Chapter 6: Building Houses

The old lady had always been especially attentive to the little she planted; if you didn't listen to her, she would nag about it several times a day. She only said this because she felt sorry for her third son.

She wanted to bring in all the corn to sell for some money, hoping to stash away a bit of private savings while she was still alive, so that after she died, she could leave something for her grandsons.

After Ye Fu knocked the burnt tobacco out of his water pipe, he looked at the room full of his children and grandchildren. He had intended to bring up what he and Ye Mu had discussed last night, but someone spoke up first.

"Grandma, not long after you went out this morning, Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle came demanding a share of the money!"

Of course, she had to report them!

The master of tattling—Ye Huimei!

The family had finally earned some money, yet Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle had the shamelessness to come demanding a share. Since she couldn't say it outside, she certainly had to tell Grandma!

The children in the room also chattered in unison: "Yes, Great-Grandma, Eldest Grand-Uncle and Second Grand-Uncle were very fierce."

"They even slammed the table and glared!"

"And they scolded my dad, forbidding him from speaking!"

Their noisy chirping gave everyone a headache. Ye Yaodong waved his hand at the children. "Shoo, shoo! What does this have to do with you? Go play outside; don't stay here getting in the way!"

"Nyah, nyah, nyah~"

Several children stuck out their tongues, made faces, and ran out to play. Besides, they had finished eating the melon and didn't want to stay home listening to the adults talk anyway.

Before leaving, they didn't forget to shout to Ye Mu, "Grandma, call us when the corn is ready!"

The old lady didn't even raise her eyelids the whole time. Suddenly coming into such a large sum, anyone would be envious.

"The palm is flesh, and the back of the hand is flesh too," she said lightly. "Don't mind them. Each household should live its own life; no one should be envious of another."

Ye Fu agreed without saying much. He hadn't really wanted to tell the old lady anyway, lest it worry her. Besides, the money was in his hands; no one could take it.

Scanning the sons and daughters-in-law in the room, he spoke seriously: "Last night, your mother and I discussed this. Since we have money now, we plan to build houses for you brothers, then split the household so each family can live independently."

The house they currently lived in was left by the old master. Since Eldest Uncle Ye and Second Uncle Ye married first, the old master built a house for each of them after their weddings, splitting the household and sending them out to live on their own.

Because Ye Fu was the youngest and married latest, the old master figured the house would just sit empty after he died, so he didn't build another one. Instead, he constructed a small hut of less than ten square meters next to the vegetable plot in the backyard and set up an earthen stove, planning to retire there with the old lady, leaving this main house to Ye Fu.

Although this house was larger with four rooms, it had been patched up for many years and was already very old, so Eldest Uncle Ye and Second Uncle Ye had no objections.

Now that the family was filled with descendants, this house was no longer big enough.

With only four rooms, the three brothers' families each squeezed into one room. Ye Huimei slept in the same room as Ye Fu and Ye Mu, with an extra small bed added.

Apart from Ye Yaodong's family of four, both the eldest and second brothers had families of five. Five people living in one room, all sleeping on the same old-fashioned canopy bed, showed just how cramped it was.

Meals required a large round table, and the women still had to stand while eating. It wasn't discrimination; there simply wasn't enough seating. Only after the children were fed and finished eating would the women sit down to eat.

Ye Fu and Ye Mu saw all this and had long wanted to split the household so their sons could live their own lives. However, lacking the funds to build houses, even if they split, they would still have to live together sharing one stove and food, making the split no different from staying together.

This catch of large yellow croakers and the resulting profit served as the opportunity to finally split the household.

Otherwise, with such a large sum suddenly entering the family, everyone's thoughts would become restless.

Sure enough, upon hearing about the split, the eyes of Eldest Sister-in-law Ye and Second Sister-in-law Ye immediately lit up.

Ye Yaodong paused, suddenly remembering. In his previous life, his father had also built houses after catching the large yellow croakers, but since he had been out early and back late, mingling with friends every day, he hadn't cared or helped.

He had previously regretted transmigrating too late and missing the large yellow croaker windfall, failing to recall the matter of building houses and splitting the household. Only now, hearing his father speak, did it come back to him.

Eldest Brother Ye was slightly surprised but said nothing. When a tree grows large, its branches split; it was normal.

Second Brother Ye, however, seemed at a loss. "Dad, this... this is fine as is, why split the household... ah!?"

Before Second Brother Ye could finish, his wife nudged his elbow. He paused, glanced at his wife, and fell silent.

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. In the whole family, his second brother was the most honest, while his second sister-in-law was the most scheming; the two complemented each other perfectly!

The one who found him most unbearable was also his second sister-in-law!

It was only because his parents let everyone keep the money they earned themselves, while daily food and drink relied on farm produce and sea foraging without spending cash, that the family had managed to stay harmonious for so long. Otherwise, chaos would have erupted.

As for the reason...

Naturally, it was because he was dragging everyone down!

Ye Fu glanced at his second son, opened the small round tin box containing tobacco, and leisurely began pinching the tobacco shreds while saying, "Now that we have money, if we don't split the household, do you want the whole big family to keep squeezing together? For the intimacy?"

At this, no one dared to say a word, fearing the plan might fall through!

Sitting on a stool, Ye Yaodong crossed his legs and bounced his foot. Seeing that everyone clearly desired it yet said nothing, he spoke fearlessly: "Very well, Dad. We are all grown and have families; it is time to split. Building new houses will also allow us to live more comfortably."

"I'm afraid you'll starve to death!" Ye Fu glared at him irritably.

"Ah, huh? Not to that extent, not to that extent. After the split, I will definitely work hard!"

"How exactly will you work hard?"

"Uh... whatever Eldest Brother and Second Brother do to work hard, I'll just follow their example."

"I'd believe a ghost before I'd believe you!"

Ye Yaodong: "..."

He was serious, but alas, no one believed him...

The old lady patted Ye Yaodong comfortingly and added, "Splitting the household so each lives their own life is good too. 'Distant relatives smell sweet, close ones stink.' Actually, we should have split long ago."

Sitting by the stove, Ye Mu picked up the conversation: "The money from selling the large yellow croakers is perfect for building houses, saving us from others coveting it. If it's not enough, we'll add all the money earned from future sea trips. It's all being built for you anyway. We originally intended to say this right after breakfast while you were all here, but it got delayed until now."

Then she turned to Ye Fu and said, "In a while, go to the commune and inquire about purchasing the foundation plots. Let's hire people to build the houses as soon as possible."

"Mm." Ye Fu raised his eyes to look at his several sons and daughters-in-law. "This money will be used to build houses, and all money earned from future sea trips will be added to it. Once the houses are built, we will split the household. Do any of you have objections?"

Eldest Brother Ye shook his head. "Dad, you and Mother decide; we have no objections."

Second Brother Ye followed suit: "Dad, you handle it; we have no objections either."

Their wives had nagged in their ears plenty during the night; being able to split the household and live their own small family lives, of course, they had no objections.

Ye Huimei was not yet married, so she would certainly stay with her parents. Being a daughter, the splitting of the household had nothing to do with her; she could just watch.

The matter of using the money to build houses and split the household was thus temporarily settled.

Ye Fu took a few more puffs from his water pipe before heading out.