Although Master Zhang was one of the wealthier families in town, he had never been the sort to abuse his wealth or mistreat others.
When he learned that Gu Qingqing was still alive, he readily agreed to cancel the marriage arrangement.
Fortunately, Old Madam Gu had only told him that Gu Qingqing was gravely ill and close to death. She had never claimed that the girl was already dead.
After seeing the Zhang family’s steward off, Old Madam Gu immediately sent Gu Jinbao from the second branch to fetch the village head and several clan elders.
Then she sat down with Old Master Gu to discuss which pieces of land should be registered under Gu Changxing’s name.
Over the years, the old couple had raised three children, two sons and one daughter.
Their eldest son, Gu Changxing, had married Madam Liu. Together, they had Gu Ping’an, Gu Qingqing, and the fraternal twins, Gu Chunqi and Gu Xia’an.
Their second child, Gu Changfang, was a woman who had taken a husband into her family, Wang Tiezhu. They had four children, three daughters, Gu Zhaodi, Gu Pandi, and Gu Laidi, as well as a youngest son, Gu Jinbao.
Zhaodi and Pandi were both already married and had left home. That left seventeen-year-old Laidi and eight-year-old Jinbao still living with the family.
The youngest son, Gu Changsheng, was the same age as Ping’an. He had just turned eighteen and was still unmarried.
The family owned ten mu of fertile farmland, valued at twelve taels of silver per mu.
They also had four mu of dry land, worth five taels per mu, as well as a small barren mountain valued at eight taels.
Gu Qingqing listened to the old couple muttering and calculating, her hands hanging at her sides slowly tightening into fists.
Even by a conservative estimate, the family owned well over a hundred taels’ worth of property.
Yet for the sake of twenty measly taels, they had been willing to suffocate their own granddaughter to death inside a coffin.
They were worse than animals.
By the time Village Head Gu Changfu and several clan elders arrived, Old Madam Gu and Old Master Gu had already reached a decision.
“Eldest son, our family has quite a bit of land, but your younger brother’s education costs a great deal. Your father and I have decided to give you four mu of dry land and the small barren mountain. You don’t have any objections, do you?”
Even this much made her feel as though she were giving away too much!
Besides, when borrowing money from the local moneylender, the property’s assessed value would be twenty percent lower than its actual market value.
All of it combined would barely be enough to secure a loan of twenty-some taels.
Gu Changxing rubbed his hands awkwardly and nodded.
“You and Father can decide. I’ll do whatever you say.”
As far as he was concerned, a family should stay together, all under one roof.
But his younger brother urgently needed money, and the idea had come from his daughter while the decision ultimately rested with his parents. He did not feel it was his place to argue.
Gu Qingqing silently cursed Old Madam Gu as an old fox.
The family property appeared to have been divided, but in reality, they had given the eldest branch practically nothing.
Dry land was difficult to cultivate, and its grain yield was far lower than that of irrigated farmland.
The barren mountain had not been maintained for years and had long since stopped producing anything of value.
Still, all of this was within Gu Qingqing’s expectations.
She smiled sweetly.
“Grandmother, since we’ve divided the land, shouldn’t we divide the houses too?”
The Gu family’s property consisted of seven mud-brick and tile-roofed rooms in the main courtyard.
There were also three thatched cottages beneath the barren mountain, close to the stream and far away from the village.
Old Madam Gu’s brows shot up.
That little wretch had quite an appetite!
She was about to start cursing when she noticed Gu Qingqing deliberately glancing toward the village head and clan elders.
Only then did she remember.
They were only pretending to separate the household.
But in front of outsiders, they still had to put on a convincing performance. Otherwise, the village gossips would have plenty to say.
Besides, no matter what she gave the eldest branch, she could always take it back from Gu Changxing later.
With that thought, Old Madam Gu readily agreed.
“Of course we’ll divide the house. The old cottages beneath the barren mountain will go to you. The house isn’t as good as the one here, but the foundation is spacious. If you want to rebuild or expand it later, you’ll have plenty of room.”
“Mother, isn’t that giving them a little too much?”
Gu Changfang stood behind the old woman and quietly reminded her, “Once the property deed is officially registered, even if this ends up in court, that house will legally belong to the eldest brother’s family.”
Ever since Qingqing had crawled out of that coffin, Gu Changfang had felt that something was different.
The girl looked exactly the same as before, yet for some reason, Gu Changfang had the strange feeling that she had suddenly grown eight hundred minds of her own.
Village Head Gu Changfu was in the middle of writing the household separation agreement.
