CHAPTER 132: CHAPTER 131: OPENING A SCHOOL

The final discussion resulted in the whole family going to the Capital together in an orderly fashion.

As for Sun Fengshou’s house, they decided not to sell it and would spend some money to renovate it so that it could serve as a school for the village children in the future.

As for the land of the Sun Family, known in the village as fertile fields, it was sold by noon soon after the news spread in the morning.

Sun Fengshou’s family had a total of four acres of land; Sun Fengshou got two acres, and Little Tiger got the other two acres.

Originally, there were six acres, but after Old Master Sun passed away, his share of the land was taken back.

As for women, they are not entitled to land.

This is why ancient people were reluctant to have daughters, as they couldn’t inherit land, yet they eat like sons.

The lands were distributed by drawing lots to see if one got prime or secondary fields. The Sun Family had good luck; they always drew the best fields. Combining these with the lands the Sun Family had previously cultivated, they sold for a total of forty-three taels of silver.

Of course, this was for permanent rights of ownership, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been sold for so much.

Sun Fengshou, an old farmer who sold his roots, made people in the village realize something.

It seemed that the Sun Fengshou family was planning to leave.

Among Sun Fengshou’s lands, Sun Wuye kept an acre, just enough for his grandsons, who were also almost reaching adulthood and could be used as labor in the future. They had enough people at home, so more work was no issue.

Sun Fengshou gave some farm tools that were unsuitable to take away to Sun Wuye’s family.

Sun Wuye was very happy to receive these tools for free.

Hearing that Sun Chunfang intended to spend money renovating Sun Fengshou’s house, he immediately sent a few sons over to see if they could be of any help.

Sun Laotai looked noticeably better today; she had a bowl of noodle soup made by her daughter and another bowl of ginseng chicken soup. Sun Laotai was so happy that her eyebrows were dancing with delight.

With her daughter and son by her side, both so filial, she felt that her life now was happier than an Immortal’s.

Yu Changfu was plowing the land, of course, he was the one pulling the plow, and his father was the one holding it.

"Dad, when I turned the soil, I did it myself. Now it’s time for plowing, and the third brother and his wife aren’t doing it. You’re so old, and yet you have to come and hold the plow..."

Yu Changfu had always thought his third brother was a scholar and couldn’t do heavy labor.

As for himself, he was just a mud-legged guy destined for work.

This thought was deeply ingrained before, steadfast and unshakable. He didn’t know when it started to change, occasionally resenting that the third brother didn’t work, sometimes finding him disagreeable.

Yu Changfu’s shoulders were red and swollen from being chafed by the rope. Gasping like an ox, he pulled the plow to the headland, tossed the rope aside, and picked up the water bag to gulp down some water.

His father also sat heavily on the headland, cursing, "Why compare yourself with your brother? He just came back from the spring examination, trapped for so many days in that cell-like examination venue, shouldn’t he rest a bit?

You’re blaming everything but why not curse those two unfilial sons of yours?

You foolish guy, raising sons for over ten years just to end up with the Caos; how pathetic.

Now your mother and I can only hope that the Qi woman’s belly can give us a grandson, yet you still dare to hope our family’s hero would come and work the fields?"

If only Yu Zishu and Yu Ziyi were at home, there would be two more hands to help with the work.

Back when the Cao woman suddenly went crazy, starting a fight with the Yu matriarch for no reason, Yu Changfu as usual said if she had the guts, she should go back to her parents’ house and never return.

The Cao woman had long endured enough humiliation at the Yu family. In fact, Yu Changfu’s words were exactly what she wanted to hear.

She immediately demanded a divorce letter, saying see if I would ever come back if you have the guts to write that divorce letter.

Yu Changfu was stunned by the Cao woman’s response, but the Yu matriarch was so furious she immediately got Yu Changyu to write the divorce letter for Yu Changfu.

The Yu matriarch was sure that Cao woman would come begging for forgiveness someday, so she gave the divorce letter with the utmost delight.

In the past, whenever Cao woman argued with Yu Changfu, she never stayed long at her parents’ house because her sister-in-law there was very domineering and didn’t favor her as a sister-in-law.

