Chapter 53: Family Division (Part 2)

Once both parties reached an agreement, they went directly to find the village head.

When the village head arrived at the Su household, the area outside the gate was already crowded with villagers, all engaged in heated discussions. The village head's face was dark with displeasure over the turmoil within the family.

The Su family was considered a prominent household in yueshang Village, but the chaos caused by Su Shan’s family had left the entire village unsettled. In the village head’s eyes, Su Jingxuan had always been a good lad. Although he hadn't spent much time with his purchased bride, he could tell the young woman was inherently kind-hearted. With things having escalated to this point, division seemed to be the only viable solution.

However, the village head’s primary concern was Su Jingxuan. As soon as he stepped into the house, his gaze locked onto Su Jingxuan’s injured leg.

Enduring a wave of sharp pain, Su Jingxuan nodded at the village head to indicate he was fine. Understanding the village head's worry, he offered a reassuring smile: "I am fine. Although my leg is hurt, as long as I recuperate properly, it shouldn't cause any major issues."

Frowning deeply, the village head said with heavy concern: "In your current condition, once the family splits, I'm afraid there will be no turning back!"

"Let's split! In the state I'm in now, if we don't divide the household, the outcome will be the same—perhaps even worse!"

Faced with this resolute declaration, the village head sighed helplessly and instructed someone to prepare writing brushes, ink, inkstone, and paper. He then turned his gaze back to the members of the Su family.

"Are you all certain about this?"

"We are certain!" Su Shan spoke up.

Madam Su Chen attempted to interject, but Su Shan cut her off with a fierce, warning glare.

Noticing their undercurrents, the village head said nothing more. After arranging the writing supplies, he turned his attention to Su Shan.

"Since you are dividing the household, it must be done fairly and equitably. Bring out the family's assets, and not a single thing that belongs to this young couple can be omitted.

What about the silver and the property deeds? After all, houses and lands are distributed per capita, and these records are filed with the magistrate's office, so everything must be completely fair and just!"

Hearing this, Su Shan felt a pang of reluctance in his chest, but he obediently went inside the house and soon returned with all the required items.

"This is our land deed, this is the house deed, and this is the thirty taels of silver they demanded!"

"Village head, we had an agreement just now! He said he wanted four mu of land, thirty taels of silver, and twenty dan of grain. We agreed on those terms specifically; we cannot just divide things according to standard proportions..."

Madam Su Chen grew extremely anxious, terrified that the village head might mistakenly award them a larger share of the family's assets.

Unwilling to listen to their endless muttering, the village head examined all the documents before finally turning his attention to the division of the land.

"Your family's land is registered for five people. Jingxuan’s wife has not yet been assigned a share, so she is not counted among them. Similarly, Jingxing’s wife has not been assigned land either, so she is excluded as well. Currently, under the Su family's name, there are a total of twenty mu of land.

Divided among five people, that comes to four mu per person.

Jingxuan is entitled to four mu, which is correct. These four mu are located in different areas. Take a look and decide which plot should be assigned to them."

Hearing the village head's words, Madam Su Chen finally let out a sigh of relief. Regardless of which plot went to Su Jingxuan, the mere thought of parting with it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Give them the four mu on the western side!" Recalling that the four mu on the west side had poor soil quality and low crop yields, she quickly decided to palm off that undesirable land onto them.

The village head was well aware of the poor quality of the land on the western side. He cast a deep, knowing look at Madam Su Chen before shifting his gaze to Su Jingxuan and his wife.

"The four mu she mentioned are very close to the barren wasteland. The soil quality is poor, and the harvest is never good. If you are unwilling to take it, you may choose another plot!"

Upon hearing this, Su Jingxuan opened his mouth to request a different piece of land, but Luo Yunhe stopped him.

"Since it's close to my plot of wasteland, I'll take that land!" Luo Yunhe said, turning to Su Jingxuan with a reassuring expression: "Husband, trust me. I will definitely cultivate that land and make it thrive!"

Seeing her unwavering confidence, Su Jingxuan finally nodded: "Very well, I trust you."

Seeing that both parties agreed, the village head swiftly rewrote the names on the land deed, stamped it with his personal seal, and prepared two identical copies. He kept one for his own records and handed the other to Su Jingxuan.

"Next is the matter of the house!" The village head stared at the remaining property deeds, his brows furrowing tightly before his gaze settled on a separate, newer deed—the one for the courtyard next door.

"In my view, this courtyard should be given to the young couple!" At that moment, the village head was harboring a slight bias in their favor, but Madam Su Chen rushed forward to block him the instant she saw which deed he had picked up.

"That deed won't do! The courtyard next door is meant to be my younger son's carpentry workshop. My son is learning carpentry, and that place is reserved for his business. If you give it to him, what will happen to my son?"

"Father, how can the courtyard next door be given to the eldest brother? That was prepared for the second brother to open his carpentry workshop..."

"It cannot be given away! That belongs to us!" Zhang Lingling chimed in as well.

Although Su Jingxing remained silent, his stern expression made it clear that he had no intention of yielding the property either.

The village head’s face turned unsightly as he took in their greedy expressions.

"If you are unwilling to give them the courtyard next door, then this main courtyard shall be given to them!"

"How can that be? If you give them this place, where are we supposed to live?"

Enraged by their shameless effrontery, the village head’s eyebrows twitched. He slammed his hand down on the table and pointed at the deeds before him.

"You won't give them that courtyard, and you won't give them this courtyard—where do you expect them to live? Do not push things too far!"

The members of the Su family exchanged glances in silence, none daring to step forward. Every household possessed vacant rooms, but not a single person was willing to suffer any personal loss at this juncture.

"Well, isn't there still that other plot of land? That area is quite large; give them that. If they build a house there, it would be much bigger than this..." Madam Su Chen’s voice started out loud, but by the end, it trailed off into a mosquito-like buzz.

"Madam Su Chen, do not bully people beyond reason! You call a patch of land with only a few thatched huts a large place? It might be fine in good weather, but when the wind and rain come, where are they supposed to live?"

"I, I don't care! That's a matter for after the family division, what does it have to do with me?

Take that plot of land if you want it, and leave it if you don't! I have no extra space to spare. Expecting me to hand over this courtyard or the one next door is simply out of the question!"

Madam Su Chen had thrown all caution to the wind; no matter what, she refused to let them have either of the courtyards today.