When Shen saw Qiu Yu carrying the child and crying as she came in, she thought something big had happened at the old house, so she quickly put down what she was doing and went to greet her. Only after asking did she learn that it was because of Qiu Yu's family division, and then Shen felt relieved.

  It turned out that the dispute between Qiuyu's husband's family and her own was about to lead to a division of property. Originally, her father-in-law had said that after his sons got married, they would divide the property, but now, not even half a year has passed and it's already causing trouble. Mainly because they think Qiuyu doesn't have the demeanor of an elder sister-in-law, she is lazy and gluttonous, often returning to her mother's home, not doing any farm work, and only pretending to do household chores. Now that she has given birth to a son, who is also the eldest grandson, she doesn't even lift a finger for household affairs.

  Shen's family felt a bit of a headache, actually long ago, Shen's family had already seen that her personality was not suitable for getting along with the maternal family. Whatever it was, they loved to be meticulous and calculating, but didn't like to put in effort, only doing things differently than Chunyu, not as obvious though. But since she came knocking on their door, they couldn't push her away, so they could only advise: "You've always been looking forward to separating from the family, now that your wish has come true, why are you unhappy?"

  "Who would rush to divide the house like this? The child hasn't even turned 100 days old, and the child's father isn't even home. I'm just a woman, can't let them bully me, they gave us half of the old house and sent us away, while they occupied the new one. Is that really how it works? We're still the eldest son and grandson after all. Second sister, you and second brother go to their house and have a good talk with them, don't let them think my mother's family is nobody."

  "How many rooms are there in the old house? The three families are crowded together in one house, and each family only has two rooms. You also have an unmarried younger sister, why bother to squeeze together, isn't it better to live separately on your own? If you want to eat or do something, no one will bother you, maybe if you don't feel like eating, you won't even cook. Haven't you seen Xiaoyu, although they separated, living together in a crowded house has caused so much trouble, and several times she got sick because of her mother-in-law's temper. You see how suitable this is for you. No need to find excuses to separate, and you were given half of the house, your brother-in-law's money can still be kept by yourself in the future. After a few years of hard work, if your brother-in-law comes back, you can build a new house. Living a carefree life is better than being crowded together like you are now."

  Qiu Yu listened and bowed her head for a moment before speaking: "Second sister, you're right. I'm not fond of manual labor anymore, so I can move to my parents' place and live with them. The other half of the house has three rooms, which belonged to my child's paternal uncles, but they've all moved out now, leaving only me alone. However, I don't dare to live there by myself. Besides, I also think that house is too dilapidated."

  "You're not brave enough to live alone, you can go back to your parents' house and stay there until your brother-in-law comes back. It's more convenient that way. Besides, at present, apart from Si Mao, there's no one else by your parents' side, and you are their most beloved youngest daughter. When they see you, they will only be delighted. As for the broken house, when your brother-in-law comes back, if he wants to repair it properly, then he can; if not, just tidy it up a bit. Just make do with it for now, and after a few years, building a new house is also an option. Is it worth crying like this?"

  "What Second Aunt said makes some sense. But, the child's father used to earn a lot of money and most of it was given to his mother. In a year, I only got two taels of silver from him. How much money can I have in my hands? When will I be able to build a house? I'm still counting on him to save some money to buy a shop. How long do I need to wait?"

  "This isn't even in your hands, let alone two taels. Think back to when your second brother didn't even give us a single cent. At the time of the division of property, you also saw that except for that little land, it was almost as if he had left with nothing, not even a place to live. If it weren't for my mother's family helping out, who knows where we would be suffering from hunger and cold? Now that you've divided the property, your sister-in-law's household only has one daughter left, and in a year or two, she'll be married off too. With many brothers at home, your parents will have fewer burdens to bear, which means your brother-in-law's silver will be mostly saved. How can't you see such a good thing?"

  Shen mentioned the time when they divided the family property, which reminded Qiu Yu of the scene back then. Second brother and sister-in-law moved their stuff away slowly with a bunch of kids in tow, looking like two adults leading a group of kids fleeing famine. She seemed to have mocked them silently for a long time, but never thought of helping them out; instead, she was used to relying on second brother whenever something happened at home.

  Qiu Yu thought about it and felt a bit uncomfortable, saying: "Although Er Jie said that makes sense, but I don't have the ability like Er Jie, to build a new house in less than a year after separation, and my mother's family can help with the expenses. Buying such a big piece of land, this garden is so good, planting some watermelons or something doesn't need to worry about others coveting it. Look at Da Jie, she also planted watermelons when the weather was good, but didn't harvest any, all were taken by the village's **. If I had a garden like this, I would laugh in my sleep."

  Shen guessed that she also wanted to help her husband buy land and build a house, but her situation was different from Xia Yu's. Besides, when she was a girl, she had done a lot of embroidery to save up for her own dowry, and after getting married, her husband would give her two taels of silver every year, so she should have a considerable amount of silver in her hands. Why bother to scheme against others?

  Thinking of this, Shen's heart was not pleased, but she didn't say anything and smiled: "Sister, you're being biased. What's so capable about Second Aunt? After the family split, your second brother left most of his silver to Father and Mother every year, that's why I brought a few children to work hard on farming, otherwise how would our whole family make ends meet? It's always better to rely on oneself than to ask others for help. Unlike you, who doesn't do anything but can still be supported by your husband, plus you have good embroidery skills, and now that you have fewer children, not much expenses, and Father and Mother to rely on, won't you turn things around in a year or two?"

