"Mother, everything has been moved in, let’s go back home!" Don’t meddle in the affairs of your married-out sisters any longer.
Wang Yongzhen cast a reproachful glance at Sun Mutou, "You child, it’s rare for your second uncle and his family to come back; you should at least greet them properly—"
Before she could finish, Sun Mutou interrupted her, "Mother, I just remembered that our door is still unlocked, I’ll go back first. There has to be someone at home."
With that, he ran off.
Wang Yongzhen, with no other choice, followed Lady Qian into the courtyard.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, Lady Qian was stunned. She hadn’t expected the Wang Family to be living in such a big house now.
What caught her eye first was the courtyard of the main building, which was a new house reserved for her son’s future marriage.
Lady Lin was always a diligent person, and she kept the courtyard spotlessly clean every day.
The main building, together with the wings on each side, had a total of nine rooms, and there were also small outbuildings.
Not to mention there were more behind this courtyard.
The house their family lived in back in the town, though also with a courtyard, was much smaller than this one.
It consisted of only three main rooms, along with side rooms and a kitchen on each side. The courtyard was not large, and compared to the house before her eyes, it appeared both narrow and cramped.
Lady Qian’s heart was a mix of conflicting feelings: at one moment she was jealous that the Wang Family were now living even better than they did, but the next moment, she was glad. The richer the Wang Family, the better.
As she calculated inwardly, she unknowingly followed Wang Yongzhen into the second courtyard.
It was only then that Lady Qian realized, was there more than one courtyard?
"Big sister, how many courtyards does our family have? It looks like there’s more at the back?" Lady Qian asked Wang Yongzhen.
"There are four courtyards in total, front and back. Sister-in-law, you’ll get to know them as you wander when you’re free," Wang Yongzhen said as she saw Wang Laozhu’s room, which was where she once lived, with its door open.
It was packed with people inside, and she hurriedly led Lady Qian over.
Entering the room, a wave of warmth enveloped them, and the room was as cozy as spring. Lady Qian couldn’t help but sneeze; the wind had blown outside for quite a while and upon entering this warm room, her nose started to itch.
Wang Laozhu was sitting on the kang, with Wang Yongan standing next to him, while the rest of the people were standing opposite Wang Yongan.
Lady Qian quickly pulled Jinchai to Wang Yongan’s side, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the room grew tense.
Old Wang coughed twice, "Yongan, you said earlier that you’ve managed to secure your position outside and now you’re doing well, and you know your wrongdoing. Have you come back this time with the silver notes to redeem the land?"
Wang Yongan nodded hurriedly, "Father! I have prepared the silver notes, and after the New Year starts, I will find someone to buy back the land. The family that bought it from me is an old classmate of mine; if I talk to him personally, I think he won’t turn down my request."
Wang Laozhu nodded. If Yongan truly regretted his actions and brought back the silver, then he could be considered to still have a conscience.
Just as he was about to speak, Old Granny Zhang let out a cold laugh, "Since you claim to have made a fortune and brought back silver notes, you should repay the silver used to sell the land first. The land you sold—regardless of how much you made, it’s going to cost at least two hundred taels to redeem it now. Hand over the money!"
With that, she stretched out her hand.
If this brat was going to return the money, that would be perfect; all the money would be kept for Yongzhu. After all, the money for buying the land was paid by Yongzhu!
Wang Yongan’s eyes paused imperceptibly, and his fingertips fidgeted before he forced a smile and said, "Of course! The silver note is still at the bottom of the chest! Inside the chest are mostly local specialties we brought back for everyone. It’s not convenient in the dark. How about we open the chest tomorrow and take it out then? It won’t be too late!"
Old Granny Zhang listened to this, fixed her gaze on Wang Yongan, and watched him until he started to sweat coldly down his back, though he still tried to appear calm.
At this, Wang Laozhu, who was beside him, nodded and said, "That makes sense. It’s late already; why rummage through a chest? The second brother isn’t leaving tomorrow, so it’s alright to take it out then!"
Wang Yongan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had barely passed the first hurdle.
He then continued with a smile, "Father, look at us; we rushed back home, our clothes are dirty, and we are tired. Can we go wash our faces and rest a bit first?"
As long as they settled down first, everything else could be discussed.
Not to mention Lady Qian, even Wang Yongan was surprised to see such a large courtyard at the Wang Family’s home; he hadn’t expected the Wangs to have become so prosperous in just half a year.
Not to mention anything else, just this courtyard alone must have cost several hundred silver.
The family was indeed wealthy now! Wang Yongan forcefully suppressed the excitement rising in him.
When it came to living arrangements, Wang Laozhu became stuck.
Now that they had divided up the family, there, there was no place for the second son and his family. If he had known the second son would return, he wouldn’t have agreed to the division of the family property before the New Year.
The room fell silent at once.
Wang Yongan waited a moment and, hearing no arrangements from Wang Laozhu, looked over in confusion, only to see Wang Laozhu’s embarrassed face.
"What’s wrong, father?"
"Well, second son, the household, um, doesn’t have a place for you all anymore," Wang Laozhu’s face turned red.
"What?" Wang Yongan thought he had misheard.
"What father means is that there’s no place for you in this house anymore! While you’ve been off making a fortune as an official, you naturally wouldn’t know about the situation here. We’ve already divided up the property, and this courtyard has nothing to do with you anymore!" Wang Yonggui said with a scornful smile.
"Divided up the property?" Wang Yongan was taken aback, then turned to look at Wang Laozhu.
"Father, when was the division? Why didn’t I know about it? Besides, I am also a son of the Wang Family, shouldn’t I have a share regardless? How can it have nothing to do with me?" Wang Yongan asked, truly anxious.
How could there be a division? What would he do if the family had divided up the property?
Even if there was to be a division, it should have waited until he returned to be done together, right?
This was when Wang Laozhu nervously explained the situation of the recent division.
Wang Yongan immediately objected, "How can this be right? Even if I have done something wrong, I have not been ostracized from the clan, and I am still your son. I am part of this family! Moreover, who divides up a family property ? How can we divide when both parents are still alive? And how can my sister, a girl, have her share separated on her own?"
"Even if we were to divide the property, it should be among us four brothers, leaving a separate share for our parents and just setting aside a dowry for my sister. When our parents get older, we brothers should be the ones to take over their care. How can we give a share to an unmarried daughter? This is all from our Wang Family. When my sister marries, it will all go with her to another family, benefiting someone else!"
"Shut your damn mouth!" Old Granny Zhang, upon hearing what Wang Yongan implied—that his sister shouldn’t have a piece of the family property—burst into anger.
Luckily she hadn’t discarded the thin Zhugan; she grabbed it and lashed out, striking Wang Yongan’s face.
A red mark immediately appeared on Wang Yongan’s face from the blow, causing him such pain that tears came to his eyes. He covered his face and mumbled, "Mother, did I say something wrong? No family should divide their property !"