Gu Chengyu recalled the eldest brother-in-law, whose name was Wang Quanshou. The Wang family only had two brothers and an eldest sister. When Gu Xi and the others came back on the second day of the last Chinese New Year, they mentioned that the Wang family was divided, but the eldest sister
The brother-in-law is the second eldest son, so they both live with the eldest brother. Of course, when the family was separated, the eldest brother must have received more. The eldest brother-in-law's family was only allocated two rooms, some daily necessities, two acres of land, and another 500 yuan.
money.
The eldest sister has given birth to two children. The eldest daughter is eight years old this year, and the youngest son is five years old, the same age as him. The eldest sister is honest. When the family was separated, her parents favored the eldest son. They only gave these few things and didn't say anything.
They just separated their families silently.
That time, when he walked through the yard and went to the hut, through the window in the west wing, he saw the eldest sister wiping tears at his second brother's place. He vaguely heard the eldest sister scolding Brother Wang's husband. He didn't know how much he thought about his mother-in-law.
A plan.
I came here today because I was afraid that it was about the corvée. There would be an official mission to the village tomorrow, so Gu Xi had to come at night, thinking she was coming back to borrow money. In Gu Chengyu's impression, the eldest sister never went to her husband's house to search for anything.
Although the gifts I brought back during the Chinese New Year were not very good, they were just a pack of brown sugar and two pounds of white flour, but I never even ate them. Alas! She was also a pitiful woman.
"Dad!" Gu Xi looked at Dad Gu, hesitant.
Father Gu sighed, picked up the cigarette pole and lit it again.
Seeing that Father Gu didn't ask, Gu Xi had no choice but to bring it up. In fact, she was the one who didn't react just now when she came back. Now that she thought about it carefully, she knew why she was back.
"Dad! The village chief told us today that he is going to do corvee service. Everyone knows that the corvee service this time is dangerous. The Wang family only has two sons, my father-in-law." Gu Xi said what was in his heart in one breath
After I came out and said that, I felt some tears in my eyes.
"He said, let the baby's father go." He choked with sobs and finished the rest of his words.
Gu Chengyu had heard from Father Gu before that when villagers split up, they usually only invited a few highly respected people and two clan elders in the village to write two documents for the separation, and also invited Li Zheng and the village chief.
I testified that the family tree will be re-divided when the ancestral hall is opened next time. But it will not be filed with the government because the taxes of the Dayan Dynasty were divided according to households. Even if a family is divided in the genealogy, it will not be filed with the government.
If it is archived, the government will treat it as one household.
Therefore, in order to pay less taxes and perform corvee work, people generally do not file with the government. Of course, this is definitely an exception for large families. First, there is no shortage of money, and second, there will definitely be property disputes when the families are separated, so they must not be mixed together anymore.
Nowadays, there are only two adult men in the Wang family. Either the eldest or the second son will go. Since the two elders of the Wang family are counting on their eldest son to provide for them in old age, they will inevitably have to let the second son go.
After Gu Xi finished speaking, he looked up and saw Mr. Gu looking at the smoke. He blew out two puffs of smoke from time to time, but his brows furrowed.
"Dad! Can you lend us some money? Quanshou, he can't go! He is the backbone of the family. If he goes, if something goes wrong, how can we live without our orphans and widows?" Gu Xi said at this moment
Her tears couldn't stop flowing down her face. She covered her mouth with her sleeves and let out a sob.
Gu Chengyu felt a little heavy in his heart as he listened. If you can pay for it with money, of course you can't risk your life.
When Mrs. Lu heard this, she couldn't help it. She knew the situation of Gu Xi's family. The money was said to be a loan, but in fact it was not repaid. It was only eighteen taels!
"Xizi! You also know that you are all married girls. As the old saying goes! A married girl is the water thrown out. If you marry into Lao Wang's family, you will become a member of Lao Wang's family. You can't be without money.
So, why don't you just go to your parents' house and ask for it? You have also seen that in our family, who doesn't tighten their belts and live a life? Some time ago, I dug ginseng and then bought the land. Otherwise,
I’m afraid our family won’t be able to raise enough money to pay taxes!”
Mrs. Lu knew that Gu Xi would be up to no good if he came so late. He actually had the idea of asking the Gu family to help Lao Wang's family pay taxes?
"Mom! I have been married for so many years, but I have never begged my mother-in-law. Now, there is really nothing I can do. I can't watch the head of the family die, can I?" Gu Xi knew that it was eight taels of silver, which was indeed too much, but the front of the Gu family
Back then, I sold my ginseng and bought land, and now I have to build a house, so I must still have some money left.
She looked at Daddy Gu expectantly, hoping that Daddy Gu would agree to her.
"Where is the son-in-law? Why didn't I come back with you?" Father Gu did not agree first, but asked Wang Quanshou first. Logically speaking, for such a big thing as borrowing money, the couple should come together to be sincere, but look
It was almost dark, but he asked Gu Xi, a woman, to run back to her parents' house to borrow money. This couldn't be justified, could it?
"The head of the house is begging for help from my mother-in-law! I want her and the others to come out with some money to help me get together. I came back alone." Gu Xi thought about how her mother-in-law was still insisting before returning to her parents' home. She didn't have any money or a penny.
The division has already been divided among them.
"Sister! How much money does your mother-in-law give you?" Gu Chengyi asked anxiously from the side.
"Mother-in-law, she said that the family has no money, not even a penny." Gu Xi had stopped crying at this moment and sat numbly. At this moment, she had made up her mind. If her father didn't agree, she would kneel down before Gu's parents.
If you can't afford it, kneel down until dawn and don't get any money. What's the use of just going back?
Hearing this, Mr. He was shocked. "What? Ouch! Can my own son be so cruel?"
As soon as she said this, everyone in the room looked at her and laughed twice.
Then, he clicked his tongue and said, "Sister! Let me tell you! Your family suffered a big loss when they were separated! The two houses we were given were the two we originally lived in. Your old Wang family has seven acres of land, so why not give it to them?"
What about the two acres you were given? I only gave you 500 cents. It’s obvious that you two are easy to bully! You don’t have many family members. You can always save some of the annual income from the seven acres of land, right?
Besides, my brother-in-law and his eldest brother go to town to do odd jobs every year, how can they only save so little money?"
Mr. He felt that the eldest sister and his wife were a bit stupid. Although it would be great to be the master of the family, you also have to have money! If you don’t have money, what’s the use of being the master of the family? This time, your mother’s family will have to borrow eighteen taels of silver.
, this is how many years it took the banker's family to save money. Humph! Didn't you hear the news and know that the Gu family has money?
"Xizi! It stands to reason that if you and your son-in-law are in trouble, your father and your mother can't just watch as long as your parents' family has it. But borrowing money is a big deal, so your son-in-law asks you to come back and borrow it alone? With so much money, you can't do it.
It's a small amount, you alone have the final say?" Father Gu thought, the money must be borrowed today, and looking at the eldest daughter's appearance, she might not leave without borrowing the money.