Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 62: Should everything in the house be given to the third brother?

Chen Sanbao insisted on marrying Zhang Junniang, and Zhao Shi, whose money was earned by her son and who was eager for a grandson, agreed to the marriage.

The agreed-upon bride price was 30 taels, but Granny Zhao was unwilling to give that much, so she only gave 15 taels, saying that the rest would be given after Zhang Junniang married into the family.

For ordinary people, a bride price of 30 taels of silver is a huge sum of money.

In Chenjia Village, and even in the entire Pingchuan County, marrying a young, unmarried woman would cost at most 10 taels of silver.

Zhang Junniang remarried and still demanded such a high dowry; no wonder Zhao Shi cursed her mother every day.

Zhang Junniang received 15 taels of silver, but before she could even enjoy it, someone else had their eye on it.

First, her former mother-in-law, Madam Lü, said that she should receive 5 taels of silver, otherwise Zhang Junniang should marry into the family herself, and that she should not take her two grandsons with her.

Zhang Junniang had no choice but to spend money to avoid trouble.

She had just given 5 taels to Madam Lü when her own mother, Madam Wang, took another 5 taels from her. The reason was simple.

She has two younger brothers who are not yet married, and as the older sister, she has to help support the family and cannot enjoy life on her own.

Zhang Junniang only had 5 taels of silver left. She had married from Zhangjiagou to Chenjiacun, and the land in her home had been given to her former mother-in-law.

She suddenly felt a little lost; how come she was getting poorer and poorer after marrying someone?

She was already feeling uneasy, and today she ran into Li Ruru. She was determined to get those 15 taels of silver no matter what.

She secretly competed with Li Ruru. When Li Ruru married Chen Sanbao, she only gave one tael of betrothal gifts, while she gave 29 taels more. She was definitely more capable than Li Ruru.

Upon hearing Zhang Junniang's words, Chen Sanbao quickly ran to comfort her.

He leaned over the sedan chair door and whispered, "Junniang, don't make a fuss. We can talk about it once we're inside."

Zhang Junniang's face, covered in powder, scrunched up in a frown. "You'll have to give it to me sooner or later, so why can't you give it to me now? Are you trying to renege on your promise?"

Upon hearing that her future brother-in-law intended to renege on the payment, Zhang Junniang's two younger brothers immediately became unhappy.

They shoved Chen Sanbao aside, saying, "Go get the money, or my sister won't marry you."

Chen Sanbao was humiliated and his face turned ugly. He angrily summoned Zhao Shi.

“Mother, Junniang said she won’t get out of the sedan chair if she doesn’t get the remaining silver.”

Chen Sanbao didn't know what to do, so of course his first instinct was to look for his mother.

Zhao slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Oh dear, Junniang, what are you doing? You're married to Sanbao now, everything in the house belongs to the two of you, so why are you worrying about these trivial things?"

Wang Shuixia and Feng Yuzhu, who were greeting guests, also heard this.

Wang Shuixia couldn't keep anything to herself, and she immediately rushed over and asked, "Mother, what did you mean by what you just said? Are you saying that everything in the house should be given to Third Brother?"

According to village rules, the eldest son is usually responsible for supporting his parents in their old age, and naturally, the elderly person's property should also go to the eldest son.

Of course, some families also discuss their retirement arrangements, and the family property will be given to whoever takes care of the retirement.

The Zhao family and Chen Bingxiao's property was not of much value; it consisted mainly of their old house and a few acres of land.

Feng Yuzhu didn't speak, but listened carefully to her mother-in-law's reply.

She had already decided that she would separate from the family after giving birth, and Chen Ertong agreed to this.

They live their own lives, without mothers-in-law or fathers-in-law to serve them, and their lives will only get better and better.

There's not much stuff in the house, so she should get a share when the family divides up the property.

We can't give everything to the third wife.

Zhao realized she had said the wrong thing and gave an awkward smile.

He whispered to Zhang Junniang, "Junniang, if you don't come out soon, you'll miss the appointed time, and that's considered unlucky."

Zhang Junniang didn't care about any of that. She had already run into Li Ruru today and had to give way to that rich man, which was already very unlucky. How much worse could things get?

"Mother, don't say anything more, just give me the money."

The onlookers all turned to look at Zhao.

"Old Lady Zhao, you don't mean to refuse to pay, do you?"

“The bride price was agreed upon beforehand, how can you renege on your promise?”

Granny Zhao gritted her teeth. Why were all these dead people speaking on behalf of outsiders?

Chen Sanbao urged, "Mother, hurry up! Don't be late and bring bad luck."

Zhao gritted her teeth, went back into the house, and painfully took out 15 taels of silver and handed it to Zhang Junniang.

If she could renege on her debt, she really wouldn't want to pay a single tael of silver.

But Sanbao said it would bring bad luck, and she didn't want to bring bad luck to her son; she was still waiting to hold her grandson.

Forget it, I've already given you 15 taels. I'll just find another opportunity to get it back from Zhang Junniang later.

While she was making her own plans, she reassured herself, "It's okay, it's okay."

But before she could finish her calculations, someone had already ruined her plans. Zhang Junniang's two younger brothers flanked the sedan chair, and after a struggle, each of them stole five taels of silver.

Zhang Junniang clutched the remaining five taels of silver in her hand tightly, her eyes red with tears as she married into the Chen family.

She still has 10 taels of silver in her hand. She usually spends money on food and clothing from Chen Sanbao's family. She plans to use these 10 taels to start a small business. She believes that things will get better and better.

Li Ruru can sell konjac tofu, and she can also make and sell other food items.

Anyway, she's no less capable than Li Ruru, and she'll definitely earn more money.

Zhang Junniang quickly calmed herself down, but Zhao was filled with remorse. She was wary of Zhang Junniang and her two daughters-in-law.

Despite all precautions, two mischievous boys managed to slip through the cracks.

She stared in the direction the two men had left, silently cursing their ancestors for eighteen generations.

Zhao was inwardly cursing, but she forced a smile and welcomed Zhang Junniang into her home.

-

When Li Ruru returned home, she found that she had acquired a few more livestock, and she never returned empty-handed from the market.

"Chu Xiu, come here." She beckoned.

Chu Xiu came running over excitedly, smiling, and said, "Auntie, you can just call me Xiu'er, or Ah Xiu."

Chu Xiu found it strangely formal and not at all friendly.

Li Ruru took out two sets of clothes, "One set for you, and one set for Xiao Wu."

Xiao Wu happily ran over when he heard his name called.

Upon hearing that he would have freshly washed clothes to wear, his eyes crinkled with a smile. "Thank you, Auntie."

Chu Xiu rolled his eyes at him, thinking, "You talk too much."

After changing her clothes, Chu Xiu happily twirled around in the yard, saying, "Look how nice I look! My aunt bought these for me."

A dozen or so men were putting the finishing touches on the house in the courtyard, and they were all smiling awkwardly.

"Good-looking, good-looking."

Li Ruru bought two sets of coarse linen clothes, which Chu Xiu and Xiao Wu had to wear when they worked with them.

Chu Xiu casually tossed his luxurious clothes on the ground and wandered around in his new clothes.

Xiao Wu sighed and shook his head, then picked up the clothes and folded them neatly.

"Um...we're leaving." The men finished repairing the house and said goodbye to Chu Xiu.

I originally wanted to call him "Young Master," but I felt it would give me away, so I simply didn't say anything.

Chu Xiu waved his hand, "Let's go, let's go."

As soon as they left, Li Ruru happily took the children to look at the house.

Butcher Hu's house was very large; the dilapidated house had been renovated and now had eight rooms.

“Perfect, one room for each person, plus an extra room for miscellaneous items,” Li Ruru said happily.

But when they heard her method of dividing the grain, the crowd was not happy.

Li Yinyin burst into tears, "I don't want to sleep alone, I want to sleep with Mom."

Li Chaochao and Li Peipei had also gotten used to sleeping with their mother, holding her hand tightly.

At this moment, Xiao Wu raised his hand in the crowd, "I sleep alone."

He had slept with the young master since he was a child; the young master slept in the big bed while he slept on the floor.

He was determined not to miss the chance to sleep by himself, which was a rare opportunity.

Chu Xiu tapped him on the head, "Fine, so you'll dislike me."

The two were playfully bickering, making the courtyard incredibly lively.

Xiao Yishan picked up his basket and silently walked home.

Aunt Li's house is all repaired now, so even Chu Xiu has a place to sleep and doesn't have to squeeze into his house anymore.

Chu Xiu can teach the three girls to read and write, and Xiao Wu is Chu Xiu's follower, so he can naturally stay here as well.

He felt like he was superfluous in this place.

Upon seeing this, Li Yinyin let out a howl and ran away.

She carried Xiao Yishan's bedding over and threw it in the yard.

Li Ruru's eyes widened. "Yinyin, what are you doing?"

(End of this chapter)