Seeing the anxious faces of Old Man Chen and his youngest son with his wife, Old Madam Chen gave them a reassuring look.
She had already made up her mind — since her eldest refused to enter the palace as a eunuch and wouldn’t agree to the girl’s marriage, then separating the family was the best outcome.
Once she drove them out, she’d assign them two mu of barren land and give them just a bit of grain.
Hmph.
When they couldn’t fill their stomachs and were half-starved, they’d come crawling back to her.
By then, wouldn’t that fool obediently hand his daughter over to the butcher’s house himself?
Old Madam Chen shot Chen Qingqing a cold, venomous look and said through gritted teeth:
“Since you’ve decided to move out and live separately, fine. I won’t make things difficult for you. You’ll get what’s rightfully yours, but you’ve no right to fight for what isn’t.”
Chen Zhanshan nodded blankly. “Mother, whatever you say. I’ve no objections.”
Chen Qingqing almost choked in disbelief and quickly added: “Grandma, my father has worked harder than anyone in this family for years. Since you said you won’t make things hard for us, I hope you’ll be fair and keep your word—don’t say one thing and do another.”
“Of course,” the old woman replied coldly.
Chen Qingqing wasn’t fooled.
As the saying went, the older the person, the craftier the fox; she could already guess what tricks the old crone was scheming.
She lifted an eyebrow slightly. “Since we’re dividing the family, there should be witnesses. Words alone don’t count—only a written record will make it binding, so we don’t end up like dogs fighting over a bone later.”
Old Madam Chen’s face darkened. This wretched girl…
Fine. Let her jump around for now. Once they ran out of food, she’d make her kneel and beg.
“Alright,” she said through clenched teeth. “We’ll do it your way.”
Seeing her agree, Chen Qingqing smiled. “Father, Mother, I’ll go find the village headman to come and help us write the document.”
“Go,” her father said weakly, waving a hand. “Mind your manners when you speak to him.”
“I will.”
Chen Qingqing nodded and hurried out of the courtyard.
Just then, the second son’s wife, Madam Sun, entered the yard with a basket over her arm and her son Chen Erbao in tow, followed by her two nephews, Chen Han and Chen Jinye.
“Qing girl, what’s the rush? You look like you’ve got wolves at your heels!”
“Second Aunt, I’m going to find the headman—we’re dividing the family.”
Chen Qingqing jogged all the way to the house of Wu Bao’an, the village headman, guided by the original host’s memories.
“Uncle Headman(Village Head), are you home?”
“Who is it?”
Wu Bao’an came out and, seeing Chen Qingqing, blinked in surprise before smiling. “Qing girl, what brings you here?”
Wu Bao’an was about fifty, of medium build, and known in Nanshan Village as a fair and upright man.
“Uncle,” Chen Qingqing said softly, “my grandmother wants to split our household. I came to ask if you could come witness and write the agreement.”
“Split the family?” Wu Bao’an was taken aback. “Qing girl, what’s going on? Why split the family out of nowhere? In times like these, if you’re cast out, you’ll starve.”
“We have no choice,” Chen Qingqing said, eyes welling with tears. “My grandmother wants to sell me to the butcher in Qingshui Town as a concubine for my third uncle’s study expenses. I won’t marry him…”
Tears glittered in her eyes as she briefly told him everything.
Wu Bao’an sighed heavily.
The Chen family’s mess was infamous.
They had over ten mu of land, all managed by the eldest branch, but the harvest went entirely to fund the third branch’s studies.
The second branch was lazy and cunning, always shirking work.
The third branch lived in comfort—eating well, dressing well, even their daughter Chen Ruolan was pampered like a young lady from town.
Meanwhile, the eldest branch’s children were skin and bones, pale and poorly dressed.
Old Man Chen and his wife’s favoritism was extreme, and it was a wonder the eldest branch had endured this long.
He sighed again. “Alright then, let’s go.”
……
Back at the Chen house, Madam Sun’s heart beat faster when she saw everyone gathered in the courtyard.
She’d had enough of living like this—barely enough to eat, not a bite of meat the whole year, all their money funneled to the third branch. If they split up, maybe life would finally get better.
Suppressing a smile, she stepped forward and said, “What’s all this? You’re dividing the family—does that mean we’ll all live separately from now on?”
Her husband glared at her. “The third brother has no money to pay for his schooling, so Mother found a husband for Qing girl. She refused to marry, so Mother got angry and wants to kick big brother’s family out.”
“Well isn’t that a good thing? The girl’s grown up; she’s bound to marry sooner or later. Who’s the lucky family that big brother’s refusing?”
“The butcher from Qingshui Town.”
“Oh heavens!” Madam Sun exclaimed. “That butcher’s notorious for being a beast in human skin! Better to starve after separation than marry the poor girl off to that monster!”
Her husband pursed his lips. “Exactly. Do you think big brother would ever defy Mother otherwise? They’ve pushed that honest man too far.”
Madam Sun shot a resentful glance toward the third brother’s couple.
They sat idle all day while the whole family slaved to support them, and now they were scheming to sell off Qing girl?
Shameless!
Still, she couldn’t help worrying.
If they split now, how would the eldest family survive?
There was nowhere to beg for food these days.
Wouldn’t that waste such a fine girl?
Then her eyes brightened with an idea.
She smiled ingratiatingly at Old Madam Chen.
“Mother, why work yourself up so much? You’ll only hurt your health. If you ask me, let the girl be—if she doesn’t want to marry, she doesn’t have to. But whatever happens, we mustn’t split the family!”