Xue Yue took a deep breath and touched her flushed cheeks. 'I'm definitely overthinking things.'
It was obvious He Lang didn't see her that way.
'Oh well. I'll just think of it as a marriage of convenience.'
He Lang had no idea. He simply felt that she was still young and, given their large age gap, that he ought to give her some time to adjust.
Instead, his actions had made his young wife think he didn't find her desirable and was only settling for a marriage of convenience.
After breakfast, Mr. He formally brought up the matter of dividing the family.
"He Lang, go get the village chief and your Uncle He to come act as witnesses."
As He Lang left, the rest of the family remained silent, each with a different expression on their face.
A short while later, He Lang returned with the village chief and Uncle He.
On the way over, He Lang had already explained to the village chief and Uncle He why Mr. He had summoned them.
As soon as they entered, Uncle He said to Mr. He, "Second Brother, He Lang just got married yesterday. You and Sister-in-law are still young, why are you dividing the family now?"
Mr. He invited the village chief and Uncle He to sit on the kang. "Eldest Brother, when a tree grows large, its branches divide. The children have all started their own families, so my wife and I can rest easy. From now on, let them manage their own small households. It'll be less worry for us, too."
For reasons unknown, Uncle He simply patted Mr. He's shoulder, sighed, and said no more.
Mr. He then looked at the three brothers and said, "The family's grain will be divided into four shares, one for each of you three brothers. This year's harvest was decent, so if you're frugal, your share should last until the next grain distribution.
There are five rooms in the house. Each family gets one room—the one you're living in now. Xiao Yun's room will be kept for her, so she has a place to stay when she comes back.
The pots, bowls, and utensils will be divided amongst you according to the number of people in your family. Leave the iron wok for your mother and me.
Then there are the private plots. There's a large one and a small one. The large one will be split between the eldest and second brothers. The small one will go to the third brother. Your mother and I don't want any. In the future, when you grow vegetables, just give us some.
The family has five chickens in total. Each family gets one, and two will be left for us. There's also one quota pig. At the end of the year, after we turn it in to meet the quota, the meat we get back will be divided equally.
Next is the money."
As he spoke, Mr. He glanced at Mrs. He.
Mrs. He took out a handkerchief. Wrapped inside was a stack of money.
"The family has 192 yuan left. Previously, He Ze used 200 yuan to buy his job, and then there was He Lang's wedding. Your mother and I will keep 20 yuan. He Ze's family and He Lang's family will each get 10 yuan. The rest will go to your eldest brother. He Ze and He Lang, don't think this is unfair. He Ze has a job. And He Lang, you haven't worked the fields much these past few years. For the last two years, your eldest brother and I have been the ones earning all the work points for this family. So, you're not getting a raw deal.
As for your mother and me, we don't plan to live with any of you. You can live your own lives, and we'll live ours. We can still work, so you don't need to worry about taking care of us. When the day comes that we can no longer work, you will each give us 20 jin of grain and 5 yuan per month."
After speaking, Mr. He looked at the three brothers. "Do you have any objections? If you do, speak now. Don't complain about it being unfair later."
No one in the room said a word.
Just as Mr. He was about to speak again, the second son's wife, Gao Cuiyun, spoke up. "Father, I can let the rest slide, but on what grounds does our family get the same as the third branch? Third Brother does nothing all day, while our He Ze turns in his salary every month."
He Ze sat silently, clearly agreeing with his wife.
Mr. He looked at He Lang. "He Lang, what do you think?"
He Lang glanced at He Ze. "Father, our family won't take the ten yuan. Give it to the second branch."
Mr. He nodded. "He Ze, I'll give you He Lang's ten yuan. Is that acceptable to you?"
He Ze nodded.
"I'm dividing the family today because you've all grown up and have your own little families. But there's an old saying: 'Even if you break the bones, the tendons still connect them.' You are brothers. That is a bond that cannot be broken. In the future, if any one of you is in trouble, the rest of us should help if we can."
"We understand, Father," the three brothers replied.
Mr. He then turned to the village chief. "Village Chief, I'll have to trouble you to write up an agreement for them to sign. Then the family will officially be divided."
The village chief nodded. An agreement was written for each family, and everyone signed their names.
After the village chief and Uncle He left, they began to divide the grain.
Since the He Family only had one cellar for storing grain, the divided portions were still kept in the same cellar.
Since there was only one iron wok in the house, they would continue to eat together for a few days. Once each family bought their own pot, they would start cooking separately. Of course, anyone who didn't want to eat together could cook on their own at a different time.
The eldest brother, He Nan, was the first to approach He Lang, asking if he had any connections to buy a pot.
He Lang nodded, then went to ask the second branch if they also wanted to buy a pot.
"Third Brother, about how much does a pot cost?" He Ze asked He Lang.
He Lang said, "A couple of days ago, my wife's eldest brother also divided his family, and he asked me to help him buy a pot. It cost 16 yuan, plus 5 industrial coupons."
"That expensive?" Gao Cuiyun cried out. She had just pocketed 20 yuan, and now she had to fork over 16. She was a bit reluctant.
"Third Brother, 16 yuan is too much. Can you get it any cheaper?"
He Lang smiled faintly. "Second Sister-in-law, I'm not the one selling it, so I can't haggle. If you think it's too expensive, you can go ask around about the price yourself. You might find a cheaper one."
He Ze shot Gao Cuiyun a look. "Third Brother, don't listen to your sister-in-law's nonsense. We'll buy one."
Gao Cuiyun caught He Ze's glare and reluctantly pulled the money from her pocket, handing it to He Lang.
He Lang took the money and left.
Gao Cuiyun watched He Lang walk away before asking He Ze, "Dear, you don't think Third Brother will take a cut from us, do you?"
He Ze shook his head. "Probably not. Even though I've never bought one myself, I know iron woks are expensive. Besides, He Lang is definitely not getting this through normal channels, and they're really hard to buy otherwise."
Gao Cuiyun's eyes widened. "You mean, he's going to the black market?"
He Ze nodded.
Three pots. Where else could you buy that many at once if not the black market?
He Lang went back, made a list with Xue Yue of the things they needed to buy, and then left.
He Lang left and didn't come back until the middle of the night.
Xue Yue had been waiting up for He Lang, but she couldn't stay awake and eventually fell asleep.
The sound of the door opening startled Xue Yue awake, and she saw him come in.
"Why are you back so late? Have you eaten?" Xue Yue got off the kang and walked over to He Lang.
He Lang saw that Xue Yue was still dressed and the lamp was still lit. Her face was flushed from sleep. This was the first time he had ever come home in the middle of the night to find someone waiting for him.
He Lang patted Xue Yue's head. "I've eaten. It just took a while to buy everything."
Xue Yue glanced at the snakeskin bag he was carrying.
"Did you get everything?"
He Lang nodded. "Yeah. The pot is in the courtyard. Tomorrow, I'll get a couple of guys to build a stove, and then we can start cooking for ourselves."
"Okay."
He Lang looked at Xue Yue's big, watery eyes and smiled. "Go on back to sleep. You don't have to wait up for me in the future."
Xue Yue yawned and nodded. "Okay, I'll go back to sleep then. You should get to bed soon, too."
With that, she climbed onto the kang, took off her outer clothes, and was soon letting out soft snores.
He Lang watched Xue Yue fall asleep, then went outside to wash up.