, Qiao Mai carries Ling'er to the residential land to inspect.

Almost every day something different; dozens of workers never pause. When Qiao Mai is in a good mood, she goes to the Baozi Shop, has them deliver buns and soup to the workers, giving them an extra meal.

The workers all praised the host family for kindness; Qiao Mai's reputation improved further.

Not only people of Tianshui Town praised, but even folks from elsewhere, when mentioning her, gave a thumbs‑up.

On the second day of the second month, Dragon Raises Its Head, which is Ling'er's birthday; Qiao Mai said nothing, gave her noodles in the morning, a small cake at noon, and several edible dishes in the evening.

One‑year‑old Ling'er can already eat solid food.

The little birthday star sat properly at the heated table, while Qiao Mai fed her fish meat.

Ling'er clapped her tiny hands happily, and a sudden sound came from her little mouth.

"Daddy!"

Qiao Mai was livid, saying, "First call mother, may she be rich forever; first call father, may he be poor for half the street. You little girl, how can you call 'daddy' first?"

"Hehe."

"Call mother, otherwise I won't give you a tasty meal tomorrow morning."

"Hehe."

"Do you miss daddy?"

"Ang ang, brother?"

"They won't be back until the end of the month; then you'll see them. Quick, call mother?"

Ling'er stared with wide eyes, blinking several times, and said, "Cool~"

"Fine, Liang counts too; the sounds are almost the same, just treat it as calling mother."

Qiao Mai never forces the child; you may call whatever you like, as long as you're happy.

The mother and daughter ate their fill, and she made the child walk back and forth on the floor of the house to aid digestion of what she ate.

Although spring has arrived, it is still very cold outside; the charcoal brazier inside hasn't gone out, keeping everything warm.

After coaxing the child to sleep, she checked the courtyard gate, the stable, and the Quail, then brought the two puppies inside.

The three Dizi are not at home; they all sleep in the same room as Qiao Mai.

But there was some movement outside, and the little ones became very alert.

I have to say, raising these two puppies is worthwhile; during winter, several groups of Shiren scouted outside the courtyard, and when they heard dogs barking inside, they went elsewhere.

The surrounding neighbors also benefited, avoiding many unnecessary losses.

On the night of Ling'er's birthday, Shiren came again; the two puppies were humming in front of the kang, which was especially abnormal.

Qiao Mai opened her eyes, immediately shifted Ling'er into a space, took out a silenced pistol and placed it in her bosom, holding a staff in one hand and feeling the gun with the other.

The two puppies, seeing their master rise, fell silent at once and hid in the darkness.

They glanced at the doors of each room; they must have scouted the place and gathered information, learning that the house only has a woman and a child.

Or perhaps it was Wang Jiaru's Acquaintance; this time five Shiren burst in at once.

All of them had their faces covered with black cloth; some carried machetes, others held daggers, and they moved stealthily straight toward the bedroom where Qiao Mai was sleeping.

(End of chapter)