"Members of the Gao family, dividing the household like this is quite uncalled for," the production team captain said, the corner of his mouth twitching violently.
Old Man Gao was just about to explain when Old Mrs. Song stopped him. "Captain, you know how it is. Our house is only so big. If Gao Laosan’s wife wants to divide the family, she has to move out. Otherwise, how could it be called dividing the family if we still live together?"
"Besides, I gave her two hundred yuan. It’s more than enough for her to build an adobe house in the village." Old Mrs. Song’s meaning was clear: it was true she was kicking her out, but she had given her money.
A full two hundred yuan. In the countryside, what family could afford to give a widow so much money? The Gao family had been very benevolent. Sure enough, the captain’s thoughts followed Old Mrs. Song’s reasoning upon hearing this.
Bai Jiu was not about to take the blame. "Mother, were you planning to give me two hundred yuan for dividing the household? Why didn’t you tell me? Hmph."
Old Mrs. Song gritted her teeth in anger. "Didn’t I already give you the money? I even gave it to you along with Zhijun’s allowance," she said with a bitter and miserable expression.
"Mother, you’re wrong to say that. It’s only right that Zhijun’s allowance goes to me. After all, he still has two children in this world to raise. You can’t possibly expect a lone woman like me to raise them all by myself," Bai Jiu argued. "Furthermore, could the two hundred yuan you mentioned be Zhijun’s compensation money?" She covered her mouth with her hand, feigning shock. "Mother, how... how could you do this?" With that said, Bai Jiu began to cry out of grievance.
The matter of the Gao family dividing their household had caused quite a stir, and busybodies had long since rushed over to watch from outside. Hearing Bai Jiu’s words now, everyone began to enjoy the spectacle. Sarcastic remarks flowed endlessly.
"Oh, I thought Old Mrs. Song had turned over a new leaf. Turns out she’s using her own son’s belongings to divide his family. I can’t believe she came up with that."
"That’s nothing. If it weren’t for Zhijun’s special status, Gao Laosan’s wife probably wouldn’t even be able to stay here in peace."
One by one, they speculated about Old Mrs. Song with the greatest malice.
"You lazy wenches, are you all bored out of your minds? What are you doing at my house? Get out, all of you, get out!" Hearing their words, Old Mrs. Song was having none of it. She knew very well that not a single woman in the village had a kind mouth.
Bai Jiu didn’t want to drag this out either. She just wanted to finalize the division of the household. Nothing else mattered.
"Captain, please just stamp this. I agree to it," Bai Jiu said, wiping away her tears with her ragged sleeve. "As long as I can keep my two children fed, I’ll be satisfied."
The captain sighed. Although he was the production team captain, it really wasn’t his place to interfere in the domestic affairs of his team members. "Since you have no objections, I’ll go ahead and stamp it. Once this stamp is pressed, it can’t be changed," he said, feeling a pang of sympathy for the mother and her two children.
"Yes, I won’t change it."
She would be crazy to change her mind. She couldn’t wish for it more! Hmph, from now on, she would have absolutely nothing to do with the Gao family. Aside from the annual grain allowance for their elderly care, she wouldn’t give them a single thing.
Soon, the captain took out the red seal and, THUMP THUMP THUMP, stamped the production team’s seal onto the three pieces of paper.
"Alright, here are the division documents. One copy for each family, and the last copy will be kept with the team." The captain didn’t want to stay here any longer either. "However, Bai Jiu, what are your plans now?" he couldn’t help but ask after packing his things away.
"Captain, I was wondering if there are any empty houses in the village? I’d like to buy one." She wasn’t planning on living in the village for too long anyway. If possible, she wanted to see if she could find a job in the city. Although it wouldn’t be long until the Reform and Opening Up, she still wanted to give her children a better life sooner. Since she had come here and taken over the original owner’s body, she had to shoulder the responsibilities that came with it.
The captain thought for a moment. There weren’t many empty houses in the village. Aside from the former landlord’s estate, there really was no empty space. However, that place had been divided into two sections. One side was given to the village’s sent-down youth, and the other side was for the sent-down elderly folks who were doing manual labor. The sent-down youth’s side was definitely a no-go, as there wasn’t even enough room for them to live. That left only...
"There is a place, but it’s occupied by some of the sent-down elderly folks. If you don’t mind, you can have a room allocated to you over there. There’s no need to buy it. Whenever you have the time and money later on, the team can allocate a homestead plot for you to build your own house."
If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn’t be happy about living with those sent-down elderly people. But Bai Jiu was different. She knew that those people were all highly capable individuals. In just two more years, they would undoubtedly rise to the top again. Although she wouldn’t try to curry favor with them, she knew the saying that "an extra friend means an extra path."
"Alright." After pondering for quite a while, Bai Jiu agreed.