“You stay here and reflect on your mistakes. Father and I are heading back first!” Shen Wu felt not a shred of pity, his heart itching to know exactly how much silver his birth mother had given.
It would be best if his wife didn’t find out about this.
“Feng Shi, hurry up and take all your things away. I won’t allow you to stay here overnight—it would tarnish my reputation, hmph!” Shen Zhiqiu cast a cold glance at the second and third branches before walking away.
“Well, perhaps it’s for the best to separate. Feng, you can still call us Eldest Brother and Sister-in-Law from now on. Even though you and Third Brother have mutually separated, we’re still family. If you need anything, come find us. Dahe, go fetch our family’s cart and ox cart. Later, help your Aunt Feng move.”
“Alright, Mother! Auntie, I’ll come help you move in a bit!” Shen Dahe and He Dashan had a very good relationship, having grown up together since childhood.
“Feng Shi, since you have nowhere to live now, the only vacant house in our village is the one by the back of the mountain. You can move there first. The rent will be 100 Copper Coins a year, just as a token. If you don’t have the money now, you can pay later when you have it.”
“But that house is quite run-down. You’ll need to tidy up a room to stay in first. Tomorrow, I’ll bring some people to help you fix up the place.”
“Thank you, village head and Sister-in-Law. Hong’er, Taohua, and all the children, kowtow to your village head grandpa and the clan elders. If it weren’t for their fairness, our mother and children would have been bullied to death!”
Feng Shi knew that without the village head and clan elders upholding justice, the second and third branches would have gotten nothing from this mutual separation and severing of kinship ties.
“Thank you, village head grandpa, and thank you all for your care, clan elders!” Shen Hong led the way, kneeling down, followed by a chorus of grateful kowtows.
“Good, good, good. All of you, rise. You’re all good children. Now that you’re my fourth brother’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren, I’m still your Eldest Uncle. No need to stand on ceremony!”
The village head helped the youngest, Shen Wenxing, to his feet, visibly moved and emotional.
“What fine children! Third Brother truly brought this upon himself. Don’t take it to heart—your days will get better and better from now on. Let that Third Brother regret it later!” The village head’s wife affectionately held little Wenxing’s hand, treating them like family.
The village head took the three women of his household to tidy up the house by the mountain.
Dahe, along with his younger brother Shen Daniu, helped Feng Shi’s family move, chatting and laughing joyfully along the way.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhiqiu locked up eight of the twelve rooms in the house, leaving only four unlocked.
Clearly, he only allowed them to take their own clothing, while food, bowls, chopsticks, and other items inside the rooms were not to be removed.
But the people of the second and third branches didn’t want to cause further trouble, especially since the Shen family’s property—houses, fields, and the Mountain Forest—were all specified in the letter.
The family cleared out everything from their respective rooms and left the place they had lived in for over twenty years without looking back.
“Dahe, Daniu, we’ve pretty much finished tidying up here. You can head back now. We’ll take care of the rest slowly. Thank you for your hard work today. It’s a shame Auntie has nothing to offer you here, not even a sip of water.”
“Auntie, we’re family. Don’t say such formal things!”
“Exactly! We’ll head back now. You all rest early too. Tomorrow, my brother and I will come back to help repair the house!”
Everyone bid farewell. The house had six rooms: one was the kitchen, one was the main hall, and four were bedrooms. The roofs of two of the rooms were broken, but fortunately, the other two were not as damaged. These two were tidied up.
For a family of seven, the youngest, Shen Wen Xing, and the woman shared one room, while the remaining three men shared the other. It was barely enough for a night’s sleep.
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“Reflect on your actions here; Father and I are going back first!” Shen Wu didn’t feel the slightest bit of pity; his heart was itching to know exactly how much silver his mother had given.
It would be best not to let his wife know about this.
“Feng Shi, take your things and get out of here immediately. I won’t have you staying overnight; it would tarnish my reputation. Humph!” Shen Zhiqiou gave the Second Branch and Third Branch a cold look and walked away.
“Sigh, it’s for the best that you’ve separated. Sister Feng, you should still call us Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law. Even though you’ve had a mutual separation from the third brother, we’re still family. If you need anything, come to us. Dahe, go get our family’s handcart and ox cart to help your Aunt Feng move later.”
“Got it, Mother! Auntie, I’ll come help you move in a bit!” Shen Dahe and He Dashan had a very good relationship; they had grown up together.
“Feng Shi, since you have nowhere to stay, the only vacant house in our village is the one by the Back Mountain. You can move in there for now. Just pay a symbolic 100 Copper Coins a year. If you don’t have the money now, you can pay when you have it later.”
“However, that house is quite dilapidated. Just clean up one room to stay in for now, and tomorrow I’ll bring some people to help you fix the place up.”
“Thank you, Lizheng and Sister-in-law. Hong’er, Taohua, and the children, kowtow to your Grandpa Lizheng and the clan elders. If they hadn’t upheld justice, we would have been bullied to death!”
Feng Shi knew that if the Lizheng and the clan elders hadn’t been fair, the Second Branch and Third Branch would likely have received nothing from this mutual separation and sever kinship ties.
“Thank you, Grandpa Lizheng! Thank you, clan elders, for your protection!” Shen Hong led the way by kneeling, followed by a chorus of voices kneeling in gratitude.
“Good, good, all of you get up. You’re all good children. Since you are my fourth younger brother’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren, I am still your Eldest Uncle. There’s no need to be so formal!”
The Lizheng helped up the youngest, Shen Wen Xing, his face full of emotion and sentiment.
“What wonderful children. The third brother truly committed a sin. Don’t take it to heart; your lives will get better and better. One day, he’ll live to regret this!” Lizheng’s Wife pulled little Shen Wen Xing close affectionately, as if they were one family.
The Lizheng took the three women from his family to help tidy up the house by the mountain.
Dahe brought along his younger brother, Danu, to help Feng Shi’s family move. They chatted and laughed, full of joy.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhiqiou locked all but four of the twelve rooms in the house.
Clearly, he was only allowing them to take their own clothing; he wouldn’t let them take any grain, bowls, or chopsticks from the rooms.
But the people of the Second Branch and Third Branch didn’t want to argue any further. After all, the house, fields, and Mountain Forest of the Shen Family were already documented in the letter.
The family cleared everything out of their respective rooms and left the place where they had lived for over twenty years.
“Dahe, Danu, things are mostly sorted here. You should head back. We’ll take care of the rest slowly. You worked hard today, but unfortunately, Auntie has nothing here—I haven’t even given you a sip of water.”
“Auntie, we’re family. Don’t say such things!”
“Exactly. We’ll be heading back then. You all should get some rest early too. Tomorrow, my brother and I will come back to help repair the house!”
Everyone said their goodbyes. The house had six rooms: a kitchen, a main hall, and four bedrooms. Two of the rooms had holes in the roofs, but fortunately, the other two weren’t as badly damaged, and they managed to get those two ready.
For the family of seven, the youngest, Shen Wen Xing, stayed with the women in one room, while the three remaining men stayed in the other. They could just barely manage for one night.