“You’re all bullying me! I’m paying for the houses myself.
“Why can’t the homestead be registered under my name?”
Zhang Qiulian took a step back and accused everyone in the room.
Lin Xiulan suddenly walked over and touched Zhang Qiulian’s forehead.
“You don’t have a fever. So why are you talking nonsense?”
Chen Guangming pulled his wife back.
“Sister-in-law, have you lost your mind?
“Don’t you know that village houses can’t be registered under the name of a woman who married into the family?”
That was how things had been in several nearby villages recently.
Village houses could only be registered to people from the village.
It wasn’t just the village chief who wouldn’t approve it—even the elders of the clan wouldn’t allow it.
Zhang Qiulian froze.
She had no idea about this!
Had she just knelt down for nothing?
Hu Yan was equally confused.
In her previous life, after the family division, she had simply gone to Shenzhen with Chen Guangze.
She didn’t know what happened afterward.
Wait.
The man she had seen with Zhang Qiulian was one of the people who had come to the village to record all this information.
Changing a name would probably be child’s play for him.
It seemed she needed to have Chen Guangze investigate that man.
He had spent several years as a street tough in the city and had plenty of connections.
Zhang Qiulian left without saying a word.
Everyone in the family looked at one another, completely confused.
She hadn’t even taken the money.
Teacher Bai placed the money on the table.
“This is the money from the family division. Take your shares.
“Tomorrow, invite the village chief, the village Party secretary, and Uncle Seventh over so we can officially divide the household.
“We’ll also separate the household registrations…”
Before Teacher Bai could finish, Zhang Qiulian suddenly barged back in with members of her maternal family.
Hu Yan’s heart began pounding.
Her maternal family had apparently been nearby all along.
Since the gentle approach hadn’t worked, was she now planning to use force?
The Chen brothers all jumped down from the kang.
They stood in front of the women, shielding them with their bodies.
Tang Lijuan nervously intertwined her fingers with Hu Yan’s and stood behind Chen Guangyao and Chen Guangze.
The room suddenly became so crowded with people that there was barely any room to move.
Leading the Zhang family was an old woman with narrow, triangular eyes and thin lips.
Behind her were several young, able-bodied men who looked like street thugs.
Zhang Qiulian only had one younger brother.
So where had all these people come from?
Hu Yan and Chen Guangze had reached the same conclusion.
Chen Guangze had spent several years mixing around in the city.
Although he didn’t recognize these men, their manner made it obvious that they were the kind of hooligans who made a living through intimidation.
Looks like his sister-in-law had some serious connections.
The Chen brothers might have been outnumbered, but every one of them was tall and broad-shouldered.
They had all inherited Old Man Chen’s height, standing well over 185 centimeters.
In an era when many people struggled just to eat enough, the average height was only around 170 centimeters.
The brothers standing together were intimidating enough that the men Zhang Qiulian had brought didn’t dare make a move.
Chen Ergen and Teacher Bai remained seated on the kang, not moving an inch.
The only people they recognized among the newcomers were Zhang Qiulian’s parents.
They didn’t know the others at all.
Teacher Bai glared at the old woman leading the group.
“Zhang family, what exactly are you trying to do?”
She didn’t even call her a relative by marriage anymore.
It was obvious just how angry she was.
Old Madam Zhang planted her hands on her hips and shouted shrilly,
“What do you mean, what are we trying to do?
“You Chen family have bullied my daughter.
“You’d better give us an explanation today.
“Otherwise, this matter isn’t over!”
Old Madam Zhang was making a scene, but Old Man Zhang was much more pleasant.
He sat down beside Chen Ergen.
“Dear in-law, you’ve got this all wrong.
“Property has always been passed down to the male descendants.
“How can you divide the family like this?”
Chen Ergen leisurely took a sip of tea.
“Exactly.
“We’re dividing it among the male descendants.
“All five of my sons are being treated equally.”
Old Man Zhang was momentarily speechless.
“That’s not what I mean.
“Your sons’ families all have daughters except my daughter, who gave you grandsons.
“Surely you should give the eldest son’s family a larger share.”
Chen Ergen calmly explained,
“The eldest son’s family received twelve mu of farmland, two rooms, and 285 yuan.
“The triplets have already been adopted by two of my sons.
