Lin Chuxia held back her laughter, not expecting Qin Yang’s family to call him in such a way; a burly man with a nickname more delicate than Zhuangzhuang’s.
Mr. Qin also realized something, but he would never admit anything was amiss.
“No matter how old, he’s still my son. What’s wrong with calling him Yangyang? Haven’t you been called Yangyang for over twenty years without any problem?”
Seeing Qin Yang’s face turn redder, Lin Chuxia quickly excused herself, “I’ll go check on mom and sister-in-law.”
If she didn’t leave, she feared Qin Yang might spontaneously combust.
The kitchen was steaming, and the table was already set with dishes.
There were plenty of leftovers from the guests over yesterday; these days, no one wastes food. The leftovers were still eaten hot, even the food removed from the banquet was still good, as normally they wouldn’t have white flour and meat dishes.
There were two plates of leftovers and one plate of freshly made cold vegetables, and also a bowl of pickled vegetable strips.
The staple foods were large steamed buns left from yesterday and freshly baked pancakes, along with a pot of corn porridge.
The sister-in-law was bending over serving porridge.
Lin Chuxia entered the room and greeted her mother-in-law, then headed straight toward her sister-in-law, “Let me serve it, sister-in-law.”
Zhang Guilan, without raising her head, handed her a bowl of freshly served porridge, “I’ll serve, you carry.”
“Okay.”
Lin Chuxia took the porridge bowl and, as she placed it on the table and turned around, saw Zhang Guilan watching her.
She couldn’t help but quicken her steps, and just as she was about to take another bowl, Zhang Guilan dodged her hand.
A large spoon was shoved into her hand, “Better you serve.”
Lin Chuxia pressed her lips together, her eyebrows and eyes curved slightly.
Zhang Guilan was cool and aloof yesterday, Lin Chuxia didn’t deliberately try to please her, but she also thought about how to get along with this sister-in-law in the future, especially since Qin Han and Qin Yang, the two brothers, seemed to get along well.
She hadn’t expected her sister-in-law to be cold on the outside but warm inside, these few days’ attitude was probably just dissatisfaction with the Lin Family’s way.
The look Zhang Guilan gave her while walking must have been because she noticed she was inconvenienced.
The two of them serving porridge together, back and forth, Mrs. Qin watched happily from the side.
And looking at her younger son eagerly watching from outside the door, Mrs. Qin’s smile grew even broader.
She’s a mother, what can’t she see?
This morning her younger son’s eyes were filled with joy, and she had seen him laughing foolishly.
Now, the way he looks at his daughter-in-law has changed; with this young man’s demeanor, who could say he was cold-hearted and didn’t want a wife?
Previously, she felt that Lin Family changing the bride last minute was improper, but now it seems that this switch was actually a good move.
She had inquired long ago, the Lin Family’s eldest daughter was heavily pampered, definitely not as reliable as the younger daughter.
Smiling, she went outside to call everyone to eat.
Brother Qin responded, tidying up the fixed framework simply, these could be directly put to use.
Mr. Qin also clapped his hands, his body just lifting halfway when he suddenly started coughing.
Cough after cough, as though he was about to cough out his lungs.
Qin Han threw aside the framework to go help pat his back.
Mrs. Qin also came down the stairs, “Have you not taken your medicine this morning?”
While talking, she asked Qin Yang to go back to the room to fetch the medicine.
Lin Chuxia also came out at this time and followed him into the house to get a cup of warm water.
Seeing her follow him in, Qin Yang casually explained, “During the years of famine, my dad got hurt working to feed the whole family and has had lingering health issues since then. When I’m not at home, please take extra care of him.”
“Okay,” she agreed without hesitation.
Qin Yang saw his young wife agree so readily, without a hint of displeasure on her face, and felt that her emotions were even more stable than his.
“What are you waiting for? Did you find the medicine? Dad is still waiting,” Lin Chuxia saw Qin Yang daydreaming, called him, and walked out first.
Qin Yang quickly found the medicine and followed her.
After taking the medicine and drinking some water, Mr. Qin’s complexion looked much better. He complained to Mrs. Qin, “Making a big fuss over nothing, I just had an itchy throat and needed to cough a bit, it scared the kids,” he said, reaching out to touch Zhuangzhuang’s little face, comforting his little grandson.
Indeed, it was an old issue for him; he felt better after taking the medicine—his family was used to it, but Qin Yang was still worried, “How about I delay my return to work for a few days and take dad to the hospital in the provincial city?”
“No need, I know my own body well, just go back to your job, I’m fine.”
Despite saying so, after lunch, Mr. Qin brought up the matter of dividing the family property.
“Now that both you brothers have your own families, and Brother Qin’s Zhuangzhuang is already a few years old, your mother and I will not manage the household anymore. It’s time you brothers divide the property and live your lives independently, giving you something to strive for.”
He then looked at Lin Chuxia, “My younger son’s wife has just joined the family, and Yangyang is not at home. If you are unable to manage the farm work, your mother and I, as well as Brother Qin’s family, can lend a hand. If there’s any issue, just speak up. Even though our family is dividing, our bonds should not weaken. This includes helping each other during the busy farming season.”
Although they were dividing the family property, some things had to be stated beforehand.
Qin Han discussed with Mr. Qin, “Dad, how about we wait another year or so before dividing? My younger brother’s wife has just arrived…”
He had barely started speaking when Zhang Guilan secretly pinched him.
Mr. Qin waved his hand, “No, Yangyang rarely comes home, let’s settle this matter now. Is there any problem with that, my younger son’s family?”
The idea of dividing the family property had not occurred to Lin Chuxia, but since it was brought up, she couldn’t object.
She noticed the sister-in-law’s subtle signals and felt that dividing the family was a good idea.
“I’ll listen to my parents, but I’m young and still have much to learn, I might need you and my brother and sister-in-law to worry about me in the future.”
Zhang Guilan visibly relaxed, “What is there to worry about? We earn our keep from the soil, as long as you work hard, life won’t be bad. If you trust us, just follow our lead in the fields in the future.”
Mrs. Qin, hearing this, also smiled, “Your sister-in-law is right, Chuxia. Our village grows a lot of vegetables, your brother and sister-in-law know how to farm, just follow their lead.”
With the arrangements settled, Mr. Qin asked Qin Han to call the village cadres to witness the occasion.
Qin Yang moved a table under the big tree in the courtyard, prepared some tea and paper, and waited for the people to arrive so they could begin.
In recent years, there have been many divisions of family property in the village, and the village cadres were experienced in handling these matters.
Usually, the head of the household would first propose a distribution plan, and if there were disagreements, they would mediate to reach a consensus before drafting a document for the brothers to sign and affix their fingerprints.
It was relatively easy for the Qin Family with just two brothers.
First, they divided the main house, which had four rooms, with two wing rooms on each side.
Mr. and Mrs. Qin lived in the two middle rooms of the main house, which were also used for guests; each side had one room, with Brother Qin’s family living in the east and Qin Yang and Lin Chuxia’s new room in the west.
Thus, the main house was divided accordingly, with one room each for the two brothers; when the old couple were gone, they would each take another room from them.
The east wing room was allocated to Brother Qin, and the west wing room went to Qin Yang.