Chapter 57: Emptying the Enemy's Home and Marrying a Tyrant 13
Ning Yan: "Hmm, what do you think of this color? Is it a bit too dark? I also have two catties of dark yellow yarn."
Gray sweater yarn – this was a color she hadn't used before.
"This is good, Eldest Sister-in-law. Oh, those men, they can be so rough every day. If the color is too light, they'll ruin it in a day."
Ning Yan chose this color because she thought it would suit her man's bear-like physique.
As for it getting dirty easily, if it got dirty, she'd just make him wash it himself.
Anyway, he had been washing both of their clothes for the past two days.
Including her underwear.
After washing, he would hang them to dry inside the house.
Ahem, mainly because the color and style were completely out of place in this world.
The two sisters-in-law chatted for a while, and then the children ran back from outside.
The children's chatter instantly made the courtyard lively.
Ning Yan asked the second brother's wife, "Xiao Wei should be going to school now, right?" The child, almost ten years old, had never attended a single day of school. It wasn't that the family was unwilling, but that the school in the team had closed.
The second brother and his wife married early.
The second brother's wife was also determined; even though she was as thin as a rake, she became pregnant after only three months.
At that time,
it was like this in the countryside; if you were old enough, you could get married and have children.
"That depends on what the higher-ups say. If the school doesn't reopen, there's nothing we can do."
...
Fan Dahu only returned home a day later, arriving in the middle of the night, carrying a large box.
Ning Yan was startled awake.
"What are you carrying?"
Fan Dahu lit the candle, then took out a key to unlock the box. "See for yourself." After saying that, he handed the key to Ning Yan, indicating that the contents of this box would now be his wife's responsibility.
Ning Yan looked into the box, which was two feet long, one foot wide, and one foot high: gold bars, gold ingots, silver ingots, beautiful earrings, hairpins, bracelets, small jade ornaments, and several rather pretty plates and jars.
By the candlelight, Ning Yan clearly saw the words "Zhi Zheng Seven Years" on one of the jars.
Good heavens!
This was truly good heavens!
With just one of these plates, their family wouldn't have to worry about being poor!
It was clear that Fan Dahu had accumulated these little by little. Such a large box was packed full. It was truly amazing that he managed to bring them back without these delicate porcelain pieces being broken!
"These are all valuable things. How much did you spend to collect them?"
Fan Dahu smiled triumphantly, "Didn't spend much at all."
He got them ten years ago. How old was he then?
Not even twenty!
He was truly a genius!
"There were more gold bars here originally, but later I exchanged a few for capital and started a black market with some brothers in the County, making some money."
No wonder he dared to use black flour to help his brothers find wives; he truly could support his family.
"From now on, you keep all these. They're for our future daughters and sons."
Ning Yan: ... He really trusted her!
"Okay, you can rest assured leaving them with me. I guarantee nothing will go wrong."
"Oh, and there's one more thing I want to discuss with you.
These past two days, I've read a lot of newspapers in the city and realized that what you said might really happen. So I was thinking, why don't our family just split up?
The plot next to our house is empty. After we split, we can apply for a housing plot directly. While there's still some time before the autumn harvest and the fields aren't busy, we can build houses for my brothers first.
After all, bricks and tiles also take some time to prepare."
Ning Yan understood. He was afraid that if the family only had one private plot, they could only raise two poultry, and there wouldn't be enough vegetables and eggs to eat.
By splitting up early, these things would be allocated per household, and the losses would be smaller.
"I have no objection, but will the second and third brothers agree? Will our parents agree?"
Fan Dahu had already taken off his shoes and gotten onto the kang, pulling Ning Yan into his arms and pressing her against his chest. "I said it, I'm in charge of this family.
I was in charge before the split, and it will be the same after the split.
As long as you agree, I'll talk to the family about it in a couple of days.
We'll split the family but not the grain, so everyone can still eat together, and you won't have to do anything."
As for after the autumn harvest, wasn't his mother still there?
With fewer people, his mother wouldn't be too tired, and she would get fifteen yuan all to herself, so she would definitely be thrilled.
Splitting the family was beneficial for everyone, so Ning Yan definitely supported it.
Seeing his wife nod, Fan Dahu considered the matter settled.
"Oh, by the way, why didn't you come back last night? Where did you stay?"
Fan Dahu slapped his head, then leaned close to Ning Yan's ear and whispered, "I forgot to tell you, I have a small courtyard in the city. I usually stay there when I have business. I'll take you to see it when we go to the city sometime."
Ning Yan looked up at Fan Dahu upon hearing this. "Really? Is the house in your name? How big is the courtyard?"
"How big could it be? Just a regular four-room house. What's wrong? Do you like courtyards in the city? Should I look for a few more?"
"Can you buy and sell houses at this time?"
"Not openly, of course, but it can be done with some maneuvering.
A distant cousin of mine, who was old, went to live with his children and gave me his house."
In this world, if you use your brain, you can always find a way.
When he bought that house, he really just did it for convenience. He was also afraid of future trouble, so he specifically inquired about the family's situation. They were going abroad, so he felt at ease buying the house.
"If you like living in the city, I'll find a couple more larger courtyards someday. We can move to the city in the future." As he spoke, his hand was already lifting Ning Yan's nightgown...
A few days later, when Fan Dahu was home, he called the Captain and split the family.
The four brothers plus the Old Stone Family Residence each received seventy-two yuan and three mao, four chickens (the extra three were given to the Old Stone Family Residence), the pig was not divided but the money would be split at the end of the year, the grain was not divided but they would eat together until the autumn harvest, after which each family would eat separately, and everything else was evenly divided.
The eldest brother was responsible for supporting the Old Stone Family Residence, and the other three brothers all applied for housing plots.
Captain, their paternal third uncle, ran around for a few days, and the plots were approved. The bricks and tiles that Fan Dahu helped order were also delivered.
Now there wasn't much work in the fields, so the strong laborers from the team took time out to help build the three families' houses. The Fan family paid the helpers Twelve work points per person per day and also provided lunch, so everyone eagerly volunteered.
It wasn't a busy season, and strong laborers usually earned at most ten work points. Twelve work points and a meal was truly a good job.
With many people coming, the three houses were built simultaneously, and in just half a month, all the houses were completed.
After letting the houses air out for a few more days, the three families gradually moved in.
But none of this affected Ning Yan in the slightest.
Fan Dahu continued to appear and disappear mysteriously. People on the team rarely saw him. Occasionally, he would stay out for a night, but when he returned home, he would definitely bring something back for Ning Yan—either money or tickets, or antiques, or food, or clothes and fabric. In short, her little life was extremely comfortable.
...