The Yu matriarch assumed that the Cao woman’s parental home would not have her, so even though the eldest son did not agree to write the divorce letter, she took it upon herself to separate the eldest son.

Only, the Yu family elders did not expect that the two grandsons would be so resolute, leaving with their mother.

So be it if they left; they would come back someday anyway.

It’s just that things went beyond the expectation of the Yu family elders. The Cao woman left with her two sons and did not return to her parents’ home; she vanished.

Now, every now and then, Yu Changfu goes to the Cao woman’s parents’ home to see if he can bring his wife and children back, but the Cao woman hadn’t returned to the Cao family nor sent any message back, so Yu Changfu’s trips were often fruitless.

The two sons of the eldest family are practically raised for nothing, completely alienated from the family.

The second son is even more useless. Now, they can only rely on the third son.

Thankfully, the Qi woman’s belly did its job; before getting married, she was already pregnant with the third son’s child. Counting the days, she was about to give birth.

Hopefully, it would be a boy with a handle.

Yu Laoye took out the tobacco pipe from his belt, didn’t put any tobacco in it, just took a couple of puffs for the taste.

Yu Changfu spoke in a muffled voice, "When the Cao woman had Zishu and Ziyi, she worked too. Why is it different for the Qi woman?"

Yu Laoye angrily struck Yu Changfu on the back with the tobacco pipe, "How much dowry did the Qi woman bring compared to the Cao woman? Can you compare?"

Yu Changfu, hit and not backing down, retorted, "The dowry the Cao woman brought was all used for the family, and later, the private funds saved for over ten years were also seized by my mother to be used for Qi family’s bride price, I didn’t use a single penny of that dowry brought by the Qi woman!"

Yu Laoye’s eyes widened angrily, "You? Use it? Do you even need to?

The money for the third brother’s education and exams, and this time the money for recruitment, all came from the Qi woman. She can support her husband, but no one said she has to support her brother-in-law too."

This time, the conscription, the honest and simple eldest son, refused to go, insisting it should be the third son’s turn.

He even said in the future, it should be rotated one year per person. This enraged the Yu family elders, and they cursed at their eldest son for several days.

Seeing that Yu Changfu was impervious, hard or soft, and with Yu Changyu about to take the spring examination, the Qi woman went back to ask her family for help, borrowing thirty taels to cover the recruitment fee.

She even proclaimed that this time Yu Changyu would definitely pass as a scholar, and then Yu Changfu should not expect to benefit from them.

Although Yu Changfu was distressed over the thirty taels given to others, he stubbornly held a grudge and did not yield.

Seeing Yu Changfu seemed unsatisfied and about to argue further, Yu Laoye quickly intervened, "If you’ve rested enough, get on with plowing the next row."

Unwillingly, Yu Changfu stood up, just about to strap the plowing rope over his shoulders when someone came running over like the wind.

It was Yu Laotai.

Yu Laotai breathlessly waved her hand, "Stop working, stop working. Someone from the Xu Family came, saying our second one has struck it rich, and they’re now at the Sun Family in Upper River Bay."

Yu Laoye was stunned, "Xu Family? Which Xu Family?"

Yu Laotai glared, "Which other Xu Family could it be? Isn’t Sun the sister-in-law from them? You forgot?"

Yu Laoye remembered, "The second one got rich?"

How could the second son, a cripple, get rich? He thought he had long died out there!

"The Xu family people are at our place now, hurry back with me." Yu Laotai anxiously urged.

Yu Laoye said, "Eldest, I’m going back to see what’s going on. Make sure to take care of the plow, don’t leave it at the headland and lose it."

Seeing his parents hastily running away, Yu Changfu also felt somewhat excited and wanted to go home to see as well, but thinking that the plow couldn’t be left heedlessly at the headland, he exerted himself to lift the heavy plow onto his shoulder and started heading home.

However, when he struggled to carry the plow home, Yu Laoye and the others had already gone to Upper River Bay, leaving only the Qi woman to watch the house.

Sun Shi and Sun Wuye discussed the renovating of the old house and making some desks and chairs for students. The estimated cost was around thirty to forty taels.