“What else does your daughter want?”
Old Man Zhang smacked his lips inwardly.
The Chen family really is wealthy.
And that ungrateful daughter of mine still isn’t satisfied.
If it were my Zhang family, we wouldn’t give a remarried daughter-in-law a single cent.
But there was nothing left to do except stubbornly push ahead.
Old Madam Zhang refused to back down, emboldened by the thugs behind her.
“Enough nonsense!
“If you don’t redistribute the family property today, don’t expect any peace!”
Teacher Bai raised an eyebrow and looked at Old Madam Zhang.
Her voice was cold and carried a hint of mockery.
“Then tell us.
“How exactly do you want it divided?”
Old Madam Zhang smiled smugly, thinking the Chen family had finally given in.
“That’s more like it.
“Go on, daughter. Tell them.”
Zhang Qiulian stood timidly in the corner.
When she heard her mother’s prompting, she spoke in a soft, tearful voice.
“Mom, Dad, I only want to leave a little property for the children.
“Second brother’s family has to take care of Mom and Dad, so I won’t mention them.
“Third brother’s family lives in the city, and Fourth and Fifth have plenty of money.
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave the houses to their nephews?
“Why are you all so determined to hold on to them?
“As long as you give me the houses, I’ll find a way to change the names on the homestead registrations.”
The entire Chen family was so angry that they almost laughed.
No matter how she phrased it, Zhang Qiulian still wanted the houses.
Hu Yan looked genuinely puzzled.
“Sister-in-law, what exactly is so special about our houses that you’re so determined to get them?
“Don’t tell me there’s something hidden inside them?”
Now the Chen family began to wonder too.
Each family only had two earthen rooms.
Apart from Fifth son’s house, which had been newly built, the rest were already quite old.
Fifth sister-in-law’s question did make some sense.
What was so special about these houses that Zhang Qiulian absolutely refused to let them go?
Lin Xiulan was usually sharp and aggressive and was well known in the area for being a shrewd, calculating woman.
She stared at Zhang Qiulian.
“Could something be buried underneath the houses?”
Hu Yan lowered her head, desperately suppressing her laughter.
She had no idea whether anything really was buried underneath the houses.
She only knew that her second sister-in-law had a truly remarkable imagination.
Zhang Qiulian was equally stunned.
How had the conversation suddenly gone in this direction?
Now there was even less chance of the Chen family giving her the houses.
Old Madam Zhang was also beginning to wonder why her daughter was so obsessed with the houses.
Could there really be something buried underneath them?
Her interest immediately grew.
“My daughter is right!
“Eight hundred yuan for each house is more than generous.
“Call the village chief and Party secretary and have them draw up the family division documents.
“Otherwise, I’ll have my people smash everything!”
Teacher Bai was now completely disappointed in her eldest daughter-in-law.
“Zhang family, do you know what you’re doing?
“This is trespassing and attempted robbery.
“If I call the police, you’ll be arrested immediately.”
Old Man Zhang gave his wife a meaningful look.
Old Madam Zhang immediately shut her mouth.
“Dear in-law, that’s not what this is.
“We’re just here to visit our daughter.
“How can that possibly be called robbery?”
Teacher Bai spoke firmly.
“This is my husband’s and my house.
“It doesn’t belong to Zhang Qiulian.
“You entered a private residence without the owner’s permission.
“That’s trespassing.
“You’re violating our property rights.
“And blocking the doorway like this amounts to unlawful confinement.
“If I report every one of these things to the police, you could be looking at three to five years in prison.
“Are you sure you want to continue?”
Old Madam Zhang tried to act tough, but her voice betrayed her unease.
“Who are you trying to scare?
“Do you dare call the police?
“Don’t forget about your three grandsons.
“If you push my daughter too far, she’ll take all three children away!”
Teacher Bai didn’t want to listen to the woman’s ranting anymore.
She glanced toward her four daughters-in-law.
Hu Yan immediately understood.
She shouted loudly,
“Oh, my goodness! The Zhang family is hitting people!”
As she shouted, she winked at Lin Xiulan and Guan Guiying.
Tang Lijuan was left out of it.
Her belly was too big, and they couldn’t risk her getting hurt.
Lin Xiulan and Guan Guiying were more than ready to play along.