Su Qianyun paid no attention to these changes in the village. She was currently busy with her money-making plan, getting up early every day to make many pastries to sell in town. Later, she added a few other foods, trying them out little by little to see which ones sold best. Xu Zifan didn't care either. As long as his comments didn't favor the second wife and belittle their family, he wasn't planning to build up a high reputation.
After taking the books home, Xu Zifan moved his table to the window and copied them there every day. He was extremely focused and concentrated when he worked, copying quickly and accurately without making mistakes. Even the children playing and making noise couldn't disturb him. At first, Xu's family didn't take his work seriously, but when they saw how fast he was doing, they finally realized that Xu Zifan's years of schooling made him different, and they had underestimated him before.
Every day, Xu's father would sit by the courtyard wall weaving bamboo hats, food boxes, and other items. Xu Zifan taught him how to weave many practical items, as well as how to make desk ornaments. After Xu's father finished making an ornament, he would show it to Xu Zifan for inspection. If it was considered exquisite, he could sell it to his classmate and place it in his room. If it was somewhat rough or crooked, Xu's father would take it, along with other bamboo products, to the town or a nearby village to sell.
Xu's father was fifty years old and still in good health. Although Xu Zifan didn't want him to work so hard, things had to be done step by step. Now that Xu's father was earning money every day, he was particularly energetic, and he smiled more often, which was a good thing. Xu's mother went to the fields every day, and when she came home, she took over cooking and feeding the chickens. She loved chatting with the neighbors. Since Xiaolian stopped helping the eldest and second wives with their laundry, she had much more free time. With Xu's mother doing her chores, she embroidered purses, handkerchiefs, and woven knots, keeping herself busy every day. In any case, the third branch of the family was truly full of hope, a stark contrast to the despondency they felt when the family divided their property.
Three days later, Xu Zifan finished copying the two medical books, reviewing the basic knowledge along the way. Although he had studied traditional Chinese medicine for two or three decades, that was hundreds of years ago, and he chose to copy the books to refresh his knowledge. Of course, he also asked Shaohua to make an electronic backup of the medical books. He planned to make a backup of everything he read and learned in the future, so that he could simply have Shaohua access it whenever he wanted.
When Xu Zifan went to town to hand in the books, he took Xiaolian with him. He felt that Xiaolian should go out more and broaden her horizons. They first delivered the ornaments that Xu's father had made to the classmates who had placed orders, and also sold the purses that Xiaolian had embroidered, making a small profit. Then they went to the library to hand in the books and picked out three medical books to take home and copy.
Xiao Lian sold her purses and handkerchiefs for twenty coins. Holding the coins, she asked Xu Zifan, "Third Brother, you said you'd take care of the family, so... so should I give you this money?"
Xu Zifan was taken aback. He looked at the copper coin in her palm and said with a smile, "Keep it yourself. Your third brother can support you. From now on, you can buy whatever you want with the money you earn. You don't need to give it to anyone. Just remember to be filial to your parents."
"Third brother, you're the best! You must take good care of our parents!" Xiaolian happily put the copper coins into her purse, feeling even more that dividing the family property was the right thing to do.
After several such incidents, Xu Zifan earned back the money he needed for his medication, Xiaolian also had some savings, and the family still had income. Xu's parents felt more and more at ease, and without realizing it, they had become somewhat dependent on Xu Zifan, the son they used to worry about the most.
The second son's food business was thriving, and the third son's book copying and bamboo product sales also seemed to be bringing in a good income. Only the eldest son's family was always idle. Xu Dalang knew nothing but farming. Every day he would go to town early to help people move goods. He was exhausted by the end of the day and could earn about seven or eight coins. However, there were not goods at the dock every day, and Xu Dalang often made a wasted trip.
Seeing that her family had become the most backward after the division of the family property, Cai was so anxious that blisters appeared around her lips. She couldn't sleep at night and kept thinking about what to do. One day, Xu Dalang went to town but returned empty-handed. He sat dejectedly against the wall. Cai couldn't help but sit down next to him and whispered, "Dalang, why don't you go and ask your father to teach you how to weave bamboo?"
Xu Dalang subconsciously replied, "I can make it up."
"No, I don't mean the bamboo baskets Dad took to sell."
"No way! That's what my third brother came up with, his way of making money. I'm not going." Xu Dalang stood up abruptly, turned around and went into the house.
Cai was anxious and hurriedly chased after him, grabbing Xu Dalang and persuading him, "Dalang! We still have two children to raise, and making a living is difficult. If we hadn't really had no other choice, I wouldn't have brought this up. There are so many people in the surrounding villages, and even if your father carries things to sell, he can't go very far. You are young and strong, so once you learn how, you can go to places further away to sell. It won't affect your father and third brother. Think about it, isn't that right?"
Xu Dalang shoved her away, frowned, and said, "In short, I won't go. You're still nagging about dividing the family property while my third brother is still sick. I can't argue with you, and you're always right. But what's the result? This family has changed so much that I don't even recognize it anymore. My parents are also completely disappointed in me. What else do you want to do? I'm useless, just a farmer. You knew that when you came in. Don't keep watching my second and third brothers' lives. Once the family is divided, they have nothing to do with us."
