Chapter 438: Chapter 427: The Farmer Top Scorer
At night, Mrs. Wang tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, her mind swirling with the Orchid worth over 100 taels of Silver that Ye Qiu mentioned during the day.
"Are you bitten by bedbugs that you can’t sleep?" Ye Ming growled with his back to her.
Feeling extremely displeased, Mrs. Wang simply sat up and whispered, "Did dad ever mention when the family will be divided?"
Hearing his wife’s words, Ye Ming felt uneasy—was she really lying awake at night thinking about dividing the family?
Because of this, his anger flared up: "Dad’s not dead yet, what’s there to divide?"
Mrs. Wang gritted her teeth and glared at him: "The division was dad’s idea not mine, what’s more, do you know how much Silver the youngest brother and his family spent on that courtyard in the county?"
"What’s it to you how much Silver he spent, it’s all earned by the youngest brother himself," Ye Ming turned over, ready to continue sleeping.
"Are you being foolish?" Mrs. Wang pinched her husband, "The youngest is just a Government Official, earning only eighteen taels a year, how could he afford a small courtyard worth over 300 taels in the county without eating or drinking?"
"Isn’t there the extra unofficial income?"
"Can such income be that much? Have you ever counted how many Government Officials there are in the county? What about the county magistrate and the steward, how much money do they have to rake in a year for the youngest to get so much? Wouldn’t the sky have turned upside down by now? I heard today that the youngest spent over 100 taels of Silver on a single flower, just a flower! He really knows how to spend, then what about other areas, how much more has he spent? Does he also spend money like water?" Mrs. Wang carefully calculated with her husband.
Now Ye Ming couldn’t sleep either, turning back to his wife, "Did he really spend one hundred taels of Silver on a flower?"
"Would I lie to you? When Qiu returned this afternoon after sending the youngest and his wife home, she said so, and those two didn’t even refute it. Where did they get all that money from? Isn’t it from dad? Now that dad has given all the money to the youngest and his wife, what will there be for us to divide in the future?" The more Mrs. Wang spoke, the more resentment she felt.
Ye Ming sat up, his eyebrows deeply furrowed: "About the division, dad just casually mentioned it that day. If we really were to divide, how should it be done? The youngest has a house in the county; are you suggesting that I and the second brother split this house? By dividing the house, we would offend the youngest, and what about our son’s future? If we ask for less, it’s not acceptable either... Sigh!"
"The youngest already has a courtyard in the county, does he still want to divide the family’s land and Silver? There’s no such cheap deal. And about the son’s future, I thought it through—the youngest son is at the academy and probably won’t inherit the position of a Government Official. Other than giving it to our son, who else could he give it to? Dad would never agree at first, and as for the second brother, hmph, he has neither the ability nor dad’s favor. You are the eldest son, and inevitably dad will want to live with us, naturally, we’ll get the larger share. As for the house, there are plenty of deserted houses in the village. Just repairing any one of them would do, right?"
"Would dad agree? He had his eye on that small courtyard owned by Qiu’s family previously.
"Would dad tell you beforehand if he didn’t agree with the division? The small courtyard of the Qiu family isn’t tiny, and it would cost a substantial sum to purchase it, right? I would really mind if it weren’t for the fact that our son is about to discuss marriage soon; how could we live with the house being so cramped? If another grandson or granddaughter comes along, there wouldn’t even be room to stand in the house. Don’t forget that Ye Lin is a year older than our Ye Ping; if he gets married, won’t dad have to provide the money? Once the family is divided, that will be none of our concern."
Mrs. Wang persuaded persistently, and the more Ye Ming listened, the more tempted he became. After all, he thought, I am the eldest son, so I should get the larger share of the inheritance. Right now, aren’t the second and third brothers using my money?
"But how can I bring it up out of the blue with dad?"
"Just wait, in the next few days I’ll start some trouble with my cousin and Mrs. Huang. When we start arguing, dad will surely get impatient. You, on the other hand, deliberately worsen your relationship with the second brother. When dad becomes annoyed, you just casually mention it, saying that with more people in the house, conflicts arise more easily, and dad will naturally understand."
"But the youngest only has three days off, once they leave it’ll be quiet again, won’t it? Those two from the second brother’s house are like mute fools, unlikely to start a quarrel."
"Then you just tell dad you suspect the second brother and his wife are hiding private savings."
"What if they haven’t hidden it?"
"If they have hidden it, we can smoothly take the opportunity to split the family. If not, our relationship with the second brother has been strained as well, and we can tell father it’s no longer suitable to live under the same roof, and still manage to separate."
"Wouldn’t that leave me without any dignity?"
"What’s more important, silver or face? Besides, would father ever let word of this leak out? He’s the most face-conscious person. What’s it to lose face in front of the second brother? What idle talk could a man who can’t fart with a stick up his bottom possibly say? Their family’s life is no better than this anyway, it’s no big deal if relations sour. Do you think he could help us in the future? Don’t make me laugh!"
Ye Ming was swayed by his wife’s words, and the thought of division became clearer in his mind.
In another room of the same house, Ye Gang and his wife Mrs. Wang were also unable to sleep.
"The third brother has gone to the county again and spent over 100 taels on another plant," Mrs. Huang mentioned to her husband in a calm tone.
"Ah!" Ye Gang sighed softly and patted his wife’s hand, "I’ve wronged you."
"I’ve been used to it over these many years, who asked for our father not to like us!" Mrs. Huang’s tone was flat and unemotional.
But it was precisely this that made Ye Gang feel even more pity: "I’m not the eldest son, nor have I accomplished much. It’s only natural that father doesn’t like me."
"It’s you I feel sorry for," Mrs. Huang couldn’t help but complain, "You’re clearly the one who does the most work in this family, but look, over the years, the youngest got a courtyard in the county, and the eldest is the successor to the village chief, recognized by father. In the future, he’ll definitely get the lion’s share of the inheritance. What about us? Our son is about to enter into marriage talks; how many silver coins do we have in our hands? When our daughter-in-law comes and goes, we’ll have to ask father for the wedding gifts, and the elder sister-in-law will surely have snide remarks to make. Doesn’t that frustrate you?"
"But father is still alive, we can’t split the family yet!"
"I don’t think we necessarily have to wait until father passes away to divide the family," Mrs. Huang speculated, "Just wait and see, Mrs. Wang is probably getting restless."
"So what do you want to do?"
"Nothing, just go along with her wishes, that’s all."
"Dividing the family is fine. Even if we get the least of the property, I’ll work harder to ensure you live a better life."
"I’m not worried for myself, it’s just hard on Ping’er. He’s clearly the eldest son in our family but he never gets father’s attention. He doesn’t get a chance to study; with the youngest approaching of age soon, if he takes over there won’t be a chance for our son. Why should Ping’er be condemned to farming by birth? Is he not stronger than that braggart Ye Lin who only knows how to talk big?"
"Keep your voice down, don’t let others hear," Ye Gang tugged at his wife’s sleeve.
Mrs. Huang seethed quietly: "In this family, we can’t even speak up; what’s the point in living such a life?"
"Alright, I understand what you’re thinking, it’s all for our son. This time, I won’t hold back either."