Chapter 175: Chapter 175: After the Family Split, Preparing the Betrothal Gifts

As for the grain in the storeroom, it was divided equally into three shares—there wasn’t much to discuss about that.

The farm tools and kitchen utensils would be shared for now; whoever got to them first could use them, since there weren’t enough to go around anyway.

The vegetables from the private plot would be eaten together for now, and next spring, when it was time to plant again, they’d divvy up the land.

There were three chickens in the coop—one for each household.

Liu Guifang wanted to keep them all for her youngest son’s wedding, but Xu Mingshan scolded her.

Xu Mingshan understood that splitting up the family was a big deal involving everyone’s interests. If there was even a hint of favoritism, it would cause endless trouble in the future, so he made sure everything was divided fairly.

So far, Xu Huaizhi and Lin Xiaomeng were reasonably satisfied, though not happy. After all, the outcome had been bought at the price of the child they’d longed for, leaving a bitter taste in their mouths.

But what could they do? Once they calmed down, they both knew that tearing things apart would only leave everyone with nothing. It was better to use this opportunity to secure the best deal for themselves. Both husband and wife were pragmatic people.

With the official family-splitting document in hand, Lin Xiaomeng finally felt at ease. She made up her mind to make Xu Huaiyu pay for what he’d done, to avenge her poor child.

Liu Guifang lay in bed, moaning about how unwell she felt, but no one paid her any attention.

She soon started cursing everyone out.

Lin Xiaomeng just treated her like thin air. From now on, she’d never have to put up with this old witch again.

She was still in her postpartum confinement and needed to take care of herself, otherwise she’d suffer lasting health problems.

Xu Huaizhi could only stay home with her for a day before he had to go back to work, so she’d have to manage on her own. But now that she didn’t have to support the whole extended family, she felt much more relaxed.

The day after the split, Liu Guifang sent word to her third son in the county, telling him to come home—the family had been divided.

When Xu Huaiyu heard, he was furious. How could they split the family while he wasn’t even there?

He rushed home, ready to make a scene, only to find out he’d been given two rooms and 1,328 yuan.

It was like a gift from heaven—he’d never expected to get so much money. Now he had enough for his wedding.

And it was all aboveboard; he no longer had to tiptoe around anyone. If he’d known splitting the family would be this good, he’d have done it sooner. He had no idea what this split really meant for him.

The only downside was that he’d completely fallen out with his eldest brother and sister-in-law—they looked at each other like enemies now. There was no hope of them helping him get ration tickets for the “three rounds and one sound” (the must-have wedding items: a bicycle, a watch, a sewing machine, and a radio). He felt a bit regretful, but not at all guilty.

When Lin Xiaomeng heard Xu Huaiyu was back, she was seething with hatred. While cooking, she quietly replaced all the water in the kitchen vat with water from her “Fortune Spring.”

Xu Mingshan and Liu Guifang pulled Xu Huaiyu aside for a talk, asking about his plans—did he want to live separately from them, or stay together?

This was an important distinction.

If he stayed with them, he’d have to hand over his money to his mother for safekeeping, just like before—nothing would change.

If he lived separately, he could keep his own money and spend it as he liked. If he ran out, he could always go back to his mother for more. After all, now that she’d fallen out with the eldest, she’d have to rely on him in her old age.

Xu Huaiyu thought he was being clever, but what he didn’t realize was that Liu Guifang had always been so generous with him because there were several people in the family working hard and bringing in money.

But things were different now. Xu Huaian, the family’s cash cow, was gone, and even Xu Huaizhi was out from under her control—she had no more income.

To put it bluntly, this 1,000-plus yuan was their retirement fund. Every bit spent was a bit less for them. She wasn’t stupid.

In the end, Xu Huaiyu chose to live separately from his parents. To him, it didn’t really matter—he figured someone would always bail him out if he got into trouble.

Xu Mingshan saw right through him. This son was unreliable—lazy, greedy, and spoiled by Liu Guifang. Whether he could support himself was a big question. There was no way to count on him in the future.

The old fox agreed to the split and made it fair and peaceful because he knew things had gone too far this time, and he wanted to leave some goodwill with his eldest son.

When they were truly old and helpless, the eldest would remember today and hopefully not abandon them.

He knew his son well—this time he’d really hurt him, but time heals all wounds. He was careful not to burn all bridges, setting things up for the future.

He’d already warned Liu Guifang never to give Xu Huaiyu any more money, and he hid the couple’s share of the money somewhere even Liu Guifang didn’t know about.

