pjbooks Chapter 91: Should the family split up?
Chapter 91: Should the family split up?
Chapter 91: Should the family split up?
After Shan Yaowen started working, not only him, but almost everyone in the village came out to find work.
After all, if we don't work after the New Year, there won't be any food left at home. After a winter and the New Year, everyone's food supplies are running low.
People like Shan Yaowu, who learn their trades from their masters at the ranch, and Gou Dan, who do it all, never have trouble finding work.
Those who used to take odd jobs started looking for new opportunities.
For people in the countryside, who don't have any special skills, they basically have to find manual labor jobs.
In the forest farm, once construction begins, a lot of people will be needed to cut down and carry trees. In the pasture, people will also be needed to haul grass from the grasslands and repair fences, etc.
Most of them are construction workers, with the most manpower needed for tasks such as well drilling, house repair, and road construction.
If the family had a horse-drawn carriage, they could also take on jobs hauling goods.
Although Shan Yaowen didn't hire any laborers, many of his relatives and friends came to help.
This is the spring pasture area of Baixi Ranch.
After Shan Yaowen brought over a truckload of timber, Lin Nian went up to inspect it and took out her notebook to make a note of it.
She kept records of how many truckloads were hauled, how much was in each truck, and so on.
As for the actual work on site, my dad was leading the team.
After the New Year, Shan's father finally got rid of his cane. Although his legs were still a bit weak when he walked, it was no longer a big problem. He could keep an eye on things and help pass them around as long as he didn't do heavy work.
Originally, Shan Yaowen wanted to wait until his father was fully recovered before he went back to work, so as to avoid any aftereffects, but Shan's father was not willing.
He's been lying in bed all winter, even after the New Year is over, he's still lying at home, he's afraid he'll ruin his health from lying down.
"Awen, we have enough wood for now. Go home and bring the food over. It's hard for Mom to carry it all by herself."
"Okay." Hearing his wife's words, Shan Yaowen turned around and went back to get his meal.
Since our home is quite a distance from the ranch, and there are many people coming to help with the work and a lot of food being prepared, it would be best to bring it over by horse-drawn cart.
A large bowl of pancakes with scrambled eggs, sauerkraut stewed with meat, and large tofu with dipping sauce; the staple food was sorghum rice; and there was also a bucket of bulk liquor.
The food can be a little simple, but there must be plenty of alcohol.
Besides their love of drinking, they also believe that drinking some baijiu (Chinese liquor) can warm them up while working in the cold weather.
During dinner, brother-in-law Zhang Du leaned over to Shan Yaowen and asked, "Yaowen, if you're building a house on the ranch, does that mean you're separating the family?"
"A family split up?" Shan Yaowen was taken aback. "No, where did you hear that from?"
"I mean, after you finish building the house on this ranch," Zhang Du said, glancing at his father-in-law who was entertaining a group of old friends in the distance. "You'll definitely be living on the ranch from now on, which is basically like dividing the family property."
Shan Yaowen took a bite of the biscuit, thinking about this matter as well.
To be honest, he hadn't even thought about separating the family at first, since the family was living together now and there weren't any conflicts.
But in reality, once his ranch was set up, it was considered a separation of the family.
After all, my older brother will definitely be working at the state-run ranch in the future, and I will be running my own ranch, so I will definitely be living here.
They haven't officially separated, but in reality they have.
"We need to go back and discuss this."
Seeing that Shan Yaowen was reluctant to talk about the division of the family property, Zhang Du brought up other things, "A friend of mine discovered a herd of deer. When the time comes, your brother-in-law will give you a jar of deer blood wine and a fawn."
"Are there deer?"
Shan Yaowen's attention was immediately drawn to the deer herd that his brother-in-law was talking about.
He's even thinking about raising deer.
"Yes, but not here. A friend of mine from the next village chased the deer herd all the way here. They've already caught quite a few. I told them they can keep the fawns and I'll buy them later."
"Okay, I'll give you the money, and you can buy it for me and bring it over."
"Your sister said that you need money to start a ranch, so I'll cover it for you first."
The two talked a lot, mostly about the future plans for the ranch.
After finishing his work at the ranch, Shan Yaowen talked to his father about the division of the family property.
After all, what my brother-in-law said was right. Even if their family hadn't officially separated, once the ranch was completed, it was effectively considered a separation.
Mr. Shan was originally saying goodbye to his friends happily, but he was left somewhat at a loss by Shan Yaowen's news.
"Let's talk about it when your older brother gets back."
As soon as Shan Yaowu finished work, he planned to go back to his younger brother's ranch to help out, but he was then told about the division of the family property.
