Chapter 80 The Chen Family Divides

Chapter 80 The Chen Family Divides

“I said Wang Sanhu deserves to be killed for three reasons: first, he sneaked into my house by climbing over the wall; second, he tried to unbolt the wooden door of the main room when it was bolted and no one was inside, which clearly showed that he was there to steal; and third, after I discovered him, he clearly showed his intention to attack me.”

After all, while the meaning of that sentence is indeed that "anyone who enters another's home without cause shall be punished with forty strokes of the cane, but if the homeowner kills him on the spot, no punishment shall be imposed," the yamen (government office) would also consider the actual circumstances when making a judgment.

She explained in great detail, and her words also conveyed the message that everyone should not act impulsively. Chen Lizheng breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this and did not say anything more about the matter.

He turned to look at Wang Eryou and the others, "That's exactly what the law stipulates. Even if she had killed Wang Sanhu, let alone just injured him, your family wouldn't have the right to pursue the matter. If you don't believe me, you can go to the yamen and ask the officials."

Since Chen Lizheng has already said so, what's the point of the Wang family asking around? Even if they did know those officials in the yamen, wouldn't it cost money to go to the county town and ask the officials for help?

As the old saying goes, "The yamen gate faces south, but if you have reason but no money, don't come in." The Wang family figured that their meager possessions probably wouldn't even be enough to fill the teeth of those officials in the yamen. If they couldn't feed them, why would they ask them for help?

"Alright, let's just leave it at that." Wang Eryou tugged at his wife, signaling her to stop making a fuss, and then ordered Wang Erhu, "Erhu, untie your brother."

Wang Erhu responded and went over to untie Wang Sanhu.

The rope belonged to Hao Yu's family, but because Chen Moqin had used it to tie up Wang Sanhu, Xie Wanniang decided that she would not take the rope back and let whoever wanted it take it.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this is a straw rope made at home. Finding the right straw and processing it to make a rope takes time, so this thing was actually picked up by villagers who cherish their belongings.

After Chen Lizheng dispersed the crowd, Xie Wanniang acted as if nothing had happened, greeted everyone, and then took Xiao Yang home.

The Chen family members who came to support Jiang Yuan, as well as his relatives who came to watch the excitement, all rushed back to the Chen family home.

Originally, because Wang Xiaozhi only had an adopted younger brother as her maternal family, her sisters-in-law's families looked down on her somewhat. However, after witnessing Wang Sanhu's pig-headed face and Xie Wanniang's kick that hit her in the heart, Wang Xiaozhi's sisters-in-law's families immediately lowered their previously held-up chins back to where they belonged.

Like the villagers, they guessed that Xie Wanniang's improved strength must be related to Jiang Yuan, who saved her and took her in.

To be able to train such a formidable tigress in just over half a year, he himself must be extremely skilled.

They didn't want to end up with a face as swollen and disfigured as Wang Sanhu's, nor did they want to be publicly humiliated by Jiang Yuan's heart-wrenching kick.

Thanks to this little incident, the division of the Chen family proceeded very smoothly. No one strongly objected to the decision of the elderly couple to live separately, and no one nitpicked over some minor details.

Although the elderly Chen couple found it unbelievable, it was always good that the family division could proceed smoothly. One of them sat in the main room chatting with the guests, while the other directed their daughters-in-law to prepare lunch in the kitchen.

Kill a chicken that was set aside in advance to stew with dried mushrooms, then stew two fish that were allocated before the New Year and have been frozen, and then make a pork belly stew with cabbage, a radish stew with ribs, a minced meat and tofu stew, a scrambled egg with scallions, a scrambled peanut stew, and a stew of green beans and dried eggplant.

With so many people eating a chicken, two fish, three pounds of pork belly, and two pounds of ribs, the amount of meat each person could get was obviously very limited, but the guests being entertained by the Chen family had no complaints whatsoever.

After all, the Chen family wasn't exactly wealthy. The fact that they served such a meal to their guests showed their sincerity. If they complained that there wasn't enough meat, then they were just being greedy and insatiable.

***

In the afternoon, Jiang Yuan, who had eaten at the Chen family's house, returned to the end of the village as soon as possible.

Hearing the knock and familiar voices, Xie Wanniang smiled, removed the latch, and opened the courtyard gate. "Have they already divided the family property?"

Jiang Yuan nodded, "They finished distributing it so quickly. I originally wanted to go home right away, but they insisted that I stay for dinner."

Xie Wanniang smiled, "It's the right thing to stay. You're the only family I have. If you leave halfway, how pitiful I'll be."

Jiang Yuan had taken this into consideration, so he didn't insist on his own opinion. In fact, if the division of the family hadn't ended so quickly, he wouldn't have mentioned wanting to leave.

He took the door bolt, closed the door again, and locked it. "My sister plans to start building the house after us."

Xie Wanniang wasn't surprised. "Has the master chef been found as a brother-in-law?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head. "He plans to use the people I found."

Xie Wanniang said "Oh", "Then it will save him a lot of trouble."

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but chuckle, "Mm."

The two chatted as they returned to the main room. Jiang Yuan lit the brazier and asked Xie Wanniang in a low voice, "Where's Xiao Yang?"

Xie Wanniang replied, "She's asleep."

If she weren't waiting to open the door for Jiang Yuan, she would have taken a nap.

Jiang Yuan sat down, and she pushed the warm water she had poured towards him, saying, "You've been working hard all morning, have some water and go take a nap."

"I'm not tired." Jiang Yuan had been subtly observing her and found that she was still as radiant as ever, without any signs of fear or other negative emotions, which put him at ease.

He asked Xie Wanniang, "I'll cook dinner tonight, is noodles okay?"

Xie Wanniang nodded vigorously, "I want to eat hot noodle soup."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Okay, then let's have hot noodle soup."

His cooking skills weren't as good as Xie Wanniang's, but during the time he assisted Xie Wanniang, he learned a lot of basic cooking skills and tips from her. In addition, none of the four of them were picky, so even if he cooked simple meals, they would still eat them with relish.

Winter is cold. The water is cold, the vegetables are cold, the meat is cold, everything is cold. Jiang Yuan didn't want Xie Wanniang to work too hard, so he often took the initiative to cook breakfast and dinner.

Xie Wanniang was already used to it, so when she heard Jiang Yuan say that he would cook dinner that night, she agreed without any hesitation.

***

Time flew by and it was the morning of the eighth day of the first lunar month. Xie Wanniang had just sat down in front of her embroidery frame after breakfast when Wang Xiaozhi arrived with her daughter and the agreed-upon food rations.

As they had agreed beforehand, five-year-old Chen Yuan would begin learning needlework from Xie Wanniang starting today.

The little girl had been repeatedly instructed by her mother before she came, so she was behaving very well.