  Qiu Yu was clever and understood Shen's words, she didn't want to block her future path. Now her natal family only had this one reliable person to rely on, and looking at the situation of this household, it would only get better and better. So Qiu Yu put aside her thoughts of wanting silver, and in any case, she could still go back to her natal family to eat and live without spending money. Thinking of this, Qiu Yu became happy again, and pulling Shen, said some other things.

  After Zi Qing saw Autumn Jade pass by Shen's house after a round of explanation, she happily hugged the child and returned home. Then, she came out and pulled on Shen's sleeve, saying: "Mother, we made a bet in the room that Little Sister would definitely borrow money from you to build a house. I and Big Brother Xiao Si were on one side, saying Little Sister would speak up, while Second Brother and Xiao San were on the other side, saying Little Sister wouldn't speak up. Mother, tell us, who won?"

  Zi Qing finished speaking, and several others also came out of the house to surround Shen Shi for a conclusion. Shen Shi smiled at these children, poked Zi Qing's head, and said: "It's just you who has so many tricks, what's the point of making a bet? In my opinion, none of you have lost or won. Your younger sister didn't mention it explicitly, but only hinted at it. Seeing that I blocked her words, she also didn't speak up."

  "Give her credit for being clever, knowing that one can't walk down a single road to the very end. My little sister has always known how to leave herself a way out." Zi Fu said.

  "What a pity! I thought I could still get Third Brother to engrave a seal for free, but now even my pocket money is gone." Zi Xi sighed.

  Zi Qing saw Zi Shou laughing slyly, and hurriedly pressed him down, asking: "Little three, you didn't win either, what are you laughing at? Quickly confess the truth, otherwise, in the future if there's any good jade or stone, I won't give it to you."

  Zi Shouyi was frightened by this and hastily said, "What am I laughing at? I just feel that our family saved a large sum of money today, so I'm a bit happy. Fortunately, Father is not home, he went to collect rent, you guess, if Father were at home, would he give the little girl silver? Why don't we bet again."

  "All right, all right, I have no objection." Zi Xi was the first to shout out.

  "You're really something, can Father be used as a betting stake? This is called great disrespect, and you're still a student." Zifu gave Zixi a knock on the head, Zixi touched his head and jumped up, looking at Zifu with grievance, wanting to speak but not daring to, only pouting.

  Everyone laughed with their heads thrown back, and Zi Xi leaned against Shen Shi's side. After laughing enough, Shen Shi touched Zi Xi's head and rubbed it gently, saying: "You can rest assured that your father won't give her any money either. It's not like you can't make a living without it. Your father has also opened up now, and he's been heartbroken by your uncle and aunt several times. Try not to mention these annoying things in front of him."

  "Mother, since we saved some money today, can we add a few more dishes? School is about to start in a few days and the food at school is not as good as at home. I want to eat braised pork trotters." asked Zishou.

  "Girl, then I want to eat eel." Zi Qing added a sentence, and got several white eyes in return. Zi Fu and Zi Lu sneered and said: "You always have loach and frog every day, why do you want yellow eel? We won't catch this."

  Shen smiled and agreed. At dinner time, Zeng Rui Xiang looked at the full table of good dishes and asked: "What day is today, so grand?"

  "It's rent collection day." Zi Qing replied seriously, and everyone burst out laughing.

  The division of the Zhou family's property was quickly settled. Autumn Jade had originally wanted to lease out the two mu of paddy fields to someone else to farm, but was severely scolded by Old Master Zhou, who said that if it really couldn't be helped, he would hire a temporary laborer to get the work done. Autumn Jade could only give up on the idea, and in any case, this season's late rice had already been planted.

  On this side, after sending off Zifeng, in less than two days, he sent off Zilong, Zishou and Zixi. Originally, Zeng Rui Xiang did not intend to let Zixi enter the county school so early, but he found that Zixi's understanding was very high, no less than Zifeng. Zeng Rui Xiang loved talent dearly and didn't want to delay the children, so he sought Zixi's opinion, and Zixi also agreed to go. Also going were two grandsons of San Bao Zhu's family, one named Zeng Zijun, thirteen years old, and one named Zeng Zixin, twelve years old. San Bao Zhu brought the two children to the house to kowtow to Zeng Rui Xiang and Shen Shi.

  Then, the lively home was empty again. When saying goodbye, Zixi had tears in her eyes as she looked at Ziqing, who had taken care of him since he was a child and naturally had deep feelings for him. She helped him tidy up his scarf and clothes, and found that he was only shoulder-high to herself, probably not even 1 meter 2, and not yet eight years old. Hugging him, she reminded him: "Sister is waiting for you to come back next month, study hard, remember not to be greedy and chew slowly."

  Originally, Zi Qing thought Lin Kangping would return before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but he had someone send a letter to Zeng Rui Xiang saying that time was tight and he went directly from Jingdezhen to Hangzhou, after returning to Beijing to arrange things, striving to return to Anzhou for New Year's.

  Zi Qing's expectations fell through, and she thought about how he had been traveling around for a year, his clothes, shoes, and socks must be all worn out. Last time she made him some summer and spring-autumn clothes, this time with more time on her hands, she decided to make two sets of winter clothes.