"How can it not be a problem? Didn't we agree that the division of the family was to encourage our third brother to improve himself? We're still family. Now that our third brother is sensible and ambitious, there's absolutely no need for us to divide the family anymore. We should go back to how things were before, right?" Cai suddenly remembered this, and her eyes grew brighter as she spoke. She looked at her eldest son and said, "Father and Mother have never liked dividing the family. If we don't divide the family, they will definitely be happy. You will still be their most relied-upon eldest son. Isn't that better?"
Xu Dalang was taken aback upon hearing this, recalling that this was indeed what was said when the family divided their property. Thinking back to what Cai Shi had said, if they were to reunite as a family, he, as the eldest son, would surely be rewarded for being filial to his parents.
He could make his parents happy. Unlike now, the eldest and third wives eat separately, and they're just neighbors living in the same courtyard. He can't even find an opportunity to be filial to his parents. They're busy, and they barely have time to talk. He can't very well help the third wife with chores; he has to move goods and raise his children. Thinking about it this way, it would be best if they were united as one family. In the future, their Xu family would definitely prosper more and more.
When Cai saw that she had persuaded him, she immediately smiled and said, "You can't speak properly, so I'll go and talk to Mother. Third Brother has already made progress, and Mother will definitely be happy to know that we are going to be a family together."
Xu Dalang was still hesitant. Seeing Cai Shi leave, he opened his mouth but didn't call out to her, yet he still felt something was amiss. Cai Shi found Xu's mother in the kitchen, and after a few casual words, she smiled and said, "Mother, I never thought my second sister-in-law's suggestion would actually work. Since we separated the family, my third brother has truly become more ambitious. Mother, when will we be a family again?"
As Xu's mother was cooking, she turned to look at her and asked, "What? What do you mean we're all one family?"
Madam Cai asked in surprise, "Didn't you say it was a fake division of the family when you separated the family? Second sister-in-law said that we are still a family, and the division was just to help Third Brother stand up, right?"
Xu's mother remembered this time, but she had seen through Su Qianyun's sweet talk that day; it wasn't genuine at all. Looking at Cai Shi, however, she could see that Cai Shi was quite sincere now. Cai Shi continued, "Mother, other families in the village haven't divided their property at this age, but ours has, and it doesn't look good. I've been too embarrassed to talk to others these days. Now that my third brother is established, I think we should go to the village head as soon as possible and tear up the property division document, so we can be one family again. From now on, our whole family can work together towards a common goal and live a prosperous life—wouldn't that be wonderful!"
Xu's mother was somewhat tempted, but put down the spatula and hesitated, saying, "Will this work? What about your second brother...?"
"Of course it'll work! It was my second sister-in-law who said it; it's her idea!" It was Su Qianyun who instigated Cai Shi to bring up the division of the family property. Now that she's discovered Su Qianyun earns quite a bit from selling food, she's finally realized what's going on. So Su Qianyun was using her, hoping to live a better life after the division? There's no such thing as a free lunch. With their parents still alive, what reason do they have to divide the family property? Even their third brother has reformed; what reason do they have to divide the family?
While cooking, Xu's mother heard Cai's stories at length, such as the idea of the whole family sitting at one table to eat together—it sounded so lively. Xu's mother pondered it over and over again, and decided to give it a try. Why couldn't other families live together as a large family? Xu's mother simply cooked extra food and, at dinner time, asked Xu Dalang and Xu Erlang to set up the table in their room and invite everyone to eat together.
Everyone sat down, and Xu Erlang was the first to ask with a smile, "Mother, what's the good news today?"
Mother Xu smiled and said, "Well, there's something I need to say. Back then, when you were talking about dividing the family property, wasn't it because of the third son? At that time, the third son was irresponsible and caused trouble, so he was in the wrong. We said we would divide the family property first, so that the third son could stand on his own and become more sensible. Now, look at him, isn't the third son sensible?"
Su Qianyun's smile faded, sensing that nothing good was coming, but she still praised her mother along with her words, "Third brother is sensible and filial, and he can earn money by copying books. It seems he has grown up."
Mother Xu said cheerfully, "That's right. So I thought, since there's nothing wrong at home now, let's just tear up the family division document and go talk to the village head about merging into one family. Although it's not easy to do, we can probably get through it by making a few more trips. We'll definitely be able to live a good life together from now on."
Mr. Xu hadn't expected her to say that. He tugged at her sleeve under the table. Mrs. Xu glanced at him but didn't say anything more. Instead, she looked expectantly at the eldest and second wives. Madam Cai was the first to respond, smiling as she said, "That's how it should be. We were originally one family. We only separated once because of our third brother. Now that he's grown up, we're still one family. We shouldn't separate."
Xu Erlang and Su Qianyun exchanged a glance. They had earned three taels of silver these past few days, more than they used to earn in a whole year, and they had no intention of sharing the money with them. Xu Erlang coughed twice and said, "Father, Mother, we weren't used to the family division at first, but we're used to it now. Let's just live like this. We'll have to divide the family sooner or later anyway, so why bother with this? We might even have to send things to the village head and bribe people at the household registration office. It's too much trouble, not worth it."
Madam Cai said anxiously, "Second brother, why are you saying this? Wasn't it your wife who came up with this idea in the first place? Did you mean that all your talk about doing this for your third brother was just a lie? Did you want to separate the family just to get rid of us and live a better life?"