Perfumery

31-40

Chapter 31: Separation

Grandma Bai said that they would separate the family today, but Bai Xin just wanted to do it. He clenched his fists and nodded, "Okay." Grandma

Bai was angry and was about to turn around and lead the way, but Xu secretly pulled her sleeve from behind and winked at the main room. Grandma Bai immediately understood what she meant, lowered her head and stared at Bai Xin, sneering, "You're just a child, can you make the decision? Let your mother come out and go with you to find Li Zheng. Don't regret it later and say that I forced her."

Bai Xin saw their actions clearly. When he heard that his mother was going to come out, his heart was in suspense again, for fear that his mother would not agree. He looked at the room where his mother was with a complicated expression.

Seeing that Bai Xin did not react, Grandma Bai and Mrs. Xu had different reactions. The former was relieved. Although she did not like the eldest wife, she was still unwilling to split up the family. Mrs. Xu was different. Now that Dalang, the only one in the eldest wife who could work in the fields, was injured, it was still unclear whether he could survive. She was afraid that if he died, she would have to pay for the funeral. She wanted to split up the eldest wife immediately, and let them go their separate ways. It didn't matter to them who lived or died.

"Sanlang, you just said so many harsh words. Don't pester us again if your mother disagrees, right?" Mrs. Xu couldn't help but used the method of provoking. She stared at Bai Xin's expression with her eyes. Seeing that he was not annoyed at all, she thought it was useless and thought about what harsh words he was saying.

No one else knew what Bai Xin was thinking. Seeing that Xu was about to speak again, he said first, "I'll go to the house and ask mother to come out."

Xu rolled her eyes and urged, "Go quickly."

Bai Xin entered the house and saw that the whole family was looking at him. Even the eldest brother half-closed his eyes and forced his neck to rush to the door. It was obvious that he had just listened to the noise outside.

Cao's eyes were full of tears and she looked at Bai Xin complainingly, "Sanlang, if we split up, how can we live?"

Bai Xin was furious. Cao was convinced that if they left the Bai family, their eldest branch would starve to death. She had been holding back her anger, but what was the result? When the eldest brother was sick, she didn't even give him money to see a doctor, and left him on the bed to die.

Before Bai Xin could say anything, the aunt begged, "Mom, I can make purses, embroider handkerchiefs, and sew soles. I can earn money for the family. Please just listen to the third brother."

"Do you think that little change is enough to support a large family?" Cao retorted sharply, trying to convince Bai Xin and the aunt.

Dalang struggled on the bed for a few times, and was supported by the eldest sister-in-law to sit up. Such a simple action made him breathless. "Third brother, don't make trouble with grandma. I'm fine now. I'll go and apologize later. Don't mention the division of the family anymore." After saying that, a self-blaming expression flashed across his face, and he angrily pounded the bed, but his raised arm kept shaking, and finally he put it down softly.

When the eldest sister-in-law saw her husband in such a state, and still wanted to work, her heart ached and she lowered her head to wipe her tears.

Although Bai Xin knew that Dalang had good intentions, he did not approve of his cowardice, "Brother, what are you talking about? How can you go to work in the fields in this state?"

"I'm fine, that's great." Dalang was still pretending to be strong. As soon as he finished this sentence, his face twisted a little. It turned out that his stomach was aching, as if a dagger was stabbed in it, and then it was twisted in circles. No

one else noticed it, only Manniang who was next to him found out. She cried even harder, put her hand on the other's arm, and whispered: "I can also do some needlework and take it to the town to exchange for money, at least I can buy you medicine."

Although the eldest sister-in-law did not say it very clearly, everyone still heard that she also agreed to divide the family.

After hearing what she said, Dalang felt as if he had eaten bitter herbs. He blamed himself and felt sorry for his wife. He shed tears unconsciously, "It's all my fault that my body is not doing well."

Although Wuniang was young, she also understood a lot. Now she was honestly shrinking in the corner without saying a word.

Facing the weak people in this family, you must be strong. Cao was about to speak, but Bai Xin suddenly interrupted him and said in an unquestionable tone: "Mother, you don't have to worry about the next thing. Anyway, let Li Zheng make a judgment first. At least with Li Zheng presiding, our family will not be kicked out." Cao had no opinion

. Seeing that her daughter and daughter-in-law said so, she was a little shaken in her heart. She had to follow Bai Xin out crying. The aunt knew her mother best and was worried about her, so she followed her.

Bai Xin was afraid that his mother would change her mind later, so when he was about to leave the house, he quickly threw out a threat, "Mom, if you change your mind later, then you can just pretend that you don't have me as your son."

Cao's eyes went dark, and before she could digest these words, she heard her eldest daughter's firm voice coming from the other side, "Mom, if we don't divide the family today, I will run away tomorrow. Even if I can find a job as a seamstress, I won't stay here."

Cao almost couldn't stand, and she staggered a few steps. The thought of begging for mercy in her heart was extinguished at this moment.

In the yard, second uncle Ding also came out. The latter represented the third house. Originally, the third uncle should also be present for such a major event as the division of the family, but Ding was afraid that if it dragged on for too long, there would be variables, so he cut the Gordian knot. Now the second and third houses have a common hatred of the enemy, and they regard the first house as a snake, scorpion and beast, and they are united in dealing with it. Just now, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law discussed for a long time in the yard, and seeing that Cao did not come out for a long time, they couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

When Grandma Bai and the others saw Cao's aggrieved look, they were all wondering whether she would beg for mercy. Xu's heart skipped a beat, fearing that she would give in, so she deliberately sarcastically said, "Oh, sister-in-law, you're so slow. Are you scared? Do you want to beg for mercy?"

Cao moved her lips a few times but said nothing. She looked down at her son, then at her daughter, and finally looked away.

Bai Xin was too lazy to talk to them. Seeing that it was getting late, he quickly took his mother's hand and walked out, "Let's go and let Li Zheng be a witness!"

The second uncle followed behind Grandma Bai without saying a word. Xu wanted to follow too. She told her daughter to look after the house and gave a hint to the big house. Then, the group went out with different thoughts in mind. Except for Cao, everyone present was probably wishing they could shrink the earth. In a blink of an eye, they arrived at

Li Zheng's house. Although Li Zheng's family and Bai's family were in the east and west, they were in the same village and arrived in less than a quarter of an hour. Li Zheng's daughter-in-law was busy preparing lunch in the kitchen. Seeing Bai's family coming at lunch time, she felt strange and wanted to go over to take a look, but she had to cook and couldn't leave the kitchen. She was so anxious that she scratched her ears and cheeks and forgot to add salt when cooking.

Everyone in the village knew that the second son of the Bai family was studying in the town. Li Zheng was very cunning. Although the Bai family was very poor, they were very polite when they met each other. He welcomed everyone in with a smile.

Grandma Bai hesitated for a few words before explaining her purpose. In her opinion, although she wanted to drive away the eldest wife immediately, it would not sound good to tell others that she was still alive and was arguing about the division of the family.

Li Zheng didn't find it strange at all when he heard that the Bai family wanted to divide the family, but he was not a heartless person. He first looked at Cao and asked, "Do you agree to the division of the family?"

When Cao saw Li Zheng, she was so scared that her face turned pale and she couldn't speak a complete sentence. Li Zheng patiently asked again.

There were countless voices in Cao's heart shouting that she disagreed, but when she thought of the attitudes of her children, she swallowed those words. She glanced at Bai Xin, who nodded encouragingly. Cao gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, "I agree."

Xu and Ding breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't hear what Cao said just now, and they were afraid that she would come in and talk nonsense and make a scene. Now that they heard her personally agree, the family was divided.

Li Zheng nodded, and asked his second uncle and Mrs. Ding one by one. The two answered very quickly. Li Zheng saw that the third son of the Bai family was not there, and was still a little hesitant. Mrs. Ding quickly said: "My husband also knows that he can't come back from the town." Li Zheng

saw that the others did not refute, so he nodded as a yes.

It's said that the family is divided, but how to divide it is still a matter of discussion. If the old man is not there, the three brothers will be divided equally, and there is nothing wrong. But Grandma Bai is still there, so everyone casts their eyes over, and Li Zheng asked: "Grandma Bai, how do you think this family should be divided?"

"How can it be divided? They are the eldest son who is clamoring to divide the family. If you have the guts, get out, and don't want a penny from me." Grandma Bai was so angry that her face turned red and her neck was thick when she thought of Sanlang's nonsense just now.

Li Zheng was a little embarrassed and looked at Cao, who seemed to have guessed this would happen and cried.

"That won't do." Bai Xin stepped out of the crowd.

"Why not?" Grandma Bai sneered, "I'm still alive, I say how to divide it, and you can divide it the same way!"

Bai Xin was calm and composed, "This is not called splitting up the family, but sweeping our eldest wife out of the house."

Grandma Bai snorted a few times and said nothing, which was considered as tacit consent.

Bai Xin looked at Xu slowly, "I don't mind, but Erlang is going to be an official in the future. If people in official circles knew that he was disrespectful to his brothers and rushed out of the house when he was seriously ill, I'm afraid his reputation would be bad, right?"