He knew Liu Guifang couldn’t resist Xu Huaiyu’s sweet talk, and he was afraid their last bit of retirement money would be squandered.

So, if Xu Huaiyu wanted to live separately, fine—he’d pay for his own wedding. They wouldn’t give him a cent.

After all, as Xu Huaizhi said, Xu Huaiyu had never contributed a penny to the family—he only ever spent money. What he was getting now really belonged to the second son, but no one had spoken up about it.

Xu Huaiyu knew his parents were already being generous, so he readily agreed to pay for his own wedding.

With over a thousand yuan, he could afford a decent ceremony.

After lunch that day, he took his share of the money and headed back to the city, unaware that Lin Xiaomeng had already drained all his luck with her Fortune Spring.

He happily went to tell Yan Lijun the good news, conveniently leaving out the bad things he’d done.

Yan Lijun was overjoyed—it was like someone handing her a pillow just when she wanted to nap.

She’d been worried about marrying into a big family, all living together and dealing with endless headaches.

She never expected the Xu family to split up so suddenly, and for Xu Huaiyu to get over a thousand yuan—so much money her eyes went wide.

Even though she was a city girl, every family had its own troubles, and she’d never managed so much money before.

When she learned that some of the money would have to go toward buying the “three rounds and one sound,” her heart bled—her money, just given away to her own family.

Yes, she already considered Xu Huaiyu’s money her own.

She had no idea how Xu Huaiyu would react when he found out. She was a little afraid he’d go crazy.

So she treated Xu Huaiyu even more carefully, putting him on a pedestal, hoping he’d go easy on her when the time came.

Xu Huaiyu was always getting into trouble, running in and out all the time, which annoyed the master worker.

“Xu Huaiyu, do you think this is your house? Coming and going as you please? You’ve gone home three times this week already. If you miss home so much, why bother working? Go home and take care of the kids!”

The master’s words were harsh but not wrong. Xu Huaiyu had connections to get the job, but everyone here had some kind of connection, so the master didn’t hold back.

Xu Huaiyu felt humiliated and wanted to quit, but then remembered his father-in-law’s conditions and had to swallow his pride.

“Sorry, Master, I had some family matters to deal with. It won’t happen again. Everyone can keep an eye on me.”

Seeing his sincere attitude, the master let it go.

“If it happens again, don’t bother coming back. This isn’t a retirement home. All of you, tighten up!” The master was talking to Xu Huaiyu, but really addressing everyone.

Xu Huaiyu and Yan Lijun discussed buying the “three rounds and one sound.”

Their biggest problem was that they didn’t have the necessary ration tickets.

Yan Lijun heard that a colleague at her workplace had a soon-to-expire Forever bicycle ticket. She wanted forty yuan for it—not cheap, but not outrageous either.

A Forever brand bicycle itself cost 120 yuan, so altogether it would be 160 yuan for the bike.

Xu Huaiyu, eager to get married, gritted his teeth and agreed, telling Yan Lijun to buy the ticket.

The Yan family, knowing he needed tickets for the “three rounds and one sound,” even contributed a watch ticket—Yan’s father had originally wanted to buy a watch for his son, but since someone else was buying one now, he just handed it over.

Only he knew what his real intentions were.

Xu Huaiyu was moved to tears, saying his father-in-law was so good to him—just giving him such a hard-to-get watch ticket. Compared to that, he hated Xu Huaizhi and his wife even more; his big brother clearly had the means but refused to help.

As the saying goes, evil meets its match.

Now, the only things left were the sewing machine and the radio.

Xu Huaiyu was determined to gather all the “three rounds and one sound” items as soon as possible and get married. He couldn’t stand the kitchen job a moment longer—smoked by the stove every day, hands frozen from washing, constantly lectured by the master and the regular workers.

Let someone else be a temp worker—he was done with it.

After work that evening, he went to the black market to see if he could find a sewing machine or radio without needing tickets.

Maybe it was his shifty look, but he caught the eye of a seasoned black market scammer.

“Hey, brother, are you looking for a ticket-free sewing machine?”

Xu Huaiyu looked at him with innocent, clueless eyes. “You have one, big brother?”

“Just so happens, I’ve got a brand new one at home. My wife’s clumsy, can’t use it—only tried it once or twice, still got the packaging. I’ll sell it to you cheap, how about it?” The man looked very serious.

Xu Huaiyu was half-convinced. “How much?”

Seeing he’d taken the bait, the man held up one finger. “A hundred yuan! I paid 145 plus a sewing machine ticket for it. This price is a real deal, right?”"