Split the family?
Everyone was taken aback at first. It wasn’t hard to understand why Chen Qiaoyu wanted to split the family.
Anyone stuck with a father like hers and a stepmother like that would want to do the same.
But the key question was… where would they live after splitting?
If they didn’t leave the house, then what difference would splitting the family even make?
Qiaoyu’s uncle, Yu Laifu, gritted his teeth. “Fine. Split it is. From now on, Qiaoyu and Qingyang will come live with me in Xiaolugou…”
Times were tough at home, but given the situation, he couldn’t leave Qiaoyu in the hands of Chen Liang and Yao Jinhua.
Aunt Jin’s husband, the brigade Party branch secretary Yao Deshui, quickly stopped him. “Brother, that won’t work. Qiaoyu and Qingyang’s household registrations are in our village. Their work points and grain ledgers also belong to Yaojiacun. You can’t just transfer those!”
Yao Deshui had been tipped off by Aunt Jin and knew Qiaoyu wanted to split the family.
But splitting within the village was one thing. Splitting to another village wouldn’t work—household registration and work points were tied to the village. Unless she got married, she couldn’t move them.
Yu Laifu was furious. “So you’re saying Qiaoyu has to stay in the hands of that heartless father and stepmother? That we have to wait until something terrible happens before she can split?”
Hearing this, the men he’d brought from Xiaolugou Village chimed in loudly, “Exactly! Do you have to wait for a tragedy before letting her split? Are you trying to drive Qiaoyu to her death?”
Yu Laifu had come armed with tools and a fierce attitude. Although the Yaojiacun villagers weren’t thrilled, they couldn’t say much—after all, his niece had nearly been harmed right in their village.
Brigade leader Yao Jinbao was especially afraid of trouble. He quickly tried to placate Yu Laifu and the others. “Brothers from Xiaolugou, don’t get worked up. We’re discussing this, aren’t we?”
“Given Qiaoyu’s situation, we certainly won’t make her stay in that house. But if she splits the family, the two children still need somewhere to live, right?”
Yu Laifu raised his voice. “Then what do you suggest we do?”
Just as the brigade leader was at a loss, Aunt Jin elbowed her husband. “Yao Deshui, now’s your turn as branch secretary to speak up.”
Yao Deshui shot his wife a look but immediately stepped forward. “I have an idea. Let’s all hear it and see if it works.”
The brigade leader, frazzled, said, “Go ahead, go ahead. I’m listening.”
Only then did Yao Deshui speak. “What if we let Qiaoyu and Qingyang live in the Educated Youth Courtyard? After all, it’s still the Chen family’s old property.”
The Educated Youth Courtyard?
Some of the older villagers immediately remembered. “Hey, that’s right. The Educated Youth Courtyard really is the Chen family’s old house.”
“Chen Liang’s second uncle had no children. After he passed, the house was given to the educated youths.”
“In the past couple of years, most of the educated youths have returned to the city. There are still two or three left. Qiaoyu and Qingyang could move in there.”
Brigade leader Yao Jinbao was overjoyed. “Right! Why didn’t I think of that? That old house really does belong to the Chen family.”
Just as he was about to speak, old branch secretary Yao Deshui continued, “But there is one more complication.”
“What is it, Second Uncle? Can’t you just say it all at once? Stop torturing me!”
Yao Jinbao was on the verge of tears. Yao Deshui was technically his uncle and also held the position of brigade branch secretary—Yao Jinbao dared not complain, but he was at the end of his rope.
Yao Deshui, putting on an air of impartiality, said, “Back then, when the Chen family’s second uncle died without children, the responsibility for his funeral arrangements should have fallen to his nephews, including Chen Liang and his cousins. But not one of them was willing to take it on. Do you all remember that?”
“We remember!”
“I remember too! Chen Liang, Chen Ren, Chen Yi—none of them are any good!”
Chen Liang: “…”
He had already quietly retreated to a corner, only to be dragged back into the line of fire.
Yao Deshui continued, “Since Chen Liang and his cousins refused to handle it, the village collective paid for the funeral. Because of that, the old house ended up belonging to the village and was given to the educated youths to live in.”
Yao Deshui put on a stern face, feigning reluctance. “This old Chen family house is now village property. It wouldn’t be right to just let Qiaoyu and Qingyang live here for free, would it?”
As soon as he said this, Aunt Jin was so angry she pinched his back. “Yao Deshui! Are you even human?!”
Yao Deshui winced in pain but didn’t dare show it.
Chen Qiaoyu, however, noticed that some of the watching villagers were quietly nodding in agreement—that was how village folk were. They’d help you in times of trouble, but if you were getting an unfair advantage, not many would be pleased.
Yao Deshui, still smarting from the pinch, didn’t dare drag it out any longer. He quickly finished in one breath. “Back then, the village spent fifteen yuan on Second Uncle Chen’s funeral. So the house was effectively mortgaged to the village for that amount. Now, if Qiaoyu and Qingyang want to live in it, here’s my proposal—pay thirty yuan to the village. What does everyone think?”
Old village houses weren’t worth much, but thirty yuan was still a considerable sum to the villagers.
Yaojiacun also operated as the Yaojiacun Production Team. The team distributed money during the New Year. If Yao Deshui said this today, then the thirty yuan would naturally be divided among everyone at New Year’s.
With that, no one had any further objections. Everyone agreed with Yao Deshui’s idea.
Yu Laifu hesitated, then whispered to Chen Qiaoyu, “Qiaoyu, maybe you and Qingyang should just come live at your uncle’s house?”
Thirty yuan… not too much, not too little.
In the city, that was a full month’s wages for a regular worker, assuming they ate nothing and spent nothing. But in these times, an ordinary person’s money already went to food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—not to mention weddings, funerals, children’s school fees, and all the rest.
Not many people could cough up that kind of cash outright.
In the village, it was even harder. Villagers got plenty of grain, but cash was truly scarce.
Yu Laifu wanted to pay the money himself, but thinking of his own family’s situation, he couldn’t bring himself to say so.
But Chen Qiaoyu was already quite pleasantly surprised.
Thirty yuan was more than reasonable for some peace and quiet.
Qiaoyu said to Yu Laifu, “Uncle, Qingnan and Qiaoli haven’t come back yet. I need to stay in Yaojiacun and wait for them. What if one day they find their way back but can’t find me or Qingyang? I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”
Yu Laifu thought it over. That was true. If the twins came back and Qiaoyu and Qingyang weren’t there, and Chen Liang and Yao Jinhua got wind of it and sent them away again—that would be truly tragic.
“Alright, then. It’s settled. Your uncle will go find your younger uncle and aunt, and we’ll pool together to cover the thirty yuan.”
Qiaoyu knew this wasn’t the time for false modesty, so she agreed. But she also made a plea to the brigade leader and branch secretary. “It’s August now. Would it be alright if I pay in full before the New Year?”
No one had any issue with that. Everyone in the village knew Qiaoyu had just turned eighteen and Qingyang was only thirteen—still kids.
Though they weren’t keen on seeing the children get an unfair advantage, no one wanted to kick them while they were down.
So they agreed.
As for Chen Liang and Yao Jinhua’s opinions—they didn’t matter at all.
Not that they’d dare have any. They were too busy being scolded.
With the family split settled in front of the whole village, Aunt Jin led a group of village women, and Yu Laifu led the young men from Xiaolugou Village, helping Chen Qiaoyu move.
“Move” was a generous term. There was hardly anything to move. One camphorwood chest left behind by Qiaoyu’s biological mother, containing the siblings’ old textbooks and two changes of clothes.
Two straw mats and half a sack of grain.
The tables, chairs, and benches had been used for years and were missing legs and arms. The hoes and shovels belonged to the collective and couldn’t be divided.
As for the pots, bowls, and chopsticks—Qiaoyu didn’t want them anyway. She found them disgusting. “I’d rather never eat from the same pot as them again.”
And so, with everyone’s help, the two siblings moved into the old Chen family house.