Xu Zifan stayed in the void for a long time, spending most of that time merging with the system. Because he possessed the void and strong soul power, merging with the system was essentially like another upgrade. This meant he could now freely enter and exit the void without having to wait until after death. And the void was no longer empty; it could now store things! This gave him immense convenience.
Xu Zifan named the system "Shaohua" (meaning "Youthful Years"). He felt that the time they would spend together in the future was endless, and this word was the most fitting name for the system.
After getting used to the system's operation, Xu Zifan gradually regained his youthful mindset, sealed away his emotions from this life, and traveled to the next world with renewed vitality.
"Father, Mother, it's not that we're heartless. Our third brother has been studying for so many years and hasn't even passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations. He even bribed his teacher to lie to us and say he was talented. Isn't that just laziness and making excuses not to work? Besides, he's always buying writing materials and socializing with his classmates. No matter how much we work, we can't afford to support his extravagance! It's better to separate the family…"
As soon as Xu Zifan regained consciousness, he heard a young man talking in the next room, followed by an angry shout from a middle-aged woman: "Shut up! That's your own brother. If he's wrong, just teach him a lesson. What's with this talk of dividing the family? Your father and I aren't even dead yet, and you're already so eager to set up your own households?"
"Mother, Erlang didn't mean it that way. He was just trying to help our third brother. Think about it, our third brother is already eighteen and has accomplished nothing. He can't even farm properly. How will he support the family in the future? Erlang's idea is to let our third brother stand on his own two feet. If he improves in the future, we can just become a family again. We'll all live in the same courtyard anyway, so it won't affect us."
Xu Zifan heard a young woman speaking; she must be Erlang's wife. He looked around; the cramped room contained only a wooden bed, a wooden cabinet, and a small wooden table. The door was just a few steps from the bed—it was very small. Moreover, the wooden furniture looked old and many parts were broken, as were the window frames and door frames. It must have belonged to a very poor family.
He had a high fever and was very weak. He checked his pulse; it was from catching a chill without proper treatment. It was probably from falling into the water, but not too serious; a few days of rest would do the trick. But in ancient times… He looked up at the dilapidated house; in such a poor place, fever and illness could easily kill someone.
As Xu Zifan absorbed the memories, he listened to the conversation of several people outside. He already knew from the memories that the people outside were the original owner's parents, eldest brother and sister-in-law, and second brother and sister-in-law. The original owner also had two older sisters who were married, and a younger sister who couldn't participate in such matters stayed in her room.
The first voices he heard were those of the original owner's second brother and sister-in-law; the one scolding them was the original owner's mother. This sister-in-law was a time traveler who, after only half a month in the world, couldn't stand the family's poverty and disliked the other family members. She started urging Erlang to separate from his elder brother and sister-in-law. The original owner, having always been studying, discovered that this way he wouldn't have to work, so he tried every means to continue studying, even bribing the tutor. The time-traveling female lead discovered this and immediately exposed the truth, bringing the dissatisfaction of the first and second wives towards the original owner and his parents to its peak, successfully leading to the separation of the family.
After the family split, the transmigrated woman naturally prospered with her second son, moving to the town, then the city, and finally the capital. Their lives were vibrant and exciting; their business flourished, and the whole family enjoyed wealth and luxury. The eldest son, left in the village, was incompetent, only knowing how to farm. His children's education suffered, and in the end, they were still just clinging to their small plot of land. The original owner of the body, on the other hand, knew nothing. In his twenties or thirties, he understood the importance of filial piety, but lacked the skills to earn money in town, and no one would hire him.
Later, by chance, the original owner learned from a former classmate that when the transmigrated woman and Erlang were socializing, they were always somewhat embarrassed and disdainful when mentioning their family. Their business had grown, and they had connections; naturally, many people would try to curry favor with them and make things difficult for the Xu family. The lack of development of the eldest branch and the complete failure of the third branch were due to this. Although they weren't initially close to the second branch, their conflicts were mostly minor and domestic. Even when they separated, it was a simple division, and they didn't gain any advantage over the second branch.
The second wife's family didn't want to associate with them, but also didn't want to ruin their reputation, so they portrayed them in very negative light. The eldest brother was honest but incompetent, the eldest sister-in-law was ambitious, the third brother deceived the family, and the parents were utterly biased… They felt they were better off without such awful family members. In reality, however, they were just an ordinary family; it was the second wife's family who demonized them.
Because of the second wife's selfishness, the first and third wives were unable to make any progress later on. The second wife had inadvertently cut off their future. The original owner of this body hated the second wife, but he also knew that he had done wrong. Seeing his parents' impoverished old age, he was filled with remorse. He asked the dimensional messenger to come with only one wish: that the dimensional messenger would take good care of his parents, give them a good life, and let them enjoy their old age in peace, so that they would not be suppressed by those who flattered the second wife, and so that the Xu family would not be given the reputation of bullying the second wife.
As for the second wife, it's best to stay far away from them and absolutely not be related to them again.
Xu Zifan had met many transmigrators and reborn individuals, and quite a few of them treated their families like jerks, wanting to sever all ties. Of course, truly jerk family members did exist, but based on Xu Zifan's understanding, the Xu family hadn't reached that level. It was the transmigrated woman's preconceived notions, and Erlang (Xu Zifan's second son) didn't have much affection for them, thus magnifying their flaws. Xu Zifan didn't care. Since the original owner's wishes were irrelevant to them, he didn't care about them; he only needed to take care of his parents.
The argument next door continued. The eldest sister-in-law did have some selfish motives; she felt that since her parents would live with the eldest son's family in the future, the house should belong to them, and she was afraid the original owner of the body would squander it all. When the transmigrated woman, Su Qianyun, mentioned it, she was tempted and started knocking on the door.
Bian Gu's words implied a desire to separate the family business.
Su Qianyun was quite eloquent; she clearly showed disdain, yet she spoke as if she were doing it for the original owner's sake. Xu Zifan, listening, gradually lost interest. Knowing that the family would eventually separate, he simply closed his eyes and went to sleep. Before falling asleep, he said to Shaohua, "[Shaohua, someone came in to wake me. They're monitoring my physical data in real time. If I pass out, try to wake me up.]"
[OK.]
The system never wastes words; upon receiving Xu Zifan's instructions, it immediately began monitoring his body data. Having been with it for decades, Xu Zifan trusted it completely, and even in such an unfavorable environment, he quickly fell asleep peacefully. This was probably the greatest advantage of having a system—he had the most reliable partner.
The neighbors had been talking for who knows how long, and the elderly couple, seeing the resolute attitude of the first and second wives, were somewhat hurt. They did favor their younger son because Xu's mother had a difficult childbirth, nearly losing both mother and child, and they couldn't help but want to take better care of him. But they could honestly say they hadn't mistreated the first and second wives! The vast majority of the family's assets belonged to the elderly couple; the meager earnings of the first and second wives barely covered their food, clothing, and children's needs, so how could they possibly take advantage of them to support their youngest son's education?
No matter what they said, their two sons and daughters-in-law refused to give up, as if their youngest son had committed some heinous crime and they wanted to sever all ties with him. The elderly couple were genuinely heartbroken. Perhaps they hadn't been good parents and had ruined their family, but they also wanted to ask themselves, why are other families able to live happily together despite all the bickering?
Su Qianyun continued, "Father, Mother, we've discussed it. Our third son is still sick, and we, as his elder brother and sister-in-law, will not abandon him. We will definitely get him treated well. But we hope you two will think carefully about the matter of dividing the family property. A tree may grow big and branch out, but we are still a family. Even if we separate, we will still be a family. It's just that we both have children now, and we want to work harder for our children."
Mr. Xu sat there expressionlessly, looking out the window, his lips tightly pressed together, suppressing his anger. Mrs. Xu looked at Su Qianyun carefully for a few moments, then at the other three, and said with disappointment, "So you've all thought it through? You just came here today to let us know that if your father and I don't agree, you won't stop now, will you?"
"No, Mother, that's not what we meant."
"Don't dare? I bet you dare!" Xu's mother's voice rose. "Brothers, what's the big deal that you'd abandon your younger brother? If everyone were like you, there wouldn't be any family affection left in this world! Do you think you're supporting your third son? Don't you even consider what your little possessions are enough for? Or do you think that everything your father and I own belongs to you, and it's not right for our third son to use it? Fine! Let's divide it up then, old man, tell me, shouldn't this family be divided?"
Mr. Xu snorted, "Separate, separate today. A tree grows big and branches out? The branch hasn't left the tree. If you're not happy being a family, then separate. You don't need to take care of the third son's illness. From now on, the two of us will live with the third son, and you can go live your own good lives."
Xu Dalang hurriedly stood up and said anxiously, "Father, since ancient times, parents have always lived with the eldest son. How can you live with the third son? I will take care of you in your old age and will definitely be filial to you."
Xu's mother looked at him and shook her head in disappointment. "Eldest son, if you and your wife are complaining about your own brother today, how do I know you won't complain about us two old people in the future? I didn't raise your third brother well, but I will teach him properly. There is only one thing about him that I like the most: he is truly filial to us."
Xu Dalang was so ashamed upon hearing this that his face turned bright red. He said urgently, "Mother, we won't separate the family, I won't separate the family anymore. Don't be angry, it was my fault, Mother..."
Xu's mother sighed. Her eldest son was thirty years old and all he knew was to bury himself in farming, never making any decisions. She had specifically found him a capable wife, but now, she didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. As for her second son and his wife, she was truly heartbroken. She couldn't understand how she had mistreated them to make them so dissatisfied with the family.
It's better that they've separated. Distance makes things better, and from now on, everyone can live their own lives. She hopes they'll all be doing well.
Xu's mother stood up, patted her clothes, and said, "Let's divide it up. Second son, go and invite the village head and clan elders over. I'll see what we have at home, and we'll divide it up today. Your father and I haven't been able to sleep well these past few days. Once it's divided, we can get a good night's sleep too."