Chapter 357: Chapter 312: People Should Not Remain Silent

“No way!”

Shen Weiguo glanced at the eldest couple.

The Shen Fangdiao couple shrunk their necks. How long has it been since they received such an authoritative look from the old man? Although the old man usually seemed like a pushover who only listens to the old lady, they knew better than anyone that it was still the old man who truly called the shots in this family.

Shen Weiguo withdrew his gaze and adopted a gentle demeanor towards Shen Fangmai. “Youngest, have you forgotten about your mother and me? We’ll just take one room. How about this: We give you one of the main rooms and also two side rooms equaling three rooms, just like your older brother. How does that sound?”

Su Lianyun was quite surprised. She thought the father-in-law would stick to his original distribution plan. While it was still unfair to their third household, at least they got an additional main room. Seeing her always arrogant sister-in-law now fuming, Su Lianyun was in great spirits—even if it was unfair, she accepted it.

Shen Fangmai thought briefly, “Alright! Then I request that the family money and grains be divided as well.”

Shen Weiguo knitted his brows, thinking to himself that this youngest son was truly getting ahead of himself. He had thought that giving him a bit of sweetness would be enough, but he hadn’t anticipated him to not let it go. Although he was quite displeased with the youngest son, with others present, Shen Weiguo couldn’t afford to lose his temper and scold him. He still maintained the image of a fair family head.

But then, the old lady spoke up earnestly.

“Youngest! We’re a big family, and the three grandsons eat like cows! Tell me, have your dad and I ever scrimped on your rations over the years? It’s not that we don’t want to divide it; it’s that there’s nothing much at home anyway. We do have some grains though, 10 kilos of rice and 20 kilos of sweet potatoes for both households. The rest is for the two of us. Is that okay?”

Su Lianyun once again admired her mother-in-law for her thick-skinned nature—she could say such things without a hint of guilt.

Just as she was about to retort, her husband signaled her to remain calm with his eyes.

Shen Fangmai stood up with a smile and went to the main room, returning shortly with a ledger in hand. When the old lady saw it, her face turned dark, but she couldn’t very well snatch it away without losing face.

Shen Fangmai returned to his seat, glanced uneasily at his parents, then shyly smiled at Captain Liu, perfectly embodying the demeanor of an honest, straightforward man.

Shen Fangmai opened the book, first showing it to Captain Liu, “My mom has a habit of keeping records, regardless of size.”

Captain Liu recognized the one-sided characteristic handwriting immediately, recalling the signatures the old lady made when collecting grain. He was sure this was her accounting book but wisely didn’t question where it came from, understanding the old lady’s nature—getting ahold of it must have been impossible for even the eldest household.

“I found this ledger my mom left on the main room table yesterday. I was afraid she’d forget it, so I put it away in the cabinet, intending to return it later but forgot due to too many things happening.”

If this hadn’t come from the seemingly honest Shen Fangmai, Captain Liu wouldn’t have believed it.

However, the old lady’s face was changing colors rapidly. She was sure Old Three had fished it out from under her bed. But that box was locked; how did Old Three open it? She was utterly unaware.

Today’s move by Old Three made the old lady squint.

She had never thought much of Old Three’s family. The son was honest and incapable of maneuvering, the wife he married was like a blockhead who only knew how to work hard in silence, and the children weren’t sweet talkers. The eldest only had strength but no brains, and the granddaughter was just as silent as her mother—a family that was hard to like.

But now she found Old Three had hidden depths, unknown even to his own mother who raised him.

With the ledger in hand, the third and eldest households split 180 yuan evenly, the remaining went to the two old ones.

Grain-wise, they got 30 kilos of fine grain and 60 kilos of sweet potatoes. Although still not enough to eat, it was far better than at first.

As for caring for the old couple, they initially proposed ten yuan each month, which was eventually reduced to ten yuan a year.

In the end, Captain Liu wrote up a household division agreement in triplicate, each family signed, and of course, Captain Liu signed his name.

With that, the family was officially split.

Shen Fangmai saw Captain Liu out and expressed his heartfelt thanks, “We couldn’t have done it without you today, Brother Liu, otherwise…” He left the sentence unfinished, but both understood.

Captain Liu had once faced the same situation, knowing full well the feeling of being unappreciated in one’s own family. This drew him to Shen Fangmai emotionally, and he patted his shoulder.

“Brother, if you have any difficulties in the future, feel free to come and talk about it. If I can help, I will.”

Shen Fangmai had been waiting for these very words, “Having Brother Liu say that puts me at ease; I’ll come to you if anything comes up.”

Captain Liu: “…” Is it too late to take back what I said?

As Shen Fangmai returned inside, the atmosphere changed immediately—his sister-in-law finally exploded.

Shen Fangmai realized that although the family was divided, getting the eldest household to vacate the allotted room might be quite difficult.

In the city, Jiang Mingyue was reading but occasionally watching Xiao Ran at work.

Unexpectedly, within a short time, Xiao Ran had cleared over twenty square meters of ground, sowed carrot seeds, and still had a large plot left.

Noticing Xiao Ran suddenly looking back at her, Jiang Mingyue quickly lowered her head to her book.

Xiao Ran hesitated to speak to his sister.

After some internal struggle, Xiao Ran dashed over and tugged on Jiang Mingyue’s sleeve. She didn’t immediately look up; only after finishing the page and turning it did she lift her head, looking at him with an inquisitive gaze.

She still didn’t ask him anything.

Jiang Mingyue thought children talking more was cuter and wanted to compel him to speak up.

Finally, Xiao Ran spoke, “Sister, do you know where to buy vegetable seeds? There’s a big empty plot left there.” He didn’t want to waste it.

In Qingshan Village, he could still forage wild vegetables on the mountains, but in the city, there wasn’t anywhere to dig. He knew his sister wouldn’t let coal go hungry, but he didn’t want to burden her.

Jiang Mingyue feigned surprise, “Wow! Xiao Ran is impressive.” She pondered before continuing, “Didn’t your Brother Yun Di bring some chili seedlings? I’ll go get them for you to plant.”

Before long, Xiao Ran found himself troubled by a pile of chili seedlings on the ground. His rabbits surely couldn’t eat chilies, right? He had cleared this space to grow food for Coal. Yet he thought, since the place was rented by his sister, who paid for it, planting chilies to save her the cost of buying them seemed sensible—even if it left Coal’s feed somewhat uncertain.

Jiang Mingyue paid no mind as Xiao Ran planted the chili seedlings. When she finished her book, she noticed her cousin Yong, who was supposed to be busy in the backyard vegetable plot, now helping Xiao Ran water the chili seedlings—all had been planted by then.

“Knock, knock, knock!” came the sound at the small connecting door to number 41. Jiang Mingyue stood up for a stretch, opened the door, and it wasn’t Uncle Mute.

“Pan! Rare to see you, not busy today?”

“Yeah, just came to take a look.” Jiang Mingyue stepped aside, letting Pan Zhoucong in, who then noticed the two extra people at the side.

“Who are they?”

Jiang Mingyue explained briefly, and Pan nodded. While seated in the main room, he noticed four packs of mountain delicacies on the table.

“Are they for sale?”

Jiang Mingyue couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing that a merchant’s instinct was exactly what she had hoped for.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep