The old lady always paid extra attention to the little things she grew in the garden.
If no one listened to her, she'd repeat herself many times over.
She only spoke this way because she felt sorry for her third son.
She wanted to harvest the corn, hoping to sell some and save a bit of pocket money.
When she passed away, she wished to leave something behind for her grandchildren.
After Ye Father knocked out the burnt tobacco from the water pipe, he looked around the crowded room filled with his children and grandchildren.
He initially wanted to share what he discussed with Ye Mother last night but was interrupted.
"Grandma, you just left this morning, and both Uncle and Second Uncle came asking for their share of the money!"
It was clear someone was going to complain! It was none other than Ye Huimei, the little complainant!
After all the hard work of earning some money, Uncle and Second Uncle shamelessly came asking for their share.
They wouldn’t dare say it outside, but they certainly wanted to voice it to Grandma!
The kids chimed in, “Yes, Grandma, they were so fierce!”
"They even slammed the table and glared at us!"
“They yelled at my dad and told him not to butt in!”
Their constant chatter was giving Ye Yadong a headache.
He waved his hand, “You kids, what are you doing here? Go outside and play, and don’t hang around getting in the way!”
A few children stuck out their tongues and made faces before scampering off.
They were done with eating cucumbers and didn't want to linger inside listening to adults talk.
Before leaving, they didn’t forget to shout to Ye Mother, “Grandma, call us when the corn is ready!”
The old lady didn’t even glance up, her thoughts consumed by the sudden influx of money, which made anyone envious.
"My palm holds flesh, and my back also holds flesh. Just ignore them; each family should live their own life without being envious of others."
Ye Father answered with a nod but said little more.
He hadn’t intended to worry his mother, believing the money would be safe with him, and no one could take it from there.
Looking around at the sons and daughters-in-law in the room, he spoke with seriousness, “I discussed with your mother last night. Since we have money now, we plan to build houses for you brothers and divide the family, so each can live their own life.”
The house they currently lived in had been left by the old man.
Since the eldest Uncle and Second Uncle married first, he built each of them a house after their weddings and let them start their own families.
Because Ye Father was the youngest and married later, the old man thought that after his passing, the house would be empty, so he didn’t build another one.
He constructed a small house of less than ten square meters next to the vegetable garden in the backyard and made a dirt stove for himself and the old lady to live out their days.
The bigger house was saved for Ye Father.
Though the house was larger with four rooms, years of small repairs had made it quite old, so neither the eldest Uncle nor the Second Uncle disagreed with the need for separate living.
Now, with so many grandchildren, the house was truly insufficient.
Each of the three brothers' families squeezed into one room.
Ye Huimei shared a room with her parents, plus a small bed.
The eldest and second brothers each had five people crammed into one room, sharing an old bunk bed, which illustrated just how crowded it was.
Meal times required a big round table, and the women stood to eat.
It wasn’t about discrimination; it was simply because there wasn’t enough room.
Once the children finished eating, the women could sit down for their meal.
Ye Father and Ye Mother saw all this, and they had long wanted to separate the families to let their sons live their own lives.
However, they lacked the money to build separate houses.
If they divided the family, they’d still have to live together, sharing one stove and meals, so it wouldn’t really be any different from before.
Now, with the big catch of yellow croaker fish, they had earned a bit, which seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally separate.
Otherwise, with such a windfall suddenly entering the family, everyone’s hearts would surely stir with greed.
Sure enough, upon hearing about the separation, Ye Da's wife and Ye Er's wife brightened up.
Ye Yadong paused for a moment, remembering that in his past life, after catching yellow croaker fish, his father had also built a house.
But back then, he had been too busy hanging out with friends, not paying attention, and didn’t help out.
He had regretted coming into this world late and missing the chance to build a house after the catch.
Hearing his father now speak of it, it finally dawned on him.
Ye Eldest seemed surprised but said nothing; it was normal for a family to branch out.
Ye Second, however, seemed a bit taken aback. “Dad, why are we suddenly thinking of splitting up… huh!?”
Before Ye Second could finish, his wife jabbed him in the arm.
He blinked, exchanged glances with his wife, and fell silent.
Ye Yadong rolled his eyes.
Among the family, his second brother was the most honest, while his sister-in-law was the sharpest.
They complemented each other well!
His sister-in-law was also the one he liked least.
Only with their parents encouraging their children to manage their own earnings, and relying mostly on farming and fishing, could this family have maintained harmony for so long; otherwise, things could have turned chaotic.
The reason for this was simple—he was dragging everyone down!
Ye Father cast a glance at Ye Second, opened the small round iron box where they kept the tobacco, and leisurely began to pinch the tobacco, saying, “With money in hand, you still don’t want to separate? Do you want the whole family to squeeze together? How fragrant!”
At that moment, no one dared to say anything, fearing the topic would go cold!
Ye Yadong sat on the stool, crossing his legs and shaking them.
He saw everyone clearly longing for something but remaining silent.
He boldly declared, “Sure, Dad, we are all married now, it’s time we separated. Building the new house will give us more space.”
“I’m afraid you’ll starve!” Ye Father shot him a glare.
“Ah, haha? That won’t happen, I swear I’ll work hard after we split!”
“‘Work hard’ how?”
“Uh… I’ll just follow how the elder brothers work hard and learn from them.”
“I'll take your word for it!”
Ye Yadong: "..."
He was serious, yet no one believed him...
The old lady comfortingly patted Ye Yadong's shoulder and added, “It’s better to split up and lead our own lives. Indeed, it was time to separate.”
Ye Mother, sitting by the stove, took over the conversation, “The money from selling the yellow croaker is just right for building houses. This way, we don’t have to worry about it. If it’s still not enough, we can use the future earnings from fishing to add it in; anyway, it’s for all of you. I wanted to mention this as soon as breakfast was done, but it got delayed until now.”
After finishing, she spoke to Ye Father, “Later, you should go to the commune and inquire to finalize the land purchase for the foundation, so we can invite people to build the houses as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” Ye Father replied, glancing at his sons and daughters-in-law. “We’ll use this money to build houses. Any upcoming money earned from fishing will also go in, and once the houses are built, we’ll separate. Is that alright with you all?”
Ye Eldest shook his head, “Dad, you and Mom decide. We have no objections.”
Ye Second nodded along, “Dad, we trust you. We’re good with whatever.”
The wives had surely whispered into their ears at night, eager to live their own lives, so of course, they had no objections.
Ye Huimei hadn’t married yet, so she would continue living with her parents.
Being a daughter, whether or not the family separated had nothing to do with her—she just needed to watch.
It was settled; they would use the money to build houses and separate for good.
Ye Father took a few more puffs of the water pipe before heading out.
(End of Chapter)