Xu had just felt relieved in her heart, but now the signs suddenly burned on her. She turned pale, trembling with anger, and screamed, "What does this have to do with Erlang? It was you who wanted to split the family."

"There are many cases of mutual deception in official circles. When the time comes, no matter what you are like, it will be enough to have an excuse to suppress you."

Xu was a village woman, how could she understand all this? She was so scared that her face turned pale, and there was a ferocity in her eyes. She wished she could be torn to pieces by Bai Xin.

Li Zheng looked at Bai Xin in amazement. He didn't expect that Bai Xin knew so much at such a young age. No wonder he was so confident at the beginning. He also wanted to help the eldest family, so he nodded and said, "Sanlang is right. If Erlang becomes an official in the future and this happens, his political enemies will definitely use it to suppress him."

Although Grandma Bai and the others were skeptical at first, they believed it completely after hearing what Li Zheng said. They were so angry that their teeth itched. Grandma Bai gritted her teeth and said, "How do you want to divide it?"

"The family land is divided into three parts, one for each family."

As soon as Bai Xin's voice fell, Xu interrupted him abruptly, "That won't work!"

"Why not?"

"That's right...that's right..." Xu couldn't say it at first, but then her eyes rolled and she came up with an excuse, "You have the most children in your family, and it takes a lot of food to feed you. Dalang is sick, and he has to take medicine, wine, and medicine, which costs a lot of money. How can we divide it equally? We have to compensate him a little."

The Bai family almost entirely depends on those to maintain their survival. Giving away one third of it at once would cost them their lives.

Bai Xin didn't plan to ask for the land at first. Not to mention that the eldest son of the family only had one laborer, Dalang, who was now ill. If they really relied on the food produced from the land to exchange for money, the whole family would go hungry. "If we don't get the land, then I want the house next to our home."

Now, with the previous comparison, it is easier to accept the house. The place Bai Xin mentioned was where he hid the Cyperus rotundus before. It was originally the second son's family, but it was later destroyed by fire and the Bai family had no money to repair it, so it became abandoned.

Anyway, the house has been vacant all the time. When Grandma Bai heard that Bai Xin wanted a house, she was tempted. As long as it didn't require the land to make money, everything would be fine. However, because Xu had lived there before, she naturally regarded the house as her own private property. She also planned to tidy it up after Erlang got married in the future. But when she heard that Bai Xin had set his eyes on that place, she felt a little uncomfortable.

Li was thinking about resolving the matter quickly and trying to smooth things over. "You can't really force them, an orphan

and a widow, to become a nun. If the eldest wife gets a share of the land, she will have to live with you temporarily. If she gets a house, she can move out directly." His words hit the soft spot of Grandma Bai and the others. They didn't want to give up the land, nor did they want to live with them. Anyway, the house was shabby and uninhabitable. Grandma Bai was waiting to see the eldest wife's miserable appearance. She gritted her teeth and shouted, "Okay! Give the house to their eldest wife. I've said this before. I'll give you the house. Don't come to my house again in the future, and don't even think about ruining my Erlang's reputation!"

"Okay! From now on, our eldest family will have nothing to do with you!" After Bai Xin said this, he felt that the bad temper he had been holding for these days had finally been released. Li Zheng was

a little embarrassed to see the Bai family get to this point, but he finally took out a pen and paper and started writing a document, with him as a witness. He wrote the year, month and day at the end and signed his name. None of the Bai family members could read, and Bai Xin didn't want to show off, so he pressed a series of red handprints on it.

Bai Xin held the document and looked at the words on it that stated that each family would have its own family. He felt happy and his whole person became light-hearted. Li

Zheng saw that he was unabashedly happy and sighed in his heart. He thought that this child didn't know what was important. How could it be so easy to separate from the family and live on his own?

"This family has been divided, but you still need to go to the head of the household to re-register and keep the household registration. The government will come to review it in three years." Li Zheng reminded while packing up his writing brushes.

Everyone nodded, and then seeing that it was almost noon, they didn't want to delay people's meal, and then they filed out.

Although the Bai family was hungry, they were very satisfied with the result. On the way back, the atmosphere was very different from when they came. The division was clear. The eldest wife walked on one side, and Grandma Bai took the second and third wives on the other side.

Grandma Bai was old, and although she was determined to divide the family, she still felt a little sad. But when she saw that Auntie and Sanlang were so happy, her reluctance disappeared and turned into hatred. She hated that the eldest family was ungrateful. She gritted her teeth and said, "Hurry up and make room for me. Now that we have divided the family and you have a big house, don't live here with me!"