Hearing this, he frowned.
“Changfang, what exactly do you mean by that? If you’re separating the household, then naturally anything given to your brother belongs to him. Surely you don’t intend to take it back after the separation?”
But that was precisely what she intended to do!
Gu Changfang knew better than to say that in front of outsiders.
She could only curl her lips and mutter, “Who told Eldest Brother to insist on separating from the family for no reason? Naturally, he should suffer a little and learn his lesson.”
Gu Changfu looked suspiciously at Gu Changxing.
“You were the one who suggested separating the household?”
This cousin of his had always been honest and hardworking.
He had been worked like an ox for years without ever voicing a single complaint.
And now, all of a sudden, had he finally figured things out?
Gu Changxing nodded honestly.
“Yes. My younger brother needs to go to the prefectural city…”
“Eldest nephew, look at the sky. It’s almost dark. We’d better hurry and finish writing this!”
Afraid that Gu Changxing might reveal the truth, Old Madam Gu quickly interrupted him.
“Changxing, go prepare a few torches. You’ll need them to escort your uncles home later.”
“Oh, all right, Mother.”
Gu Changxing immediately got up and walked outside.
He did not notice the goodwill behind Gu Changfu’s questions, nor did he notice the scheme hidden behind his mother’s interruption.
Gu Qingqing watched the whole thing and did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Her father was already in his forties, yet he was still this utterly guileless.
She genuinely could not decide whether to call him innocent or simply foolish.
But it did not matter.
Now that she was here, she would protect this family from now on.
Thinking about what Gu Changfang had said, Old Madam Gu became a little more cautious.
She claimed that it was May, the period between harvests when the fields were still producing little and the family had no surplus grain, so there was no need to divide the food.
As for money, there was even less to divide.
Not a single coin.
Gu Qingqing had originally not cared about these things.
But Old Madam Gu’s latest maneuver made it painfully clear that she still did not regard the eldest branch as human beings.
That was something Gu Qingqing could no longer tolerate.
She poured a bowl of water for Old Madam Gu.
While handing it over, she deliberately turned her back to Gu Changfu and the clan elders and lowered her voice.
“Grandmother, once this household separation agreement gets out, outsiders won’t know the truth. They’ll say you’re cruel and heartless.”
“Especially Old Madam Zhao. You two have never gotten along. Her grandson is also studying in the county. What if she starts telling everyone that you kept all the family property for Uncle and were trying to starve our entire family to death?”
“What if that affects Uncle’s future?”
“She’d dare!”
Old Madam Gu’s narrow eyes widened angrily.
But she knew Gu Qingqing was telling the truth.
That old woman, Zhao, had loved competing with her ever since they were young. Now that they were older, she had only become more shameless and difficult to deal with.
Old Madam Gu lowered her voice.
“Then what should we do?”
Gu Qingqing smiled obsequiously.
“Of course we should divide the property.”
“Not only should we divide it, we should divide as much as possible and make a big show of it.”
“After all, no matter how much you give us, won’t it all still belong to you in the end? All it takes is one word from you, and my father will obediently hand everything back.”
“We’ll simply keep that part quiet. Who outside the family will ever know?”
She continued coaxing her grandmother.
“You and Grandfather will earn yourselves a reputation for being loving and generous. And Uncle’s reputation will benefit from it too!”
Old Madam Gu knew how to paint a beautiful picture for herself.
Gu Qingqing did too.
Old Madam Gu did not truly believe a word the girl was saying.
But when she glanced outside and saw Gu Changxing busily preparing the torches, she felt reassured.
There was one thing she had absolute confidence in.
She could control that son of hers completely.
Before long, with Gu Qingqing offering suggestions and Gu Changfu helping push matters along, the household separation agreement was completed.
Aside from the house, the dry land, and the barren mountain, the eldest branch also received most of the family’s stored grain, pots, bowls, and other household goods.
They agreed to go to the county office the following day to have everything officially recorded. Once the new property deeds were issued, the eldest branch would move out.
Gu Changfang stared at the long list written on the separation agreement, her heart aching with every item.
No.
There was no way she could let the eldest brother’s family take all this away tomorrow.
She absolutely would not allow it!
By the time darkness had completely settled over the village, Gu Changxing lit the torches and escorted Gu Changfu and the clan elders to the door.
As they parted ways, Gu Changfu patted Gu Changxing on the shoulder.
A meaningful smile appeared on his face.
“Little brother, your daughter Qingqing has grown up.”
“Listen to her carefully. The blessings of your family are still to come.”