"Do we really have to split up?" Shan Yaowu frowned. "Aren't we doing just fine now?"
"I think it's good too, but I'll definitely be living on the ranch later. We need to build a house there, and move all my things over there."
After Shan Yaowen finished speaking, Shan's father took two puffs of his cigarette. "Awen is right. Besides, we'll have to separate the family sooner or later. You two are both married now, and the eldest son has a child. We should start thinking about separating the family."
He was reluctant to separate the family before because his second son was unreliable. He was afraid that if they separated, his second son would still need him to take care of everything.
But now that the second son is older and can earn money and has a ranch, he's not worried anymore, and he won't stop him from dividing the family property.
Although the mother was a little reluctant to part with her son, she knew that they would have to separate the family sooner or later, so she remained silent.
Shan Yaowu sighed. "Then how should we divide it?"
"The second son is moving to the ranch, so they'll definitely build him a new house there." Father Shan took a drag of his cigarette. "What about you, eldest son?"
""
Dan Yaowu thought about his current house and felt it was pretty good; there was no need to build a new one. Just as he was about to say something, Shi Fang pulled him back.
"Dad, we also want to live in the new house."
Although she didn't care about dividing the family property, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing when it came to certain things within the family.
Especially when it comes to new houses, who wouldn't want to live in a new house?
This old house was built by Shan Yaowen's grandfather. It's drafty and needs to be repaired every year.
"Here's what we'll do: build new houses for all of you. The second son will stay on the ranch, and the eldest son's house will be demolished and rebuilt on the existing foundation." Father Shan knew that if he didn't speak up now, the eldest son would feel resentful.
The eldest brother may seem honest and unassuming, and he doesn't usually take advantage of others, but he cares more than anyone else.
It's impossible to fix the second child but not the eldest.
So if we're going to fix it, we should fix both of them. Fixing only one would be obviously biased.
Neither of them had any objections to this. Shi Fang agreed, and Lin Nian had nothing to say, as she usually let Shan Yaowen make the decisions.
"Let's leave the house like this for now. After the second son moves to the ranch, this place will go to the eldest son. Then, who will take care of you in your old age?"
As soon as Mr. Shan spoke, Shan Yaowu immediately said, "I'm the eldest, so it's only right that I do it."
Holding the child, Shi Fang immediately smiled and said, "Mom and Dad, you are still young. You don't need to take care of yourselves now."
After Shi Fang finished speaking, Shan's mother felt a pang of sadness. Judging from her eldest daughter-in-law's demeanor, she probably didn't want to support her in her old age.
The father didn't speak, but looked at his second daughter-in-law.
"It's okay, Mom, we can take care of you in your old age." Lin Nian nodded.
Shan Yaowen waved his hand, "If you want to retire, that's fine too. But you can also stay at my place. Even after we've separated the family, I'm still your son. It's not like we're cutting off all ties. Mom and Dad, if you want to stay at my place, go ahead. If you want to come to my place, go ahead."
Hearing his second son's words, the father's expression softened a bit: "Let's leave it at that. We old folks can still move around, and besides, we have your little sister. After the second son moves to the ranch, we can stay in this house. Whoever takes care of the two rooms in their old age can live there."
He didn't expect his two sons to support him in his old age right now, since he's not incapacitated.
Besides, he also has a younger daughter who will get married someday, and he needs to save up some dowry for her.
"Dad, things are tough for the second son right now. The ranch needs money everywhere. I'm still working at the ranch, and they told me before that I'd take the job and retire here."
Ignoring his wife's reminder, Shan Yaowu spoke to his father.
"Hmm, where's the second one?"
Shan Yaowen nodded. "If you want to retire in your old age, that's fine. I am indeed having a bit of a hard time right now, but I still stand by what I said: separating the family doesn't mean severing ties. Dad, you're welcome to come anytime."
"Okay, that's settled then. The eldest will take care of himself in his old age."
Then she talked a lot more about her family.
In any case, most of them are related to family division.
Shan Yaowen never expected that his family would have to split up right after the New Year.
However, their family division was a normal one, and there were no unpleasant incidents.
As for retirement, Shan Yaowen couldn't compete with his older brother for it. If he tried to take it himself, his older brother would probably cause a scene.
In his elder brother's mind, as the eldest son, it was only natural for him to take care of his parents in their old age.
Even if the sister-in-law has objections, this matter is absolutely non-negotiable with the eldest brother.
Besides, his elder brother is taking care of him in his old age, and he can certainly fulfill his filial duties.